Ruger Mini 14 effective range

[Catpop]

I finally got around to dragging the Mini 14 Ranch Rifle I bought used in 1989 out of the closet to see if my bad shoulder can handle it. After about 20 factory rounds it looks like I may be back in the centerfire business. I think the gun is OK as I was printing 1" groups a 60 yards+/-
Questions:
1) Is the range of this gun worth a 4 x 12 scope or is 3 x 9 about it. At the range today the cheap 4x -32 mm it came with is definitely not up to the task.
2) What do you think my expectations of the setup should be: 100, 200, 300, 400, 500 yards? More? This is my first experience with this round so I'm at square one.
Tx in advance, catpop

 

[jmr40]

A fixed 4X scope is enough for at least 400 yards to hit deer sized game. The only reason for more magnification is to hit tiny varmints at 400 yards. I use 1-4X20's on my AR's and feel I have more than enough scope for the guns accuracy potential, around 1 MOA. I doubt the Mini would do better.

I think you need more quality rather than more magnification. The cheap scope is limiting you, not magnification.

 

[DougW]

I would guess that effective range depends on how accurate your Mini is. My 181 series rifle can ring an 8" gong with open sights at 150 yards all day long. I would say that a 3x9 would be the best in my opinion. I have scoped AR's that shoot much better than my Mini 14, so I keep my Mini set up with open sights. It serves as a back up to my HD shotgun or pistol.

 

[Catpop]

Thanks for info. I think I'll put a good used 3 x 9 on it (I already have) and start out at 100 yards. I know its not target rifle so I'll just let it have its head and see where it carries me. Meanwhile I'll learn about reloading the tiny 223. I've never loaded anything smaller than a 35 Rem (rifle). Should be fun!
Tx catpop

 

[Art Eatman]

I had four early Minis. Always used a K-4. I found that first shots were reliably on, for point of aim = point of impact. First three shots were always around 1.5 MOA. Never figured it for a small-group paper puncher.

I never had to shoot beyond 125 yards for coyotes or jackrabbits, but the cartridge worked well.

 

[desidog]

Ditto on the K-4.

My 181- is very consistent; you just have to know that as the barrel heats up it'll walk up the page and go a bit to the right... so knowing your cold and hot zeroes are important.

/Also, I'm still waiting to collect my brass when they re-enter the atmosphere...

 

[9mm+]

If you have a top rail mounted on the Mini, you could do the tactical setup of a EOTech + a flip-over magnifier. It could be an interesting setup on the Mini-14.

 

[strambo]

The question of "effective range" seems to come up fairly regularly. The truth is only you, the person asking the question, can ever answer it. I can help explain how you can answer it for yourself.

#1 Define "effective" for your intended use. Do you need to deliver a certain amount of energy on target such as for hunting? What size target are you shooting and what percentage hit rate is acceptable?

You just keep walking the range back based on the limiting factors. First limiter, trans-sonic range causing bullet instability. Probably 800-ish yds. Next limiter, energy if hunting, just look up the distance where it drops below desired level. Final limiter, your actual accuracy at extended ranges vs. target size.

So, at one end of the spectrum you can have a .338 Lapua rifle capable of 1MOA out to 2000 yds...and a shooter who can't hit the broad size of a barn. Max effective range, 200 yds.

Or, you can have a master long range shooter using his 300 WM hunting rifle wanting at least 1500 ft/lbs of energy for elk. His max effective range would be ~700yds for elk even though he may be able to hit at 1000yds 10/10.

#2 Test the accuracy of your rifle/ammo/optic/shooting position/shooter skill combination at various ranges (ideally progressively further until the hit percentage drops below acceptable level).

You can extrapolate of course for extended ranges. Let's say your mini is grouping 2" at 100yds from your desired shooting position with your chosen ammo.

Let's say you want to hit an 8" target 80% of the time and energy is no factor. We'll have a max effective range of probably about 400yds. At first glance, you'd think it would be 100% at 400 as the rifle was shooting 2" at 100. However, at 400, wind will play a role as will atmospherics and range estimation issues likely bringing our hit rate on an 8" target to between 80-100%.

Easiest way, discarding energy, is to just take your group size @ 100yds and multiply until the number gets bigger than your intended target size. This is a true theoretical "max" though as it doesn't factor range estimation and wind, just raw mechanical accuracy potential extrapolated for distance.

Your group size used should be no less than 5 and ideally 10 to be giving a true representative sample of the rifle's mechanical accuracy. A random 1/2" 3 shot group doesn't mean the mini can reliably hold 1.5" at 300 or 5" at 1000yds!

 

[sirgilligan]

At 300 yards a 55 grain .223 has approximately the same energy as a 9mm at the muzzle.
At 500 yards it has about half of the 9mm at the muzzle and about twice that of a 22 LR at the muzzle.
At 800 yards it is about the same as a .22 LR.

So, if there is something at 300 yards that you are considering shooting, would you shoot it at 7 yards with a 9mm?

If there is something at 800 yards, would you shoot it with a .22LR at 7 yards?

Point is, I wouldn't shoot a deer at 7 yards with a 22 LR in the chest, but I would a coyote, ground hog, etc.

I wouldn't shoot an Elk with a 9mm at 7 yards in the chest.

 

[carbine85]

I guessing your rifle has the 1:10 or 1:9 twist so it should effectively shoot 62 grain ammo out to 400 yards the same as any .223 rifle. The accuracy may or may not be there but there are things you can do to improve it. If it's the 1:10 it will probably shoot better with 55 grain ammo.
I would go with the more powerful scope and make life easier.
Minis are good rough and tumble rifles.