Ruger mini 14

Investig8tor
V.I.P. Member
Posts: 64
(7/15/01 7:42:09 pm)
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What accuracy should be expected NIB? I e-mailed on a used one - seller tells me it groups 3" - 4" at 100 yards. Does not sound very acccurate. What do ya'll thinnk?

MO JENKINS
V.I.P. Member
Posts: 45
(7/15/01 8:14:35 pm)
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3-4'' is above average for a Mini. Don't expect it to ever be a tackdriver. Like I always tell people when it comes to Mini-14's,Just enjoy it for what it is, an INCREDIBLY reliable and acceptably accurate rifle. I own 3 Mini's and can't say enough good things about them. I put one thru an endurance test at the range one day 1400 rds. NO CLEANING and not one failure to feed. On it's best day this particular rifle was only capable of 5" at 100 yds. but then again, you pay a price for reliability like that. I have another Mini-30 that wears a Leupold 2.5X short scope and it'll shot under 2" all day long. Still not an "accurate" rifle, but darn good enough for me.
Talk to you soon buddy.
MO

Edited by: MO JENKINS at: 7/15/01 9:59:28 pm

kdubaz
Moderator
Posts: 272
(7/15/01 10:40:25 pm)
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Agreed - the Mini-14 is not, nor ever has been noted for MOA accuracy. Fun to shoot, tho!!!
Keep below the ridgeline!

[bluesea112]

I hear that Ruger is offering a mini 14 with a heavy target barrel. If it is accurate, the mini 14 will gain popularity very quickly. I agree that it has the most reliable action ever invented. I sure wish AR's had the Ruger action. Wow, what a rifle it would be.

[Suwannee Tim]

Help me here. The Ruger has been around for decades and Ruger has finally decided to try to make it accurate. Well, they sure took their time. If this is the one I am thinking about, with the blue stock, is is the ugliest thing I have ever seen. If an AR had a Ruger action it would be a Ruger. I have a couple of super-accurate ARs. No one has a super-accurate Mini. I shot several Mini-30s for several thousand rounds trying to get some accuracy out of them to no avail. I do not hold the Mini-30 or Mini-14 in high esteem.

[Lotsdragon]

well I lovemy mini, never a failure to fire, and it gets close enough for gubbermint work...........

[S&W-4me]

My Mini-14 does alright for the first few rounds (2"-3"at 100yrds), then as the barrel heats up. the group is all over hell. But I knew that when I bought it. It's a fun gun to shoot. Never jammed on me once. If I wanted a tack driving semi-auto I would have had to spend a lot more. JMHO regards
Ed

[Suwannee Tim]

To quote Warren Page, "only accurate rifles are interesting."

[doug66]

You said it S&W-4me. I bought my Mini in 1983 used for $225. It is a blast to shoot, just a fun gun to have around when you wanna see beer cans fly.

The Mini-14, I think does what it was designed to do very well.

[Suwannee Tim]

Originally Posted by doug66

The Mini-14, I think does what it was designed to do very well.

Now that I can agree with. It was designed to sell lots and lots of rifles to people who don't care that much about accuracy.

[S&W-4me]

Originally Posted by Suwannee Tim

Now that I can agree with. It was designed to sell lots and lots of rifles to people who don't care that much about accuracy.

I care about accuracy, but not in that gun. I have some very accurate guns, including a MOA Weatherby chambered like my Mini-14 for the .223 rem. My only regret with the Mini-14, is where I live. Here in Connecticut, I can't go out and plink at cans and stuff, and my gun club only allows paper targets. No it's doesn't shoot 1/2" groups like my Weatherby, but I love shooting that gun. I also like shooting black powder muskets, not too accurate, but a hell of a lot of fun. I also have some antique guns, that I can't hit the side a barn with. I shoot my 45-70 trapdoor and wonder, "was this gun ever in a battle" I wouldn't trade them for any target rifle. There's a lot more to the shooting sport than punching holes as close together as you can. If accuracy is all that interests you then you're missing out on loads of enjoyment. JMHO
regards
Ed

[Suwannee Tim]

Originally Posted by S&W-4me

If accuracy is all that interests you then you're missing out on loads of enjoyment.

Accuracy is not the only thing that interests me but depending on the context it is almost always in the top three. Anybody can miss a target and anybody can build an inaccurate gun. It just don't have to be that way. If an M1 rifle or an M1A can be made to shoot an inch at 100 then a Mini 14 could have been made to shoot 2 or 3 inches at 100.

It is amazing the logical gymnastics people will employ to defend the indefensible. I've heard a lot of excuses made for the Mini rifles, this one is new. I'm deprived because I don't love this pig.

[Snakedriver]

I have a 183 series Mini-14 that I bought in 1982 and like all the others it isn't a real tack-driver. Under rapid fire the skinny barrel heats up and you're lucky if you can hold it to 6-8" at 100 yds, off-hand with iron sights. Recently I decided to do something about it, so I obtained a barrel stabilizer and put it on my gun. There are several brands that are real good like Accu-strut, Har-Bar and Mo-Rod. I got the Mo-Rod because it was better looking and was deliverd for less than $100. It gives the gun a distictive M-14 look and keeps the barrel whip from occuring and will give you consistent 2" groups. It also acts like a heat-sink and keeps the barrel from heating up so much. It's a cheap investment for something that I think really works. They come in black steel, aluminum or polished stainless steel or aluminum to match all different gun finishes. I got the black aluminum version that only adds 6.8 ounces to the weight of the gun. There's no permanent modification to the gun required by the way.

Here's a picture of my Mini with the Mo-rod:

[S&W-4me]

[/QUOTE]It is amazing the logical gymnastics people will employ to defend the indefensible. I've heard a lot of excuses made for the Mini rifles, this one is new. I'm deprived because I don't love this pig.[/QUOTE]


No Tim, I don't think you're deprived. I'm not making excuses for the Mini-14, but as a "logical gymnast" I'm just trying to understand the need for MOA elitists to bash a gun that thousands of owners are quite happy with. BTW my MIni will hold 2"-3" at 100yrds. It only opens up after I pump rounds through rapidly and the barrel gets hot. I own some "fine" guns, and I own some "pigs". It's fun to take a "pig" out once in a while.
regards
Ed

[Suwannee Tim]

Originally Posted by S&W-4me

I'm just trying to understand the need for MOA elitists to bash a gun that thousands of owners are quite happy with. BTW my MIni will hold 2"-3" at 100yrds.

Not thousands, hundreds of thousands of people are perfectly happy with their Minis. For the most part, they don't know any better. If you can get 2" to 3", that's good, if I could get that I would be, maybe not happy but less disgruntled. 4", 6" is what I've seen, and out of a variety of Minis. I'm not bashing only the Mini14, I'm also bashing Ruger. They could do better, no doubt in my mind, they could do better. And this is not just the Minis. I have had two Number 1s and a Number 3 that wouldn't shoot, I have three M77s which now shoot pretty well, having been rebarreled. I have had several other issues with Ruger. Ruger has no excuse, they know the issues, they know what it takes to make an accurate gun, they just choose not to put in the little extra effort it takes. I don't regard myself as an elitist, I just expect folks, individuals, companies and myself to give it pretty near their best most of the time when taking a customer's money. Ruger does not do that. Ruger chooses to make mediocre guns and I point it out. I do that for two reasons, first to help enlighten the unaware so they can make informed choices and second, to punish Ruger for poor performance in the hope they will mend their ways. I do find it very dismaying, when I am shooting, to be limited by the equipment, I prefer that my skill be the limit, that way I can improve. It is almost impossible to hone your marksmanship with poor equipment. In that regard, I guess I am an elitist, at least compared to the beer can busters. Not to bash beer can busters because for most of my shooting career that's what I was. Now you know why I do the Ruger bashing. Not to hurt your feelings, to hurt Ruger's feelings. So far it hasn't worked.

[Laufer]

My Mini 14 (built in '90) has Never had a single ftf, or misfeed, with a wobbly 30-round polymer Promag ('08) in over 1,000 rounds. Note: the Promag was loaded to a max. of 15 rds. to reduce ammo useage.
Much better ergonomics, looks and as reliable as any AK "clone"?

It has only used newer polymer-coated Wolf and a smaller amount of jhp Silver Bear.

[Big ugly]

I got an older first gen Mini and it is a very good shootin rifle for the first ten rounds. I have put mine in a vise and did some fireing and found that I go from a 2 inch grouping dead center then after it gets hot it walks 7inches high right and opens up to 3 1/2 inches.

[45nut]

My Ruger Ranch Rifle couldn't hit a bull in the a$$ with bass fiddle. With a scope I could get 5 or 6" groups at the bench. Occasionally a 4" group. I finally sold it to a buddy and bought something else, can't remember what now. Now, I regret selling it only because it would have made a great truck gun.

My Ruger #77 is another story. I bought it new in about 86, added a Leupold 2x7 and my first time to the range I shot 1" groups at 100 and a sub 2" group at 200 yards with factory Hornady loads with 140 grain Interlock bullets.

[Sandman]

My Mini-14 is pretty durned accurate for the first few shots. As with others who have posted, it loses accuracy as the barrel heats up. I am perfectly happy with it as a fun gun. Lots of fun to shoot. I am not planning on competition shooting from a bench with it. It even works for hunting, since I generally only fire one shot, and therefore my accuracy is certainly good enough to hit anything I am hunting with it.

I have heard criticism from people about the mini-14's accuracy, but it is not often that I hear criticism of Ruger in general. I find them to be a maker of high quality products at a reasonable price. Their customer service (in my experience) is great. I have bought many Ruger firearms, both rifles and handguns, and expect that I will buy more in the future. In fact, they are the manufacturer of choice for me.

[6x6pinz]

Have not played with a mini 14 in years but a buddy of mine showed up this past weekend with one he had just purchased. It had massive ftf's. If I recall correctly these rifles don't particularly care for aftermarket magazines. His 20 rounder fed fine but the 30's he had would not work, they looked like they were not up far enough for the round to chamber. As I am not real familiar with this firearm I did not want to play with the mags to see if they could be made to work.
This leads me to two questions I have about the mini 14
1) is there a fix for the aftermarket mags or an after market mag that will work in 30 rounds

2) What is the difference between a mini 14 and a ranch mini 14

Be kind

[312shooter]

Sounds like there is a pretty consistent opinion on the mini 14, check your barell twists there are 1/10 1/9 and 1/7, use a bullet proper bullet weight and except for the 1/10 should be fairly accurate.

[yrralguthrie]

I note that this is an old thread, and the participants are likely gone, but Suwannee Tim, how can a gun that is copied after and looks like an M1 be considered ugly??



ljg

[Laufer]

Another often unstated bias against them is quite well documented at "Perfectunion".
Until just after the pres. election, Ruger only sold their factory 20-rd. Mini 14 mags to LEOs etc.
Strange timing to release these mags to regular citizens?

And until about six months ago, there were no Ruger factory mags with more than 5-rds. for the Mini 30. Now you can buy 20-rd. factory Ruger mags for the 30s.
Ruger Inc. lost many loyal customers years ago because of Ruger Inc's attitudes on this issue, even long after Bill Ruger died.
Most aftermarket mags were either really bad (no feed at all) or often unreliable.

[bluesea112]

[quote=Suwannee Tim;455436]If an AR had a Ruger action it would be a Ruger./quote]

Suwannee Tim,
Why are you always wrong? If an AR had a Ruger Mini 14 action, it would be an "AR Garand". The Mini 14 has a rotary action with two lugs, which was copied from the Garand.

Chew on that for a minute.