Ruger Mini 14 circa 1984
- Thread starter vikz
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Range report!!
Well fellas i was able to to try her yesterday and man this Old work horse can shoot!!I just did 20 rounds at 25yds and 20 rounds at 50yds shooting standing offhand, I had a little issue with my polymer mags, it was not feeding properly at 1st but it went away after a few rounds, it cycles but the bolt doesn't go all the way close i had too push the bolt all the way once in a while but no biggie i'll figure it out..But man for a 25yr old rifle its pretty darn accurate..
Well fellas i was able to to try her yesterday and man this Old work horse can shoot!!I just did 20 rounds at 25yds and 20 rounds at 50yds shooting standing offhand, I had a little issue with my polymer mags, it was not feeding properly at 1st but it went away after a few rounds, it cycles but the bolt doesn't go all the way close i had too push the bolt all the way once in a while but no biggie i'll figure it out..But man for a 25yr old rifle its pretty darn accurate..
WarHall
Member
Don't let anyone tell you otherwise -
Mini-14's are a lot of fun, and accurate enough - and there are things you can do to them to make them even better! Mine looked a lot like yours, originally, now it hardly looks anything like the rifle I first bought. I every once in awhile whip it out and tinker with it, It's got about what I bought it for in add-ons. I'd like to get another one and start from scratch. My big thing now is reloading to find the 'best' round for it. Here's a pic, one of the rifle and the other of my latest 'tweaks' :
Mini-14's are a lot of fun, and accurate enough - and there are things you can do to them to make them even better! Mine looked a lot like yours, originally, now it hardly looks anything like the rifle I first bought. I every once in awhile whip it out and tinker with it, It's got about what I bought it for in add-ons. I'd like to get another one and start from scratch. My big thing now is reloading to find the 'best' round for it. Here's a pic, one of the rifle and the other of my latest 'tweaks' :
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Seems to me that at 25yards, any rifle should be cloverleafing. If that's a standard 8.5"x11" paper you are using, the rifle looks to have a 24" MOA.
That rifle is in great condition, but mini-14s made in the 1980's don't have the best reputation for accuracy.
That rifle is in great condition, but mini-14s made in the 1980's don't have the best reputation for accuracy.
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GBExpat
Member
Elbert P . Suggins
Member
I just bought a SS .223 Ruger mini 14 Ranch Rifle and mounted a Burrus 2X7 Ballistic Plex and with that size paper a whole clip of 20 rounds at 100 yards is inside the center ring with 60% of them in the bullseye. And at 200 and 300 yards the drop is not much. Even off-hand standing at 25 yards they should be grouped twice that good. Try a shooting table or even a lead sled and see how accurate it really is. You might be pretty shaky with no rest.
1KPerDay
Member
Vikz that's a good looking rifle. Age doesn't really have anything to do with it... but if you want to evaulate for accuracy you really shoot shoot from a benchrest or ideally a lead sled as some have mentioned. I'll be surprised if your rifle will group tighter than 4-5 inches at 100 yards. Mine won't... but I haven't tried any of the accuracy fixes yet.
As for the mags, order up some Ruger 20-rounders while you can; they'll more than likely run perfectly.
http://shopruger.com/webapp/wcs/sto...d=-1&parent_category_rn=19655&lastCatId=19655
As for the mags, order up some Ruger 20-rounders while you can; they'll more than likely run perfectly.
http://shopruger.com/webapp/wcs/sto...d=-1&parent_category_rn=19655&lastCatId=19655
Elbert P . Suggins
Member
With Ruger,s retooling for the Mini-14 the accuracy is right there with the best. My groups at 100 yds with the Burrus on a lead sled stay at 2 inch groupings consistently. If you shoot offhand you are sighting in yourself, if you use a table you are sighting the gun in my humble opinion.
better targets??
Hello guys I went back to the range and this time i used my range bag as a rest and here are the results..25yds and 50yds I counted 28shots on both unless i missed a shot becs its on top of each other
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P.S. the 30 round metal mags works the best..
Hello guys I went back to the range and this time i used my range bag as a rest and here are the results..25yds and 50yds I counted 28shots on both unless i missed a shot becs its on top of each other
.P.S. the 30 round metal mags works the best..
krs
Member
Viz,
It looks to me like there's a bigger problem with the shooter than with the rifle.
I know you won't be offended by my saying that because if you look at that last target there are four or more shots that are fairly well grouped just up and to the left of center. To me that says that the rifle is capable enough but the shooter is jerking the trigger or anticipating the shot to the point of losing focus, or one of the other technique errors that can ruin a shot. The rest of your shots are sprayed all over the paper
Even with the reputation of Mini-14's I don't think that it's beyond the ability of one of them to keep all shots within 1 1/2" at 25 yards. That would compute out to 6 moa accuracy, and I think most anyone would agree that a mini-14 that isn't damaged and has a good crown can hold 6 moa or better.
Make sure the stock screws are tight, pay attention to what you're doing and I'll bet you'll come back with something to be happy about.
It looks to me like there's a bigger problem with the shooter than with the rifle.
I know you won't be offended by my saying that because if you look at that last target there are four or more shots that are fairly well grouped just up and to the left of center. To me that says that the rifle is capable enough but the shooter is jerking the trigger or anticipating the shot to the point of losing focus, or one of the other technique errors that can ruin a shot. The rest of your shots are sprayed all over the paper
Even with the reputation of Mini-14's I don't think that it's beyond the ability of one of them to keep all shots within 1 1/2" at 25 yards. That would compute out to 6 moa accuracy, and I think most anyone would agree that a mini-14 that isn't damaged and has a good crown can hold 6 moa or better.
Make sure the stock screws are tight, pay attention to what you're doing and I'll bet you'll come back with something to be happy about.
briansmithwins
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Just by way of comparison, here's a target I shot with my friends 16" AR, 1/9 barrel if I recall correctly. He wanted to see which grouped better, 62 gr (on the left) of 75gr (on the right). Target was at 50 yards and has 1" grid squares.
PS: The he has a crap scope on the rifle. BSW
PS: The he has a crap scope on the rifle. BSW
glockman19
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Older Mini-14's have a 4-5" MOA as evidenced by your targets.
Newer mini-14's with the heavier barrels are much more accurate, more comprable to the example briansmithwins, shows above.
My newer 580 serries mini-14 is as accurate as my AR's.
Newer mini-14's with the heavier barrels are much more accurate, more comprable to the example briansmithwins, shows above.
My newer 580 serries mini-14 is as accurate as my AR's.
outerlimit
Member
It looks nice, wish it was mine!
I would have the barrel threaded for a flash suppressor, quite a fireball comes out of those barrels otherwise in my experience.
I would have the barrel threaded for a flash suppressor, quite a fireball comes out of those barrels otherwise in my experience.
krs yes you're probably right about me jerking the trigger , this is only the 2nd time shooting this mini and i have to get use to the trigger and finding the right sight picture, i guess i need to shoot my GSG5 rifle more to practice the basics , and i don't get offended with constructive criticism always good to get others point of view to improve my shooting skills...P.S and i usually shoot my rifles with a scope not iron sights.
1KPerDay
Member
Here's the best mine would do with me behind it, 50 yds, prone, frome a somewhat wobbly rest.
Looks like you might improve a bit, but don't look for groups like those AR ones posted from your Mini... not without spending a lot of money.
Looks like you might improve a bit, but don't look for groups like those AR ones posted from your Mini... not without spending a lot of money.
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