Went to buy a holographic site but came home with a Mini 14

[Milkmaster]

Went to the gun store today to pick up my 642 from a trigger job and to also look and educate myself about holographic sites for my newly acquired AR. I saw the EOTech, Red Dot, Aim Point, and a couple I cannot remember the brand. I quickly found out everything they had was north of $500. I will eventually get a holographic site, but I need to read and become a lot more knowledgeable before laying down that cash.

MEANWHILE...

The store had a couple of brand new M1A1 Springfield rifles there that caught my eye. I always seem to gravitate to those because of the historic connection. The M1A's were nice of course but also heavy and expensive for my current wallet. I spied the well known Mini 14 Ranch Rifle nearby the same display. A nice similar gas operated rotating bolt action, shorter carbine, lighter gun, easy recoil option in 5.56! HMMMMM.... it just seemed to call to me. SO I am explaining to the wife how I already have ammo for it because of my AR. I mention our pint sized college age daughter can also shoot it as she does my AR. Finally she gets tired of listening to my feeble attempts to justify the purchase. I walk out of the store with it about 30 minutes later.

I did a search on THR for the Mini14. Seems like lots of members have experience with this rifle. I look forward to reading what you have said and will say about the Mini14. I took it apart gave it the initial cleanup today. I am looking forward to a trip to the range tomorrow. It has the same 1:9 twist as my Armalite AR, so my existing ammo should be good. Same peep site as my AR.

Any first time out thoughts?

 

[mtrmn]

Mini14 was the most fun gun I ever owned. Just don't expect the same accuracy you get with the AR. Plenty adequate for hunting/plinking though.

 

[blahpony]

One of my friends was always telling me I needed to get an AR. I told him that I had my Mini-14. He would roll his eyes.

We eventually went to the range and he fired the Mini-14. He handed it back to me and said "You made a good choice."

 

[ole farmerbuck]

Any first time out thoughts?

Congrats and have fun!

 

[perpster]

Good choice! The Mini-14s are known to lose some accuracy as the barrel heats up. Not a big deal, but just be aware of it. Not unusual for the magazines to be difficult to seat fully in (can be tough to get the locking-in "click"). A very fun gun, and reliable. Enjoy! Oh, and be sure to store it with the action open -- they tend to "freeze" at the gas block if stored with the action closed (requiring some taps with a mallet or dowel to un-freeze).

 

[Ash]

I have an older pencil barrel Ruger Mini 14 GB from the MS State Troopers that I like a bunch. I have owned three AR's, a Bushmaster, a Stag Arms, and a Rock River. They all seemed to come and go, but that GB remained. I'm not trashing AR's, they're great rifles obviously. But I really enjoy shooting that Ruger, plus it's nice to have out in the country. It has been very reliable and does the .223 carbine job just fine for me.

 

[Crowcifier666]

Lots of folks over at Perfectunion.com/vb with Mini knowledge....if you don't mind sifting through the BS. Let's just say they have a moderation problem.

 

[87hurricane]

I would say enjoy! If you are a fan of the M1, you will like the Mini 14. Its a fun little rifle to shoot, fits me well, and the accuracy on mine is just fine. I find mine to be much more enjoyable to shoot than an AR, and I'd never get rid of it.

 

[strambo]

A really good sight for your AR is the Aimpoint PRO. Comes with the mount and can routinely be found for under $400. Almost the exactly same as what is Army issued. It has triple the battery life of the older US Army M68 CCO, but less than half of the latest, but the latest is the M4 which cost $700.

 

[Skyshot]

Good choice, a lot of people trash the minis, but they are pure fun to shoot. I own three AR's and one of them is sub MOA shooter, but when I take the wife and kids to the range with me, they all want to shoot the mini. I think this say's something about the fit and feel of the mini. Hope you enjoy!

 

[REWTEX]

Great choice in the mini 14. I think they are really good little rifles. In my experience the are not as inaccurate as the AR guys say. Every one that I have owned or shot were just as accurate as an entry level AR. Sure higher end ARs will probably shoot better groups but not the ones that are close to the same price point as the mini. The mags are not as common, but I have been able to find Ruger mags at a good price, you just have to be patient. I like the way the mags seat in the rifle and I have haven't had any issues with a mini. The one thing that I did to the one I have now is put a smaller gas bushing in the gas block. That calms down the ejections of the empty casings without hurting the reliability. Have fun and shoot the heck out of it.

 

[MachIVshooter]

The mini is a fun rifle, but I have to say, I think I've taken mine out maybe twice in the last 6 or 7 years. Once I got into ARs, the shortcomings of the mini became glaringly obvious. I've actually been contemplating selling it lately.

 

[TexasPatriot.308]

being an old grunt I love the Garand actions, I got a standard loaded M1A, wanting to get a Scout Squad soon. I have owned and traded/sold minis for years, evan a mini 30. my latest is the mini 14 tactical with the heavier barrel. with a good 2x7x33 Leupold, it is a great, accurate reliable coyote and hog gun that rides in my pickup when I go check cows. Love my minis.

 

[Dee]

The mini 14 is a great rifle, I recently traded one to help finance a Colt m-4 because I have wanted one for years but I am sorry as hell I did. I think the Colt is a great rifle as well but not sure I like it better than the mini, so anyway a few days later I called the shop I traded it at to buy it back but it was already sold:banghead: I guess the moral of the story is hang on to those minis. At some point I plan to get another one though, maybe a mini -30.

 

[Palehorseman]

Brother-n-law was telling me Ruger has a target model out in 7.62x39 and it is ACCURATE.

 

[codefour]

I have a Springfield M1A Super Match that I've had almost a decade. I love that rifle.! Then I got into ARs a few years ago. I love the AR platform.

Last year a coworker wanted a pistol I had. Long story short, he offered me his Mini-14 for the pistol. I traded.

Long story short, I fell in LOVE with the mini..! That's one sweet shooting rifle..! If I hunt anything requiring a .223 caliber rifle, I always take my mini. Yes, some of my ARs are a hair more accurate, but the mini shoots so nice.

I'm now looking to build a target grade mini in the future.

 

[Water-Man]

I have a 186 Series Mini-14 that I bought in 1999. It has several thousand rounds through it and has never missed a beat.

I hope you enjoy yours as much as I do mine.

 

[Phaedrus/69]

I had a Mini with the old skinny barrel about 20+ years ago; it ran well but but was lucky to keep five shots on a paper plate at 100 yards. I hear the newer ones are more accurate. Personally I just didn't really like mine all that much. Didn't like the way the mags lock in or the release, didn't like the stock or the safety. But it was totally reliable for me in the time I had it.

 

[dvdcrr]

I like the idea of the mini but dislike the execution.
First, why not use a scaled down but true m14 or Garand gas system?
Second, why do you take a Garand design and make it inaccurate?

 

[torqem]

The Mini is not a Garand action. It's a .30 Carbine short stroke action. If more people knew about the lack of the roller bearing in the bolt, the Mini-14 would be a lot less popular. For the money, I think that it's a very expensive plinker, and that's all it is. Other than the weight issue, I'd rather have an SKS, and save $200 or so, use steel cored ammo vs vehicles, and CorBon 150 gr sp's for deer and the like.

 

[TPD211]

I finally bought a Mini 14 Ranch Rifle from a friend who needed some money. He never shot it. It had the awful plastic Sparta stock on it. I put the original wood back on it and sold the Sparta stock. This one will do about a 3" group at 100 yards from the bench. Thats with the factory peep sight. I bought a aftermarket 20 round mag for it, waste of 25 bucks. The rounds pop out the top of the rifle when it cycles. Stick to Ruger factory mags. I do read that the Tapco 3rd gen mags work well but I do not know from 1st hand experience. Next on the list will be a Mini 30 at some time down the road.
Nice light weight shooter in .223 My wife likes to shot it.

 

[Elm Creek Smith]

The early Minis with the "pencil barrel" had a tendency to wander as the barrel heated up (which didn't take long). One also has to remember that the M16A1s and early AR-15s had a lightweight barrel that did the same thing. The accuracy requirement for the M16A1 was, IIRC, about 4 MOA, which most early Minis could do, too. Since the retooling and the change to the heavier "stepped" barrel, Minis are much more accurate than they were.

If you'll look at an M16A2 or most of the later ARs, you'll find that the barrel under the handguard is the same profile as the M16A1 in order to accommodate the M203 grenade launcher. The really accurate ARs are like my brother's Colt HBAR with a true heavy barrel.

I don't have an AR because I remember having to clean the carbon deposited by the DGI system in the action and because I can't afford a piston operated one. My Mini fits my needs for a defensive carbine and coyote getter.

ECS

 

[BP Hunter]

Yes, the Ruger Mini 14 is a wonderful and light rifle to carry around. I deeply regret selling it. I saw one in of my local gunstore selling for less than $600 and was that close to buying it again , but decided my AR already had a niche in my gun safe and that it already fulfilled my needs.

 

[Neo-Luddite]

I bought mine new as a poor man.s substitute for the AR or M-1a/M-14 23 years ago when a new blued Mini was 340.00 and the cheapest junky Olympic AR was 700 bucks. Best advice has been given; use factory mags, watch for 'freeze up' if left sitting dirty and un-loved for too long, don't ask it to shoot out past 200 yards or like an AR. We still use them at work and they take lots of abuse from qualification shooting and hard cleaning pretty well.

 

[DougW]

I have 5 1/2 AR's, but a friend wanted to sell his 182 series Mini 14, so I bought it. Just a perfect kick around rifle that I don't worry about dinging and denting. Shoots wonderfully well, and has average accuracy. Works for me-