Ruger mini 14 Upgrades
- Thread starter Jon282
- Start date
BrotherRockeye
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Rural Saskatchewan
Have you checked out the sticky here:
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/850078-Improving-Mini-14-30-Accuracy
Lots of great tips and the satisfaction of doing it yourself.
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/850078-Improving-Mini-14-30-Accuracy
Lots of great tips and the satisfaction of doing it yourself.
I have been using my reloads. I have been using different size of bullets, powder charges & types. Lately mainly using Hornady Match King 52gr BTHP with 55grains Benchmark. Moving the harmonic balancer on the barrel helps a bit but Im sure more can be done. Im getting 2 1/2" - 3-1/2" groups. I don't expect a tack driver as I have those already but I would like to tighten this up. Thanks
I believe you should be able to get sub-MOA groups with one of those with good loads and tuning the harmonizer. Something isn't right. That model has the heavy barrel so the accustrut likely won't fit or help. Barrel fouled with copper? Crown problem? Action to stock fit/torque?
No struts available to fit the heavy-barrel model, as far as I know. The biggest single improvement I made to my Target model was switching from the Hogue stock to the much more rigid laminate. This makes the gun even heavier, but the action fits tightly into the stock and accuracy is improved. My own half-ass bedding job on the Hogue helped out there as well, but it isn't pretty...will probably hog it out and try again.
As an aside, I had the barrel cut and crowned at just over 18.5 inches, thereby removing the stabilizer-thingie. I am able to get pretty much the same results by installing one of the Limbsaver rubber donut gizmos, which weigh essentially nothing. Thingies, gizmos...please pardon the technical jargon.
I am now butchering the laminate stock, cutting off a bunch of wood and making it much slimmer and lighter, but retaining the rigidity in the receiver area...I have high hopes for this project. I have also finally gotten around to ordering a forward-mounted scout-scope base, which replaces the upper handguard. I've read a number of reports where this improved accuracy as well, apparently because the aluminum base, which clamps to the barrel and the gas-block, functions to stiffen the barrel much like a strut does. Looking forward to trying it out.
This gun is already a great coyote rifle, and these mods are just designed to make it lighter and easier to carry. Accuracy was just over MOA out of the box, and is now just under MOA with good ammo. Whatever you do, don't use the cheapest crap ammo you can find, and then complain about the accuracy...that is a standard technique of Mini14-haters. It'll never be a match rifle, and it'll never be a Swiss Arms...but as a hunting/predator gun, it's better than both of them.
As an aside, I had the barrel cut and crowned at just over 18.5 inches, thereby removing the stabilizer-thingie. I am able to get pretty much the same results by installing one of the Limbsaver rubber donut gizmos, which weigh essentially nothing. Thingies, gizmos...please pardon the technical jargon.
I am now butchering the laminate stock, cutting off a bunch of wood and making it much slimmer and lighter, but retaining the rigidity in the receiver area...I have high hopes for this project. I have also finally gotten around to ordering a forward-mounted scout-scope base, which replaces the upper handguard. I've read a number of reports where this improved accuracy as well, apparently because the aluminum base, which clamps to the barrel and the gas-block, functions to stiffen the barrel much like a strut does. Looking forward to trying it out.
This gun is already a great coyote rifle, and these mods are just designed to make it lighter and easier to carry. Accuracy was just over MOA out of the box, and is now just under MOA with good ammo. Whatever you do, don't use the cheapest crap ammo you can find, and then complain about the accuracy...that is a standard technique of Mini14-haters. It'll never be a match rifle, and it'll never be a Swiss Arms...but as a hunting/predator gun, it's better than both of them.
Turkinator
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Onterrible
Some things ive noticed with my 581 Ranch:
grease it like an m14
torque the gas block down to even gap (9/64" allen key to 30-36 inch pounds)
make sure the spring guide is installed correctly if you've disassembled it
some say installing a recoil buffer shows minor accuracy improvements (decreases the distance the mini throws brass also)
use a smaller gas bushing or drive a 1/8x3/32 roll pin into the factory gas bushing (also decreases the mini's eject radius)
grease it like an m14
torque the gas block down to even gap (9/64" allen key to 30-36 inch pounds)
make sure the spring guide is installed correctly if you've disassembled it
some say installing a recoil buffer shows minor accuracy improvements (decreases the distance the mini throws brass also)
use a smaller gas bushing or drive a 1/8x3/32 roll pin into the factory gas bushing (also decreases the mini's eject radius)
