Released in 1973, the Ruger Mini-14 is a scaled-down version of the M-14/M1A rifle, although the Mini-14 uses a fixed piston system that is simpler than the M-14’s gas system. The Mini-14 is chambered in 5.56mm, so .223 Remington ammunition can also be used in this platform. There are also variants in other chamberings, including 7.62x39mm, 6.8 Remington SPC, and .300 AAC Blackout. For today, we’ll focus on the most popular chambering, the 5.56mm, since that’s what more people own, including yours truly.
Though it’s not used by the US military, a few foreign militaries have issued the Mini-14. It has also been used by various domestic law enforcement and corrections agencies and is popular with civilians.
The rotating bolt is very similar to that of the M1 Garand and carbine, and many of us love that bit of nostalgia about it. Aside from looking and sounding cool, the Mini-14 has a good reputation for being a reliable rifle. These days, we are enjoying improved Mini-14 rifles, as Ruger revamped their tooling and production methods back in 2005. Better accuracy has been the result. Ruger includes integral scope mounts (machined directly into the solid steel receiver), scope rings, and a Picatinny rail with each Mini-14.
Reduced Capacity Ruger Mini-14 Magazines
Bill Ruger was not a proponent of selling full-capacity (20- or 30-round) magazines to civilians. Ruger did sell them at first, and then he stopped, restricting the sales of full-capacity mags to law enforcement agencies and foreign governments. I’m not sure why he restricted the sales — perhaps because he worried about liabilities or bad press. Whatever the case, it restricted us from having magazines that allowed the firearms to reach their full potential.
It wasn’t until after his death that Ruger, as a corporation, began selling larger-capacity magazines to civilians. In accordance with that trend, Ruger also increased the production and sales of full-capacity magazines for the 10/22 platform.
5 & Dime
Many Ruger Mini-14s ship with two 5-round magazines as standard equipment. The one I recently purchased came with two. These are my least favorite magazines because of their short length. Because the Mini’s magazines have to be rocked in to insert them and basically ripped out to extract them, it’s difficult to get a grip on these mags during the extraction process.
The good aspect of these short magazines is that they don’t protrude at all from the stock of the rifle, so shooting from a bench or prone is made easier with the 5-rounders. So, for shooting ease, they’re great. For capacity and changing the magazines, they’re less than stellar. If they’re all you have to use, by all means, go with them. But try to get something better.
10-round magazines are the maximum allowed by law in some areas, and Ruger obliges by providing mags with exactly that capacity. The 10-rounders aren’t as easy to eject from the rifle when they’re empty as, say, a 20-round magazine, but they’re certainly easier than the 5-rounders.
The 10-round mags protrude less than an inch from the bottom of the rifle’s stock, making them ideal for shooting prone or from a bench.
Both the 5- and 10-round magazines are also very compact for storage, so that’s another plus. Regarding defensive use, the 10-round magazines aren’t terrible, as many defensive scenarios can be solved using less than 10 shots. Having several 10-rounders on hand would likely be more than sufficient for most scenarios that we could envision. While being limited to 10 rounds isn’t optimal, it also isn’t the end of the world.
Reliability and Construction
As with every other Ruger factory magazine we’ve ever used, the 5- and 10-rounders proved 100% reliable, which was no surprise.
Both varieties are similar in construction in that they use blued steel and have a corrosion-resistant finish. The magazine’s spring is steel, and so is the base plate (the 5-round mags have polymer base plates). There is a polymer follower, which means it will slide along the inside of the magazine’s body easily with minimal lubrication.
Ruger makes some excellent magazines that seem to last for decades.
In Summary
Even if you’re limited in your magazine capacity, Ruger has you covered for the Mini-14. My advice is to get a ton of 10-round magazines if you’re in that predicament because more is better. For those who aren’t under legal limitations, having a few 10-round mags on hand makes sense because sometimes we shoot from a position that benefits from us being lower to the deck.
Whatever capacity magazines you happen to receive from Ruger, you can rest assured that they will be well-constructed and reliable, given their attention to detail and quality materials. As this is written, the 10-round magazines sell for $34.99, and the 5-rounders go for $21.99. It’s best to get several of the ones you choose while they’re available.
