Mini 14 bashing - what gives?

[WVfishguy]

I had one of the early Mini-14s, 180 series, a stainless with the original wooden heat shield, .223 of course. This was about 30 years ago. I used 30 round mags, aftermarket, with no problems. Well, one problem - the wood scorched and burned the forearm when I shot the 30 rounders (stainless gets ungodly hot!).

It NEVER jammed, no matter which mags I used. I don't even think Ruger made a 30-rounder in those days. I might be wrong about that.

Accuracy was fine - not this "pie plate" stuff people speak of now days.

My shooting buddy got a stainless mini shortly after I got mine - his was a "police package" 181 series which, according to my dealer, Ruger really did not intend for the civilian market at that time. It had the flash suppressor, plastic heat shield, etc. Performed as well as mine. He shot 3-5 inch groups the first time he fired it - and he'd never shot a rifle before.

I got out of shooting for a couple decades, stupidly sold my mini. Now I read about minis being inaccurate, and not feeding with aftermarket mags.

What gives? Did the Ruger tooling get worn over the years? Or is this just more Internet blather?

 

[EdInk]

I don't know about the old ones but the new 580 series are suppossedly pretty accurate.

 

[RWBlue01]

Your original is exceptional. Most of the modern mini-14s are not.

I have no love for the mini. I also don't have the hatred that some people have.

IMHO, If you are looking for a SHTF firearm, the mini is not it. The parts availability and costs are not good.

You could go with an AR?
You could go with an AK?
If you are dead set on getting a mini-14, check out the police trade ins at buds.

 

[benogil]

yep, mini's got bad, some were just great, most were not, bad crowns became the rule. For about the same money, an AR is more consistent.
Mini's are better now, but the AR is a rifleman's platform.
Mini's can be more reliable, and still have a following for good reasons.

 

[Art Eatman]

I don't have an answer, other than maybe lots of people think that any rifle they buy should shoot tight groups from a benchrest.

I've had two stainless and two blued; all early models, and I always stuck a K4 on top. They would all shoot about two MOA or a tad less for three shots--which was plenty good for coyotes and jackrabbits.

I got into a schutzenfest in NW Nevada in 1980 or thereabouts during a huge population explosion of jackrabbits. A buddy and I both used Minis one morning and killed over a hundred from just one location. Say, 50 or 75 yards on out to maybe 150. Went back a week later and you couldn't tell we'd made a dent. So, until boredom set in, we ruined the day for another fifty or so. Neither of us noticed any particular accuracy problems, warm barrels or no.

Not having had problems, it's rather difficult for me to complain.

 

[WVfishguy]

RWBlue01; Your original is exceptional. Most of the modern mini-14s are not.
IMHO, If you are looking for a SHTF firearm, the mini is not it. The parts availability and costs are not good.

I understand Mini-14 mags are more expensive than AK mags. As to the rest, care to prove it? Exactly what makes a mini not a "SHTF firearm."

 

[Bamashooter]

my mini is a 580 series skinny barrel. out the box it was shooting 2'' groups at 100yrds. after a few inexpensive mods it will shoot moa all day long. i have sat and ran 100 rounds through it as fast as i can, sit down and shoot a 1'' group. all without a malfunction. if i ever have to break and run or SHTF, or whatever my mini will be there with me. all mods were just little things like a trigger, accustrut, gas block polish and retorque,and recoil buffers. alot of folks underestimate the mini and thats fine with me.

 

[Ignition Override]

Over at "Perfectunion", there is a separate forum for mags-mostly due to the many aftermarket mags which often misfeed or won't feed at all.

That specific forum is for both the Mini 14 and 30, and it is sometimes hard to identify whether some thread titles or remarks refer to 30 (-rd. mags) , (Mini) 30s...etc.

Ruger began offering its own 20-rd. mags to the non-LEO civilian Mini 14 owners only After the presidential election (strange?), and Ruger 20-rounders for the Mini 30 only last spring. This cost Ruger many customers over the years.
To have a "normal capacity factory magazine" they instead switched to the AR, "G-3", "AK clone" etc.

 

[Bamashooter]

i have a mix of pro-mag and ruger 20 rounders and they work the same. in my opinion the promag's are the best mags out there other than the ruger mags.

 

[jhgreasemonkey]

I'm not sure why the bashing? My brother and I shot the heck out of his mini's back during the 90's and there were no accuracy or reliability problems. I have a cop buddy that likes his issued mini-14 just fine. I have asked him about accuracy issues because I hear that from time to time on this forum and he says accuracy is acceptable, which has been my experience with my brothers mini's. I would buy one without a second thought if I was in the market for a semi auto .223 carbine.

 

[MTT TL]

Gosh there has not been a good mini-14 hate thread in a while. The way I hear tell it:

1. It is a Ruger. Bill Ruger compromised on AWB I and therefore all of his guns are scorn worthy. Except for (fill in favorite Ruger here).
2. It is a $350 gun with a $700 price tag
3. It is not an AR
4. It is not an AK
5. It is so inaccurate that you can only strike the Earth itself by accident
6. It hurls spent brass into the next county
7. The A-Team
8. Did I say it was not an AR?
9. It is hard to hang do-dads on
10. The trigger causes warts, the stock gives you boils and the barrel causes lead poisoning
11. It is not a "terror rifle"
12. Factory magazines were not available until Ruger agreed to accept first born children in exchange for 20 rounders
13. The French made it .001 caliber smaller and made their police use it
14. It is a child of the 70s and therefore obsolete, unlike the AR or AK
15. You Tube
16. It is not a FAL/ HK
17. It was a favorite of the militias of the 90s
18. It looks old but has a plastic butt plate
19. No standard bayonet lug
20. It is a mini-14, what else do you need?

 

[midlandwalther]

I'm not sure why either but I'd really like to try a Mini-30 Tactical. If I want a bench gun i'd buy a NM AR or M14.

Anybody have feedback on the new Mini-30 Tactical?

 

[FrankenMauser]

Most people with a Mini 14/30 feed it crap ammo, but expect Minute-Of-Flea accuracy. They get upset when the craptastic ammunition doesn't provide fantastic accuracy... and blame the rifle.

 

[Bamashooter]

yep, mini's got bad, some were just great, most were not, bad crowns became the rule.

maybe thats becouse people didnt know how to clean it properly and tore the crowns up with cleaning rods, then blamed the rifle for bad accuracy.

the AR is more consistent. what does that even mean? maybe more accurate,certainly not more reliable than a mini.

 

[Sarge]

in my opinion the promag's are the best mags out there other than the ruger mags.

This has been my experience, as well. Regarding this 'basher' and 'fanboy' nonsense, regardless of the subject matter- I've got no time for it.

 

[Come and take it.]

I would trust a mini with ruger factory mags for close range defensive purposes before I would choose the best AR15 out there. It may not have the accuracy of todays ARs but with a factory mag the gun will never fail you period.

 

[amd6547]

In the 1980's, I sold a perfectly reliable, accurate M1 carbine because I "just had" to have a Mini 14...I got a stainless Mini.
When I tried it out at the range, I found it shot bigger groups at 50yds than my M1 carbine did at 100yds (I had used GI LC 30carbine ammo in the carbine, and various US commercial loads in the Mini). I used an OEM ruger 5rd and 20rd mag, and an aftermarket 30rd mag...the rifle would jam occasionally with any one of them.
I sold that rifle quickly and got a Kassnar Hungarian AK and never looked at Mini 14's again.
I understand the new Mini's are better rifles, but I dont care...I have a home-made AR15 for my 5.56mm fun, which is extremely accurate and has never jammed in any way over several hundreds of rounds. Mags are cheap, and parts are too.

 

[thesheepdog]

The Mini-14 is not the greatest weapon invented. The idea was amazing at first; by taking the M1 Garand action and turning it into a .223 chamber is pretty cool. But Ruger left out a very important part of a quality rifle-a decent barrel.

Even with the newer mini series out now, there are still quality problems out there, and for the price you pay, you could get a nicer rifle.

I liked my old mini-14 SS ranch rifle. But, it lacked a practical barrel; it was inaccurate-and I am a very good shot within 200 yards-and it would heat up excpetionally quickly.

If Ruger would just step it up with practicality, then you should see some even better barrels out there.

After-market companies need to make some better mags too.

 

[Snakedriver]

I’ve had a 183-series Mini-14 that I bought new back in the early 80’s and it has done just fine with no complaints from me. It’s been a hoot to shoot over the years and doesn’t seem picky about what ammo I decide to feed it. Same goes for the magazines; it doesn’t seem picky about what brand of mag. I decide to use either.

I qualified with an M-16 in the Army and carried a CAR-15 variant in Vietnam, yet I never felt the need to get one for myself once I became a civilian even though I had the means and access to one anytime I wanted one. For plinking and SHTF purposes the Mini-14 does everything that I need it to do. 2” accuracy at 100 yards is plenty fine for me. I have other rifles that will shoot a single ragged hole at longer ranges if I need.

My feeling is that the Mini hate comes from folks who are trying to justify in their minds why they spent $1,000 to $2,000 for the same type of rifle when they could have had a Mini for much less. I don’t hunt with my Mini-14 and unless we ever have to carry our Mini into a SHTF situation with all the folks with their fancy AR’s and such, we’ll never know which one is best suited for that purpose. I’ll feel just fine with my Mini because it’s never let me down yet. It goes bang every time I pull the trigger and hit’s what I aiming at, what more could I want.

 

[zombieslayer]

I love my mini's. I have AR's too but I could understand AR-bashing easier than mini-bashing. My AR's are nowhere NEAR as reliable as the mini's and accuracy is about even. I think the Mini is a great all-around rifle and mine have been a lot of fun.