Question on Ruger Mini-14

580 is a newer one. My understanding is 500 on up are the newer ones.

They're better.

The AR guys will bad mouth it and say there is no logical reason to buy one and give overwhelmingly subjective reasons why.

I like them for general purpose use. If you're batteling zombies on a regular basis, they're better choices.

#1 Reason it does not look like a scary assault rifle to your neighbors. Yes the newer ones are better than the old ones. Ruger completely redid that line with new machines and CNC.

My friends mini 14 shoots quite a bit better than my Ranch, it also doesn’t throw the brass across county lines. Only draw back is they lack a good way to mount optics (although you can get B-square, UTG, mounts, that could be better than nothing if your eyes just are not as good as they used to be).

I used the B-Square mount on my "Skinny Mini" back in the 1970s. Worked just fine.

Mine shoots sub moa.

Add an accustrut and an older one will shoot fine. Mine does. I quite love it.

I have a mini-14 that I added a scout mount (picatinny rail over the barrel) to and threw on a Burris scout scope. That made the rifle balance really well and it is much, much more useful to me now.

I trained on mini-14's when I was an LEO, prior to our agency transitioning to AR-15's. I still prefer the mini-14/30 platform for it's simplicity.

I love minis, my newest and most accurate is a series 581, very accurate. Ask yourself, why are ARs everywhere, cant hardly get rid of one at a gun show, you can buy them for $500, and yet minis maintain a high price. Yes, the older ones are not as accurate but lots of people prefer them to ARs.

Ask yourself, why are ARs everywhere, cant hardly get rid of one at a gun show, you can buy them for $500, and yet minis maintain a high price

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For the same reason M1's remain popular and maintain a high price.

I have always liked the mini-14. In the late 80’s I picked up a like new mini-14, in the box, that was made in 1976. It was a fun gun to shoot, but about the best it would group at 100 yds was 4”.
I gave it to my daughter on her 14th birthday, she still has it today.
Everyone says the new ones shoot much better, but what they sell for now days, I can build a much better AR.

Mine had canted sights from the factory. It also has a "pencil barrel". It's a 580 Series Ranch Model.
Apparently just months after this model came out, they fixed a lot of the inherent bugs.

I would buy only new, and advise others of the same thing. If you are willing to take a dare,
supposedly the 581 and newer series are right as rain. IF the factory didn't send it down the
road with canted sights. Like they did with mine. From now on, I want a new factory warranty,
with mine.

I had a Mini in the early 1990s. I really liked the ergonomics, but mine didn't shoot worth squat--lucky if it would hold four inches at 100. That may be good enough for some, but not for me. Sold it to buy my first AR. I actually don't care for ARs all that much, but they generally shoot well. I'd buy another Mini if I knew it could shoot two inches consistently. And are magazines easier to come by now? Back then, factory mags and mags from John Masen were the only ones you could count on to shoot reliably.

I have an older 180-series Ranch mini-14 and mini-30. Both are fun guns; easy to shoot and operate. The 14 has a Ram-line camo stock on it's stainless body, and the 30 is blue and wood. They're not as accurate as any of my AR's but fun just the same.
I have been issued a new 580-series mini, and this gun is more accurate than the old ones are. Still not quite an AR accuracy-wise, but its a well-made piece of American iron that will outlast the next three generations of your family if cared for properly.
Use Ruger-branded factory magazines in either a 14 or a 30 for 100% reliability. The aftermarkets are always going to be cheaper..but they're all hit-and-miss as far as reliability goes.

Stay safe!

Catpop said:

View attachment 809925 Mine shoots sub moa.

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Yeah but shooting from a vice isn't fair. LOL.

Look for a small fat part of the barrel just after the plastic handguard. That's the reinforcement they added to mitigate heating and whip, and AFAIK those were the major causes of inaccuracy for the original Minis. The older types just had a straight pencil barrel through and through.

I love the design but was soured on them because the only 3 I ever shot were just lousy inaccurate. My brother bought one of the target model ones like 15 year ago for prairie dogging and it was like 6-8" groups. If they have actually fixed the accuracy problems like people say I think they would be a great fun gun. I still wouldn't pay the going rate for them but if I found a good enough deal on a newer one I would give it a go.

There is a very active forum for the Mini at "perfectunion.com". I have two mini's. One is a Mini 30 that I purchased a few weeks ago. There are ways to improve upon and/or fix anything that you might find lacking with minimum pocket change lost. I changed out the trigger spring on mine. It broke so cleanly at 5.6 pounds or so. Now it breaks at 4.2 pounds. Nice. I also have a Mini 6.8 with a custom barrel. It is very accurate. When buying used you want at least a 580 series and use caution on the pencil barrel models. Little things like stock fit and proper torque on the gas system can really effect accuracy. Gas bushings can be swapped out to keep your brass from ending up in the next county. Standard Ruger rings can be used and there are many rail options.

I find them a handy carbine with light weight that fall under the Radar in states like mine that value cosmetics over reality.

The Stainless thin barrel Mini I had to have years ago was an immediate disappointment at the range... it shot bigger groups at 50yds than the M1 Carbine I sold to buy it did at 100yds. Sold it immediately.
Two years ago, a friend bought a current Mini...thicker barrel, flash hider, black plastic stock. It was definately a nicer rifle, and shot a good bit better than my old one.
But I still managed to outshoot it at 100yds with a stock Saiga 5.45, a stamped rifle that sold new for $239.99.

TexasPatriot.308 said:

I love minis, my newest and most accurate is a series 581, very accurate. Ask yourself, why are ARs everywhere, cant hardly get rid of one at a gun show, you can buy them for $500, and yet minis maintain a high price. Yes, the older ones are not as accurate but lots of people prefer them to ARs.

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In my area Mini-14's are hard to sell. There is not a lot of interest in them especially with the prices of AR's being so low. I still have some 20 rounds magazines from when I owned a Mini that I have not found anyone willing to buy.

I have a fair amount of trigger time with the Mini-14 and was totally underwhelmed by it's accuracy. However I have a friend that loves the dependability and while he doesn't mind it's oh-hum accuracy he hates how hard it throws fired brass everywhere.

FWIW, I have a 3 year-old stainless mini-30 that I got brand new. It's a reliable 1.5-2" gun. Not great but for what it is (a short range pig gun) it's perfectly adequate.

All these stories of old Mini 14's being in accurate explains why the A-Team never hit anyone during all those gun fights

Speedo66 said:

I contacted the seller and it does not have the heavier tapered barrel, that came later in the year, so I'm going to pass. It was an unfired 5802 with 5 mags for $650, a good deal price wise, but based on the comments here, I'll hold out for the better barrel.

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Good call.