Mini 14 Ranch Target

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The first center fire I bought was a stainless Ranch rifle. It was very accurate... if you knew it’s way: the cold barrel zero was 2” to the left and 9” below the hot barrel zero at 100 yards. At the same time, the secondary projectile launched 50 yards to the 4:00
 
I have the “Ranch” with the mechanical ejector that chunks the brass into the next zip code. My friends regular mini 14 with the spring loaded ejector is better at keeping brass handy for pick up, night and day difference. The rear sight is also better IMO, good thing because they don’t have the good scope mounting points that the Ranch does.

His Mini is also more accurate than my Ranch as well.
 
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dredd said:
Excellent!!!!

My Mini 14 has been around a long time. It was used when I picked it up in the 80's.

It is definitely one of my all time favorite scatter guns:D
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Did I say that???

Coyotes, bobcats, paper, always fun to shoot.

I took the scope off of it years ago and shoot it with the peep.

Maybe I like it because when I miss, I can blame the gun, not myself. Doesn’t work with the rest of my guns.
 
benEzra said:
My first rifle was a 188-series Ranch Rifle. I was shooting one day and realized I was plinking my car with the flung brass. :eek:
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I'm thinking this could be a good selling point. I'd much rather have to walk 30 feet to look for brass than run around screaming cause it went down the back of my shirt. Never fun unless it happens to someone else.
 
I knew the accuracy of Mini 14s before I bought mine. I had a a couple specific reasons for buying it :

1.it's stainless, so if I want to keep it in the trunk or tool box for extended periods, no problems.
2. The gas action can put up with more crud than my AR's, so if I need to wade through a creek with it, I'm not as worried about a little mud in it.
3. I wanted a back up weapon that used the same ammo as my Ar's, but I didn't want another bolt gun.
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I had to smile when I saw Mini 14, Ranch and Target in the same sentence. Don't get me wrong, I love my mini 14 and my mini 30. Both have the struts which does help the accuracy after the barrel warms up. My friend was joking with me at the farm the other month when we were shooting them. He said you might hit the steel plates more often if you aimed perpendicular to the range and just ejected your brass at the steel. :)

All joking aside, they are fun guns to shoot. I had to just adjust my expectations.
 
I regret never buying one... yet. I have a Stainless 10-22 with the same laminated stock as this and a slab sided Mark IV with a custom grip to match. I still would like to have one so I think I'll keep my eyes open for one like this.

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There used to be a company that specialized in accuracizing Mini-14s, but I can’t seem to remember the name.
 
I've got a Mini-14 in the series 186, that I did the Accu-Strut, and a trigger job, as well as placing it in an oversized Hogue stock, and a bi-pod, and a 2X7 Vortex scope, which is capable with my hand loads of MOA, and I also have the Mini-30 Tactical, that I placed a Bushnell 1.5X4.5 scope on, and it will do MOA with my handloads also. Now to be completely honest, I've had to do a lot of reloading with different components (not to mention factory loads) to get either rifle to shoot as well as they do, but still I wouldn't consider them to be of target quality.
 
back in January I bought 20's from the Ruger Shop. Had to wait more than they said in the ad but eventually got them, I think at $35 each.

EDIT: Just checked at ShopRuger and they are $39.95

-kBob
 
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Back a decade ago there were folks on THR that suggested that doing the gas restrictions on the rifle and using a buffer noticeably increased accuracy without anything else.

others insisted that EITHER shortening the barrel and recrowning OR adding a muzzle device of any kind changed bad barrel harmonics enough to make noticable differences.

I seem to recall there were guys making DIY Accu-Struts from things as diverse as rebar and Mini Mag lights!

just checked and a search for "Accu-Strut" on THR rifles gives 12 pages of responses.

-kBob
 
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