Ruger Mini-14 - Care and Feeding?

[Kyle]

My strategy is pretty much keeping my shots under 100 yards (no problem there - unless I'm on a range, 100 yards puts a lot of trees in my line of fire), replacing the rear sight with something a little more robust and easy to use, and maybe springing for an Accu-Strut down the road.

I think there are cheaper alternatives to the accustrut on eBay if you look. Same exact things from what I can see.. Even if you can't get it tuned to your barrel, it will still look cool as well as act like a heat-sink.

 

[General Zod]

Bought my Ranch Rifle new in 1984 - never have fired it. Have 6 factory 20 rounders and three Federal Ordinance 30s besides the original 5 round mag.

Twenty years and you've never fired it? That's has to be a sin of some kind. Get thee to the range and repent!

I got twitchy having to wait two weeks to fire mine.

 

[Armybrat]

Twenty years and you've never fired it? That's has to be a sin of some kind. Get thee to the range and repent!

I got twitchy having to wait two weeks to fire mine.

Guess it is, but I'm not really a rifle guy. Bought it just to have one, and also because as a law-abiding citizen, I could. <wink>

One of my sons wants it, as he's been dropping me hints almost every Christmas & birthday by giving me a box of .223 ammo. I think he's gonna have about 800 rounds when he gets it. lol

 

[pvtsnowball82]

Guess it is, but I'm not really a rifle guy. Bought it just to have one, and also because as a law-abiding citizen, I could. &lt;wink&gt;

One of my sons wants it, as he's been dropping me hints almost every Christmas &amp; birthday by giving me a box of .223 ammo. I think he's gonna have about 800 rounds when he gets it. lol

Sounds like a smart kid!

 

[cooltouch]

I think there are cheaper alternatives to the accustrut on eBay if you look. Same exact things from what I can see.. Even if you can't get it tuned to your barrel, it will still look cool as well as act like a heat-sink.

I went and looked around on eBay, searching for alternatives that might possibly accomplish the same results. I tried a variety of search strings, but all I got hits on were a few auctions for Accu-Struts. I just couldn't find anything else, and I tried searching on everything I could think of that might even remotely pertain to accurizing a Mini-14.

So, what's the magic word, er, search string?



Do you recall any specifics of the accurizing systems that may be on eBay?

 

[pvtsnowball82]

Har-Bar and Mo-Rod are two other strut makers. Can't find any others.

 

[General Zod]

Guess it is, but I'm not really a rifle guy. Bought it just to have one, and also because as a law-abiding citizen, I could. <wink>

One of my sons wants it, as he's been dropping me hints almost every Christmas & birthday by giving me a box of .223 ammo. I think he's gonna have about 800 rounds when he gets it. lol

Well, I'd never argue that you "shouldn't" have it...so yeah, it's all good. And yeah, your son is the man with a plan. He'll have a pretty good set-up!

 

[cooltouch]

Har-Bar and Mo-Rod are two other strut makers. Can't find any others.

Thanks. I like the looks of the Har-Bar system. Lots of flexibility. The test targets they show at their site are quite impressive.

Best,
Michael

 

[Mavrik]

Be careful with steel cased ammo. The extractor has been know to break when using steel cased ammo. Ruger at one point was saying that they would fix it once for customers. Don't know for sure if this still is true.

 

[General Zod]

I'm pretty much avoiding steel cased rounds as a matter of course already. I've read enough negative about it to be wary.

 

[Larry Morgan]

The last one I had did NOT like steel cased ammo. After being fed steel cased ammo for awhile, it had consistent extraction problems, would cycle without having pulled the last round from the chamber. Basically one of the worst jams to clear you could have in the field. One in the chamber, one trying to feed behind it..

 

[Kyle]

I'm pretty much avoiding steel cased rounds as a matter of course already. I've read enough negative about it to be wary.

Steel is all I run in my mini. Haven't had extraction issues other than that I had an extractor break while using steel cased ammo. Most of the negative you hear out there is irrational. I've run thousands of rounds of steel between my mini, ar15 and several 9mm's and I have had only a handful of failures. Caused by the ammo.

 

[Dragunov]

It's not the "flip" as I understand things. I had "tuning" explained to me using the analogy of a guitar string and the fact that the barrel is exhibiting a sinusoidal wave characteristic. Depending on where everything is lining up when the round leaves the muzzle determines the impact point. Putting a compensator on the muzzle is more to add mass to the system and dampen out some of the wave and hopefully create some sort of repeatability.
So that's my attempt... Help me out here folks.

I had a Mini once. The accuracy was so bad from a gun vice, I had to send it back twice. Still no luck so I sold it. I paid around $300 for mine and I believe it was either 1979 or 1980. I suspected barrel whip at that time and ALMOST had a gunsmith shorten the barrel, which may have solved the problem. Thing is, if it still didn't work to my satisfaction, I would've had trouble selling it. If you have an old Mini, you may want to try that.

I really like the idea of the Mini. The problem, even with the "new and improved" Mini-14, is that if I'm going to pay $700-$800 for a rifle, I'm going to get the most accurate one I can find and the Mini does not fit that criteria. The reliability is without question, but I would rather have a rifle that with just a little more care (maybe) will be just as reliable and considerably more accurate for the money. I have a Kel-Tec SU-16 "B". Thin barrel, but for some reason, it doesn't barrel whip much. On its (my) WORST day, it's a 2" MOA rifle. On its (my) best day, 1.25 MOA which is what I consider acceptable accuracy for a semi auto in that price range. Anything over 2" MOA is unacceptable accuracy at any cost as far as I'm concerned. I also have an AR that will drive tacks, but I spent $1200 with match trigger, in Kali for it. Sometimes, you simply get what you pay for. Sometimes not.

Also. I NEVER use steel cased ammo in ANY of my rifles period! Even my SKS gets M67 Yugo brass. Steel is hard on the feed ramps, and causes premature wear! Steel ammo for Commie guns was simply because the guns themselves weren't meant to last forever. However, they CAN last years longer, if you use brass ammo.

Just my "subjective" observations.

 

[Kyle]

I had a Mini once. The accuracy was so bad from a gun vice, I had to send it back twice. Still no luck so I sold it. I paid around $300 for mine and I believe it was either 1979 or 1980. I suspected barrel whip at that time and ALMOST had a gunsmith shorten the barrel, which may have solved the problem. Thing is, if it still didn't work to my satisfaction, I would've had trouble selling it. If you have an old Mini, you may want to try that.

I really like the idea of the Mini. The problem, even with the "new and improved" Mini-14, is that if I'm going to pay $700-$800 for a rifle, I'm going to get the most accurate one I can find and the Mini does not fit that criteria. The reliability is without question, but I would rather have a rifle that with just a little more care (maybe) will be just as reliable and considerably more accurate for the money. I have a Kel-Tec SU-16 "B". Thin barrel, but for some reason, it doesn't barrel whip much. On its (my) WORST day, it's a 2" MOA rifle. On its (my) best day, 1.25 MOA which is what I consider acceptable accuracy for a semi auto in that price range. Anything over 2" MOA is unacceptable accuracy at any cost as far as I'm concerned. I also have an AR that will drive tacks, but I spent $1200 with match trigger, in Kali for it. Sometimes, you simply get what you pay for. Sometimes not.

Also. I NEVER use steel cased ammo in ANY of my rifles period! Even my SKS gets M67 Yugo brass. Steel is hard on the feed ramps, and causes premature wear! Steel ammo for Commie guns was simply because the guns themselves weren't meant to last forever. However, they CAN last years longer, if you use brass ammo.

Just my "subjective" observations.

Im not entirely sold on the premature wear deal. Until I see someone fire brass in one rifle compared to steel in an identical rifle and the results yield a noticable difference in wear before the cost savings of steel outweighs the cost to replace the parts damaged by the steel casings... Then I will continue to keep shooting steel in any rifle that will cycle it. But to each their own of course. I would like to shoot 50% more than spend 50% more.

 

[General Zod]

I had a Mini once. The accuracy was so bad from a gun vice, I had to send it back twice. Still no luck so I sold it. I paid around $300 for mine and I believe it was either 1979 or 1980. I suspected barrel whip at that time and ALMOST had a gunsmith shorten the barrel, which may have solved the problem. Thing is, if it still didn't work to my satisfaction, I would've had trouble selling it. If you have an old Mini, you may want to try that.

I really like the idea of the Mini. The problem, even with the "new and improved" Mini-14, is that if I'm going to pay $700-$800 for a rifle, I'm going to get the most accurate one I can find and the Mini does not fit that criteria. The reliability is without question, but I would rather have a rifle that with just a little more care (maybe) will be just as reliable and considerably more accurate for the money. I have a Kel-Tec SU-16 "B". Thin barrel, but for some reason, it doesn't barrel whip much. On its (my) WORST day, it's a 2" MOA rifle. On its (my) best day, 1.25 MOA which is what I consider acceptable accuracy for a semi auto in that price range. Anything over 2" MOA is unacceptable accuracy at any cost as far as I'm concerned. I also have an AR that will drive tacks, but I spent $1200 with match trigger, in Kali for it. Sometimes, you simply get what you pay for. Sometimes not.

For my uses, the Mini is just fine. I've never even taken a shot past fifty yards max - there's always too many trees for that anywhere I've shot. If I'm taking out a coyote or a hog, I'm generally close enough that, if my aim drifts a little, I'll still score a hit on something vital. Of course, a primary reason I went with a Mini and not an AR is that I don't like the feel of an AR. I prefer a rifle with a wood stock, and the Mini is very similar to the M1 Carbine I learned to shoot on - it feels almost exactly the same when I hold it, the action is based on the old Garand-style action, and that layer of familiarity will enable me to forgive a shot dropping slightly at what, for me, is extreme range.

 

[Dragunov]

For my uses, the Mini is just fine. I've never even taken a shot past fifty yards max - there's always too many trees for that anywhere I've shot. If I'm taking out a coyote or a hog, I'm generally close enough that, if my aim drifts a little, I'll still score a hit on something vital. Of course, a primary reason I went with a Mini and not an AR is that I don't like the feel of an AR. I prefer a rifle with a wood stock, and the Mini is very similar to the M1 Carbine I learned to shoot on - it feels almost exactly the same when I hold it, the action is based on the old Garand-style action, and that layer of familiarity will enable me to forgive a shot dropping slightly at what, for me, is extreme range.

Of course! I HAVE seen Minis that are good shooters. Some are good, some aren't and I agree. If it works for you, that's what you should be using.

I catch crap about my Norinco SKS, but. it works for me and is in fact, out to 200 yds, nearly as accurate as my AR, or any Garand. My friend has a Mini. He had it accurised and it's within what I consider acceptable MOA.

I wasn't meaning to knock the Mini, just my own personal experience.

 

[Dragunov]

Im not entirely sold on the premature wear deal. Until I see someone fire brass in one rifle compared to steel in an identical rifle and the results yield a noticable difference in wear before the cost savings of steel outweighs the cost to replace the parts damaged by the steel casings... Then I will continue to keep shooting steel in any rifle that will cycle it. But to each their own of course. I would like to shoot 50% more than spend 50% more.

It may not but steel is harder than brass and seems to reason it's harder on the gun. Guess I'm kinda spoiled too. My last job, I spent five to ten days a month, out on the range on Unkey Sams dime, so I got free ammo.

 

[Kyle]

It may not but steel is harder than brass and seems to reason it's harder on the gun. Guess I'm kinda spoiled too. My last job, I spent five to ten days a month, out on the range on Unkey Sams dime, so I got free ammo.

Ha! must have been nice! Im jealous

The steel is harder than brass, but it isnt harder than the metal the gun is made of. Plus, most steel is coated in something so that acts as a buffer if it actually did cause extra wear.

 

[General Zod]

I've heard the resin they coat steel cases with can be a bear to clean out of the chamber after you've shot a few rounds.

 

[Kyle]

Ive heard that also, but you have to get them SUPER hot for that resin to actually come off the casing and create buildup problems. That is what a gunsmith friend of mine in houston has said anyways. i have never had any chamber issues, but I am one single case.