Improving Mini-14/30 Accuracy

Dsiwy said:
Barrel Struts have shown to improve MOA in all mini's but show the most improvement on the pre 580 models

HAR-BAR "ships to Canada in two orders"
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Roger of Har-Bar is the only one in the USA who will ship a barrel strut out of the country and does it under the guise of "spare parts". Nix Accustrut, Mo-rod, True Technology etc. None of them will budge because of ITAR. As a result of this monopoly, the Har-Bar is roughly double the price of the others!!

For the new 580+ series Minis, the strut is still a good idea because it acts as a heat sink. In fact, if you read Roger's testimonial page you'll see CGN's own saskcop raving about its benefits on that count.

The photo shown above shows the old stainless steel rod. The new one isn't quite as shiny and blends with the stainless barrel better.

In a SHTF/TEOTWAWKI scenario, that heat sink benefit might pay off if the Mini is used under sustained fire in an urban environment.
 
Anyone have their trigger group fall out while firing? My 58 series has this problem. It's very annoying. I think it's the recoil or gas block hitting the action that causes the mechanism holding everything together to open up. I tried putting a recoil bumper in but that makes it happen every shot instead of every 5-10. Maybe a smaller gas port or stronger spring would fix the problem...?
 
Never heard of the trigger group falling out before. I had a 182 series for years, now have a 582 series. Never had that issue.
 
Dsiwy said:
Choate Flash hider fits over 2" of the barrel and can help the stiffen the barrel


580 tapered model
p_159000032_1.jpg


Carried by;
Hical.ca
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Correction: Was carried by Hical.ca. No more in stock, unfortunately, and no plans to bring any more in. And Brownells won't ship them to Canada (I tried)!

That's the bad news. The good news? The lads at High Caliber Services are planning to stock the impossible-to-get Accustrut barrel stabilizer/heat sink for the Mini 14 in the near future.

You win some, you lose some.

If you'd like to add a flash hider to a Mini, Hical still sells this: http://www.hical.ca/apps/webstore/products/show/2642731 but you'll have to find a machinist to thread your barrel so you can install it.
 
klar said:
Anyone have their trigger group fall out while firing? My 58 series has this problem. It's very annoying. I think it's the recoil or gas block hitting the action that causes the mechanism holding everything together to open up. I tried putting a recoil bumper in but that makes it happen every shot instead of every 5-10. Maybe a smaller gas port or stronger spring would fix the problem...?
Click to expand...

I've had that happen with my new Ruger mini 582 series.
The solution is to take out your trigger group and place the guard in a vice (cover jaws with wood/rubber/plastic to protect your metal) and compress the trigger guard slowly, a bit at a time. Take out and keep checking that you haven't squeezed the trigger guard too much. The idea is to make the latching more snug/harder to engage. The recoil makes the trigger guard open and out comes your trigger group.
Worked for me.
 
I did mine a couple days ago, very easy work. After removing the hammer and sear I use a small, fine jewelers file to knock down the high spots along the hammer/sear engagement surfaces. Go slow, use light pressure and be careful to keep things square. Once the high spots are knocked down I'll wrap some 320 gr sandpaper around the file to use as a rigid sanding block. Again, take your time and don't get in a rush. Keep working the surface until the file marks are gone. Then I do the same with 800 gr before polishing with jewelers rouge.
I do this on both the hammer and sear. You can do the back of the hammer spur to smooth out the reset of the hammer/sear when you release the trigger but I don't bother. When done right, this will make a very nice improvement to the trigger. Be careful not to alter any angles as that can potentially ruin trigger components if they're made unsafe. A stoning fixture would be a good investment if you're unsure. I've bedded mine and done a trigger job, hopefully the 5-6" groups shrink a little now that there isn't 1/4" of loose side play in the bedding he he. I'll post up some results once I can get it out to the range. Hopefully I can get it shooting better than an SKS!
AWOL said:
The Mini-14 trigger is half the problem. I have a 581 series and have owned older ones in the past. The triggers have always been "crusty" feeling and the jerking prevents a smooth shot. I would love to hear "practical" ways to make the trigger smooth & crisp without the need for a gunsmith if possible. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
 
I finally got around to trying out the accustrut on my mini 30. Using privi 123grn fmj my groups have shrunk by two inches and no flyers. I shot this target on my 75yard range The 5 rd spread is about two inches. The M14 look is a bonus too;)
IMG_0848_zps8dd349b9.jpg
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IMG_0850_zps6b391589.jpg
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Bigfooter said:
Correction: Was carried by Hical.ca. No more in stock, unfortunately, and no plans to bring any more in. And Brownells won't ship them to Canada (I tried)!

That's the bad news. The good news? The lads at High Caliber Services are planning to stock the impossible-to-get Accustrut barrel stabilizer/heat sink for the Mini 14 in the near future.

You win some, you lose some.

If you'd like to add a flash hider to a Mini, Hical still sells this: http://www.hical.ca/apps/webstore/products/show/2642731 but you'll have to find a machinist to thread your barrel so you can install it.
Click to expand...

Choate will ship to Canada if you call them ;)
 
scuba52 said:
I have a new target model that shoots great but the brass flies. I cant find bushings or dampers in canada what are my options
Click to expand...
3/32 roll pin in the gas bushing and a wilson combat buffer is the cheap option. Adjustable gas block or a set of sized gas bushings is the more expensive option.
 
On one of the many minis I had and after reading an article on the affect of barrel weights on the end of the barrel I copied the article and had amazing results. This was on older 223 guns and not the newer heavy barrel and built on new machines series. The story stated they came up with a weight in the range of 21 to 22 oz. so I purchased some stainless steel stock from metal supermarkets and removed the front sight and started machining in a lathe with a idea of making a silencer looking like device about 5 to 6 inches long. First I bored a hole through the center and finished it with a perfect size reamer (I still have and can supply the size If any ones interested I'll look it up) I found in a pile of reamers and sized it to be a slight interference fit to be tapped on and secured with red Loctite to hold and easily be removed with a little heat if you wanted to put the original sight back on. I then continued machining the OD and stopping after a few passes each time and weighing the piece on a postal scale until I got it down to I think a final weight of 21-1/2"ounces then I heated it with a propane torch slightly and slid it on with the red Loctite. At the range it not only got a lot of attention from the fake silencer look but blew away some with the groups it was shooting for a mini so much I had an offer and ended up selling it shortly after. I still wish today I had this gun but overall the novelty of minis have worn off on me especially after breaking a firing pin on a new stainless steel gun (older series) and finding out failing firing pins and ejectors are fairly common due to issues of heat treating small stainless steel parts. I figured and didn't want to take the chance of getting out coyote hunting and having one in the sights and click, no bang! Its AR-180B time now for the last 12 years. Thanks--Dieseldog!
 
ive had my mini 14 for a couple years now but i decided that this spring i would finaly do some upgrades to it and show it some love (and help my eyes cause im getting older!)

so i ordered up 3 things for it;

1- Accustrut
2- Scope
3- Weigand rail mount

i have ordered all 3 and 1&3 are already here so im just waiting on the new glass to get here.
my plan is to have a little fun with this and experiment a bit to see if these changes are actually worth the money (see if the hype is really worth it)

so my plan is to mount the weigland rail and install the scope.
then ill zero in the scope and set up some targets and do a couple 5 round shots at say 5 or 10 targets so i can get a good mean average.
then ill install the accu strut and run through another 5 or 10 targets with 5 rounds each and compare (using the same ammo of course)

ill use some good ammo not surplus for this.

im very interested to see if there is a market improvement in accuracy and if that improvement is worth the money outlay for the accustrut.
i will report back once the test is completed.
 
to Accustrut or not to Accustrut - that is the Mini 14 question!

I'm sure some of you are like me and have your favorite Ruger Mini 14 Ranch rifle tucked away behind the seat of your truck on on the back of your quad and its your go to gun - its your fun gun! And what is not to love on this little gun! It's short and light and shoots an inexpensive round and best of all its Non Restricted!

Over the last couple years i have seen talk here and there of the Accustrut system and how it works good to rein in the accuracy of the mini 14.
now for me this has never been a big issue. i have always shot my mini 14 open site....... but...... (there is always a but!) as i get older i find that my eyes are not what they use to be.
So in walks this winter/springs dilemma;
1) to put some optics on the Ruger mini 14
2) now with the gun running optics should i look at putting a Accustrut system on it?
(cause if your gonna go through the trouble of putting glass on the gun you should probably try to hit what your shooting at!)

In the end i decided to put a Vortex on my mini 14, its the first time ive tried the Vortex brand optics so that in itself will be fun. And I decided to pick up a accustrut system and experiment with it to see if in fact they do cut down on the group size and increase the accuracy of the Ruger Mini 14.

so here was my today, enjoy!

So first off I put the new optics on the mini 14 and bore sited it.

033_zpsc3yl58b8.jpg


then it was outside with some supplies and a nice afternoon out in the wild!

015_zpsnbdbkuva.jpg


and here is a shot of the mini 14 from half way through the shoot when i put the Accustrut on it

016_zpsx2qixiwn.jpg


but pretty pic's of me shooting are not what you are all here for, you are here for the brass tacks.
you want to see the results.
well my friend, the time has come for us to go down the rabbit hole, so hang on here we go!

For this experiment i decided to NOT use surplus ammo, instead i used mid range stuff, so no norinco or russian ammo i used Remington and sellier and bellot. I believe i used the S&B to site in the new optics and season the barrel with 100 rounds then the Remington was what i used for the test. The test itself what i did was shoot 4 groups of 5 shots at each target with and without the accustrut for a total of 40 rounds - 20 with and 20 without. then i did a final 20 as one big group with the accustrut on.

here are the targets;

Normal Mini 14 - All Targets Overview

017_zps7f4xpiim.jpg


here are the 4 targets individually with measurements;
group 1 = 2.949
normal%201a_zpsrug8s1sy.jpg

group 2 = 2.856
normal%202a_zpssah4hf3w.jpg

group 3 = 1.728
normal%203a_zpsi8n0y1ad.jpg

group 4 = 2.083
normal%204a_zpsyawwikml.jpg


Ruger Mini 14 WITH ACCUSTRUT - All Target Overview

023_zpsbv1wkjjj.jpg


here are the 4 targets individually with measurements;
group 1 = 2.283 (interestingly with this group it was high which surprised me at first, then i thought about it and we did change the barrels harmonics with the accustrut so maybe i shouldn't have been surprised that the gun was now shooting high, i lowered the scope 6-7 clicks to fix)
accustrut%201a_zpslltww1ng.jpg

group 2 = 1.197
accustrut%202a_zpssbjjr66s.jpg

group 3 = 2.081
accustrut%203a_zpsquitvijh.jpg

group 4 = 1.733
accustrut%204a_zps3yayszos.jpg


Overview

Normal Mini 14
group 1 = 2.949
group 2 = 2.856
group 3 = 1.728
group 4 = 2.083
total = 9.616/4= average 2.404

Accustrut Mini 14
group 1 = 2.283
group 2 = 1.197
group 3 = 2.081
group 4 = 1.733
total = 7.294/4= average 1.8235

Total difference works out to be about 24.5-25% decrease in group size.

for interest sake here is a group or 20 rounds with the Accustrut on with a group size of 2.391 for the 20 rounds.
accustrut%205a_zpsydmizggl.jpg


Conclusion.
i had wanted to see a decrease in group size after i put the accustrut on the mini 14 and i did.
i got roughly a 25% decrease in group sizes with it on. so at the end of the day it did what it said it would do and what i had wanted to see it do so it will stay on the rifle. keep in mind that i did this test outside with a slight wind and i was not slow shooting, i would say i was popping the 5 rounds out at under 1 sec per shot which would explain some of the flyers. this summer i will do this test over again but in the reverse and with more targets. i plan on doing 100 rounds or maybe even 200 with the accustrut on then another 100/200 with it off if i can make it to the range on a nice warm calm day. what a person needs to ask themselves is the following - is a 25% decrease in group size worth $160 Canadian Dollars?

hope someone finds all this info helpfull!
(ill re-post this up in the Ruger Mini 14 accuracy sticky as well so its data is readily available)
 
wayupnorth said:
to Accustrut or not to Accustrut - that is the Mini 14 question!

I'm sure some of you are like me and have your favorite Ruger Mini 14 Ranch rifle tucked away behind the seat of your truck on on the back of your quad and its your go to gun - its your fun gun! And what is not to love on this little gun! It's short and light and shoots an inexpensive round and best of all its Non Restricted!

Over the last couple years i have seen talk here and there of the Accustrut system and how it works good to rein in the accuracy of the mini 14.
now for me this has never been a big issue. i have always shot my mini 14 open site....... but...... (there is always a but!) as i get older i find that my eyes are not what they use to be.
So in walks this winter/springs dilemma;
1) to put some optics on the Ruger mini 14
2) now with the gun running optics should i look at putting a Accustrut system on it?
(cause if your gonna go through the trouble of putting glass on the gun you should probably try to hit what your shooting at!)

In the end i decided to put a Vortex on my mini 14, its the first time ive tried the Vortex brand optics so that in itself will be fun. And I decided to pick up a accustrut system and experiment with it to see if in fact they do cut down on the group size and increase the accuracy of the Ruger Mini 14.

so here was my today, enjoy!

So first off I put the new optics on the mini 14 and bore sited it.



then it was outside with some supplies and a nice afternoon out in the wild!



and here is a shot of the mini 14 from half way through the shoot when i put the Accustrut on it



but pretty pic's of me shooting are not what you are all here for, you are here for the brass tacks.
you want to see the results.
well my friend, the time has come for us to go down the rabbit hole, so hang on here we go!

For this experiment i decided to NOT use surplus ammo, instead i used mid range stuff, so no norinco or russian ammo i used Remington and sellier and bellot. I believe i used the S&B to site in the new optics and season the barrel with 100 rounds then the Remington was what i used for the test. The test itself what i did was shoot 4 groups of 5 shots at each target with and without the accustrut for a total of 40 rounds - 20 with and 20 without. then i did a final 20 as one big group with the accustrut on.

here are the targets;

Normal Mini 14 - All Targets Overview



here are the 4 targets individually with measurements;
group 1 = 2.949

group 2 = 2.856

group 3 = 1.728

group 4 = 2.083


Ruger Mini 14 WITH ACCUSTRUT - All Target Overview



here are the 4 targets individually with measurements;
group 1 = 2.283 (interestingly with this group it was high which surprised me at first, then i thought about it and we did change the barrels harmonics with the accustrut so maybe i shouldn't have been surprised that the gun was now shooting high, i lowered the scope 6-7 clicks to fix)

group 2 = 1.197

group 3 = 2.081

group 4 = 1.733


Overview

Normal Mini 14
group 1 = 2.949
group 2 = 2.856
group 3 = 1.728
group 4 = 2.083
total = 9.616/4= average 2.404

Accustrut Mini 14
group 1 = 2.283
group 2 = 1.197
group 3 = 2.081
group 4 = 1.733
total = 7.294/4= average 1.8235

Total difference works out to be about 24.5-25% decrease in group size.

for interest sake here is a group or 20 rounds with the Accustrut on with a group size of 2.391 for the 20 rounds.


Conclusion.
i had wanted to see a decrease in group size after i put the accustrut on the mini 14 and i did.
i got roughly a 25% decrease in group sizes with it on. so at the end of the day it did what it said it would do and what i had wanted to see it do so it will stay on the rifle. keep in mind that i did this test outside with a slight wind and i was not slow shooting, i would say i was popping the 5 rounds out at under 1 sec per shot which would explain some of the flyers. this summer i will do this test over again but in the reverse and with more targets. i plan on doing 100 rounds or maybe even 200 with the accustrut on then another 100/200 with it off if i can make it to the range on a nice warm calm day. what a person needs to ask themselves is the following - is a 25% decrease in group size worth $160 Canadian Dollars?

hope someone finds all this info helpfull!
(ill re-post this up in the Ruger Mini 14 accuracy sticky as well so its data is readily available)
Click to expand...


Thank you for taking time to post your experiment and findings!

I have recently acquired a mini in 6.8 and haven't get a chance to shoot it yet but knowing the strut mod should shrink group size and been looking out to squeeze every bit out of this fun little gun.

Thanks again for your hard work and please keep us update along the progress I am sure interested in any mod to improve accuracy for the minis.
 
Thanks for all the testing, very interesting! How do you find the weight with the hogue stock, accustrut and optic? Reason I ask, is I have the same Hogue stock, GG&G rail, and a Vortex strikefire and it's getting pretty heavy...does the accustrut add a noticeable amount of weight?
It's anecdotal, but the best bang for buck modification I've made accuracy wise is a trigger job. Had it done by brimstone gunsmithing for 55$ USD. Much more enjoyable to shoot!
 
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