Aesop over at Raconteurs Report throws out a Chuck Norris-like joke about yesterdays event…
A sniper shoots at Trumps head, and its the snipers head that explodes.
Thats actually a pretty good one.
I put yesterday’s events behind me because a) the next President is still alive (see what I did there?) and b) I’m the pebble in this avalanche…nothing for me to see or do.
So…off to the range.
The Mini-14 has always had a reputation for AK-like accuracy. That is to say, there’s a reason the A-Team never hit anything. The Mini-14 was notoriously inaccurate and that was that…go buy an AR.
Ruger did a bit of product improving to the Mini-14 a while back and the reports are that they are now much more accurate than they used to be. I took this re-issue of the GB model to the range today to sight it in and see what sorta accuracy could be wrung out of it. TL;DR – much better accuracy than the old models.
I’m getting to be an old man, and open rifle sights aren’t as ideal for me to use as they used to be. Nonetheless, at 50 yards I could keep everything in a group about the size of a playing card. At 100 yards it was easy enough to ring the steel plates. I think with nicer sights the gun would benefit greatly. And, yes, I’m aware of the aftermarket options. In reality, I’ll probably throw a little red dot on this thing and go with that.
Considering I have something like three dozen AR’s tucked away around here it’s a curiosity to have anything in .223 that isn’t an AR. But you know what? Everyone has an AR, and they’re all over the place…..sometimes I like to try other stuff. So…the Mini-14, the JAKL, the BRN-180, and at some point probably an AUG and whatever .223 PTR is gonna come out with. And I’ve been toying with the idea of a 5.56 AK as well, although that itch is scratched by the JAKL.
The Mini-14 is about as rugged as any other Ruger gun, which is pretty impressive….good thing because Ruger, unless things have changed recently, has been notorious for not sending parts out to customers who wanted them. If a part needed replacing you had to send your gun to them, they weren’t just gonna drop a new bolt or trigger in the mail to you.
With the demise of Tapco (which, in itself, wasn’t necessarily a bad thing) the one trustworthy aftermarket magazine (Intrafuse Gen II Mini-14 mag) on the market is now unavailable. And, honestly, I’ve had some negative experiences with recent factory Ruger 30-rd mags although the 20’s seem to work just fine.
By the by, I have the Mini-14 and the other non-AR’s because I have enough AR’s for my preparedness needs and thus I can move on to having some ‘fun’ guns. But, for a .223 carbine for the sake of preparedness? You’d be a fool to go with anything other than an AR. Price, logistics, adaptability….can’t beat the AR.
I agree with you CZ…a good normal AR, not some fancy crap that needs special parts…
I had at one time bought one of the Mini-14s in that cheesy black folding stock that Ruger offered (a horrible stock BTW). With the last version of Redfield’s 3-9 scope it was shooting right at 2 MOA. Definitely god enough to get the job done.
Matt
to compliment the spray and pray options, long ago picked up a SS Weatherby Vanguard in .223 with a 24″ barrel and Leupold scope for accuracy work. Which reminds me there is a prairie dog town up towards Flagstaff that the rancher gives permission to harvest. Looking at the Howa’s and Rugers in 7.62 x 39 now for the same reason.
Might give the Promag 10 or 20 round mags a shot. Some on the old Mini forum said they had good results. The 30 were considered junk.
Hi, CDR,
That’s a great photo of your Mini-14!
I consider firearms like the AR-15–as well as the Glock and 1911 pistols–to be “open source” firearms. By this I mean that everyone has access to lots of info about them, and every part is available individually on the open market. This is a great situation for anyone planning on using one of these firearms with a broken or problematic supply chain situation, or for someone wanting to build their own, custom rifle or pistol. I think you could probably build a complete AR or Glock from your collection of spare parts. If you didn’t have a lower receiver or a frame, you could 3D-print it!
On the other hand, the Mini-14 has style on its side. The ones I’ve tried felt good in the hands, and I love the looks of the rifle. Back in the 80s they were less expensive than a Colt SP1, and lots of “survivalist” types chose the Ruger. Great purchase, and I’m fighting the urge to go looking for a Mini-14 of my own.
The only reason one should own a Mini-14, is because their state prohibits the ownership of effective and reliable firearms. I had one for a few weeks and after doing a few mag dumps, the barrel warped so bad that I was unable to hit anything beyond 25 yards. There’s a reason no military ever adopted that rifle.
A military did adopt it.
Lol – I wouldn’t consider the Royal Bermuda Regiment forces a military.
He never said it was a good one.
The French Foreign Legion Parachute Regiment adopted them as well. They even had the folding stock.
I’ve always found it funny that the one good part of the French military has a rule that anyone from any country but one can join. I’ll let you guess what the odd one out is…..
I have had an original Mini-14 since the early 1980s. I will forever blame Bill Ruger for the fraud he committed on the shooting public with the Mini-14. There is nothing that Ruger makes that will change my mind. What did it take? 30 years to “improve” the Mini-14? While it was priced much lower than a Colt AR-15 in the 80s, the firearm is priced far above the price of a decent AR-15 now. Spend your money elsewhere. Sturm, Ruger & Company does not deserve your money.
Ruger makes some great tools, but the Mini wasn’t one of them. Btw, Bill was the one that started the 10 round magazine restrictions when there wasn’t any.
Bill Ruger has been worm-food for many years now. His company’s obnoxious policies died with him.
I purposely sought out a Ruger AR lower to build an M4gery upon as a personal “Eat a bag o’ dicks Bill” statement.
That said, the 10/22 and the various .22LR pistols are quite decent weapons, and today’s Sturm, Ruger Inc is to be commended for making suppressor-ready arms and suppressors as well.
Oh, yeah. One more thought about Ruger. Thanks to Bill, Ruger was the first firearms manufacturer who played patty-cake with the anti-2A lobby. Keep that in mind when you’re looking at a Ruger.
Bill Ruger has been dead for the better part of over 20 years now. Since his death his company has pretty much undone whatever damage he incurred….30-rd magazines, AR-15s, braced pistols, etc. If you want to hold a grudge against Ruger for stuff that they did under different leadership twenty years ago, go ahead. But be consistent….S&W got into bed with the feds back in the 90’s.
It’s not a binary choice. Ruger and Smith & Wesson are not the only choices in firearms.
I feel about Ruger the same way I do about the NRA. I have been an NRA member for well over 40 years. The information that came out in the last two or three years about the misdeeds/abuses committed by Wayne La Pierre have sickened me. (The first red flag for members was when Oliver North resigned.)
While some new reformers have been elected, plenty of La Pierre’s pals remain on the Board of Directors. I grudgingly renewed my membership last year. I won’t be doing that this year. I will support the 2nd Amendment through other organizations.
The leadership of the NRA betrayed its members so, “Fool me once…”
That is simply stupid, no matter how you try to twist it.
The corporate entity Sturm, Ruger Inc has completely rejected the policies of the mouldering corpse that is Bill Ruger. If rejected political stands are your litmus test you are going to quickly run out of ‘acceptable’ allies. Keep in mind that ALL of the major firearms makers supported the Gun Control Act of 1968 because cheap surplus weapons cut into their market share.
As far as the NRA goes… If after “well over 40 years” you are still paying annual dues rather than being a voting Life Member then YOU are part of the problem. YOU chose to toss $25 at the NRA every year rather than make any meaningful attempt to address the problems you saw — and even now you are trying to blame “the NRA” rather than acknowledge that the NRA-ILA is the organization that has been fighting for our Second Amendment rights and winning significant victories.
I’d hide that box if I was you, after all you don’t want the Post office to go Postal on you.
My early 1980’s Mini-14 was my first rifle – and was legally purchased in NYC! It had its issues, but its built on the Garand action. It’s accuracy was okay if you spent enough time with it – in other words, it can get the job done. The important thing is that even with it’s less than ideal accuracy, it’ll run forever. I was lucky enough to get a lot of spare parts from Numrich arms back in the day, but after all of these years, nothing has broken or worn out and I’ve never needed them. It will outlast me. I may return it to the factory for a new barrel which was the main issue of accuracy. It helps that the factory is a 20 minute drive from here. They won’t let you in, but there’s a gun shop literally across the street that has “connections”.
Me thinks if I was to buy another Ruger Mini it would be the Mini 30. As far as AK accuracy. My MAK 90 gives decent accuracy now that I got rid of the junk butthole stock. My Bulgarian Arsenal model is better. Of course it has a milled receiver and is heavier. My MAC 90 now wears a Hogue pistol grip. TAPCO rear stock that resembles the Bulgarian geometry. Front stock is a TAPCO Quad rail. The entire package is about 2 pounds lighter. And it’s topped with a Reflex Red/Green sight.
About the most accurate 7.62x39mm rifle I have encountered is the Yugoslavian model 59/66. It’s a true rifle length barrel. Does have the grenade launcher. Milled reciver which makes it heavier. After getting the trigger broken in it gives excellent accuracy out to about 300 yards. On a good day it can even do a bit better. The one key is to find some ammo with with brass cases. If you can find some match ammo. Occasionally thematically appears on gun broker.
I think the Mini-14 is what it was designed for – a truck gun that offered higher firepower than the 30-30 lever rifle (if required). Pie plate accuracy at 100 yards with ball ammunition. Mine was very reliable – I don’t recall it having any issues with ball ammunition. Not a hunting rifle nor target gun by any means.
The iron sights required some ‘tweeking’. A steel hooded hooded front sight to add some weight to counteract light barrel wobble. Rear aperture – a hooded aperture helped some with that. A good understudy for those who owned a M1 Garand, as sights – loading sequence and safety were very similar in operation.
The Mini14 I had was very reliable as far as feeding. I used both Ruger and aftermarket magazines. So that wasn’t the issue. The oversized bore was. Couldn’t hit a bull in the ass beyond 30 yards. The bullets began to tumble and keyhole. That was my biggest bitch
That’s the only reason I sold my mini to pay for tuition. I loved the Stainless model I had, but the accuracy sucked.
I know people who keep an AR for home defense, with other rifles for hunting, long-range, etc. Even the early Mini-14s could actually shine as a home/farm defense rifle, at modest distances. One advantage is that it has a much less dramatic look than an AR-15, in the event that one was investigated–or tried–after a home defense shooting. A wood-stocked Mini–with iron sights or a small red dot or micro prism sight–just looks like “a rifle” to many people, especially with the mag removed.
If I come across a bargain-priced, wood stocked Mini-14 some day (unlikely, I know!), I’ll be very tempted. It would be relegated to a “bump in the night” gun.
A 5.56mm pistol or carbine with a standard capacity mag remains my #1 choice for defense of my family. We had an attempted home invasion over 20 years ago, with at least three people on our front step, trying to break in. They never got through the steel front door, which opened OUT, though they were trying to kick it IN (not smart!). As I waited in ambush in the dark with a 5-shot J-frame, in case they realized the house had windows, I knew I needed more power and more capacity. I later switched to a pump shotgun, then upgraded to an AR-15 and never looked back.
Respectfully,
Bob