Mini 14 Lover's Anonymous

The whole "Mini 14 is not accurate" meme is overblown. My 182 series was a bit of a sprayer when it heated up, but it wasn't bad when cool. My 580 series and my 196 series are both accurate rifles. I wonder how many of those complaining about accuracy ever experimented with loads, different ammo or even owned a Ruger Mini 14?
 
I'm a former Mini-14 owner and who knows, I may get a newer one sometime.

I had a 186 series stainless ranch rifle. I loved the design and how handy and reliable it was.

BUT, it was a $950 rifle in the late 80's....and even scoped and sandbagged off the bench that thing was honestly a 5 MOA rifle with five kinds of ammo I tried in it. And the trigger was the worst trigger I've ever seen on any firearm, ever. Period.

Considering the price and that it was a "quality" Anerican made firearm, from a firearm company I personally repsect, I was completely mad as hell with the thing. Just no excuse whatsoever for what the product actually delivered, compared to what it should have.

So I can personally attest to some of the Mini-14 bashing about past models being completely justified. And when you are talking about a rifle that, at the time, cost as much as seven SKS's, and I've never met an SKS that didn't have a way better trigger, and couldn't outshoot my Mini 14 hands down, well, you get lots of pissed off gun owners...

Hopefully the new ones are up to snuff. Cause they still cost about five times as much as an SKS... :)
 
I'm in.
Started out shooting a buddies way back when surplus bandoliers of ammo were $7 iirc. It was minute of 1960's car door with the old licorice whip barrel and no strut, but a pile of fun to mag dump at the farm...before mag limits.
A few years back I picked up an old school Mini14 in a swap because the original owner had run so much coated ammo through it that the chamber was sticky and it wouldn't cycle reliably.
I got a bunch of spare parts in the deal...stuff he'd swapped out trying to make it cycle. Trigger group, extractor, springs...lots of useful pieces down the road.
I cleaned the chamber and sold the coated steel cased ammo and haven't had an issue since. Put all the original parts back on it and liked it so much I sold my 580 to a worthy fellow. It's pictured earlier in the thread.
I topped it with a 4-12x40 VX1 and built a butt stock cheek riser that puts my eye in the right place every time and holds a mag. Followed the "mini 14" sticky and did a few tweeks...slicked up the trigger a bit, indexed the gas block and lubed it like it wants etc.
I have never sat down at the bench and put it on paper, but it hits a paint can every time at 100ish with surplus ammo and is definitely minute of coyote out to at least 200ish. It's my usin varmint iron so as long as it does that job I'm happy.
I will say that adding a barrel strut to the old pencil barrel models is a definite improvement and addresses some of the accuracy concerns that originated with the early design.
As an added bonus, I have less than $500 into it as pictured. Worth every penny imo

eCcwIxU.jpg
 
Northman999 said:
I'm a former Mini-14 owner and who knows, I may get a newer one sometime.

I had a 186 series stainless ranch rifle. I loved the design and how handy and reliable it was.

BUT, it was a $950 rifle in the late 80's....and even scoped and sandbagged off the bench that thing was honestly a 5 MOA rifle with five kinds of ammo I tried in it. And the trigger was the worst trigger I've ever seen on any firearm, ever. Period.

Considering the price and that it was a "quality" Anerican made firearm, from a firearm company I personally repsect, I was completely mad as hell with the thing. Just no excuse whatsoever for what the product actually delivered, compared to what it should have.

So I can personally attest to some of the Mini-14 bashing about past models being completely justified. And when you are talking about a rifle that, at the time, cost as much as seven SKS's, and I've never met an SKS that didn't have a way better trigger, and couldn't outshoot my Mini 14 hands down, well, you get lots of pissed off gun owners...

Hopefully the new ones are up to snuff. Cause they still cost about five times as much as an SKS... :)
Click to expand...

About my take on them.
 
Heres an old post I made in a thread back in '14

http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/foru...223-NR-black-rifle-suggestions?highlight=mini

notsorichguy said:
After many years of testing and doing load development for 9 different semi-auto non-rest black (ish) rifles from the HK SL-8, MR-1, XCR, Tavor et-al I have finally come full circle......

Pay heed to my tale of woe!

In 2008 I decided that I "needed" a more accurate, semi-auto 223 for yotes (both the 4-legged and 2-legged variety). I sold my "trusty" 7 MOA 182 series Ruger mini-14 (which I had actually taken yotes with out to 300y) and proceeded to buy and sell many many firearms and deplete the savings account.

After spending "silly" amounts of $$, getting raped on depreciation again and again...... 1000's and 1000's of rounds of ammo. In the summer, fall, winter and spring. Invariably I found a load that would work in each rifle tried. But in a most depressing moment of clarity as I gazed upon a Tavor and a 1.75" 5-shot group, i thought to myself, "meh, it's pretty good, from 7" to that with load development. But is it $3000 good?"

I finally sold my last "non-restricted black rifle".

I have settled upon a Ruger mini-14..... Alas it's a new one, fresh "off the boat" (or truck as it were). It shoots cheap nork into 4". It shoots cheap MFS 55gr HP into 3.5" either one will bag a yote out to 300. I have a ladder test on the bench that I have yet to test, I suspect that it will tighten up the groups a bit.......

But really, for $850 compared to $2500+..... It's no comparison!

Every single non restricted black rifle I have ever tried shot the "cheap" stuff into 3"-7" groups.

Every single expensive non-restricted black rifle shot at least one factory loading into 2.5" (or better).

Every single rifle I have ever owned has done better with hand loads!

So I just had to ask myself, why spend $3K to do what $1K can do?

YMMV
Click to expand...

As an update, the ladder test on the bench netted me a solid 2" 5-shot groups at 100y..... After I installed an accu-strut. I have shot a couple of 1.25" groups with the rifle, but not that many. The recipe I finally settled on is 25.7gr of Hodgdon Benchmark, 50gr Nosler BT, Federal GMM primers and a Winchester case.

After doing load development I mostly shoot at "misc. targets of opertunity" whilst driving back roads scouting for big game in the early fall; Winter coyote hunts over a Fox-pro and in the spring/summer its always in the truck when eradicating gophers!

IMHO its a very well rounded "misc." truck gun.
 
I would love to know how many of the anti Mini crowd have actually owned a Mini14/30 and have come by their bias honestly, opposed to how many are simply parroting what they have heard/read on the internet...
 
i own 2 of them, 182 & 582 series.
they both wear hogue stocks & barrel struts.
a choate front sight with flash hider on the 182, threaded barrel & vortex flash hider on the 582.
super realiable rifles, they both easily group inside 1.5" @ 50yards with the 582 series doing a bit better.
was going to sell at one point to finance an xcr but sucked it up & bought one here straight out for a great price.
glad i kept them...
 
I had one, my only complaint was the proprietary mags.

And of course that my AR was more accurate.

If the mini took Stanag mags it would be a real winner in my books.
 
I am not sure why it has taken me so long to get a mini, but this year has brought me 2. I always enjoyed shooting them,but never got around to purchasing.


739809_10154050246642229_2983116189756393679_o.jpg


200 yards with the target model,use it for coyote from a blind. Longest shot on a coyote has been about 260 ,dropped her on the spot.

The ranch is always on the ATV , wherever we go,except this time of year.. I take something bigger in case I get a chance at a bear.
13112972_10154194582662229_4235169221999852397_o.jpg
 
I LOVE my mini 14 and want a mini 30. All the AR guys are jealous that they can't hunt with theirs. My mini has put venison in the freezer. Better looking than an AR(in my opinion) fun to shoot, light to carry, reliable and accurate enough. What more do you want?
 
Dad bought a mini-14 in 1984 or 85 and two big cardboard boxes of Norinco ammunition. 5000 rounds? The next day I had two 30 round magazines rubberbanded together and was bouncing pop cans into the air out of the dugout and shredding a fenceposts. Hardwood stock smoking from the barrel heat. Absolutely pure uncut farmboy fun.
 



I had a 186 series. .. regret selling it.
Very reliable. Very fun.. very simple...
Can't ask for much more.
The middle folding stock and iron sights was where the mini was most comfortable
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom