Mini 14 Lover's Anonymous

F

fonestar

Regular
Rating - 100%
88   0   0
Location
Whitehorse, YT
Got back from the gravel pit with my Mini 14 and I'm reminded of what a great little rifle this is. Am I wrong for saying that? This gun gets so much flak and stirs so much controversy and I just can't see why? Are there any anonymous support groups for people who love the Mini 14? I'm kinda thinking some of the unfortunate events the Mini 14 has been involved in has gotten it a bad rap and it's pegged as a "bad guy gun" now and this affects its reputation more than the gun itself.


So this is my best defense of the Ruger Mini 14:


* It's a semi-automatic centerfire rifle that is non-restricted. Only so many of those to choose from in Canada, especially at this price point.

* The Garand and M14-style action is one of the coolest looking actions ever made on any rifle ever.

* My 196 rifle was supposedly "made with inferior tooling, has a crappy barrel and is not accurate enough to hit the broad side of a barn." Except that it's an accurate rifle that is well-finished. Like most other chain-letters on the Internet, there's no guarantee that even the first guy had a clue what he was talking about.

* It's fairly easy to mount optics on it. Many mounts to choose from for the different Mini 14s produced.

* It's cheap and fun to reload for .223 and I can reload a lot more than I could for other larger calibers like 308 Winchester.

* I can load down the .223 making "223 Quiet Ammo" and work the op-rod as a bolt action. Amazingly accurate, and you can't do that with the AR.

* It's hard to find parts for the Mini 14 and that's okay because it never seems to break anything anyways.

* If feeds and cycles any ammo I throw in it... SP, HP, FMJ, handloads, whatever....

* Small size, ideal for shorter shooters, youth and ladies, bringing on a quad, bush plane, whatever...

* You can tear down and clean the Mini 14 in under 5 minutes with no special tools. Goes back together nice and easy.

* It DOES NOT look like a black rifle.


Did I miss anything? Anyone want to join my support group?... You will stay anonymous... :)
 
Hmm, I think you can tell by my handle....
I have a 583 series stainless, with aftermarker stocks (ATI Strikeforce and Choate), trigger job, reduced gas bushing, 1911 buffers front and back, upgrade Tech Sight 200 rear sight with reduced aperture, narrow front sight, Ultimak scout rail.
I shoot 2 MOA with iron sights from a seated position (small step stool).
Every time I don't shoot for awhile I also think I want to sell it, until I go shooting again and keep it.

Easy things for you to do to make it better, 1911 buffers front and back of op rod, trigger polishing, reduced gas bushing, and it there is slop in the stock, glass bed it or get another stock that fits tight.
 
* It's a semi-automatic centerfire rifle that is non-restricted. Only so many of those to choose from in Canada, especially at this price point.
>>> agree, because of our retarded laws we are FOCRED to accept inferior designs.

* The Garand and M14-style action is one of the coolest looking actions ever made on any rifle ever.
>>> debatable ... but I do like the design

* My 196 rifle was supposedly "made with inferior tooling, has a crappy barrel and is not accurate enough to hit the broad side of a barn." Except that it's an accurate rifle that is well-finished. Like most other chain-letters on the Internet, there's no guarantee that even the first guy had a clue what he was talking about.
>>> Oh I highly doubt all the bad stuff about the Mini-14 is true, but I equally highly doubt it's all not true

* It's fairly easy to mount optics on it. Many mounts to choose from for the different Mini 14s produced.
>>> can't comment on this point so I won't

* It's cheap and fun to reload for .223 and I can reload a lot more than I could for other larger calibers like 308 Winchester.
>>> applies to any .223 platform

* I can load down the .223 making "223 Quiet Ammo" and work the op-rod as a bolt action. Amazingly accurate, and you can't do that with the AR.
>>> can make .223 Quiet Ammo for many other .223 platforms as well. Some would say with many AR's you don't NEED the single shot option

* It's hard to find parts for the Mini 14 and that's okay because it never seems to break anything anyways.
>>> sure, it's a tough platform and that's a plus but having parts around is a good plan none-the-less

* If feeds and cycles any ammo I throw in it... SP, HP, FMJ, handloads, whatever....
>>> a plus for sure, however many others do as well

* Small size, ideal for shorter shooters, youth and ladies, bringing on a quad, bush plane, whatever...
>>> yup, but since it's most likely going to be compared to the AR .... AR would easily cover all these bases as well

* You can tear down and clean the Mini 14 in under 5 minutes with no special tools. Goes back together nice and easy.
>>> applies to other platforms as well

* It DOES NOT look like a black rifle.
>>> don't consider that a plus ... political correctness can screw off imo

I suppose the MOST RELEVANT question would be:
IF the AR were non-restricted which would you choose to carry ? AR .. hands down.

Not hating on the Mini-14, I like it. But my question is the most relevant point in the "debate".
 
fonestar said:
Got back from the gravel pit with my Mini 14 and I'm reminded of what a great little rifle this is....

Did I miss anything? Anyone want to join my support group?... You will stay anonymous... :)
Click to expand...

The preferred firearm of The A-Team :p -

A%20Team_zpsj8fct6rw.jpg
 
fonestar said:
I don't understand how a simple gas-blowback is an "inferior" design? Inferior to what?
Click to expand...

Fair enough, not the correct word. I might have said "generally accepted as being inferior in the accuracy dept. compared to say an AR".
 
I bought one last year just before Christmas. Given all the bad reviews about it I went out expecting to maybe hit the backstop at the 100 yard with it? Well lo and behold given the sight I chose to mount on it, an Aimpoint PRO with NO magnification and a 2 moa red dot all I can say is I was dumbfounded when I shot sub 2" groups at 100 yards once finally sighted in and having my trigger lightened to 4 pounds pull. I have the stainless synthetic version with 18" barrel and the stamping says chambered for .223 or 5.56 ammo. I picked up 1000 rds Hornady Steel Match 55gr JHP to feed it and to date have fired 95 rounds of the Hornady and 1-20 rd box of American Eagle 55gr FMJ through the rifle. The Hornady shoots a bit tighter groups, the AE opens up another 1/2"-5/8" at 100 and prints 1" high and 1" left of where the Hornady does. I can't say enough good about the rifle. The finish is rough and crude but the bugger works great, has not required cleaning yet, its clean as a whistle still, ejects empties a long ways and at 38" OAL is a fantastic truck gun. In fact I like it so much I decided to unload my 22-250 and ammo and just run with the gun thats so much more fun!! I used it one day this past summer on a few gophers and had no problem hitting them all the way out to 200 yards.
 
Last edited:
minilover said:
With the change of the gas bushing to a smaller size, 1911 buffers front and back of the op rod reduces the accuracy problem.
Click to expand...

Interesting, news to me. I'm open minded on it.

I've seen mini-14 in the 6-4 moa range with the odd one being much better, and the odd one being worse.

So what kind of accuracy are you talking about consistently getting down to ?
 
I had a newer 580 series too but there was a problem with it so I returned it. Now I have one of the "crappy" ones from the 1990s and it's a 3MOA shooter that never jams. Nothing to complain about here.
 
My "hangup" with the min-14 is often I don't find them anymore accurate than an SKS, sometimes less so.

For the cost difference I find that kinda difficult to accept.
 
madashell said:
Interesting, news to me. I'm open minded on it.

I've seen mini-14 in the 6-4 moa range with the odd one being much better, and the odd one being worse.

So what kind of accuracy are you talking about consistently getting down to ?
Click to expand...

I'm getting about 2 MOA with iron sights. I also did a trigger job. The problem with the guns also is the fit to the stock. If there is slop then you will lose accuracy. Glass bedding or swapping out stocks is easier.
 
Bloberglawp said:
I hope there's going to be pictures in this thread.
Click to expand...

Mind the cell phone pic :p


Obviously I'm a fan, the Stainless one is a 581 Mini-30 with a Hogue stock and Ultimak rail, and the factory folder is a 181 Mini-14 with tech sights. The biggest issue I have with the Mini 30 is how unreliable out of the box mine was with shooting steel cased ammo. (light strikes on the primers) It could only shoot brass cased 7.62x39 reliably, which is pretty unforgivable for a rifle of that caliber. Accuracy is around 2.5-3 MOA at 100 yards, which is acceptable for what this rifle is...imo.

Complaining aside, I like the size and the way they handle...I think they're well built rifles for the price, IMO nicer than the other Non-restricted options in the price range...not to mention available in stainless. I think the newer Mini's (580 series and newer) have better build quality than the older 181 series rifles, for what it's worth.
 
I bought one because of the A team.

Then I sold it back in the 90's because I thought they were going to take it. Since then I have bought and sold a few till I got a folder like I originally had and I love it, its no Match AR but I can always hit 6" pie plates at 100 and 200 yrds with any ammo and it has never failed. I don't think they are $800 guns.....I bought my SS folder for under $500 and its good value.

I remember all the Ruger Advertisements from the 1980 as it being a ranch rifle. It does make me want to hunt Yotes every time I see it in the safe.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom