Disassembling a mini 14 need some help.

[SturmMackRuger]

I just bought a new ruger mini 14 all weather stainless model. And I need some help disassembling it, it is brand new from a pawn shop but the owner must have lost the instruction manual so if any one can tell me how to do it maybe include some pics it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ArmedBear]

Put a phillips screwdriver in the hole in the trigger guard. Use it as a lever. The trigger guard pops open on a hinge when you get the tab loose.

The gun will now come apart. To do the rest, see the manual.

Download the entire manual, with pictures, here: http://www.ruger.com/Firearms/PS-InstructionManuals-RI.html

It's a really neat gun, design-wise. It comes apart and goes together easily. Just follow a few steps. But it really does help to have the manual.

 

[Bigfoot]

Be aware that the bolt is really difficult to put back in. It has to be held at the absolute perfect angle to go in. It can take hours of trying, cussing, and five beers before it just falls in by accident and shocks the heck outa you. It falls in so easily that a tinkerer just HAS to see exactly how it went in so he'll know next time........ so naturally he pulls it back out and has to cuss it for another 10 min. Don't pull it out if you don't have to.

 

[AZ Jeff]

Be aware that the bolt is really difficult to put back in. It has to be held at the absolute perfect angle to go in. It can take hours of trying, cussing, and five beers before it just falls in by accident and shocks the heck outa you.

This frustration would only apply to someone who is TOTALLY unfamiliar with the US .30 cal. service rifles (M1, M14, and M1 Carbine). The Mini-14's bolt is removed/installed EXACTLY like those rifles.

Millions of recruits managed to figure out how to master this little skill in basic training, so your average civilian should be able to do similar.

 

[RNB65]

Be aware that the bolt is really difficult to put back in. It has to be held at the absolute perfect angle to go in.

Yes!

If you're not familiar with the Garand style bolt, you are going to drive yourself insane trying to put it back in. You'll swear there's no way on heaven or earth that bolt is going back into that slot in the receiver. It's a piece of cake once you figure out the angle. But the first time is a real hair puller.

Have fun!

 

[rocketfish]

I have both an M-1A and a Mini-14 and I can tell you that the bolt is way more difficult to put back in on the Mini-14, unless you take the side plate and ejector bolt lock (parts #'s 26 and 27) off of the side of the receiver. I learned that after much suffering :banghead: and even had to ask for help on this message board.

 

[TimboKhan]

Be aware that the bolt is really difficult to put back in. It has to be held at the absolute perfect angle to go in. It can take hours of trying, cussing, and five beers before it just falls in by accident and shocks the heck outa you. It falls in so easily that a tinkerer just HAS to see exactly how it went in so he'll know next time

Hmm. I don't want to sound like a jerk here, but I have never taken down an M14 in my life, and I was able to disassemble and reassemble my Mini pretty easily. The bolt is a little odd, but reading the manual pretty much takes away the heartache. This comment reminds me of all the people who scream about the MkII, yet if you read the manual it tells you exactly how to reassemble it...

 

[rocketfish]

Your "Mini" huh? Mini-14 or Mini-30?

The Mini-14 manual fails to mention removal of the cover plate and the ejector thingie. The Mini-30 manual does mention it. If you follow the manual instructions with the Mini-14, you wouldn't know to remove those parts and reinsertion of the bolt is a real mother.

 

[RNB65]

There's no reason to take any parts off to put the bolt back in. Once you discover the proper angle, it goes in easy as pie. IIRC, you got to turn it about 30* to the right of the bore axis, angle upwards about 45*, and rotate it clockwise a few degrees (it's been awhile since I put a Mini back together). You get the angle right and the bolt will slide right in with no trouble at all.

 

[Gunsnrovers]

Remove parts?

Once you find the sweat spot, it's a piece of cake.

 

[Thin Black Line]

It can take hours of trying, cussing, and five beers before it just falls in by accident and shocks the heck outa you.

This procedure tends to go much faster without the beer.

No disassembly of parts off the bolt is ever required. No disassembly of the
trigger mechanism into individual components is ever required.

 

[martinc64]

I trained on a M21 in the army and I find the mini 14 bolt to be much trickier to replace.

Removing the bolt catch makes it easier but it is possible to do it without removing the bolt catch.

There may be a difference between older model mini14s and the newer ones (which I have).

I also found that if you hold the receiver with the barrel end higher (at about 45 degrees or so) it makes it much easier for the bolt to slip into place.

Fun little rifle IMO. I still need to get a scope and a couple factory 20 round mags.

 

[yongxingfreesty]

thanks for the info

 

[nefarmboy]

I have to have my wife do it. I can't get it and I don't drink. I was trained on the M14 in the Navy. That was 12 - 15 years ago when I did drink.

 

[Elgin47]

FWIW -

I was pretty frustrated the first time I tried to replace the bolt, so kept trying- and trying - and trying - and searching here - until I found a thread that included a suggestion to position everything according to the manual - but then once positioned to pull the firing pin protrusion all the way to the rear (with your fingernail) and it would slip through the slot in the receiver bar, which it did, slick as heck.

Might not work for everybody (or even the next time for me) but it sure worked that first time.

 

[1KPerDay]

I find if you look upward at the underside of the receiver while angling in the bolt from above, you can see what's interfering with insertion and quickly rectify it. Helps a lot. for me.

 

[Blacksmoke]

I have never removed the bolt on my Mini-14 and will wait until the depths of winter to try it. As for the average civilian being able to completely field strip his service rifle please keep in mind that when I went through Basic all we did was run a few patches down the tube and a straw through the cap nipple.

 

[ThomasT]

I admit that when I took the bolt out of my mini I couldn't get the dang thing back in. I remember the firing pin was hanging me up so I popped a live round in the bolt face and the let the bolt drop in.

There was no danger but using a dummy round might be a good idea. As soon as I had the bolt in I removed the round from the bolt face.

 

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

New 580 Mini and hadn't done the bolt removal thing in years.

Popped back in in 30 seconds--just angled it like I took it out and jiggled the ejector with my finger.

NO NEED TO REMOVE PARTS

 

[GRIZ22]

Go to the Ruger website and you can download a manual.

I've had a Mini 14 of some type for the past 30 years. There is no need to completely disassemble the bolt or trigger group on a regular basis.

 

[carbine85]

The Mini 14 is easy to take down. The bolt isn't that bad once you know how. I have taken mine apart 100's of times. Don't dismantle the trigger assembly. It isn't needed for normal cleaning and it's a pain in the ass to put back together. Normal cleaning and lub only requires removing the trigger assembly, bolt, and slide.