Riomouse911
Member
I have 3 Minis; a 180 series stainless .223 Ranch, a similar vintage blued Mini 30 and a new model 583 series stainless 5.56.
The newer gun has the faster 1/9” twist and heavier barrel, it shoots better than the 180 series.
I paid $349 for my newest mini in January, it was a police trade in that maaaaybe had a box of rounds fired through it. As far as I could see it was nearly spotless inside and out.
At some point I will tinker with the trigger to improve the pull, it has the usual heavy-creepy Mini pull they almost all have out of the box.
I completed a week-long Patrol Rifle Instructor School with an open-sighted Mini-14 similar to this one in January of 2020. We shot at ranges from 5 to 300 yards. My scoring performance with the Mini wasn’t close to the guys using the optics-mounted AR’s, but I was good enough to pass so I’m happy.
Mid-week we had a contest and shot at 50 yds in pitch black, trying to hit the light-sticks on our target. Once you did then you got to shoot neighboring light sticks until we missed... I barely hit mine and got one other to my left, but a younger dude from up North quickly cleaned house and shot like 8 or 9 (or 10?) in a row with his ACOG-mounted BCM.
Later, still in near-total blackness, while we were drill-shooting with flashlights they called in air support that flew up fast and then hit the spotlight. The airship settled about 15 feet over our heads and the wash got so strong it ultimately blew all the stapled targets away and even sent all of our dropped mags skidding across the concrete.
(I am in the black jacket still shooting the Mini, directly under the nose of the helicopter.) I brought five rifle mags with me so I blazed away with the rifle until my target blew off the stand. Almost all of the others had already shot their rifle mags dry and had transitioned to pistols by the time this was taken. Even when banging away with a bone-stock Mini it was an awesome week of shooting.
The Mini 14 has its uses despite its high price and well-less-than-MOA average accuracy. It is deputy-proof, can handle little maintenance and still run all day, is simple to operate and hits with the exact same authority as the AR. Plus, in Ca it is still 100% legal to walk into a gun store to buy and own today without being registered as an “assault weapon” or skirting the anti AR/AK rules with “featureless” furniture or some other gizmo to operate it.
Stay safe.
The newer gun has the faster 1/9” twist and heavier barrel, it shoots better than the 180 series.
I paid $349 for my newest mini in January, it was a police trade in that maaaaybe had a box of rounds fired through it. As far as I could see it was nearly spotless inside and out.
At some point I will tinker with the trigger to improve the pull, it has the usual heavy-creepy Mini pull they almost all have out of the box.
I completed a week-long Patrol Rifle Instructor School with an open-sighted Mini-14 similar to this one in January of 2020. We shot at ranges from 5 to 300 yards. My scoring performance with the Mini wasn’t close to the guys using the optics-mounted AR’s, but I was good enough to pass so I’m happy.
Mid-week we had a contest and shot at 50 yds in pitch black, trying to hit the light-sticks on our target. Once you did then you got to shoot neighboring light sticks until we missed... I barely hit mine and got one other to my left, but a younger dude from up North quickly cleaned house and shot like 8 or 9 (or 10?) in a row with his ACOG-mounted BCM.
Later, still in near-total blackness, while we were drill-shooting with flashlights they called in air support that flew up fast and then hit the spotlight. The airship settled about 15 feet over our heads and the wash got so strong it ultimately blew all the stapled targets away and even sent all of our dropped mags skidding across the concrete.
(I am in the black jacket still shooting the Mini, directly under the nose of the helicopter.) I brought five rifle mags with me so I blazed away with the rifle until my target blew off the stand. Almost all of the others had already shot their rifle mags dry and had transitioned to pistols by the time this was taken. Even when banging away with a bone-stock Mini it was an awesome week of shooting
. The Mini 14 has its uses despite its high price and well-less-than-MOA average accuracy. It is deputy-proof, can handle little maintenance and still run all day, is simple to operate and hits with the exact same authority as the AR. Plus, in Ca it is still 100% legal to walk into a gun store to buy and own today without being registered as an “assault weapon” or skirting the anti AR/AK rules with “featureless” furniture or some other gizmo to operate it.
Stay safe.
