Mini-14 twist rate

[tark]

Just picked up a standard Mini-14 Ranch rifle with the standard wood stock, brand new. Before all of you AR lovers start in ....I know....I know....I know...I admit all of those things. ARs are more accurate, ARs are easier to work on, ARs have proven themselves in battle, ARs hold their value better...OK. Fine. but I don't like them. I cut my teeth on M-14s.
Getting to my question, what is Ruger's twist rate for that barrel? It shoots accurately with the 62gr green tipped NATO ammo I have tried. (Three inches at 100 yards with my old eyes and the iron sights it came with) so I assume it is at least 1-10 or faster. I have scoured the manual and my reference library and I can find no mention of it. Help me out, you Ruger Guys.

 

[walkenbear]

New Ruger mini 14 rifles are a 1 in 9" twist barrel.
The Mini 14 changed from 1 in 7" sometime in 1997 and have been 1 in 9" since then.

 

[tark]

Thank you walkenbear! That should get me up to around a seventy gr bullet, I imagine. Time to get out the 223 dies. The gun is marked "5.56 NATO" so any 223 load should be OK. I understand that the reverse is not always true. I may have to get some small base dies. The chamber appears to be very tight, fired cases measure only .002 expansion.

 

[moxie]

It ain't true that "any" .223 load should be all right. MOST .223 loads from recognized sources (reloading handbooks and other published data) should be OK for 5.56 mm chambered guns.

A source for the 1:9 twist is the Ruger website. See:

http://ruger.com/products/mini14RanchRifle/specSheets/5801.html

 

[au_prospector]

Mini 14

Download an owners manual from the Ruger website specific to your model year rifle. The one I downloaded for my rifle states BOTH .223 Remington and 5.56 NATO ammunition are good to go in mine.