The story behind the Mini-14 ... very interesting!

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Ok, I did a ton of pruning to remove some non THR material and the responses. Folks, insults, even minor ones and arrogant attitudes will not be tolerated here. Be friendly, be polite- even if you disagree, and try to be helpful, or please keep your thoughts to yourself. Let's not derail this with anymore X vs Y noise.
 
Most serious hunters I know use a bolt rifle.

I guess the operative word is "most".

I am a serious hunter who knows a few serious hunters. I don't use a bolt action to hunt yet, but I use one in .223 for target practice.

For hunting, I use a break open muzzleloader, a pump shotgun and semi-automatic rifles. I intend to also use a 30-30 lever action recently acquired and a break open rifle.

Some very serious hunters I know use bows and arrows.

I do not own a mini, but if I was looking at a .223 semi with hunting in mind, I would priorise established cold weather reliability due to my location. The mini has a good reputation there.

Hunting since the age of eleven, now 40, I would estimate most game is harvested within 50 yards, a little is taken between 50-150 yards and very little farther than that, over here, from personal experience and discussion with fellow hunters, some aged and some wise. 2-3 MOA is an acceptable proposition for hunting when long range is not the favored approach. A recently manufactured mini seems to offer such accuracy.
 
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Am I the only one on here familiar with the Winchester Light Weight Military Rifle of the 1957 trials?

The same trials that saw the introduction of a scaled down AR-10 called the AR15 were mainly against a rifle that at least looked like a Mini-14 though was something more like an M1 Carbine. It had a carbine style trigger group and a carbine style tappet style gas system.

It also featured a … wait for it... pencil weight barrel ( it even had lightening slots or grooves where the mini barrel was thickest) to make a five pound with unloaded magazine weight.

Because of this light weight barrel it also suffered from inaccuracy in the form of wandering shots as the barrel heated up.(lets not get into the fact that so did the pencil barrel AR15s and that using a sling or bipod could give you a significantly different zero than that rifle over the sand bag back in basic you did)

Anyhow ten years before the Army actually adopted the AR15 as the Service rifle in 1967 as the M16A1 (limited standard status along side the M-14 even earlier in 1964) and 14 years before Bill Ruger showed his Mini-14 to gun writers, the Army had already turned down something much like his Mini in favor of the AR15.

I will say after my three years of bad experiences with the pencil barreled XM16E1 and its approved after adoption name of M16A1that when I finally got a Mini in hand in 1976 I was all for the mini. It needed some improvments back then, many of which have, a mere forty years later, been addressed, mainly the sights and barrel, but also the gas system port size.

Before I upset the Mini owners let me say I have no issues with anyone wanting or using a mini, the security force at at least one reactor facility I know of used them BTW, I will say that In that decade I eventually settled for NEITHER rifle.

I thought after research then and after trying them that the AR-180 was a better combat and sport rifle than either the SP1 or Mini-14. It was far more reliable in my experience than the M16A1 or SP1 and more accurate than the Mini-14.

Unfortunately few seemed to agree with me and except for a few fits and starts here and there (and why did the later Armalite in name only bugger it up?) the AR 180 fell by the wayside and watched the AR and the Mini troop on as it lay in the dust.

In the early 1980s while on duty in Germany I had no assigned rifle. As HHB Divarty XO I had a jeep and trailer in the field and of course my own personal car when not on duty. Packed away in my alert bag for "go to war" calls was a broken down Mini-14 and three 20 round magazines and a five rounder. Go figure.

Today I do own and use an M4gery in preference to a 1970's era Mini, times and things change.

I will say that comparing a new made M4gery (even a PSA Kit on a "whatever" lower) to a 1973 Mini 14 is pretty silly. How about you guys try comparing a Mini to a 1970 XM-177E3 or early "old Sarge" 16 inch(the only thing out there was pencil barrel) "CAR15" kit gun? I assure you the Mini does not look near as bad compared to those.

-kBob
 
I believe I posted pictures of the two XGI .308 Ruger rifles I handled on THR some years back.

They did make at least the two rifles I handled. They were the size of M-14s so I can not imagine that the barrels got used for Mini 30s but the tooling might have been.

Ruger was pretty tight lipped about the guns. I noted the magazines looked like cut down M-14 mags and asked and they would not tell me. Being the kind of guy I am I went to the Springfield booth and asked if I might borrow a 20 rounder, they asked why and I told them. They excitedly loaned me a mag to get info on potential competition and I wandered back to the Ruger booth. I again handled the rifles and stuck the M-14 mag in both examined the Ruger mags side by side with the M-14 mag.....the XGI used M-14 magazines.

In later years I spoke to Ruger folks at various shows about the XGI and it was always like digging up something embarrassing and smelly. I was assured repeatedly that the XGI would never be reborn. Once one of them spoke of receiver issues but other than that I never got a straight answer as to why.


-kBob
Interesting. Back then I was somewhat interested in the Mini-14, but then I saw in one of Peterson's magazines the new Ruger XGI. Seemed like you couldn't find any info anywhere on it, so I called Ruger and just got the "It's not out yet" sort of brush-off. I was content to wait, as I really wanted that 7.62 rather than 5.56. Then the Mini-30 came out and I was PO'd. Asking about the XGI netted me nothing, in fact most generally didn't know what the hell I was talking about. Even now, there are scads of gun people that still never knew anything about it, and will look at you like you're from Mars if you mention it. Then they'll give you a lecture about you simply mistaking the Mini-30 for 7.62 NATO.
 
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One piece of unfortunate history that the Mini-14 played a significant role in is the FBI Miami shootout. Of all the weapons there that day, the Mini-14 brought by far the greatest destructive power to the fight. The man wielding the Mini-14 was shot 12 times before being brought to an end. He fired the Mini 42 times.
Only two of the agents were wearing ballistic vests, and the armor they were wearing was standard light body armor, which is designed to protect against handgun rounds, not the .223 Remington rounds fired by Platt's Mini-14 rifle.
 
I liked the 180 series I bought in 1974 , it had a real bolt rller like the M14 did, and I also liked the bolt hold open. I scooped it with a Pachmayr low swing quick detach mount and put a 3x Leupold on it. It burned a truck load of M193 ammo I had access to in my near by remote reserve Post. I had it stolen from my garage , in a steel locker in 1983 . I replaced it with an Hk 93 as I was competitive with my HK 91 at the time. It was a great ranch rifle.
 
I bought a Mini-14 in late 1979 or early 1980. I think I paid about $175 for it. My father liked it so much that he essentially appropriated it. He did give me $240, so I didn't feel too bad being $65 up on the deal. The next week, I went back to the store to buy another one, but they were out. I drove to a neighboring town where one was in stock. The guy at the store refused to sell it to me saying that I had to be 21 to buy a rifle. It took me forever to get him to check the paperwork and see that the age for a rifle was 18.

At the farm almost all the open spaces are 100 yards are less, so I normally don't shoot much further than that and both Mini-14s demonstrate perfectly acceptable accuracy (precision, if you insist) at that range. They are great for control of nuisance animals (beaver, muskrat, turtles, etc.) that can cause problems for a fish farm.

However it was intended to start out in life, the Mini-14 turned out to be the ideal rifle for me at a time when I needed. I guess I'll continue using my Mini-14 until I become so old and feeble that I can't raise it to my shoulder any more.
 
I messed around with Minis during their early years. I'd still have one, probably, except that I kept making profit from trades. :) As a hunter, I liked being able to carry it at the balance point, even with the factory ten-round mag. I used the Mini as my truck gun over many a mile of rough back-country roads. Plenty accurate for jackrabbits and coyotes. I used a Weaver K-4 with the B-square mount.

One thing I really liked was that the first shot commonly had POA = POI, give or take an inch. Bad news for Wily Coyote. :) And, the three-shot groups at 1.5 to 2 MOA was plenty good for my use.

My only real gripe is today's price. Bummer.

FWIW, I'm on my fifth AR, but it's mostly a safe queen...
 
It’s amazing that so many of you guys have failed to read the Chuck Hawk posting about accuracy with the Mini-14.
In conclusion, I have been pleased with my Ruger Mini-14 ranch rifle. It is a handy rifle that I feel will serve me well in my coyote hunting pursuits. Prior to the trigger job the rifle consistently produced three-shot groups in the 2-3” range @ 100 yards. After the trigger job, the first two 100-yard groups were 1.44” and 0.77”, which is fine accuracy for a semi-automatic carbine. If you have been thinking about getting one of these rifles, I think it is worth the $700 or so that you will have to pay for a new one. Just be sure that you have room in your budget for a little trigger work.
 
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Bill Ruger was a strange person. I had two mini's over the years & at one point had to send in a 20 rd. mag. that was problematic. Ruger decided to keep it & sent me a 10 round instead. I have never & never will buy another Ruger product.
 
Bill Ruger was a strange person. I had two mini's over the years & at one point had to send in a 20 rd. mag. that was problematic. Ruger decided to keep it & sent me a 10 round instead. I have never & never will buy another Ruger product.
You could have simply called and complained. I have no doubt they would have sent you a 20 rounder based on my experience with Ruger.
 
For many years Ruger held 20-rounders VERY strictly for LE only.
Before the Old Man died, I had to sign a strict agreement to return it just to get Ruger to cut loose with a 20-rounder as a loaner for a photo in an article on the gun I was doing.
I'd retired from the PD by that point & I had to ship the mag back as soon as I was done with it.

Once his influence was gone, Ruger opened up in a number of areas & one was making larger mags available to the public at large.
Denis
 
I actually still have a 30-round mini-14 mag leftover from when I last owned one in the 90's. I think I even have a picture of me with it and my GP-100...

IIqplC18waDcQZIW79twBiflF0H6pEkATq2oBYmtaD8pX92IB.jpg

The first Mini I owned was a blued model with the factory folding stock. It was a tack driver. I sold it when I was broke. I then replaced it with the one in the photo; a stainless Ranch Rifle. It was simply awful. Shooting off-hand, I struggled to get all the shots on a paper plate at 25yds. Got rid of it and never had the desire to own another one.
 
The original Mini 14 was a great gun. It was known as the "Southport" Model. Only around 1500 of them were ever made. They were sent to Law Enforcement Agencies only

I had one an foolishly let it go.

Rear sight similar to the M-14. The front sight was just like a 10/22. It also had the Roller Lug on the bolt, just like the M-14. They used a much better barrel on this one, I think it was Broached rather than the later Hammer Forged over a Mandrel. Mine was much more accurate and didn't have the wandering zero like later guns

No way it would have been adopted by the military. Springfield Armory had already designed a 223 rifle that duplicated the M-14

Here are a few pictures of it. I wish they had kept this rifle instead of the changes made later

SOUTHPORT.jpg SOUTHPORT 2.jpg SOUTHPORT3.jpg
 
The Mini actually has been tinkered with at Ruger far more than you know.
They experimented with barrels, gas system, metal-to-wood attachment, and so on.

The Mini was made at the Eastern plant & the program had degraded badly in wandering from specs during a period of very troublesome QC overall at that plant.
I can't give you the exact year, but it was overhauled & brought into better continuity 10 or 12 years back.

The conclusion, eventually arising out of the in-house experimentation, was that the average Mini COULD be made more accurate, but it would've affected pricing & easy servicing, so what you see today was retained.
Denis
 
The one thing I wanted to do to my 1970's model (long gone) was there was an accessory that replaced the bolt stop cover that had a set of stripper clip guides on it to fit the M16 series stripper clips. Money being tight as always I simply mooned over the ads and never bought one.

There was an outfit that made a slip on flash hider that mimiced the M14s to scale that slid over the muzzle and exisiting front sight and had a longer pin to replace the pin that held on the original front sight. Another outfit had the same hider but with eared front sight that had to have a new pin hole drilled and the old front sight removed. I thought either would be cool for making it a more 14 Miini14. I have not cared for any of the more AR like flash hiders or breaks available since.

In 1981 there were stacks of the white boxes with red writing and a Ruger Eagle containing straight 20 round mags at both the Graffehower and Hanau Rod and Gun Club. Sadly I only bought the three and they went with that duffle bag gun once things got tight in grad school. I did consider replacing the Mini at one point with an FNC that was at the Hanau Club, and given for what they went and still go for wish I had, but USGI magazines were a tight fit in that gun and had to be snatched free. On another occasion I considered a Finnish M71S but I was more concerned about being shot for its looks by US or NATO troops than by any invaders. So the mini in the duffle bag stayed with me until I needed new text books.

Oh and before folks poke at me about having a non standard rifle and mags in a military setting, I figured in a HQ unit it would do for a start and that "...if I every really need an M16, there will be plenty laying around."

-kBob
 
It’s amazing that so many of you guys have failed to read the Chuck Hawk posting about accuracy with the Mini-14.
Painfully common these days. Too bad that Minis have a bit of a cult following which has driven prices up. The people who are steered away from them because of their perceived (and sometimes real) inaccuracy out of the box would most likely have never bought one in the first place. Those who bother to tinker with them for even an hour are rewarded with a very decent rifle.

As a long-time AR15/M16/XM/M4 collector I'd conclude this by stating that what really appeals to me in Minis is that they're not AR:s. I've surprised quite a few people during last few years by showing up at the range and hunts with a rifle that's neither pitch black nor water transfer printed to a pattern resembling cucumber relish.
 
I had the pinned-on flash hider on my first Mini, I remember those. :)
Denis
 
They are even sold in England to civilians, and UK gun laws require them to be modified to operate as a bolt-action. YouTube videos depict their operation.

After a shot, you pull the bolt to chamber the next round. Imagine the cost of these modified Mini 14s.
 
They are even sold in England to civilians, and UK gun laws require them to be modified to operate as a bolt-action. YouTube videos depict their operation.

After a shot, you pull the bolt to chamber the next round. Imagine the cost of these modified Mini 14s.
Can’t you just block the gas port to do this? Sounds very simple to me but I never tried it! I have seen M1 Carbine modified this way. Jmtcw
 
Ruger sells thousands of the Mini 14's over seas to Police Departments and even standing Armies. We are not the real driver for demand. The demand comes from places we have no control over.

kwg
 
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