Ruger Mini 14 - any good?

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kapuskasing

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Hello,

I'm loving the look of the Ruger 14. I own a Ruger and think it's great craftsmanship. Anything wrong with the Ruger 14?

My only problem is $. I can't afford a new rifle right now, and I think I face devorce if I make a withdrawl for a rifle......... I gotta work that one out.

Any advice on the 14?
 
you can find a used one that will not break the bank on the EE.

Its a great and fun gun to shoot. But remember its not a 1" group and 100yrds target gun.

Get a coffee can and squirel away a few bucks each week, and before you know if you will have enough to pick one up. Before that day there are lots of pics and advise (good and bad) about them here!
 
I'm surprised the accuracy crowd hasn't jumped in yet to put down the little 14. Having owned one (wish I still had it) I think they're great. Mine would shoot 2" groups which is plenty accurate for yotes, foxes, plinkin. Mine never missed a single cycle in thousands of rounds fired. It also fit ME best of any rifle I ever owned. Throw it to my should the target was always right on the crosshairs :)
 
They are very reliable and a really great rifle, however some people complain about the accuracy. One thing to be aware of is that older ranch rifles had a 1 in 7 rifling twist which is not the greatest for 55 grain bullets. The newer ones have 1 in 9 twist.
 
rhino62 said:
They are very reliable and a really great rifle, however some people complain about the accuracy. One thing to be aware of is that older ranch rifles had a 1 in 7 rifling twist which is not the greatest for 55 grain bullets. The newer ones have 1 in 9 twist.
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I dunno, mine is made in 85, and it loves the 55's better than the 62's ive fed it.
 
I have a newer 580 series( i think) Mini-14 with the m1/m14 style front sight. Its a great rifle. Nice and compact, shoots cheap ammo, well built and non-restricted. Accuracy is alright, but its no tackdriver. My only gripes with this rifle is the way it throws brass. Mine throws the brass like 30 feet at 90mph and seems to mangle the neck on every second brass. Also, the barrels are quite light, which means the barrel heats up quick. All in all, I'd say its worth it.
 
Okay, okay, I'll be the bad guy and talk about accuracy. I owned a 180 series stainless ranch rifle. It had the worst trigger I'd ever seen on any firearm, and scoped, sandbagged off the bench, it grouped about 5" at 100 yards with the four kinds of ammo I tried with it. I found this absolutely unforgiveable for an $800 rifle and I was extremely frustrated with it and traded it.

I've since done a fair bit of research on Mini's (I have to admit the overall small, light, reliable package of the mini is very appealing) through the internet and found that 4-5" groups at 100 yards were not at all uncommon. It seems many rancher types only wanted the mini for shooting coyotes at 50 yards and for that, 50 yard accuracy of 2-3 inches is apparently okay.

I have heard fellows say that the newer 580 series of mini's are more accuarate. But if you look at the more detailed product reviews out there, where they actually test accuracy with several kinds of ammo, you see that while they can sometimes find a certain kind of ammo that the rifle shoots under 2" with, groups in the 3"-4" range are still more common than 2" groups.

If a fellow wants to have fun shooting cans at the gravel pit or taking care of nuisance vermin or predators at ranges around 50 yards then the mini is probably going to keep them happy. If they want to scope it and reliably shoot coyotes at 300 yards, it seems even the newest 580 and 590 series mini's fall short.
 
i got about 4" groups (seated on the ground, not off a bench) with my Mini at 100 yards with inexpensive ammo.
i believe that this is perfectly acceptable accuracy from a lightweight, bombproof semi-auto carbine that is based on a military action.

if you are looking for sub-MOA, look elsewhere. if you are looking for a fun lightweight carbine that is totally reliable in rain or snow even when it hasnt been cleaned for thousands of rounds, you cant do much better.

its basically like getting a lightweight stainless .223 M1A, but with a better gas system and an excellent integrated scope mounting solution. definitely at least buy a Ranch, but preferably one of the newer models that have been updated to slightly improve accuracy.
 
Think of it as a western, expensive, overly complex SKS. It'll go bang every time you pull the trigger, and it'll hit a 6 inch target at 100 yds all day if you do your part. The 800$ price range is outrageous however.
 
Just get a Mini 14 Target if you don't like the accuracy of a standard one. Here some quick pics I just took:


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I've got a target model with the weighted barrel and thumbhole stock.
I love this gun 2" groups at 100 yards is easy with cheap fmj ammo.
This version is quite heavy do to the stock.
The brass flies way too far (30 feet or more) and can annoy the shooter to the right of you. There are adjustable gas blocks available that deal with that.
Overall it's a great gun and you can legally go shoot gophers and over critters unlike an AR. I've put through about 1000 rounds and have had only one jam. I'm not sure what caused it, but it folded the casing back over itself, almost like the round was too big
overall great gun.
 
The target model I was helping a guy sight in at the range was shooting pretty good. It sure wasn't all over the paper, and we did no tuning of the harmonic balancer on the barrel. I suspect it will shoot 2" or better at 100 yards with factory ammo.
 
IMHO the target version defeats the purpose of the mini-14, which is intended to be a lightweight carbine. the only reason there is a target version at all is because there are so many clueless people these days that think any rifle that doesnt shoot sub-MOA is useless :rolleyes:

RobSmith said:
Think of it as a western, expensive, overly complex SKS. It'll go bang every time you pull the trigger, and it'll hit a 6 inch target at 100 yds all day if you do your part. The 800$ price range is outrageous however.
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comparing it to an SKS is laughable.
the manufacturing quality and materials on a Mini are light years ahead of an SKS. saying a Mini-14 is an expensive SKS is just like saying a Remington 700 is an expensive Mosin :rolleyes:
you are also getting a bombproof scope mounting solution and free quick-release ringmounts. if you add up the price of an SKS-D (prices are going up on these), a scope mount, rings and a synthetic stock you are not as far off from a Mini-14 as you think - and one of them is a new, quality modern rifle and the other is a bottom-line combloc milsurp.

and overly complicated? the gas system is one of the simplest, most robust gas systems ive ever seen.
 
RobSmith said:
Think of it as a western, expensive, overly complex SKS. It'll go bang every time you pull the trigger, and it'll hit a 6 inch target at 100 yds all day if you do your part. The 800$ price range is outrageous however.
Click to expand...

You might need to try a different rifle if you can only hit a 6" target. I commonly use playing cards as targets at 100 yards and can account for 95% of my rounds
people need to quite comparing a 20 year old mini14 to a new Ar.
Apples to apples or don't waste your time.
And 800$ being outrageous???? Lay off the aerosol cans for a while! What similar quality gun can you buy for less or the same. An Sks or 858 sure, but these are old milsurp guns and accuracy will
be no better and will require cleaning as soon you get home if you are shooting surplus ammo.
Buy a mini and don't post on this site. Too many critics on here
 
the Mini has a few advantages on ARs.
would i trade a Mini for an unrestricted AR? in a heartbeat. id give you two Minis.
regardless, the Mini is more durable and reliable - and unrestricted.

its a real shame we dont have very many other options in Canada.
id love a Kel-Tec Su-16, for example, but for some retarded reason its restricted.

kel-tec_su16a-1.jpg
 
I had a mini that I bedded, did the trigger, adjustable gas block, and put a flashhider on. I would say the biggest improvement in accuracy came from the flashider. It seems that putting something on the end of that spahgetti barrel really helps. The gun still wouldn't shoot MOA, so I sold it. I wasn't reloading at the time and now I wonder if I could have made it shoot under an inch.
 
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