Mini-14 Ranch Rifle question

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yukonjimmy

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Hey I am looking for some advice. I got a new mini-14 ranch rifle the other day. I tried to sight it in with a leupold 2-7 vx-2 but I the closest I could get at 25 yards was 5 inches low, dead center. The scope is now out of adjustment left and high. The scope is a trusted scope I have had for years. The rifle came with high ruger rings. I tried swappping the rings back and front but they are the same height.

any advice.???

Cheers
 
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Find a scope with more windage this is typical of several Mini's I have owned including a current target model, the Bushnell 3200 and 4200's will not give enough windage either, you may gain a minute or two by swapping the rings front to back as well.
 
Would be nice if there was a replacement rear mount with windage but haven't found one yet that doesn't require drilling and tapping for a base. Would be even better if Ruger would correct the issue as this is not a new problem and am surprised it is not brought up more often.
 
I would shoot the damn thing at 100yds first to see if it has the accuracy potential to warrent a scope. None of my mini 14's did.TWK
 
bluegrizz77 said:
Well sorry for that, then maybe the op should try another set of mounts. Putting brass shims is hardly the proper way of mounting a scope, but if that's what you do well then all the power too you.
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We're talking about a mini 14 here, not a 40X. Perhaps you should look a little deeper before you criticize, this is recommended by many gunsmiths for this type of problem on this type of rifle, and it works !!! This quality of rifle with it's limited accuracy potential does not warrant a 500 dollar ring matching and lapping job.
And your an expert because.............
 
c-fbmi said:
We're talking about a mini 14 here, not a 40X. Perhaps you should look a little deeper before you criticize, this is recommended by many gunsmiths for this type of problem on this type of rifle, and it works !!! This quality of rifle with it's limited accuracy potential does not warrant a 500 dollar ring matching and lapping job.
And your an expert because.............
Click to expand...

Ruger rings are strong steel ones. If the axes of the rings are out of line, and the mounting and clamping screws are pulled up tight, the scope is going to be forced into what ever alignment the rings have. Can be pretty hard on the scope. Tube can be marked up or bent.
 
c-fbmi said:
We're talking about a mini 14 here, not a 40X. Perhaps you should look a little deeper before you criticize, this is recommended by many gunsmiths for this type of problem on this type of rifle, and it works !!! This quality of rifle with it's limited accuracy potential does not warrant a 500 dollar ring matching and lapping job.
And your an expert because.............
Click to expand...

Well since your the expert and gunsmith you must be right. You deserve a cookie. Good luck. To the op, try another set of rings I'm sure you could borrow a set of get some somewhere. Leupold I beleive makes a set as well, something to think about. Make sure the dovetails are cut cleanly and if all else fails go open sight.
 
Yes all that CAN be done, however the variation in my experience, is in the machine work on the action itself and not the rings. The rings are made at a different facility and are all CNC'd, so chances are rings are good and action is flawed. Buying all the rings out there isn't going to fix it and it can also be an action to barrel misalignment problem and /or a bent barrel, there are many things that can cause a rifle to shoot outside the max adjustment of the scopes and not all are related to scope and mountings.
I am fully aware of all the proceedures in aligning actions with mounts and truing rings and on a bench rifle or $5000 custom rifle or even a good $1500 rifle with a $1000 + scope these proceedures are the norm but for the average guy who wants a fix for under a $100 and is mounting a $200 scope on a $500 mini 14, shiming is functional and as I said before it works. Not everone can afford a 500-1000 dollar scope mounting set-up (and yes it can cost that much) because of action inconsistencies and shimming has been the accepted fix for 50 years, either under the base in the case of removable bases or under the scope tube in the case of integral ring/base combos.
Wasn't trying to be a jerk at all, this IS an accepted practice, whether you agree or not, and it IS cost effective.
 
Bluegrizz77, you're awfully caustic and condescending, curious as to why, all I did was ask if you read the OP. Lots of people jump into the middle of these threads without reading the original OPs and get off base.
I've been hobby gunsmithing for 35 years and have mounted literally many hundreds if not thousands of scopes and have found that some times shimming is the only practical solution, I didn't say perfect, I said practical.
You seem to be taking great issue with this, curious as to why? It is also a flaw most commonly found on very inexpensive set ups, this in and of itself precludes spending the time and money required to align things as I would for a bench gun.
No one wants to spend $500 on a mounting system for a 250 buck rifle and 200 buck scope, so what you are left with is, make it work for under 100 bucks and 50 is even better. This is just the financial reality of the game.
 
yukonjimmy said:
Hey I am looking for some advice. I got a new mini-14 ranch rifle the other day. I tried to sight it in with a leupold 2-7 vx-2 but I the closest I could get at 25 yards was 5 inches low, dead center. The scope is now out of adjustment left and high. The scope is a trusted scope I have had for years. The rifle came with high ruger rings. I tried swappping the rings back and front but they are the same height.

any advice.???

Cheers
Click to expand...

Having the same problem with mine.
It's is currently sitting with the Ruger Warranty shop. Check out PrefectUnion.com for all the ruger mini info you will need and then some.
 
I had a Remy and a Weatherby vanguard with that issue. Had to shim it. If you could, a gunsmith would have the scope mount kit. The mounts may need a little work.

My mini was pretty good. Only about 6 or 7 clicks to be dead on.
 
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