582 Series Mini-14 Honest Range Report + Direct Comparison w/AR15

Travis Bickle

Travis Bickle

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Upper Lower Middle Alberta
Been seeing a lot of mixed info regarding the new 582 Series Mini 14's
I took a chance on a used one off the EE last year and was very surprised with it expecting the worst from reading threads on here.
I'll keep it short.

The rifle.
Second hand Ruger Mini14 582 series with upgraded Tech Sight rear sight.

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The Targets/Setup
Upside down triangles spray painted on the back of Fig 11's at exactly 100 meters known distance.
Shooting prone off a jobmate range bag.

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Ammo
Norinco 55gr FMJ Surplus Spam Can Special

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5 Round Groups from the Ruger Mini14 (don't mind the POI I was zeroing the irons as I shot the groups)

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A 10 round group from the Mini 14:

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Now a side by side comparison with my Colt SP1 Barreled AR15 (tan patch is a 1" x 1" square for size reference) AR15 has precision front post installed as well:
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Back to the Ruger Mini 14 for 10 shots again:

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Maybe I got "a lucky one off good rifle". I don't think so. It will go head to head with my AR15 easily all day long shooting cheap bulk Norc Surplus Spam Can special ammo.
The Mini has become my favorite go to semi auto rifle in .223 Rem. It's still the cheapest on the market of the Semi NR .223's It weights about 6 lbs, it's well balanced, it's extremely reliable, mags are NOT that expensive (I buy factory Ruger 5rnders for about $28 each all over Western Canada).
It's not a tactical mall ninja rifle. Any plastic add on junk will not make it more accurate. It will weigh it down and make it less practical for sure.

The only cons I guess would be that if you need to blast 3000 rounds at a target at 15 meters all day pretending to be an operator, the "non tactical" design/look will definitely throw off your image you're going for and make mag changes take an additional 4 seconds.

Take it for what it is. The new 582 Mini-14's are rock solid, above acceptable accurate and dead reliable for a fraction of the cost of almost any other NR semi auto option available on the market in Canada. I got this baby for $800 off the EE. Tech sights can be had shipped to Canada from Optics Camp in the US for $70 USD.
Travis Bickle approved! :rockOn:
 
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SKS Bitten said:
[h=1][/h]Thanks for the comparison. Mini-14 does hold its own but really makes a mess of the brass.
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It's definitely overgassed.
Mine throws casings about 30-40 feet to the right.
They surely overgassed it to make it function reliably in any weather with any ammunition. The action moves with authority! And I like it.
I owned almost every other NR semi auto prior to settling on the Mini. The mini14 could do everything the others could with about the same accuracy (in the case of the T97 and the Tavor way more accurately) for a fraction of the cost.
Not sure why it gets no love these days, especially since they beefed up the barrel and fixed the accuracy issues.
All that being said, I don't think I would pay $1300 for one in Canada. I just waited until a good deal came up on EE, then offered a bit lower and bagged for cheap! :rockOn:
 
As far as not being as tacticool - it might surprise a few folks in that regard. The OPP used them for many years, and essentially, they run like an AK. Take one to a PLG carbine course - Earl will teach you how to run one 'operator as &%$#'. I've always waned to love the Mini, but the spaghetti barrel with groups an inch wide by 6 long always screwed it for me. At the end of the day it comes down to the shooter - it isn't that long since a guy with an SKS won a carbine match in Vancouver, and you know he was facing guys who's ammo budget for the week was more than the cost of his rifle.
 
enefgee said:
As far as not being as tacticool - it might surprise a few folks in that regard. The OPP used them for many years, and essentially, they run like an AK. Take one to a PLG carbine course - Earl will teach you how to run one 'operator as &%$#'. I've always waned to love the Mini, but the spaghetti barrel with groups an inch wide by 6 long always screwed it for me. At the end of the day it comes down to the shooter - it isn't that long since a guy with an SKS won a carbine match in Vancouver, and you know he was facing guys who's ammo budget for the week was more than the cost of his rifle.
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Any gun can be used fast and effectively. This is very true.
I heard before somewhere "beware the man with only one gun, he surely knows how to use it". I've seen some of those cowboy action shooters reload a SxS in under 2.5 secs 3 time in a row. That's pretty impressive firepower in under 12 seconds from a firearm whose design is almost 200 years old.

I just wanted to dis-spell some of the misinformation on the new 582 series Mini-14's. I've read a lot of bad data on here from people who have never actually fired one.
Most of it is just parroting what they read in a previous thread with zero actual experience (imagine that on the internet right!?)
It's as accurate as any other semi auto .223 with irons which I've shot in recent times. I'd hazard to guess with a good optic it could easily be 1 to 2 MOA consistently. It's still on par with any other offering in this market by price comparison.
 
It's a decent challenge-10 at 100. Mine is even newer, being a 583(2015) manufacture. I have an accustrut on it and have nailed a 1.38" group as my best with norc white box. When next out, I am happy see what mine will do with 10 consecutive shots.
I have always loved the mini. The haters can hate but mine was fairly priced and is fairly accurate- not something that can be boasted about by every semi 223/556 rifle owner out there. Oh yeah, and non-restricted!
 
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You got lucky with yours. My tavor cannot get this kind of grouping with a 3-9 Nikon. I m glad you had fun with this one.
 
i have a 582 series.
biggest improvement in accuracy was when i changed ammo.
it loves 50 gr v-max & hornady steel match 55 gr.
it will shoot 1 hole cloverleaf groups at 50, with a 1-4 vxr scope off a bench.
that's pretty decent for a rough & tumble carbine
 
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I'd wager that changing the ammo or putting a scope on the mini won't change how you shoot with it, but it would with the SP1.

All of my experience is with the 581 series though so I suppose unicorns are a possibility.
 
Canada tail said:
You got lucky with yours. My tavor cannot get this kind of grouping with a 3-9 Nikon. I m glad you had fun with this one.
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I'm hearing that a lot about the tavor.

My mini14 has a tech sight rear as well, my ar15 is a colt le6920 upper with the thinnest front post I could find.
Fairly similar setups, I also find little difference between the two rifles with iron sights and federal 223 bulk stuff.

556 62gr green tips shot pretty good in my mini if you have a chance to try them.
 
Canada tail said:
You got lucky with yours. My tavor cannot get this kind of grouping with a 3-9 Nikon. I m glad you had fun with this one.
Click to expand...

The Tavor I owned for about 3 weeks couldn't group a sewer lid at 100 meters with irons on it. It was honestly too large to measure with any method other than a tape measure and the pattern was indescribable.
It was by far the most inaccurate semi .223 I ever shot. Maybe second. The T97 I owned for one range outing before I sold it was THE least accurate. even worse than the Tavor and not reliable between magazines and ammunition projo type.

The Tavor was made for shooting Palestinians in the face in CQB engagements at 15 meters and to be extremely reliable while doing it. Which it does.
It has its merits but seriously $3 ####ing thousand dollars for one in Canada!? No thanks. I'll stick with my second hand Mini14 for $800 lol Plus I hate bullpup designs but that's beside the point (I tried to force myself to like them twice)

I'm skeptical about the accustrut myself however. I wouldn't even bother with the accuracy I'm getting out of mine now with junk ammo. It's more than I could have hoped for in a semi auto .223 and NR in this ### country.
 
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Canada tail said:
You got lucky with yours. My tavor cannot get this kind of grouping with a 3-9 Nikon. I m glad you had fun with this one.
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Maybe check your 3x9 Nikon, I have one that would hold zero for the first couple shots and then go a-wandering. I thought it was the gun until I put it into a different scope mount on a different gun with the same "terrible group" results. Unusual for a Nikon, but not unheard of. ;)
 
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