Why Mini-14 So bad

I own the target model (heavy barrel) with adjustable compensator.
Accuracy is very acceptable at 100 yds. Although I do find that overall, it is a bit on the heavy side. Good if shooting from a blind or stand. Wouldn't want to carry it thru the brush all day long.
 
My 580 model shoots very well. Usually sub 1.5 moa at 100 yards. I shoot handloaded 69 grain Nosler match bullets though. Ball ammo is the usual 2-3".
 
Any of you mini 14 owners of the new models install an adjustable gas block ? if so where did you purchese it , getting sick of hitting other people at the range with my shells...
 
Mine (580) is an excellent medium range gun. Basically think of the Mini 14 as an ER M1 carbine, and you won't be disappointed...
 
I have a 580 series Mini 14 ranch rifle. I find it extremely dependable. Not the most accurate rifle around but fun to shoot. There are a lot of Mini's out there and all kinds of stories about their accuracy. I think that it is more of a 50 yard rifle than a longer range rifle.
 
As someone with very little experience shooting long guns, I have to ask, what makes the Mini 14 so "fun to shoot" compared against other .223 carbines? I find 1911s "fun to shoot" mostly because of nostalgia and the cool factor, but also because all that steel and weight tames the .45 ACP cartridge.
 
Friend of mine bought a Mini-14 oh, must be 20 years ago.

Absolute crud. Total piece of sh*t.

But he had this whole WHACK of .223 that had been laid on him, so he started blasting the stuff off, mag after mag, shooting at rocks.

After about 1,000 rounds this way, he noticed that he was hitting things a lot more often, so he bench-rested it. Groups were slightly over 2 MOA.

A year kater, he bench-rested it again and the groups were just over 1 MOA.

He is a very happy puppy and you couldn't pry that thing outta his fingers if you tried.

Familiarity? Or did the thing actually IMPROVE after a couple of thousand rounds?

He doesn't care. He's happy with it.
 
dieselkevb said:
Any of you mini 14 owners of the new models install an adjustable gas block ? if so where did you purchese it , getting sick of hitting other people at the range with my shells...
Click to expand...

You don't need the adjustable gas block, just a new spring and one of the 3 small reducers (you get all 3 with your order and experiment which one works best).

Yes, they do ship to Kanada.

w w w.ruger-mini-14-firearms.com/mini_14_30_accessories.php
 
scianna54 said:
You don't need the adjustable gas block, just a new spring and one of the 3 small reducers (you get all 3 with your order and experiment which one works best).

Yes, they do ship to Kanada.

w w w.ruger-mini-14-firearms.com/mini_14_30_accessories.php
Click to expand...

Perfect ! thank you very much !
 
If you use good quality ammo the mini 14 works. Accuracy is based a lot on the ammo you use. The mini 14/5 works with good ammo.
 
Well I see the ruger mini as a real world USE rifle rather than a BENCH rifle. If you need to control pests in the 50-75 yard range it does the job quite well.
That's why I like it.
I have an AR for bench use.
 
Mine is a bush gun. I take it on remote camping trips. With the BC folding stock, it fits nicely in my gear bag for the outback. It is easy to carry in the forest. Also, being non-restricted has everything to do with why I like it. Anything else has other drawbacks such as: restricted, heavy, bulky, expensive to upgrade, unreliable etc...

I will put my Mini 581 up against any AR on a camping trip. I will be shooting while the AR owner is being arrested.
 
I've owned several Mini-14's. All were very reliable and shot well. I would have to say the Mini-14's I have owned shot on par with my AR's with iron sights at 100. My 181 series was a real good shooter.

If you picked up a copy of SOF next month that had a SEAL toting a a Mini-14..."Mini-14 comes of age...taking on the Taliban, blah, blah, blah..." You would see an increase in sales. :rolleyes:

Why? Because of all the armchair commandos out there that only know about guns from what they read inside the cover of a magazine or off the internet. There is some good info in both places, but you need to check your sources and check them again. What you read out there isn't necessarily gospel. Make your own decisions based on experience where you can.

Is the Mini-14 a combat proven rifle? No, not really. But do you need one?
 
I've got a stainless w. synthertic stock Mini. No idea what version it is, but it has the tapered barrel and a two stage trigger. Shooting 60gr jhp handloads I managed to get a 100 yard group last year just over an inch with a 9x scope. Shooting offhand I'm all over the place, but that's just me.

While I do I like my Mini, I don't like the fact that I have to take the far right bench at the range or be a very unpopular fellow. :)

For a non-restricted pest control rifle it's fantastic, and everyone loves shooting the thing. If I had my druthers I'd be using my 16" AR for pest control, but as that would result in the end of our civilization I'll stick with the Mini.
 
You can get a stainless mini in one of three popular calibers. It will shoot as good as anyone needs in the field - and you can legally use it there - it is lightweight, relatively compact, integral scope rings/mounts, and has a ton of accessories on the market. Sounds like a good truck, coyote/varmint, deer, survival rifle to me.
 
saskcop said:
You can get a stainless mini in one of three popular calibers. It will shoot as good as anyone needs in the field - and you can legally use it there - it is lightweight, relatively compact, integral scope rings/mounts, and has a ton of accessories on the market. Sounds like a good truck, coyote/varmint, deer, survival rifle to me.
Click to expand...

Indeed it is. I might add that the accuracy on mine is pretty good. Very similar to my AR. Maybe I got lucky, maybe not.
 
Okay, I'll be the guy to complain.

I had a nice new 180 series stainless ranch rifle and while it was reliable it had the worst trigger I have ever seen on any firearm and, scoped and sandbagged, it grouped 4"-5" with the five or six different factory loads I tried in it. Now I was not expecting to be putting five rounds in the same hole or anything, but honestly, 4"-5" under ideal conditions is absoultely outrageous.

I've done a bunch of digging around regarding mini-14 accuracy, and while there are some random good ones out there, many of them group like mine did. The newer 580's are supposed to be better, but if you check out internet reviews where they actually took them out and shot them, the groups are not that much more impressive -around 3" @ 100 yards. This would translate into 1.5" at 50 yards, so for close pest control that would probably be pretty good.

I just could not get my head around the idea of Ruger (or anyone else) selling a rifle for $900 that had a trigger worse than a $49 pellet gun, and that could not reliably hit a pop can a 100 yards, even scoped and sandbagged.

If I were to ever get another mini (the IDEA of the mini is very appealing of course, it's the execution that has been the problem) I would buy a gently used one that is a proven good shooter.
 
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I get about 1.5'' at 50 yards. Never shot it farther since I use it without a scope.
But you are right to say that there are some more accurate guns out there. I'm just not an accuracy freak I guess
 
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