more mini 14

[DE Shooter]

Will cheap steel cased ammo cause problems and/or will milsurp .556 ammo cause problems. Considering a mini 14 for plinkin, most of my ammo is cheapest I can get. I have other pieces for HD/SHTF.

 

[ThomasT]

Will cheap steel cased ammo cause problems and/or will milsurp .556 ammo cause problems.

I hope not cause I sure shoot a lot of it.

 

[n7qvu]

I have two mini-14s, old ones.
Never had any problems with different ammo used.

 

[Come and take it.]

no

it will not cause problems. Even an ammo manufacturer like Hornady is beginning to use steel cased ammo.

 

[LloydXmas250]

In my experience it's dirtier, but that's probably more so because it's cheap ammo that they're not trying to make clean, not because of the steel. Only time I've ever had a problem is with feeding through a handgun. I won't use steel in handguns but in rifles it's been good to me.

 

[Huskerguy]

Have two minis

A new one and an older one and they will eat anything you want to feed them. I actually do not notice the "dirty" problem some talk about but it can depend on the maker of the ammo. That is the great thing about a mini, may not be the most accurate thing in the world but it will be one of the most reliable under any condition.

 

[KMO]

Even though there are plenty of guys that state they have put 1,000's of rounds of the steel-cased rounds through their Mini-14's without issues, there are also plenty of reports of lacquer-coated casings getting stuck in the chamber, firing pins broken, and damaged extractors and ejectors. Even if these problems represent a minority of steel-cased ammo users, it's enough to make me stick with brass. The Ruger factory says, don't use it. I like my Mini-14's, and have put some time & energy into them, so I just don't take the risk...

 

[NooYawkuh]

What KMO said.

 

[radom]

I really dont see how steel case ammo will cause any damage to a mini. They may be a bit harder on the extractor but its a tough bugger and what you save on ammo costs whats replacing a extractor after 5,000 rounds. And no steel case ammo wont hurt a ejector of bust a firing pin. Main issue is it can gunk up the chamber if you run a lot of it tru the gun fast but thats a easy cure.

 

[blume357]

the firing pin is the concern, with the harder primers...

I have a mini that has gone through two firing pins....

I've just read that the replacement pins you get from other places are not as good as factory. So, that might be the reason for the second.

I've also got a mini-30 that sometimes won't strike a foreing primed round hard enough.

as you will note from the above responses.... some folks have had a problem and others have had none....

As for less costly 'bulk ammo', I'd seriously consider where your money goes over saving a few bucks... (Russian Mafia or American Workers) one option is to just buy the bulk 'reloads' from Georgia Arms.... nice once used brass... and it usually takes a while even for the most die hard Rambos of us to go through 500 to a thousand rounds of .223.

 

[MosinM38]

My Mini it takes 2-3 shots for it to function with Wolf. First shot won't eject, then 2nd or 3rd round (After warming up) will work after that.

Also, it won't group under 5"....On any .223 I've tried, except for my AR15 flat-top (The other AR15 it again=5")

 

[Bamashooter]

i personally will not shoot anything but brass cased ammo in my ruger unless the SHTF. Then, whatever i can scrounge up.

 

[Skans]

I have a full-auto version of the mini-14 - the AC556. I've shot 1000's of rounds of Wolf steel cased ammo exclusively in it with no problem at all.

 

[bshefa]

I have personally replaced a friend's extractor on his Mini 14 and all he shot was Wolf steel. It took several years but I guess it did some damage. It really wasn't hard to fix but was a little tricky.