Ruger Mini 14 Tactical Review

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Kame B.

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So I bought a old 188 series Mini not to long ago, the price was just right and it already had all the bells and whistles on it. It came with a choate flash hider that has a nice front post, M1 carbine sights, and a hogue stock. The only thing I have done to it is install Wilson Combat 1911 buffers, and added a M1 carbine sling. I took it out on her third trip to the range, it ran like a champ. First shots of the day was a 5round group just under 2inches at 50 yards.
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But as far as function goes, I shot 100 rounds with no jams, or hick-up's. The rifle shot smooth, and the action is consistent. At 6 3/4lbs the little rifle handles great, and has a nice feel to it when it is fired. I tried some fast mag change outs to see how easy the mags fall in and out of place. It barely needs any assistance for the mags to fall out, it rocks out all by itself if you let it. I made a little video about it if you guys like to watch, it also displays how left handed friendly this rifle is. That is pretty much the reason why I dont own any AR's, the safety stumbles me up, I can deal with the bolt release, I hate the charging handle, and every time I shot my brothers Spike's I get sprayed in the face. In a left handed world, the Mini has been perfect for me, and amazingly reliable. With video proof to boot... Enjoy

 
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Three comments:
(1). My older Mini's always shot reliably, not super accurate but knocked the hell out of bowling pins at 100.
(2). I shot GI FMJ 55gr, the only mag of Wolf steel left empty case number one in the chamber with round number two jammed inside the case.
(3). I now own a Mini Tactical.....I also have over thirty AR's
Guess I am biased.:D
 
No pic of rifle? My right eye has gone south and I now shoot the mini lefty out of need for work (I've owned one since 1989 also). For a life-long righty, the Mini made I fairly easy task of learning to shoot lefty in middle life. It quickly felt natural.
 
Neo-Luddite said:
No pic of rifle? My right eye has gone south and I now shoot the mini lefty out of need for work (I've owned one since 1989 also). For a life-long righty, the Mini made I fairly easy task of learning to shoot lefty in middle life. It quickly felt natural.
Click to expand...

Oh I got pictures, but I did make a video, I thought that would be enough, but here ya go good sir :D

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:)Oh, now yer making me drool...my old 185 is very low miles and looks good in factory wood with a clunky 'slip on' flash hider, but you've got one that is tricked just about right. And the GI sling really looks sharp on her. Well Done!


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Sorry--I totally missed the video on the first go around. Thanks for posting the pic, too!
 
loose noose said:
Kane B, all that rifle needs is an Accu Strut to bring those groups under 1" at 50 yards, preferably the 6" model.
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Oh I have a rifle for shooting groups, and it is highly accurate at 50 yards, and does pretty good at 300 yards to. :)

50yard target shot with American eagle .223 55grain.
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Rifle
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chicharrones said:
Nice lookin' Mini, Kame. :cool:

BTW, people like myself may prefer photos and text over videos due to bandwidth or data limits on portable devices. In all honesty, if I click a link that only has a video, I tend to close that webpage. No offense to all the video makers out there. :)
Click to expand...

I'll keep that in mind on my next post. I use videos just to better illustrate the capabilities of what ever firearm I have... mostly the Mini 14. That poor little rifle gets bashed so much I cant help myself but to make videos about them.;)
 
I've always liked the mini-14s. I think I just prefer the garand, M14, style action and safety. Mine has run fine in a number of rifle classes. Louis Awerbuck and Clint Smith have both said nice things about it.
 
Congratulations to the OP; enjoy!

The Mini/Ranch being a good lefty weapon is one of the things I really love about them. Ejection across my face is not an issue for me; actually, I like the reassurance that the empty case has been thrown free. I have two post-2006 Ranch Rifles, one with a 16" barrel, the other 18", and have been tempted to add a pre-owned Target version.

If I have a chance to attend a 40-hour patrol rifle certification class, to regain my ability to carry a rifle on police patrol, I believe I will qual/certify with one of my Minis. (I carried a Colt Govt Carbine during my previous patrol rifle time period. Nothing wrong with an AR, but the slimness of the Mini/Ranch is much appreciated.)
 
jim in Anchorage said:
Kame. B- Did you ever follow up on that wenig link I sent you on mini 14 walnut stocks?
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I did, but I ran into the same problem as the Boyd stocks, none of the have the reinforced mag well cut out in them. I know they say the wood is strong enough to hold vs. the bracket. But I prefer a metal liner, it has the potential to mar up the wood when loading mags. Plus I got so busy re-doing my stock, I put all my effort into it and got it perfect;). I was thinking of getting some wood for my tactical, I put it in my target model's clothes to see how it :D"wood":D look. What ya think? Should I get another traditional Mini stock?

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Sheepdog1968 said:
I've always liked the mini-14s. I think I just prefer the garand, M14, style action and safety. [...]
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Me too. There is something sensible about attaching the operating handle to the guts of the rifle, so you don't need a forward assist, and situating it so that a fellow can get at it easily in any shooting position. The safety is in the fastest place to get to if you forgot to release it in the first place. :D
 
Kendal Black said:
Me too. There is something sensible about attaching the operating handle to the guts of the rifle, so you don't need a forward assist, and situating it so that a fellow can get at it easily in any shooting position. The safety is in the fastest place to get to if you forgot to release it in the first place. :D
Click to expand...

I like the fact that the safety is kind of in the way with respect to the trigger. It's really hard to access the trigger without moving the safety to fire. Some get the heebie jeebies with the safety location but it's never bothered me. Probably the same reason I like Sigs and Glocks.
 
I've always had at least one Mini 14 since their introduction. People criticize it's accuracy but it never was intended to be a precision rifle. It's more like a modern M1 carbine with a hotter round.

I never had a Mini 14 that wouldn't shoot 4" @ 100 yd. Thats well within combat rifle requirements. Much better than most AKs.
 
Kame B. said:
I did, but I ran into the same problem as the Boyd stocks, none of the have the reinforced mag well cut out in them. I know they say the wood is strong enough to hold vs. the bracket. But I prefer a metal liner, it has the potential to mar up the wood when loading mags. Plus I got so busy re-doing my stock, I put all my effort into it and got it perfect;). I was thinking of getting some wood for my tactical, I put it in my target model's clothes to see how it :D"wood":D look. What ya think? Should I get another traditional Mini stock?
Can't you open the inleting to accept the mag well?

cgeek%20riser_zps5pfe1xqg.gif
Click to expand...
 
Ibmikey said:
I have one Ruger Tactical, it is fun to shoot....I have over thirty ARs they are a lot more fun.
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Jeez Louise:confused: 30 AR's? I think I would have a little bit more verity than AR after AR.
 
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