New Mini-14 Tac and SFAR!

LoonWulf

LoonWulf

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Joined
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Location
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I just picked theses up last night, but ive been waiting for them for the better part of a month.

Ive wanted another mini from about the time i traded my first one for a stainless R92 in .357 because the guy REALLY wantwd the mini....which i then sold to a pig hunter for no other reason than he REALLY wanted it.
Both guns have been on my list of things to own again....the only two firearms i ever regretted letting go at all, and interestingly enough both re-acquired in the last few months.....well variations there of anyway.

While i was waiting for the guns to get here and the paperwork to be finished, i ordered all the bits and pieces i had and liked or wanted for my original mini but couldnt afford.
I got
asi gen 3 gasblock
Choate handguard
Leupold shotgun vx-ii 1-4x20
Leupold low ruger rings
Power customs shock buffer
Faxon slim 3 port brake.
I have a wolff extra power recoil spring but i dont think ill use it since i have the adjustable gas block.

I immediately broke it down swapped out the parts i wanted to change and did a quick trigger job and skim bed. I also lubed everything.
All thats left is to go run some rounds and tune it.... hopefully it shoots as well as my first mini.
PXL_20250530_021535392.jpgPXL_20250530_021538150.jpgPXL_20250530_021546853.jpgPXL_20250530_021557494.jpg


My wait for the SFAR has mostly be consumed with learning as much as i can about its quirks. Mine is in 6.5CM and for the most part feels nice and smooth. I might even keep the Magpul stock thats on it, tho i really like the PRS lights.
Thus the only things ive done are mount a Sightron S1 Gen2 1.75-5x32 in an Athlon Armor mount, and clean/lube the thing.
PXL_20250529_073459664.jpg


Hopefully well get to shoot them this weekend.
 
LoonWulf said:
I just picked theses up last night, but ive been waiting for them for the better part of a month.

Ive wanted another mini from about the time i traded my first one for a stainless R92 in .357 because the guy REALLY wantwd the mini....which i then sold to a pig hunter for no other reason than he REALLY wanted it.
Both guns have been on my list of things to own again....the only two firearms i ever regretted letting go at all, and interestingly enough both re-acquired in the last few months.....well variations there of anyway.

While i was waiting for the guns to get here and the paperwork to be finished, i ordered all the bits and pieces i had and liked or wanted for my original mini but couldnt afford.
I got
asi gen 3 gasblock
Choate handguard
Leupold shotgun vx-ii 1-4x20
Leupold low ruger rings
Power customs shock buffer
Faxon slim 3 port brake.
I have a wolff extra power recoil spring but i dont think ill use it since i have the adjustable gas block.

I immediately broke it down swapped out the parts i wanted to change and did a quick trigger job and skim bed. I also lubed everything.
All thats left is to go run some rounds and tune it.... hopefully it shoots as well as my first mini.
View attachment 1267570View attachment 1267571View attachment 1267572View attachment 1267573


My wait for the SFAR has mostly be consumed with learning as much as i can about its quirks. Mine is in 6.5CM and for the most part feels nice and smooth. I might even keep the Magpul stock thats on it, tho i really like the PRS lights.
Thus the only things ive done are mount a Sightron S1 Gen2 1.75-5x32 in an Athlon Armor mount, and clean/lube the thing.
View attachment 1267574


Hopefully well get to shoot them this weekend.
Click to expand...
Nice compact rifle.
 
LoonWulf said:
I just picked theses up last night, but ive been waiting for them for the better part of a month.

Ive wanted another mini from about the time i traded my first one for a stainless R92 in .357 because the guy REALLY wantwd the mini....which i then sold to a pig hunter for no other reason than he REALLY wanted it.
Both guns have been on my list of things to own again....the only two firearms i ever regretted letting go at all, and interestingly enough both re-acquired in the last few months.....well variations there of anyway.

While i was waiting for the guns to get here and the paperwork to be finished, i ordered all the bits and pieces i had and liked or wanted for my original mini but couldnt afford.
I got
asi gen 3 gasblock
Choate handguard
Leupold shotgun vx-ii 1-4x20
Leupold low ruger rings
Power customs shock buffer
Faxon slim 3 port brake.
I have a wolff extra power recoil spring but i dont think ill use it since i have the adjustable gas block.

I immediately broke it down swapped out the parts i wanted to change and did a quick trigger job and skim bed. I also lubed everything.
All thats left is to go run some rounds and tune it.... hopefully it shoots as well as my first mini.
View attachment 1267570View attachment 1267571View attachment 1267572View attachment 1267573


My wait for the SFAR has mostly be consumed with learning as much as i can about its quirks. Mine is in 6.5CM and for the most part feels nice and smooth. I might even keep the Magpul stock thats on it, tho i really like the PRS lights.
Thus the only things ive done are mount a Sightron S1 Gen2 1.75-5x32 in an Athlon Armor mount, and clean/lube the thing.
View attachment 1267574


Hopefully well get to shoot them this weekend.
Click to expand...

Awesome rifles love what you did with the mini!
 
Show Me said:
Copy cat. Well this pair is 30 cal. This other pair is .223, because past sales and trades have left me with an empty lust.
The SFAR takes up where the Remington 30 AR left me . Stupid Remington.
View attachment 1267583View attachment 1267584
Click to expand...
Just means we have good taste!

I may eventually get a wood and blued mini those guns are beautiful to me lol.
 
Show Me said:
Wish you would bring up your SRAR after you've had it for a while. I had to modify mine to get it to act like I wanted.
Click to expand...
Ill update with anything i end up doing to it. I havent been able to find a ton about the 6.5cm versions, but im expecting to have to do some tinkering
 
LoonWulf said:
Ill update with anything i end up doing to it. I havent been able to find a ton about the 6.5cm versions, but im expecting to have to do some tinkering
Click to expand...
I didn't know about the 6.5. I'm heavily invested in .308. When I saw the statement, " the power of the .308 in an AR 15" I got interested because it's the same statement Remington used for the Remington 30 AR. Which I promptly bought and it totally faded away. Quality ammo works great but it was hard on brass. My changes including using powders on the fast side and starting loads plus other mods tamed it into a perfict autoloader for me.
Very interested in how yours works for you.
Great fun to be had.
 
Nice choice about getting another Mini, which series did you get? Looks like you’ve got it nicely accessorized already.

Mine is a 584 wood & stainless version, with a Nikon 2-7 power scope on it. Very happy with it, accurate enough for my needs.

I picked up a Federal Ordnance folding stock for it used off the accessory sales pages here, makes a nice tight package.

Good luck with your new guns!

IMG_0170.jpeg
 
Speedo66 said:
Nice choice about getting another Mini, which series did you get? Looks like you’ve got it nicely accessorized already.

Mine is a 584 wood & stainless version, with a Nikon 2-7 power scope on it. Very happy with it, accurate enough for my needs.

I picked up a Federal Ordnance folding stock for it used off the accessory sales pages here, makes a nice tight package.

Good luck with your new guns!

View attachment 1267643
Click to expand...
Mine is a 584 as well. That folder is cool!
 
I had a SFAR in 308 for about 6 months. Mine had the 20" barrel. I think they have a lot of potential but after using mine for a while I decided it wasn't the right tool for what I needed. I wanted something compact in an AR pattern rifle with more punch than 223. While smaller and lighter than most 308 AR's it was still heavier and longer than I wanted.

For about 1/4 what the SFAR cost me I bought a 6.5 Grendel upper to use on one of my AR-15's. Like I said, I didn't dislike the SFAR, it's just that the 6.5 Grendle upper fills the role I wanted better.
 
Congrats on both your new long guns. I love the looks of the Mini 14, but I have never owned one.

I do have an SFAR. It’s the 16” .308.
When I first got it I was beginning to regret the purchase but Ruger fixed it. It took a couple of trips but they got the gas regulator right and opened up the chamber a bit. It runs like a champ on Service Rifle loads. It absolutely mauls brass with rounds spec’d at over 2800 fps. I ruin 147 grain ammo in it. It’s a lot of fun.
I did change the pistol grip and the butt stock. I bought a Magpul MOE K2 grip and an Adaptive Tactical stock. Both were in FDE, but I dyed them dark brown. Kinda getting sick of FDE.

1748749211554.jpeg
 
Shot the Mini and Sfar today.

Tuned the gas block and shot 60rnds of PMC X-tac to function test and zero the scope.
So.far so good.
Once i had the block open enough to lock back + a few clicks it took me a few ahots to zero and produce a couple decently centered 2ish moa groups.
I wouldn't be surprised if the gun can turn in better accuracy, even with this ammo, the scope i decided to use is a Vx-II Shotgun and the crosshairs cover the entire aiming dot, so i was trying to hold 1/2 a pie low.
I did have some 55gr soft points, but i completely forgot to shoot them.
Orange and high left are a 3 shot group after correcting from the two shots left of target.
PXL_20250602_031010034.jpg



Dad really likes the mini also. He spent 20rnds blasting berm trash.
PXL_20250602_003458474.jpg

The muzzle brake and adjusted gas system make a noticeable difference. I can.see impacta thru the scope.

The SFAR ran flawlessly for 50rnds of mixed ammo. 20 rem, 20 win, and 10 of my handloads.
Gas reg is set to 2, and while it seems a little under gassed it did all the gun stuff its supposed to just fine.

Accuracy was decent with the Winchester ammo, and quite good with my handloads, but again the scope im using isnt the best of precision work.
Im PRETTY sure both groups are Winchester, but the top one might be Remington.
PXL_20250602_031042783.jpgPXL_20250602_031004368.jpg


And these are my handloads of 123SST blems over 43gr of h4350.
PXL_20250602_031000058.jpg


Its not chewing up my brass nearly as badly as i expected either.
PXL_20250602_031632795.jpgPXL_20250602_031612369.jpg
 
Don't neglect to clean the gas adjuster on your SFAR. My first days , more than a few days, of testing mine was stuck. Now I remove and clean each time.
 
Sfar killed a sheep and got a paintjob.....
PXL_20250608_155254804.jpgPXL_20250609_064439108.jpgPXL_20250609_064448312.jpg
PXL_20250609_073227440.jpgPXL_20250609_073232766.jpg

I also re-visted the minis trigger job. Did a little more tinkering and smoothing and the pull is 2.75lbs. I may go back to the original secondary sear spring to bring pull back up around 3-3.5lbs well see after i shoot it next.
 
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