[mes228]

New 6.8 Ruger Ranch Rifle. Like the rifle but the accuracy is not up to par. Started at 4-6 inches and after 40 rounds of Hornady Custom V-max 110 grain ammo. Had shrunk to 3-4 inches. If further shooting would shrink groups to 2" or so I'd keep the rifle as ergos are good and reliability seems good. Just can't live with 3-4" groups from a $900 rifle. Does anyone have one of these with a lot of rounds down the tube? Did your accuracy continue to improve? Any help or suggestions appreciated. At over $1 a round a few hundred rounds to break it in is looking like an expensive proposition.

[longdayjake]

There are only so many things you can do to increase the accuracy of an inaccurate rifle. The first thing you can do is shoot better. The second thing you can do is some trigger work. I recommend you get an after market trigger spring that is quite a bit lighter than the one on there. Then you can polish (note i said polish and not file) the trigger and the sear. I polish mine using 0000 steel wool wrapped around a drill bit. It really smooths and shines things up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuSRX92q-sI

This video shows more work than I would do. Just do some polishing and you will still get a lot better trigger than the one on there now.

Anyway, try some of the barnes 85 grain HP from Silver State Armory. Your rifle may like the lighter bullets better. Lastly, your rifle will most likely never be a very good shooter if all you can get is 4" groups. I could be wrong though.

[harmonic]

I've not owned the 6.8 but I've owned two mini 14s and one mini 30. It sounds like Ruger's still putting out pretty much the same rifle. I sold my last mini (the 30) and bought a S&W MP 15 PC w/heavy stainless barrel.

Ruger's barrel is really thin at one spot on the minis and that's reputed to be part of the problem. There's a guy that makes an aftermarket attachment that bolts onto the bottom of the barrel to add stability. Ugly as heck but ...............

If you want better accuracy, go with a different rifle.

If you love the rifle, get a trigger job, the above mentioned attachment, and start experimenting with tons of different ammo. Your gun will show a preference.

[mes228]

Well the trigger is bad on these things, but not that bad. I was shooting with a friend thats an excellent shot (Bulls Eye Competitor). Both of us have new Ruger Mini 14's. His is .223 cal and mine is 6.8 cal. (technicaly the 6.8 is called a "Ranch Rifle" but appears to be the same rifle as his .223). Both rifles shot so bad it's actually hard to believe. Out of the box 10-14 inch groups that went down to 5-6" in a few rounds. His .223 did not improve much over the range session. My 6.8 did go down to 4" or so. On every magazine the first round would be a flyer, I mean "gross flyer". Maybe as much as several inches. The next rounds would group 4" or so. This is after 40 rounds. GunBlast has a review that said theirs started this way but over 60 rounds the accuracy improved to about an 1 inch. That's hard to believe. What could wear in to improve the accuracy so much? Does anyone here have a Mini 14 that actually became relatively accurate over time shooting it? I'm no Ruger basher. I like both their rifles and pistols and have had great success with them. However, this is ridiculous. I've had SKS chinese rifles that would shoot rings around this thing. Great rifle design but damn poor execution.

[mes228]

As an aside, I have two AR's in .223 (S&W Model 15 & Armalite Nat. Match). I bought the Ruger as it was about the same price of a premium upper for one of the .223's. I really like the 6.8 and have had a Remington bolt action in that caliber. I'm frankly amazed and don't know how it's even possible to build a rifle that shoots shotgun patterns "one pellet at a time". I have Pentax 3 x 9 optics on the Ruger. My friend has Bushnell Elite on his. Someone please tell me that the accuracy will become better over more rounds. I don't see how but have read they do. I just would hate to spend a few hundred dollars on ammo to find I still had a 4" rifle in the end. A Browning BAR, which is about the same expense. Will deliver 1 1/2" groups all day long out of the box.

[Ratdog68]

If you're wanting some opinions of other Ruger mini-14 owners of the 6.8 flavor... visit the crew at 68forums.com and specify your questions there. I know there's at least a few of the guys there with your rifle.

You'll have to be selective on your ammo choice with the Ruger... it's made to the SAAMI spec (long story, but an "incorrect" spec submission resulted). The newer 6.8 SPC II or 6.8 x 43 spec has the correct chamber spec. As a result, you are advised against using the SSA "Tactical" loads. You'll end up with excessive chamber pressures.

[niteowl]

mes228,

I bought a 580 series Mini in .223 about 2 years ago, and it took about 300-400 rounds of "break-in" to shrink the groups to a consistent 1.5"-2" MOA.

The only thing that I see wearing in on my rifle are scuff marks on the bolt where it rides back into the receiver. It never had those brand new. It's almost like the bolt had to custom fit and fine tune itself to the receiver before the groups improved.

I know Ruger has to fit these bolts to the receivers when they build them. They don't have one bolt that fits all. I believe they have several with different variances.

[amprecon]

I was very close to going with the Ruger Mini-14 in 6.8, but just couldn't get past their "lack of accuracy" history. If they had the accuracy problem resolved with the 6.8 I'd of been all over it. The Ruger Mini's are handy rifles and I really like their balance and feel, but just can't get past their lack of accuracy.
So I committed Garand heresy and went with the direct impingement AR platform in 6.8, I'm warming up to it nicely.

[Float Pilot]

Some smithing work will help your Ruger. They use cast parts with little or no polishing. As a result they will wear themselves better over time. Or at least brass and copper fragments will fill in the rough spots.
The first round from the magazine is feeding differently and the cartridge is either being slightly deformed or not chambering the same as the following rounds from the magazine.

Polishing and de-edging the feed ramp will help. Also polishing the receiver rails so the bolt will run smoother. Plus Ruger barrels are very rough inside. I have lapped more than a few and it really helps. I also recently had to re-crown two Ruger barrels.

You also need to check to see how the action sits in the stock. Sometimes they are only being supported in the odd place. It would also help to see if you have some barrel to stock contact in the barrel channel area.

With the 6.8s that I have experimented with, the Hornady ammo was not very accurate. The 6.8 SPC (270 Kurtz) is a fun cartridge to hand-load.

I was able to get a Stag AR to shoot half-inch groups at 100 yards with some loads.

[Ratdog68]

Another option to consider (if you don't want to spend for all that ammo to break it in) is to get yourself some Tubbs Final Finish bullets, load 'em up and use those to scrub in your bore.

BTW... while on the 68forums.com site... you can also sign up for use of chamber reamer which will net you the correct chamber spec of 6.8 SPC II, allowing you a LOT more choices in ammo selection.

Part of why Hornady and Remington, and S&B's rounds are "weak" is that they're loaded specifically to cater to the SAAMI spec'd chamber. SSA loads for both "Commercial" and "Tactical".

[cowart]

You can greatly shorten the break-in process by "fire lapping" the barrel. Supplies can be obtained from http://www.neconos.com

I had an early .223 Mini which I experimented with extensively to improve the accuracy. I found that it responded well to the exact same reloading techniques that bolt actions like.

[BUGUDY]

For starters. I would first try some different ammo. V max did not give good aacuracy out of my ar 6.8.

[jeepguy]

i also go to the perfect union mini 14 website. there is alot of knowledgable people on the mini 14/30/6.8 on that forum. good luck

[lopezni]

If you paid $900 for a Mini-14 then you deserve to suffer

[Ratdog68]

If you paid $900 for a Mini-14 then you deserve to suffer
Geez? Kick a guy when he's feelin' down already about his new rifle? Kinda rude, don'tcha think?

[RangerHAAF]

It's a hard and rude world but listen; my advice to you is to see if you can trade your "mini" style Ruger in for an AR. I personally used to despise the AR platform but I can tell you that they have been improved with regards to their reliability. They have always been accurate but highly prone to jamming up until the A2s came out.

The Rugers are like AKs; they'll shoot forever but accuracy is lacking. Having written that I'll say further that the M-77 models are probably one of the best shooting, out of the box bolt, sub moa rifles on the market but for some reason Ruger can't make the minis shoot sub moa. All of my bolt actions that I start hunting season with are M-77s in 308 or 30'06.

Another good thing about the ARs is that you can choose the best caliber that works for you. For me it's the 6.8 SPC; super accurate and can be zeroed dead on at 200 yards(I'm zeroed at 100). So don't dwell on your mistake. Correct it if you can.

[mes228]

Suggested retail from Ruger on the 6.8 Ranch Rifle exceeds $1,000. No I did not pay retail for it. However I did pay enough to purchase several other brands of very accurate rifles ie bolt action Remingtons, Rugers,Brownings, or even another AR (I have two already). Ruger supposedly re-engineered the Mini 14 and the problems were solved. Now having shot two new ones I call bull ship on that story. UNLESS they improve with a lot of rounds down the tube. Can anyone on here truthfully tell me that if I shoot 200 rounds this rifle will be a 2" rifle??? If they can I'll keep it. My story is that after 40 rounds it's unbelievably bad. As was my friends .223, both were new rifles. I've seen nothing like this in over 45 years of owning firearms. A lot of them were Rugers and I liked them. Monday I'll contact Ruger and see if they want to fix the thing.

[68wj]

They "improve" the mini-14 yet continue to use the out-of-date chamber for the 6.8. Nobody that researches the 6.8 would reasonably buy a Ruger in that caliber given the MANY other options out there. The chamber can be reamed to SPC II, but why should you have to? With all the R&D they put into their other firearms, it is shameful that Ruger continues with the mini the way they do.

Now that the A-team is out, watch how many used minis hit the gun racks in a year. :neener:

[longdayjake]

The chamber can be reamed to SPC II

You may be able to change the chamber a little, but you can't do much for the rifling twist.

[R.W.Dale]

You may be able to change the chamber a little, but you can't do much for the rifling twist.
IME the chamber and lead design will be far more important than the reported "magic" twist. The slower twist may help to lower pressures SLIGHTLY but it's not the panacea the .8'ers claim it is. After all max sub 55grain loads for a .223 don't become unsafe when fired in a fast twist bbl with a heck of a lot larger spread than we're talking about here. But 5.56 can spike pressures in a pure .223 chamber purely due to the leade design.

I'm still eagerly awaiting someone to chamber a 270 with this magic twist rate that'll allow me to shoot 130g bullets at 4800 fps "with no pressure signs"

[husker]

The ACCU-STRUT is no joke. my ranch is a completely different shooter now. What pisses me off ? Why wont Ruger put a strut system on the rifle right from the get go. I dnt find the strut ugly. More of a cheap knock off M-14 clone with the strut added.
Any way it dont string anymore as the barrel gets hot. It groups like you would hope. But 2 inch groups or smaller?? Not how or what this rifle was designed for. the hotter they get the worse they group. They have a freezing technique= METALLURGY That will change the molecules of the barrel.& i have read great things about this process.& how it works when things get hot. & it dnt coast much either. Like $50.00

http://www.accu-strut.com/

http://www.perfectunion.com/vb/index.php
all you will ever wana know about CRAPPY SHOOTING Mini-14s

[Ratdog68]

IME the chamber and lead design will be far more important than the reported "magic" twist. The slower twist may help to lower pressures SLIGHTLY but it's not the panacea the .8'ers claim it is. After all max sub 55grain loads for a .223 don't become unsafe when fired in a fast twist bbl with a heck of a lot larger spread than we're talking about here. But 5.56 can spike pressures in a pure .223 chamber purely due to the leade design.

I'm still eagerly awaiting someone to chamber a 270 with this magic twist rate that'll allow me to shoot 130g bullets at 4800 fps "with no pressure signs"
It's not so much that the slower twist rate generates less pressure, as it lessens the drag on the bullet, releasing the energy's velocity potential better. The type of rifling also contributes to the decrease in drag.

[aubie515]

I agree with those that have said the mini's are crap as far as precision is concerned. When I was younger and used to watch the A Team on tv, I used to think they just could not hit anyone with their minis. Little did I know they were trying to kill the bad guy, but the mini's were just that inaccurate that they just couldn't hit their targets.

Spending $900 is a very expensive lesson to learn. Stick with rifles that are known to be good shooters and you will be good to go.

[68wj]

Krochus - It's okay if you don't understand. However you are right in that the twist rate is less a part of the new 6.8 specs than the chamber dimensions. If spinning a 110 grain bullet faster than necessary to stabilize it has no effect on accuracy, but does marginally increase pressures (thus limiting possible velocities), why would you want it. Though, there are plenty of 1:10 twist barrels out there with the 6.8 SPC II chamber that shoot great and don't have any drama.

It would be interesting to see if a 1:11 twist for a .270 Win barrel and a 130 grainer would allow you to load hotter but maintain the pressures of a sub-max load in a 1:10 barrel. My guess; not enough to want to loose the flexibility of moving up to 140, 150s.

[R.W.Dale]

It's okay if you don't understand.

I understand just fine..

It's just that I don't like bologna and there's been massive amounts of it shoveled down folks throats these past few years particularly with regards to untested thermonuclear pressure load data and the "magic" twist that some folks believe allows a 16" SPC to outperform a 22" 270 with the same bullet weight.


Twist rate will have a very marginal effect on velocity and pressure. The type of rifling, bore surface texture and number of grooves is a far more important factor in relation to in bbl bullet drag. As we both agree on the improvements with the SpecII chamber are virtually all throat related.

Hopefully the New SAAMI 6.8x43mm that's allegedly in the pipeline (not SPC or specII) standard will put this nonsense to rest.

[dougw47]

mes228...I feel for you. Without going into a lot of bashing, they were not my favorite rifles...the did not satisfy me.

[dougw47]

mes228

Good luck sending them back to Ruger...that did not work either...guess there is a reason they don't include a sample target with results in the box.

[W.E.G.]

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd7/rkba2da/humor/ruger_5801.jpg http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd7/rkba2da/humor/do-not-want-dog.jpg

[68wj]

I understand just fine..

It's just that I don't like bologna and there's been massive amounts of it shoveled down folks throats these past few years particularly with regards to untested thermonuclear pressure load data and the "magic" twist that some folks believe allows a 16" SPC to outperform a 22" 270 with the same bullet weight.


Twist rate will have a very marginal effect on velocity and pressure. The type of rifling, bore surface texture and number of grooves is a far more important factor in relation to in bbl bullet drag. As we both agree on the improvements with the SpecII chamber are virtually all throat related.

Hopefully the New SAAMI 6.8x43mm that's allegedly in the pipeline (not SPC or specII) standard will put this nonsense to rest.
Just razzin' ya. Please tell anyone that thinks a 16" SPC (any inch for that matter) will ballistically outperform a 270 Win that they should immediately seek the nearest rehab center.

[R.W.Dale]

Just razzin' ya. Please tell anyone that thinks a 16" SPC (any inch for that matter) will ballistically outperform a 270 Win that they should immediately seek the nearest rehab center.
LOL I pretty much do just that. The problem is such folks start in about thier magic twist rate is what allows them to do so.

[lopezni]

Dude, you could've got the excellent Stag M7 Hunter in 6.8 for like $989 and it is accurate