New to me mini 14 range session.

[iblong]

I picked up a 580 series mini 14 a few weeks ago and sighted in the iron's,last night I sighted in a scope.
Its not as accurate as my DPMS but Im happy with the results.
My hand loaded 55gr Hornady sp.shot into 1.5" at 100yds 5 shot groups.fairly cool barrel.
Federal 62gr fmj shot between 2.5-3"warm barrel
Herters(Russian)62gr hp. shot consistant at 2.0" even warm
I then ran 20rnds through rapid fire to heat the barrel,And ran
another 5 of my handloads through to see what happened with a hot barrel.It shot into 2.5" I expected much worse.The only work done was an action job.
All in all Im liking this little carbine,Its going to make a great little truck gun.
Bob.

 

[Nico Testosteros]

From what I've heard of Mini 14's that sounds like a good shooting gun.

 

[Ignition Override]

Don't tell some of the AR fans.

Their delicate, adolescent feelings might get hurt and claim that such a rifle can not be that accurate, or call you names.

 

[iblong]

I have an AR and several other rifles that are verry accurate,And I have
pretty thick skin.Truth is I expected about 3" and I was pretty happy to
get the results I did.Im going to play around with load development and see
what happens(part of the new gun fun)the load I got the1.5 groups is a load
I use in my DPMS.In it I get .5-1".Depending on me that day.Actually out of the
box my Dpms would only do 1.5",It took some tunning and action work to get it
to shoot less than 1.5.
Bob.

 

[EdLaver]

I have been eyeing the tactical model like this:

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=179670998

If they only made the 6.8 version just like this one I would jump on it.

 

[rduckwor]

Mini 14's are a real hoot to shoot. They're reliable as the sunrise as well. I have M4's, FAL's and the Mini is the most fun to shoot.

You can easily improve accuracy with a barrel strut (Accu-Strut, Mo-Rod)and flashhider, and a trigger job.

RMD

 

[benEzra]

Don't tell some of the AR fans.

Their delicate, adolescent feelings might get hurt and claim that such a rifle can not be that accurate, or call you names.

As both an AR aficionado and a former mini-14 owner (188-series Ranch Rifle), I'll attempt to take the high road here and just point out that the argument is much more nuanced than that.

Basically, 580-series and up seem to be consistently pretty accurate; pre-580-series can be accurate, but were very inconsistent, so that one example might shoot 2" groups at 100 yards all day, and another would shoot 5.5" with match ammo from a rest and rear bag.

I sold my 188-series because it shot as bad or worse with premium loads than my Romanian AK shot Wolf. However, I'd be confident that a 580-series mini would do much better, because Ruger finally recognized the problem and decided to do something about it after three decades.

 

[cacop]

I think Ruger did a good job with their 580/1 series guns. I think they took it as far as they can go without redoing the whole thing.

 

[TexasPatriot.308]

my 581 series mini 14 tactical with a 2x7x33 Redfield is a terror on hogs in my cow pastures. I lay hogs out regular when I check the cows, get at least 2 every time I ride up on em. had lots of minis and still do, but the series 581 and my old series 189 mini 30 always get me lots of hogs, good coyote bait, helps my donkeys do their job.....

 

[KMO]

...helps my donkeys do their job...

I hate to sidetrack the thread, but what exactly is the job of a donkey?

 

[TexasPatriot.308]

we use donkeys to kick the #### out of coyotes, they are commonly used by cattlemen to take care of their herds, good company for them too. they really bond with the cattle, we took a herd to sale a few weeks ago and that donkey is heartbroken.

 

[KMO]

These forums are a wealth of knowledge. So we can deduce that 1 donkey + 1 581 series Mini-14 = 0 coyotes among the herd...

 

[TexasPatriot.308]

donkeys are a necessity in the cattle business. as for 0 coyotes, no such luck, chain reaction, kill a pig, coyotes and buzzards usually make a pile of black hair of them in a couple of days, but you also get to shoot a coyote or 2. hogs and coyotes, got no shortage of them in my area of Central Texas. took my new Ruger #1 Varminter .22-250 out last evening, nailed me a big boar at about 250 yds. right behind the ear. love that rifle too. love my new baby donkey too....