Ruger Mini 14: just for fun or useful?

[Roadking Rider]

I love how people compare newer AR's to older Mini's. Try one of the new Mini's I'm sure you'll be quite happy.

 

[Art Eatman]

Roadking Rider, my problem with the Mini comes from my stupidity or ignorance. Y'see, I figure that if I pull trigger and it's, "Bang, whop, flop," I'm dong as well as I'd want to.

Since that was the commonplace thing with my early Minis, I didn't know that I had a piece of garbage instead of a coyote-killer. Since I never had any problems with failure to feed or eject, I didn't know I had a lousy rifle.

"See, aim, squeeze, hit" always seemed okay to me.

 

[shootniron]

My 581 puts up very practical hunting accuracy out to 150yds. It is not a bench rifle...but that ain't why I have it. They also make a great compact and quick handling truck gun.

 

[HOWARD J]

I had a Mini-14 with folding stock--used for protection.
Picked up a ranch Mini-14---never did much with it.
Got a Mini-30--great deer rifle---shot 4 deer with it about 75-100 yards.
It was plenty accurate for deer.

 

[johnnydollar]

My Mini-14 is both fun and useful!

 

[Ar180shooter]

The Mini 14/30 rifles are great, handy field/plinking guns. They're accurate enough for the first few shots, and they go bang every time. What else could you want?

 

[Welding Rod]

If you have a reliable one, one that left the factory free of QC issues, Minis are nice guns. 2 out of my 3 had QC issues though that resulted in unreliable function. One of those was a newer model.

I have owned 3 myself, including a modern one, and currently I own 1 built in '93. My only real complaint with the one I own now is substantial creep in the 2nd stage of the 2 stage triggers (the whole reason for a 2 stage trigger to allow for a safe creep free 2nd stage!), and the rediculous clearances in the rear sight components which makes accurate shooting a crap shoot as the rear peep moves around from shot to shot.

I think one of the reasons for the Mini's reputation of horrible accuracy is that IME they move POI more when switching from load to load than any other gun I have tried. With some Minis and loads a shift of 6-9 inches at 100 yards may be possible. I was really shocked the first time I experimented with this.

But if a shooter sticks with the same load, this issue goes away.

I will keep my Mini as my Uncle left it to me in his will - it obviously is special for that reason. But if it weren't for that, with the availability of other better 223/556 semi auto options, the Mini wouldn't make my list unless I was keeping it around for use by other novice or occaissional shooters. I think the open top action is a great idea for them.

 

[WardenWolf]

1958 Romanian SKS. Chrome-lined bore, excellent condition, and very lightweight:



There's your Mini-14 equivalent.

 

[RPRNY]

First the Sako Grizzly and now the VEPR Super. Ugaarguy, you may be my new rifling style guru! I actually like the looks of the VEPR Super but at 14lbs , I don't think it meets the handiness criteria. I even warmed up to that AR in what appears to be Parkerized and walnut!

I think I'm sold on a Mini (although U-guy also reminded me of how sweet the old SL6 was) and oddly, in synthetic and stainless. I appreciate your experiences and advice. Thanks to all.

 

[ugaarguy]

actually like the looks of the VEPR Super but at 14lbs

Huh? I'm pretty sure 14 lbs is the shipping weight of the rifle and the included accoutrements in the box. WPA lists the .223 VEPR Super at 8.3 lbs. for the rifle itself. That's still 1.3 lbs heavier than a walnut stocked Mini, but a whole lot better than 14 lbs.

Ugaarguy, you may be my new rifling style guru!

Thanks. I must admit I'm just sharing some of the rifles I've lusted after. The SL6 was the one that got away from me. I had a chance to trade a Colt SP-1 for an SL6, but it was during the AWB and the Colt had much greater value as a pre-ban AR-15. Now with the AWB sunset, and even with the current retro AR movement, the SL6 is worth more.

oddly, in synthetic and stainless.

Okay, I may lose my guru status, but if you've warmed to synthetic and like the sight setup on the Super VEPR, have you looked at the Kel-Tec SU-16 CA? It's the best looking of the SU-16 variants, and it's still ugly. But the 4.7 lb unloaded weight, AR-18 style piston and bolt carrier assembly, in stock mag storage, and compatibility with STANAG / M16 / AR-15 magazines have all made it appeal to me despite it's not so pleasant looks.

 

[meanmrmustard]

1958 Romanian SKS. Chrome-lined bore, excellent condition, and very lightweight:



There's your Mini-14 equivalent.

But better

 

[Double Vision]

My new mini-14 started great, and stayed that way even after heating up. I never shot the new one with a scope, but my groups were the same size as I can shoot with an AR.

Ignore people talking about how inaccurate the Mini-14 is, they haven't shot the new ones

I agree. My experience with my new model Mini-14 has been very good.

That being said, I like my new model Mini-Thirty even more.

 

[henschman]

Of course it is useful. It works just fine for any application that requires that something be punctured with high velocity lead, as long as it is less than a few hundred pounds and isn't any farther away than, say, 300 yards. They are fun to shoot, and fire one of the least expensive center fire cartridges. If it tickles your fancy, go for it. There will always be someone who will buy it off you if you end up wanting something else later on.

 

[alienbogey]

That wood stocked AR is the first AR I've ever been even a little bit interested in. I like it.

Back to Mini14's: I bought the Ranch Rifle a couple of years ago, tossed the plastic upper hand guard, and eBay'd a NOS wood upper hand guard. Looks much better now.

Mine also goes bang every single time, and is just fine accuracy-wise with the factory iron sights. Minute-of-coyote is no problem, which is the main reason I bought it.

 

[LoonWulf]

now scope that sks.....

 

[aka108]

223 is a very accurate round in the right firearm. Don't waste you ammo in a Mini 14. Get a AR if you want a semi auto rifle. Or get a good bolt rifle in 223. I bought a few Rugers thinking I might get lucky with at least one. No dice. If I were Ruger I would have roll stamped some competitors name on my products.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Don't waste you ammo in a Mini 14. Get a AR if you want a semi auto rifle

He doesn't want an AR. I've owned my last AR as well. I love the Ruger Mini. All of mine have been very accurate for their intended purpose. I haven't wasted any more ammo in a Mini than i have in any number of guns I've owned. BTW,the SKS is a workable all purpose rifle but the Ruger beats it hands down in every aspect including looks and handling.

 

[sargents1]

I do not own s/a rifle nor any rifle chambered in .223/5.56. I am intrigued, but not to the point of wanting an AR. Just not my thing. But I have taken a shine to the Mini 14, particularly to a stainless / synthetic model.

So I have read some good, some bad. Lot's of "I love my Mini", some "couldn't get rid of it fast enough". But what I haven't been able to find much of is reviews to its potential accuracy. That always seems a little blurred around the edges. I am not expecting MOA performance. But is it a reasonable proposition for coyote at 150 yards or is it just not precise enough?

I have a Mini14 with the older pencil-profile barrel. It is plenty accurate. The new ones are probably better due to stiffer barrels and better manufacturing QC. I am sure that once in a while, someone gets a Mini that doesn't shoot well, but I think that must be the exception.

Mine is minute-of-coyote to at least 200yds with a simple red-dot. No problem. The pic below (sorry its a little blurry) is ten shots at 100yds fired in about 30-40 seconds (I think, that was a while ago). I was using a 1x Truglo Red dot and shooting from a bench rest.

 

[Roadking Rider]

Love this 580 mini Ranch rifle. Manufactured in 2011. It has been a fantastic rifle. It's plenty real world accurate and 100% reliable. Wooden upper handguard is a modified by me M1A hanguard.



I also understand that many who badmouth the Mini 14 have never actually shot one, and there just doing the monkey see money do thing. It happens alot on the net. Just metion the mini 14 and sure enough a AR fanboy will just have to chime in. Make me laugh everytime.

 

[Larry Ashcraft]

I bought my Mini-14 (used) in the early 1980s. I found out fairly quickly that it wasn't a prairie dog rifle, but it's plenty accurate for what it's designed for. It's tough and reliable, and I don't mind throwing it on the four wheeler when heading for the river bottom.

Suppose you want, eventually, to be able to hit something smaller than a basketball @ 100 yds??

After reading about how crappy my rifle is on the internet, I decided to test it myself. My range has a triangle piece of steel, 10" on a side, hanging at 200 yards. I fired ten rounds, rapid fire, and hit it every time. Then I waited a minute or two, and did it again. Twenty rounds, no misses.

That should be good enough for a coyote.

I do have an AR, and enjoy shooting it, but I won't be getting rid of my Mini.

 

[wrs840]

I don't understand the habitual Mini-14 slagging either and have always assumed some internet-parroting-effect to be in play.

Of the rifles mentioned in this thread, I currently have one AR, one AK, two SKSs, and three Mini-14s, one skinny and two of the newer ones. It's a great truck and tractor-cab rifle: light, compact, rugged, simple and accurate (enough) with factory irons. It's also less-intimidating-looking, which can be a plus for a daily-toter. I've been through license checks with one laying in the front seat of my pickup and it's times like that when it's nice that a Mini-14 looks more like a simple farmer's tool than a combat rifle.

On a side note, I've heard an SKS called a lot of things, but "light" was never one of them.

 

[Welding Rod]

I think the only thing wrong with the Mini is that it is manufactured by Ruger.

If the same gun were made by a company that was more quality conscious in production, it would probably be more widely considered a fine gun.