Making Your Mini-14 more accuate

M

Mario

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I've got a mini-14 and as everyone knows they're #### for accuracy. I'm just wounding what anyone else has done to get smaller groupings. And no I don't want to sell it and buy an AR for around $2000 to get better grouping. I like being about to shoot my rifle off range property legelly. It's a relieable rifle I love shooting.
 
Here's what I've done to my Ranch Rifle.

-Choate flash hider
-trigger job.
-bedded receiver.
-re-torqued the gas block.
-added a recoil buffer.
-smaller gas bushing.
-mounted a good quality scope.
-handload with 60gr Hornady V-Max's.

It shoots 3 round groups of 1 1/4".
 
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There's a shop somewhere in the USAs that guarantees 1/2" MOA with their full-house conversion.
It involves chambering a longer and heavier target-grade barrel on a blueprinted and trued action, trueing and lapping the locking lugs to the action and installing a new custom gasblock for the larger diameter barrel. The stock is modified and bedded, too.
You can buy their action or furnish yours.
I think the company's name is Accuracy Systems or something like it.
PP.
 
I have been thinking about better accuracy myself. The first thing I did was get a synthetic stock. I found that the original stock gave better accuracy but it was a quick and easy try. My next step is going to be to have the trigger reduced to 4 lbs. I was thinking of trying this myself but if anyone could recommend a good Canadian smith I might go that route also. I noticed in the Brownells cataloge that Shilen is making a heavy barrel for the 14's similar to what Clark and accuracy systems are using. Maybe someone on the board has experience with one of these barrels? The last thing I am going to do is change the bushing. Accurizing my Mini is two projects away just yet so I would be interested in hearing how yours is going. Out of curiosity do you know what twist is in your rifle? A different bullet weight may help with accuracy. Good luck they are great little guns and I love shooting mine also.
 
It's too bad one of the smiths in Canada wouldn't pick up the ball on accurizing the Mini14s.

They'd prolly get a bunch of work out of it given the stupid restricted status of some other semi-auto .223 rifles.



sc
 
Why aren't they accurate ? I have a mini and love it, it's a very good gun over all, except it's accuracy ?
They have been making them nearly 40 years with very little changes and they have been a hot seller. They could have fixed the accuracy by now. And it's not like it's a cheap gun.
Maybe I should have asked this of Ruger.
 
ZuluMike said:
Here's what I've done to my Ranch Rifle.

-trigger job.
-bedded receiver.
-re-torqued the gas block.
-added a recoil buffer.
-smaller gas bushing.
-mounted a good quality scope.
-handload with 60gr Hornady V-Max's.

It shoots 3 round groups of 1 1/4".
Click to expand...

Or... y'could have just sold it and bought something else...:p
 
667 said:
Or... y'could have just sold it and bought something else...:p
Click to expand...

But why?

Frankly, I like the look and handling of a Mini-14. It's accurate enough for what I need it to do, costs much less than other non-restricted semi-auto .223's, and the simple fact is that there is no other wood and steel semi-auto .223 out there. Plus you can buy it in stores that wouldn't touch a black gun with insulated gloves and a fibreglass pole.

There's a lot to like about what Bill Ruger called his "little rifle" and if you aren't satisfied with the accuracy, you can do what ZuluMike did to improve it. Looking at his description, there is nothing there that you couldn't do at home for a few bucks with the possible exception of the trigger job, so it's not like it would cost a lot to do.
 
im happy an satisfied with mine...................didnt know it was not accurate rife, till i read it,,,,,,,,,,,,,now i guess i shouldnt hit the bull as often as i do........lol
 
ZuluMike said:
Here's what I've done to my Ranch Rifle.

-trigger job.
-bedded receiver.
-re-torqued the gas block.
-added a recoil buffer.
-smaller gas bushing.
-mounted a good quality scope.
-handload with 60gr Hornady V-Max's.

It shoots 3 round groups of 1 1/4".
Click to expand...

I'm a mini fan also. I love tinkering with them. In the last 5 years I have owned and operated 4 of the little buggers and a friend let me work on his for a total of 5 I have played around with accurizing.

I did all the mods you show above plus I usually added a flash hider and my results were right around your groups size (my average was about 1.5" after mods)

I actually got real serious with a couple of them mini's and had a friend mill out a bolt on aluminum barrel sleeve. I was trying to stregthen up the pencil barrel as best I could with minimal expense. In the end my barrel sleeve did nothing to improve accuracy but it didnt hurt it either. The weight gain was a little to signifigant to ignore especially being at the end of the barrel.

Currently I dont have a mini, but my cousin just picked one up and it has given me the itch again. A mini shooting MOA would be a pretty tough gun to beat in the fields with the coyotes and jacks.
 
gth
I have a Choate flash hider on mine, just forgot to list it the first time.

667
Tinkering with guns is half the fun of owning them. Besides the AR180B is the only other non-restricted semi around that price range and it still costs more than my Ranch Rifle with all the mods.
 
I have seen in the past a company that made a tunable muzzle break very much the same as the browning boss but I havent seen it advertised for a while.
Clark custom guns in the US make a device [basically a weight] that attaches to the barrel and is supposed to help accuracy.
 
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