[Combat-wombat]

I was just wondering if a mini-14 is a good, reliable gun. I am asking this because I have heard a couple people and Oleg's site say that the mini-14 is not reliable.

[natedog]

i have a mini-14, and i haven't gotten the chance to fire it, it seems to be a very robust design (remember it's basically a scaled down M-14 rechambered for .223). i've heard of tests were a mini and an AR were buried, dug up the next day, and had 30 rounds fired through it. mini didn't even hiccup, while the AR would fire fire jam fire fire jam

[Sactown]

Mine goes bang everytime I pull the trigger. I'm doing an informal test on it. I haven't cleaned it for about 800rnds. I've found the only unreliable part of the Mini-14 are all those junk mags out there. I've found that factory Ruger and PMI mags work best. I haven't had any problems with the 10rnd ProMags either. My Mini is reliable but I won't be shooting varmints with it.

[Rebeldon]

The Ruger Mini-14 is a very reliable, good quality rifle. The problem is with the after-market high-capacity magazines. They are prone to jambing. I was lucky, I guess. I had a Mini-14, and two stainless steel 30-round U.S.A. magazines that did not jamb. Buying the $15-25 after-market hi-cap mags are a crap shoot. The actual Ruger hi-cap magazines, which are rare and can cost $80-100, are very reliable. The 5-round magazine that come with the Mini-14 is also very reliable.

Another question is the accuracy of the Mini-14 rifles. They generally get about 4 inch groups at 100 yards. Compared to an AR-15, that is an unsatisfactory group size. Mini-14's can be altered to become very accurate (1" groups at 100 yards), but it can cost about $300-500 more for the parts and labor.

The cool thing about Mini-14's is their small size and the abundance of accessories. They're a lot of fun to shoot and they tough little guns.

[PJR]

Reliable? Absolutely. Mine went bang every time. :)

Accurate? Nope. 8" to 10" @ 100 yards. :cuss:

Tried all kinds of loads and couldn't get it under 6" :banghead:

There are two happy days in a Mini 14 owner's life. The day he gets the rifle and the day he sells it.

[Combat-wombat]

Thank's. Of course, I live in the PRK, so I cant get an AR-15.

[Rebeldon]

6" groups is the best you've been able to get? That's too bad. That's about what I got with Wolf Ammo. I got 3-4" groups with Federal Classic FMJ. I suppose there is some disparity in Ruger's quality control. That is definitely true about their P-series pistols. I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with my P97, but others claimed their P97 was very accurate.

I regret selling my Mini-14.

[Combat-wombat]

Okay, any other PRK qualfied .223 rifles that you might suggest?

[Edward429451]

Balderdash! We have 3 Mini-14's and they are reliable. Any jams we've had can always be traced to ammo or mags. Invest in a thousand dollars worth of mags and you're there! (Some of em gotta work!.)

And as far as the accuracy goes...Have I mentioned how reliable they are? No seriously, I'm getting 3 to 4 inch groups with carefully constructed handloads and irons. I could keep somebody off me out to 200 yds with no problem. Uh, to be fair, I did change the front sight to a straight post though, made a big difference.

IIRC, it was sodapop who said he can get around 12 inch groups at 500 yds with his and irons...At any rate, Mini's are definitly good for at least minute of felon accuracy.

[Sactown]

Combat-Wombat,

Your only choice in semi-auto .223 in Kali is the Mini, unless by some extraordinary stroke of unbelievable luck you're able to find a HK SL-6. Hopefully, Kel-Tecs SU-16 will be more accurate and less costly than the Mini.

If you're dead set on a Mini and want more accuracy, try the Clark GBS. It's a barrel stabilizer. I put one on my mini and shrunk my groups down. I get about 2" to 3" groups using crappy surplus ammo. I did no trigger work, just the stabilizer.

[Combat-wombat]

Ok, thanks. Accuracy is not my primary concern with this gun, I just want a plinking gun that can accept hi-cap mags.(In case I ever need to use it against 'them') And I would get some good mags, not the crappy kind you've talked about. Say, what about the mags in Cabelas?

[Slick]

Well! Accuracy doesn't matter? ??? Why didn't you say so!
With good factory mags, my mini was flawless! Of course, I got 4" groups at best with Black Hills Ammo. Fun gun, but frustrating as hell if you're at all interested in accuracy.
I find PJR's comment right on the money!
There are two happy days.....

My .02, for what it's worth.

Slick

[Art Eatman]

Me and my eyesight, I always stuck a Weaver K4 on my Mini-14s. I've had two blued and two stainless. All would give three-shot groups around 1.5 to 2 inches. Five-shot groups around 2.5 inches.

The last one I had was a stainless which worked fine as my truck gun for coyotes and jackrabbits. Never a problem.

To me, the most regrettable part of "Mini-ing" is the lack of the factory ten-round mags. The ten-round mag, overall, is the most practical: It doesn't mess up carrying at the balance point, and is plenty of ammo for any probable social situation.

:), Art

[SodaPop]

I have a Bushmaster XM15E2 and picked up YET another Mini 14. The Mini14 I just picked up is an older model and looks like a much better product than my newer Ranch model. I don't heat my Mini 14s up like I light up my AR but they can group under an inch with 24.5gr of AA2230 and a Sierra 69grHPBT. I put a 5 shot group just under 5 inches at 400yds.

IMHO the gas block and the light barrel are the achilles heal of the MIni 14. If the Military wanted to adopt a gun like this they would have to re-design the gas system. When the barrel heats up, the gas block slamming around spins the barrel like a licorice whip.

it was sodapop who said he can get around 12 inch groups at 500 yds

Actually its with 62gr SCBT reloads and its with a 3-9x40mm scope.

I just got a Standard 180series Mini 14 and plan to use that as the my "iron sight" Mini 14.

[bad_dad_brad]

I have a SS Mini-14 ranch rifle. Very reliable. Accurate as an AK, maybe better. Generally I prefer my AR-15 Bushmaster. The modern AR A2 model, to me, is the quentesential .223 autoloader. The price difference is not that much any more, so if where you live allows it, I would go with the AR. That said, I don't think I will sell my Mini. She is so pretty!

I agree with Art Eatman on scope choice. The Weaver K4 fits the Mini-14 ranch model quite well. It is what I use too.

It really all boils down to price. At $300-$400 the Mini-14 is a great value. But current prices push it over $500, and for a few Franklins more, I can get a really nice AR-15.

Heck, just buy both!

[Sactown]

Combat-wombat,

I believe the Cabelas mags are either Triple K or USA, in either case they're junk. Do a search for PMI mags for the mini-14. I think this guy carries them: www.joecoemprise.com as well as www.deltaforce.om. Oh wait, you're in Kali, just like me. You can't get them, they won't ship to Kali. 10 round mags from ProMag work just fine. I guess you'll have to practice fast magazine changes.

[bad_dad_brad]

Hey Art,

There are some really nice 10 round Mini-14 magazines being made today. I don't know the brand, they are unmarked, but they look exactly like Ruger factory 5 rounders, and my dealer says they are made by the same company that makes the 5 rounders for Ruger. I bought two at $25. They work good, and I agree, this is an ideal magazine for the Mini.

[m.i.sanders]

I've got the ranch version of the rifle. :rolleyes: I'm still not sure what I was thinking that day. Any way, I usually manage to get 2.5 to 4 in groups at anyting from 50 to 100 yards using cheap Wolf ammo. I expect some of that's the screwy rear site throwing me off. As to reliability though, it always goes bang, feeds pretty good from the mags I got from Cabela's.

[firestar]

I had a SS Mini-14 and it never had a problem of any kind even with cheap Russian Wolff ammo. It wasn't bad for accuracy, about a 4-5 minuit rifle with open sights. That is better than some that I have heard of.

[Sactown]

Those new mags are ProMags. They look just like the factory 5 rounders cept they're 10rnd mags. There's even an area on the bottom of the mag were they could label is Ruger. Works great, I've had no problems with them.

[Uncle Ethan]

I have a thread going in the gunsmithing forum about rebarreling a Mini- some good info there from good people. I live in PRK also and had to get rid of my AR-15's- I am hoping to turn the barrel down next week- as my projects go it'll take about a month or two until I'm ready to fire it I hope to get M.O.A. with a 20" match barrel- I don't know what to do about magazines yet.

[benEzra]

As others have mentioned, accuracy with the standard barrel, gas port, trigger, and/or unbedded stock is generally fairly poor (unless you get the occasional gem), but reliability is excellent. I have had mine (stainless RR) for roughly 15 years and have never had a single jam with a good magazine and factory ammo. It also stood up to some hyper-reloads (that I thought were factory loads) that the reloader later said were "5 grains over" (behind 55-gr SP bullet). It failed to extract some of these (due to case head extraction?), but since I had to nearly hammer the charging lever back to eject them, I'd say that's not a strike against the mini.

bE

[Dave Markowitz]

I have a 182-series Mini-14, which means in was made in the early 1980s. It was formerly a police gun and is in very good condition.

When I took it to the range it was pretty reliable with a 30 round PMI magazine which I got from Delta Force. I put a total of 50 rounds through it; 30 rounds of South African surplus ball, and 20 rounds of Federal XM-193 ball.

After the last shot, the bolt locked back and I couldn't get it to close. After I got the gun home and was able to field strip it, I discovered that the gas piston had come loose and jammed it up -- because somebody had previously detail stripped the rifle and not put the gas port bushing back! :what:

Not only does the gas port bushing determine that the right amount of gas is let out of the barrel to work the action, it also acts to hold the gas piston in place. I was able to get a replacement from Brownell' for a few bucks.

The point that I'm trying to make is that the gun functioned about 90% for 50 rounds while being battered because way too much gas was being used to work the action. That to me indicates that the fundamental design is pretty darn rugged.

I didn't shoot for accuracy, just for function, and I haven't been able to get it back to the range yet.

There is a lot of good information in the Mini-14 forum over on the Perfect Union BBS (www.perfectunion.com), especially about accurizing them, and which magazines to buy and which to avoid.

HTH

[longeyes]

Right, the 10-rounders are from ProMag. I bought three from fourfourmag.com. So far they've worked flawlessly. Recommended.

[cratz2]

My friend has a stainless Mini-14 that he's onwed since at least 1992. I've probably put 300 or 400 rounds through it and it's never had a problem with me shooting it. He says it's had a couple jams in that period. He uses Winchester white box (50 to a box) and two factory mags. Not the most accurate gun in the world but I certainly wouldn't calls his a jam-o-matic.

[Badger Arms]

Two Mini's, one 180 series and one 189 series. Both are as reliable as a baseball bat. I have never had a jam in the 180 series. The 189 only jams with two USA brand magazines that I inherited with the older rifle.

As for accuracy, they are both horrid with bad ammo. I had some Wolf ammo that wouldn't group. I got maybe 10" or so groups out of that crap. I still have 400 rounds that I might just give away it's so bad.

On the positive side, both will group under 3" at 100 yards with good ammo. My handloads give me about 2" groups at 100 yards with iron sights!!!

I think most of this crap about inaccuracy comes from the sights. The front post on the Mini is just not designed for accuracy. A scope helps, but this gun is NOT a tack driver. For under 300 yard plinking and fun work, I don't think you can beat the Mini.

[tex_n_cal]

I had one about ten years ago, that I bought in Texas. Stupidly, I thought they were illegal in CA, so sold it before I moved here:cuss:

With carefully assembled handloads & a Leupold 1.5x4 scope, the first group I ever fired with it put 5 into an inch at 100 yards.

One point on all the Rugers that have that infernal plastic buttplate - they slip on your shoulder, and ruin accuracy. Get the steel one that Brownells sells, or else put something tacky on the buttplate to keep it from slipping off your shoulder as the gun recoils.