Ruger mini14

CSA 357
Member



Join Date: April 16, 2006
Location: North Alabama
Posts: 1,203 i wonder if the folks that hate the mini 14 have ever owned one? i love my stainless gb! __________________
A COUNTRY BOY CAN SURVIVE

I've owned 4, back when they could be picked up for around $300. As I said earlier they are a good $300 gun. I won't pay $600+ for one when I can get a much better AR for less money.

In fact everyone I know who now owns an AR started with the Mini-14.

I don't think anyone hates them. But some folks get their feelings hurt when an honest evaluation is presented.

Ruger sells the 20 and 30 round magazines to the general public now. Please don't pass the old "gotta be law enforcement" line around any more, please.

The 16 in barreled Mini is one of the newer ones, called the Tactical, and the other is probably a new one, two. The way to tell is that the barrel is the same size as the gas block instead of being a skinny 0.5 inch tube.

There is nothing wrong with the newer Minis. They shoot about as well as any other non-target 5.56x45 semiauto. Most of the AR's to which I've seen guys trying to compare them are heavy-barreled guns. In 20 years in the Army I never say an M-16/A1/A2 that would shoot anywhere close to MOA.

Deleted.

The new ones are NOT as accurate as ARs. Not my ARs anyway. Really, the statement that a Mini 14 is as accurate as an AR is like saying that a Mustang is as fast as a Chevy.

In any case, my experience is that Minis are not as accurate as a good AR15, but they are not meant to be. Or if they were meant to be, Ruger failed in their mission.

Still, the little Ruger excels in certain departments. The first is in handiness. I'd much rather carry a Ruger Mini with a five round magazine than an AR15. The Mini just doesn't have all of those doo dads poking out all over the place. The Mini is also accurate enough for most non precision shooting. The downside is magazine cost.

I could totally see buying a Mini, if I could get it for around $350-$400 or so.

Did I mention that the Mini is a mighty handy totin' rifle with a five round magazine?

I haven't owned a Mini in quite a few years, since being bitten by the black rifle bug, but I had a pair of them. A 14 and a 30 and I had a good time with both. Now that my fascination with the black rifle has worn off to a degree, I can appreciate the Mini for its strengths. Like I said, if I find a good deal on one, I'll likely grab it. At $350-$400, I'll think on it a bit. At $300, my money would be in my hand before I had a chance to engage my brain.

A mini for a decent price is a good investment and fun rifle. It's likely easier to resell in almost any state than some Saiga's/AKs or AR style black guns. So if you move around a lot, it's very decent truck gun. I'd really like to get my hands on a new one for that kind of money. Around here, $700 is more like it

W.E.G., love the pic, I'm stealing it.

The minis at the walmarts here go for $575

Take a gander and see how the new minis perform....

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=574331

I can't get past the magazine issue. I also have a .223 Saiga and .223 WASR 3 but I can forgive them for the magazine issue, I can't get past Ruger's boneheaded magazine decision.

I had the mini14 bug once. Then I wised up.

i have 2 ar 15s and the ss gb mini 14 none out them will shoot good groups with a hot barrel! i didnt get the mini 14 to shoot as a bench rest rifle! i got it because it will function and its a great gun for what it is, dont try to make into a sub moa gun! if thats what you want get a bolt action, yea i know the a team shot 1000s of rounds with the gb mini 14 and never once killed anyone, but that was just tv.

Thanx for the link on mini-30 mags. Now if I can just get the trigger assembly to stop falling out of gun with the first round.

I have a new 581 series. Shoots great. Magazines are the only drawback

This mini (16" NRA) will do 1" (3 shot) groups if I do my part.........and that's with Federal 55 gr FMJ stuff from WM. I embarrassed my father-in-law at the range - me with my Mini and him with his tricked-out AR; he kept blaming the glass................

My Mini with my favorite rifle of all - Marlin 1894C

Dad got Mom a Mini 14 back in the early 80's for hunting. Mom said she liked it because it was the first rifle she could shoot and hit what she was aiming at.

Now I want those that say you can get an AR for $600 or less to email or PM me. I can't find one for that.
Mike

GCBurner:

Ruger waited until weeks after the '08 presidential election to sell Mini 14 Ruger Factory 20-rd. mags to the general public.

Ruger waited until about a year later to sell Mini 30 Ruger Factory 20-rd. mags to the public.

I followed each of these newsworthy events at "Perfectunion" (Mini 14 forum/magazines) as they happened.
Because of Ruger's ignorance of, or contempt for the demand for these factory magazines, they permanently lost numerous customers over the years.

TonyAngel: As for the Mini's nice handiness, maybe Ruger wanted to generally imitate the (oft-forgotten or unknown) classic Enfield "Jungle Carbine" when they designed the Scout Rifle in .308?

Ignition Override said:

GCBurner:

Ruger waited until weeks after the '08 presidential election to sell Mini 14 Ruger Factory 20-rd. mags to the general public.

Ruger waited until about a year later to sell Mini 30 Ruger Factory 20-rd. mags to the public.

I followed each of these newsworthy events at "Perfectunion" (Mini 14 forum/magazines) as they happened.
Because of Ruger's ignorance of, or contempt for the demand for these factory magazines, they permanently lost numerous customers over the years.

TonyAngel: As for the Mini's nice handiness, maybe Ruger wanted to generally imitate the (oft-forgotten or unknown) classic Enfield "Jungle Carbine" when they designed the Scout Rifle in .308?

Click to expand...

For a gun designer and manufacturer, the late Bill Ruger was no real friend of the Second Amendment, or those who support it. I hadn't been following the Ruger "high capacity" magazine sales to civillians issue, since I was turned off by Ruger quite a while ago, and never considered buying one of Ruger's guns retail. I do have a Ruger .22 pistol, but I bought it used. Bill Ruger thought the Mini-14 was ideal for Police and military sales, and didn't see any "need" for civillians to have them. The folks who are running the corporation now may have been forced to change the "LEO Only" policy by the pressure of economics.

A lot of folks bash guns they've never owned.

However, the pre-580 serialed minis did have some QC issues, some were good and accurate, others not so much.

The 580+ models I have heard are universally better than before. I'd buy one without hesitation if it was a good deal

I bought a mini 14 in the seventies. It was surprisingly accurate and fun to shoot. It was fun to shoot because I could see and hear the action operating. I was in PA and I tried to get Ruger to give me a method to make it a single shot so I could shoot varmits legally. No such conversion available.

Have someone weld you up a solid gas port.