Did Ruger ever make a pin-on flash hider?

[grampajack]

I'm arguing with this guy about his mini 14. It has a pin on flash hider that he claims came from the factory, and I say it's aftermarket.

It's a stainless ranch type rifle in a stainless GB style folding stock. I'm not sure if it came with the folding stock or if someone did it aftermarket, but the stock at least is Ruger. The gun was made sometime in the eighties.

It doesn't have a bayonet lug, so it's not a GB model, nor does it say GB on the receiver. It doesn't say Ranch Rifle either, but not all of them did. I'm not sure when Ruger started marking them that way.

It looks pretty much identical to the GB flash hider, except that slips over the front sight and is pinned into place. I'll admit that it doesn't look like other pinned on flash hiders I've seen, like the ones from Eagle.

So is there any possibility that it's really a Ruger factory pin-on flash hider?

 

[DPris]

I had one many years ago & THINK it came from Ruger, but not 100% sure.
Denis

 

[LeonCarr]

Once upon a time I worked for an agency that issued the Stainless Steel Mini-14 GB and the flash hider was threaded on.

To my knowledge, all factory Mini-14 flash hiders were threaded on and the pinned on were aftermarket. Also to my knowledge before Bill Ruger passed on, only the GB came from the factory with a flash hider, not the Standard Model or Ranch Rifle .

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[243winxb]

I remember the folding stock on the stainless. Heres one http://rugercollectorsassociation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=993&view=previous I think the full autos have them, not semis???

 

[Sun Tzu warrior]

Obviously the flash hider in the picture above was/is made by Chote, not Ruger.
Did Ruger make a limited run with Chote flash hiders pined n at the factory, it appears to be so. My mini with a chote hider (looks identical) only has one pin.) I would ask to see the questionable rifle and if it pinned twice.
If it is you are probably wrong and he is correct, if it only has one pin then you are correct.

The only fully auto mini's (AC556) I've seen had a bird cage hider (same as GB models threaded onto the barrel) or none at all, never seen one with a pinned on Chote.
STW

 

[DPris]

As I recall mine slid onto the muzzle around the front sight base.
It could easily have been aftermarket, that was over 30 years ago.
Denis

 

[grampajack]

As I recall mine slid onto the muzzle around the front sight base.
It could easily have been aftermarket, that was over 30 years ago.
Denis

That's the type this guy has. Slips over the front sight and uses the factory drilled pin hole. It's just a pin-on flash hider that anyone could install on any mini in less than five minutes. I'm sure now that it's just a ranch rifle that someone put into a GB folding stock.

 

[DPris]

Yup, that's the way mine worked.
It did not come on the gun, that much I can tell you.
I acquired it later, from wherever, and this was long before the Ranch Rifle was even thought of.

It was just a Mini-14 back then.
Denis

 

[Kame B.]

I think for a short time Ruger sold a Mini with a slip on muzzle break. and I do believe NcStar makes a imitation of it. Did it look like this?

http://www.ncstar.com/product/product-detail.aspx?ModelNo=AMB14&GroupNo=0

 

[Gordon]

on my old Ruger 180 of the 70s I did have a slip over the front sight and pinned on flash hider that was sold by Ruger . It came in a little card board box and never saw one mounted from factory.

 

[DPris]

Mine looked nothing like that link.
Denis

 

[grampajack]

No, it looked just like the GB flash hider, but with an extended portion that slipped over the front sight. The actual flash hider portion looked just like the GB ones.

 

[Gordon]

As I remember on my 180 series that I bought an aftermarket from Ruger flash hider it sorta looked like an M-14 flash hider but scaled down for the gun
http://www.ifatactical.com/files/1772952/uploaded/Mini-14-M14-Suppressor.jpg

 

[bihj]

Your friend wins this bet. I know, from personal experience, the early Mini-14 and Mini-30's had them

 

[jdh]

This one is listed on a online sale site.



The description says "Ruger mini 14 , in stainless , with factory flash hider , like new , I only shot it a few times"

Up to you to decide if he is being truthful in his description. If he is then there is your answer.

 

[grampajack]

This one is listed on a online sale site.



The description says "Ruger mini 14 , in stainless , with factory flash hider , like new , I only shot it a few times"

Up to you to decide if he is being truthful in his description. If he is then there is your answer.

Considering it has a synthetic stock, I imagine it's been made within the last ten years. That also looks like an Eagle flash hider. If anything it's probably one of the new "Tactical Models" that came out after Bill Ruger died.

 

[Tirod]

Ruger was offering some of those features long before they were released for sale to the public.

Choate had a synthetic stock a long time ago and I wouldn't be surprised if they were used on factory builds. The fun in this discussion is that we are talking pre internet - so we are limited to pre internet media to back all this up.

Time to drag out your old Shotgun News and Annuals to see. Going on what I remember, an all stainless tactical Mini was simply not being offered to the public while BR still had a say in the business, and it's why there were so many variant accessories on the market. It was quite the side attraction at gunshows then with buyers and sellers offering them.

 

[jdh]

Grampajack,

I disagree. There is no barrel step down in front of the gas block that is present on the 580 series minis. It has to be a pre 580 which started in 2005 ish.