[Minator]

I was in walmart the other day picking up some UMC bulk packs and out of the corner of my eye I see a wooden stock blued mini 14. I said to myself it couldnt be walmart carry an evil autoloading rifle. I didnt pick it up but it looks like I might in the next few weeks, I have some knowledge of the mini 14 its a brand new model for only $500 so it sounds like a descent deal my blue book lists them for about $600.

The questions I had were:

Can I fire 62gr 5.56 out of it?

Does it have fairly tight tolerances or is it like my m1 that can keep on shooting till black goo is oozing out of the action from the cheap korean ball?

What kind of high capacity mags are the most reliable and at what price?

I know they have the wire folding stock at cabelas but how comfortable is it to shoot?

[1911 guy]

I have never owned one, but have shot a friends a bit.

Sights are lousy. The rear peep has a lot of play in it and is subject to vibration.

Reliability is good. Steve maintains his weapons and his mini-14 never stopped.

No idea about the wire stock.

Chamber markings will be on the barrel or reciever. If not marked 5.56mm, stick with .223 rem.

[bhk]

If it is a 580 series made in 2006 (which it may be at WalMart), it is one of the new Mini-14 Ranch Rifles made with new tooling. The serial number on the side of the action should read 580 or higher. If it has a wood stock, it should also have a flat butt rather than the curved one the older minis had. The sights are MUCH improved over the older Ranch Rifles and look like they adjust very much like Ashley ghost ring sights. I have one of these new ones (in stainless) and the sights are extremely study, with no movement even possible once they are adjusted. The front sights are also improved.

I traded an older Ranch Rifle for a unneed rifle last year and regretted it. This new mini I bought is a replacement and I am happy with the changes. It also seems to be a little more accurate than my older one, although not near as accurate as my bolt guns. Both my old mini and my new one have never, ever jammed - even using a variety of 5, 10, and 20 round mags from a variety of manufacturers.

Ruger quit making both mini-14 models this year (regular and ranch) and are now just making the ranch model. By the way, the manual with the rifle says both 5.56 and .223 are fine to shoot.

[jagdpanzer347]

Minator, I have shot Guat 5.56mm from mine with good results. It is M193-spec, though. I don't know what the Mini's twist rate is, that would be the deciding factor in the 62-grain ammo's accuracy.

Factory Ruger twenty round mags are your best bet for reliability. They are available for around thirty-two bucks. I have a thirty-round Promag polymer mag and it seems reliable. I have only had it out at the range once though, so it remains unproven.

Personally, I like my AR15 much better. But the Mini is a fun, reliable shooter. Hope this helps.

-jagdpanzer

[GoRon]

I think the Mini 14 has a 1/9 twist.

Should have no issues with 62gr mil spec ammo.

My 1/9 AR-15 shoots great 100 yard groups with Black Hills 68gr match ammo. I think that is near the top end of bullet weight for a 1/9 twist.

[Minator]

Thx for the quick responses,

Ruger quit making both mini-14 models this year (regular and ranch) and are now just making the ranch model.

what was the difference between the ranch and the regular?

Factory Ruger twenty round mags are your best bet for reliability

I didnt realize ruger had started making high cap mags again, do the 20rounders come with the new rifles?

[RH822]

The major difference was in the sights and the how scope rings were mounted. The Ranch Rifle had smaller rear sight and was milled to accept Ruger brand scope rings. The Regular Mini had a Military style adjustable rear peep sight and would not accept rings without a special mount. The stock of the Ranch Rifle was more of a traditional style butt as opposed to a curved military type.

RH

[jagdpanzer347]

The factory twenty-rounders I have are marked "law enforcement only". Of course, after the sunset of the AWB they are perfectly legal. Ruger continues with their policy of "ordinary citizens are not worthy to own "high capacity" magazines". By perfectly legal, I mean as long as there is no ban on them in your state, city, etc.

-jagdpanzer

[carlrodd]

the rifle will come with a factory five round mag. you can get factory 20 rounders online....google mini 14 factory 20 mag. don't pay more than 35 bucks for one new, as they are readily available for that price or slightly under. VERY comfortable and attractive rifle, and reliable.

[M110]

From PerfectUnion

TWIST RATE FOR MINI-14

1978-1985 = 1 in 10" (e.g., 181 series)
1986-1994 = 1 in 7"
1995-2004 = 1 in 9" (e.g., 197 series).
2005- = 1 in 9"


Ruger test with a MAX 69 gr for a 1 in 9" twist rate. i found that 40 gr up to 68 gr works well in mine. But every rifle is different.

[lee n. field]

Sights are lousy. The rear peep has a lot of play in it and is subject to vibration.


Over time the Mini has had 3 diferent sight systems. The standard Mini (no longer in production) had a large peep sight and no provision for a scope mount. The old Ranch rifle had a dinky little dovetail mounted rear sight (and scope rings). Both of these use a kind of "shark fin" looking front sight.

The new Ranch rifle (starting a couple years ago) has a larger peep and a redisigned front sight.

I know they have the wire folding stock at cabelas but how comfortable is it to shoot?

The Butler Creek folder works fine except for no real cheek rest.

Does it have fairly tight tolerances or is it like my m1 that can keep on shooting till black goo is oozing out of the action from the cheap korean ball?


The latter. It was not designed as a precision rifle.

[rockstar.esq]

Few observations by a non Mini 14 fan. First the doggone stock is too short for a grown person (6'3"). Second the rear peep blocks so much field of view (older model) that I couldn't quickly acquire the target nor could I tell if I was hitting my mark! Thirdly, the pencil like barrel heats up way too fast causing a number of shooters to be burned. On the plus side, they are reliable like most Rugers. They are also look "M14 like" despite the varmint caliber. Oh and before I forget, $500.00 is enough to buy 1 and 3/4 Saiga's which are at least as accurate and significantly more "evil" looking.

[Crosshair]

We always could get Mini-14's at Wal-Mart. We just didn't keep them on hand. (Special order item.) The one at our store now is a new model and I agree, it is much improved over the older ones.

[RNB65]

Can I fire 62gr 5.56 out of it?

Yes. Ruger puts .223 Rem on the barrel bacause they don't like their guns to have any type of military association. But the chambers are headspaced for 5.56mm NATO spec ammo and will shoot it all day with no problems.

What kind of high capacity mags are the most reliable and at what price?

The best are the Ruger 20rd factory mags. However, Ruger doesn't make 20rd mags available to the public, only to law enforcement. However, look around on the internet and you'll find new Ruger 20rd mags available (marked "law enforcement only") but they're very expensive -- $25+ each.

[SoCalShooter]

You live in texas ma'friend get yourself an AR 15 not a ruger ranch rifle. Not saying its a bad rifle, just not extremely accurate.

[nitesite]

It hasn't been mentioned here yet, so I will add something.

The original Mini-14 had an ejector/extractor designed to make the expended case fly slightly right and forward (similar to an M-1 Garand). If you wanted to pick up your brass it was about three steps to find a pile of spent cartridges.

The Ranch Rifle, on the other hand, was designed with the expectation that users would mount a scope (since it came with the receiver mounted dovetails and a set of medium-height integral rings). So the ejection pattern was modified to throw the brass low and right. That way brass would not batter a scope tube.

But durn if the ejected brass from a Ranch Rifle doesn't throw cases at least 25'-30' right and rear! You really have to watch other shooters and their vehicles when you're at an outdoor range... And the effort needed to pick up your once fired brass is not worth the reward.

But they are fun and reliable rifles!

[nipprdog]

But they are fun and reliable rifles!

depending on which mags you're using. ;)

[nitesite]

depending on which mags you're using

I used PMI (?) 10-round mags I bought from Mark at 44-mag.com, plus two perfectly reliable 20-round magazines that I think were Western but I'm not sure. The 20s were loaded only for range use, the 10s I had no qualms keeping loaded for serious social needs.

But when kept for home defense I had a LNIB 30-rd Ruger Factory magazine that was flawless, loaded down to carry 25 M193s or Hornady TAPs.

[CornCod]

Not riding any hobbyhorses here, but I remember 15 years ago the Mini-14 was more or less considered the "cat's meow." Now there are few people that rave about them, some miltiant anti-Mini-14 people and some people that just think they are adequate. Has the rifle changed or have the preferences of shooters changed?

[rugerfreak]

I like em all---I have 4 AR's and 2 old std Mini's.

It used to be a Mini was roughly half of what an AR costed---so it was a good deal pretty much.

Now --with Mini's pushing up into the $500-$600 range and AR's getting cheaper its not so much the bargain it used to be.

The mag's aren't so bad anymore pricewise since the end of the ban---and Pro-mag is turning out some decent stuff for the Mini----new factory P-series mags are running $20-$25--------so $30-$35 for Mini mags isn't too bad----Pro-mags are around $20.