Mini-14 question

Heretic

Heretic

Active member
I hear that the Mini-14 is not an extremely accurate rifle. Although it has a 1 in 9 twist and usually has an 18" I figured it would be at least as accurate as an AR with a 16" barrel and the same twist. I hear this even with folks having decent scopes mounted on theirs. The gov't agency for which I work uses them and the officers say they're worthless even with scopes.

Any one have some reviews/experiences on the mini-14, good or bad? I'm thinking of asking Santa for one.

Thanks!
 
As with anything, sometimes you get a good one, sometimes you don't.

I bought a new one a few years ago.
I got a good one. It's accurate. Less then 1" at 100 yards.
I'm more then pleased with mine.
Only bad part on mine is you never know where it's going to
throw the brass and it throws them a long ways off.

Had a different one years ago. Lucky to hit the target at
100 yards.

Ruger retooled for the mini-14 maybe 3-4 years ago. I haven't
heard anything bad about the ones made since then.

Randy
 
Originally Posted By: HereticI hear that the Mini-14 is not an extremely accurate rifle. Although it has a 1 in 9 twist and usually has an 18" I figured it would be at least as accurate as an AR with a 16" barrel and the same twist.

There is much more to an accurate gun than the barrel length and the equal twist. The only things that the Mini-14 and the AR have in common is they are both semi's and .223.

Quote: The gov't agency for which I work uses them and the officers say they're worthless even with scopes.


Me have little faith in whatever gov't agency you work for. The Mini is a perfectly fine firearm. The older models have barrels that are prone to heat up and degrade accuracy after a few shots. Even so, they can shoot some nice groups if you let the barrel cool between shots and use quality ammo. More than acceptable for hunting. I have no experience with the new Mini's. But from my understanding Ruger has made attempt to fix the barrel issues. It appears to have worked to some extent. I do know this, the Mini's are very reliable and lots of fun. IMO, "IF" they have fixed the barrels and improved accuracy I'd be dang tempted to buy one before an AR. I like the looks and feel of em.

CB
 
iv'e had a '98 model since 98, and i know that it is supposed to be a horrible gun, but... its not. super reliable, and while its not a tack driver, it will do around 2" groups at a 100yds. plenty good enough for what i shoot. plus, it stainless, i don't feel bad about spray painting it, dropping it, scratching it, and a rarely clean it. once i went a whole year(maybe 500+ rounds) without so much as wiping it down, just to see what would happen=nothing.
 
As a general rule the Mini although being a fine rifle is no way as accurate as some of the top line AR Rifles. A good quality 16 in AR-15 Rifle with a 16 in. Chrome Moly Barrel will shoot 1/2 MOA groups at 100 yards with good ammo and you are having a good day! (The Human Effect) And the AR with the Chrome Moly Barrel is a little more accurate than the AR with a Chrome Moly-Chrome Lined Barrel. The AR Varmint models are capable of 1/4 MOA on occasion.

AR
 
I've had a couple of the older models, one blue & one stainless.. The blue was the more accurate of the two, but not a range winner...On the plus side, there was never a reliability problem with either one...

I used to carry the blue on in my patrol car and I have to say that it received a lot more respect when we had a major incident pop up in the housing projects where 200-250 people started crowding my officers that had responded to some kind of incident there..But, back then, ARs were not that common in the civilian population..
 
I've got two older Mini's. The major problem is the barrel quality and design. They both average around 4 MOA on a good day.
If you want a new one that will shoot decent groups, get the target model.

Mini-14® Target Rifle

That's a heavy 22 inch barrel with a harmonic tuner and you should be able to get it shooting close to MOA.
I considered hanging struts, etc. on mine, but I've got an AR already, and don't see where I'd get the return on investment.

Here's a YouTube video of the Target Mini out to 300 yards. This guy is a good shot, and the rifle must be scary accurate to print a group like that rapid-fire in the wind.

Target Mini range test
 
ASI's minis will shoot, but take a look at the prices and tell me that's a good investment.
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If you live some place that doesn't allow ownership of ARs, or for some reason don't want an AR, though, that's a good option. I think that Target Mini is going to take a big bite out of ASI's business, though.
 
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The new 580 and 581 series Mini's have a heavier barrel from the factory. I don't own a heavy barrel Mini but if you go to perfectunion.com you can ask any questions you want about the new Mini's. They are as reliable as ever and now have better accuracy. They may not be AR accurate but they are getting closer. kwg
 
As much as I love my Rugers, if you are looking for extreme . accuracy pick something else. If minute of milk jug is ok with you then go for it. They are a blast to shoot, will eat any ammo you feed it and never jam. I LOVE MINE FOR BLOWIN STUFF UP.
 
Originally Posted By: Evil_LurkerASI's minis will shoot, but take a look at the prices and tell me that's a good investment.
crazy.gif



If you live some place that doesn't allow ownership of ARs, or for some reason don't want an AR, though, that's a good option. I think that Target Mini is going to take a big bite out of ASI's business, though.


Took a look at the prices, took the plunge and am more than happy. No doubt the target model will hurt ASI. If the export/shipping/airport fees weren't so high I'd sell my other guns and get another. Maybe 17 Remington,204 Ruger? I like them. That being said I'd love to have a nice AR if it was legal here. Ryan
 
Quote:The only things that the Mini-14 and the AR have in common is they are both semi's and .223.

Is only one of them gas operated?
smile.gif
The standard AR comes with a 16 or 20", less or more than the 18 of the Mini, so barrel length isn't a common factor. If I had an 18" AR given the twist and similar ammo I'd think there would be some parallel...but then again maybe not...
smile.gif
That's another thread!

Thank you all for your comments. I think I'll ask for another bolt gun.

Shoot straight!
 
I don't think I could commit suicide with mine. I got it out today because I was out of 204's for my Encore. I missed 2 coyotes that I would have been easy with the encore. Its going way in the back of the safe this time so if I'm ever tempted to get it out hopefully I'll give up before it sees the light of day again.
 
I have an ASI mini and will shoot under moa. I have nothing against AR's, but I just like the feel of my ASI mini.
 
I have owned six of them with the oldest being from the early 80's and the newest a 03 model. Two of them honestly wouldn't keep five shots on a 8x11 piece of paper at 50 yards. I sent them into ruger and they sent them back saying they were within spec. I think the spec was 6" groups at 50 yards. What a joke. The oldest one actually shot fairly well about 2" groups at a hundred. That was with quite a bit of messing around bedding and handloading, and from a cold barrel. I had a hard time getting scopes to stay on with them and I also broke two windshields while jumping out to shoot and resting on the hood. The darned brass comes out really hard. Anyway, finally bought an AR and found it to be much more accurate, more reliable, and not at all finicky. You couldn't give me a mini now. Also, IMHO I never bought into the ultra reliable business. The action is exposed and any dirt, mud, or snow, went right into it. I had trouble finding magazines that were reliable, and if there was any pressure on them while shooting, it would throw off the shot. One of the reasons I like my ar is I can shut the dust cover and not worry about it. I know there are people out there that do more than I do, but I have used my ar 5 seasons, in all weather, killing around 150 coyotes a year, and shooting around 5000 rnds a year while hunting and shooting for fun. It doesn't get cleaned nearly enough, never had a breakage or a malfunction that made me lose a critter, never broke a windshield, and will still put 5 in a half at a hundred. Just my thoughts...
 
The main issue of accuracy with the mini 14 is the twist rates have been a moving target over the production years. I have an older one with what is supposed to be a 10 twist, but actually measures out to be around 10.5 inches per turn... and a newer one with the 9 twist.

For a few years in the late 70's/early 80's, they were using a 7 twist, and this is where they really got the rotten reputation for being minute of barn door... especially when shooting the 55 grain surplus fodder.

You need to find out what twist the gun you're getting is (if it's a newer model, it'll be a 9 twist), and use decent ammo of the right bullet weight if you want accuracy. I realize that AR's will shoot light bullets from 7 twist barrels pretty well, but the Ruger barrels won't do it--or so it appears...

My older gun will stay about 1.5 MOA if you don't get it hot. Then it trails off low and left. The newer gun doesn't seem to be as accurate... but I have not tested it with heavier than 55 grain bullets yet.

On the plus side, they'll tend to be more reliable than an AR. It has often been said that if Uncle Sam had sent Mini-14's to the troops in Vietnam, there would have been a lot fewer of our guys coming back in boxes...
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And the newer M-16's have given similar trouble in the desert, it turns out. We even had our guys in Iraq using confiscated AK's for some time, or worse yet shooting their M-16's with panty hose stretched over the actions to keep the sand from clogging them up.
shocked.gif


Dan
 
I would say do some research on perfectunion.com. It has a lot of information on the Mini-14. If you are after a standard Mini-14, they can shoot pretty well. I used 60 gr. V-max and would shoot about 1 1/4" groups at 100 yds. I never knew about all of the modifications one can do to one. I now have a Target Mini. Under inch groups are no problem. Buffers can be installed to help with the scope issue. I have a $100 Bushnell trophy on my Mini's and never had a problem. One can change the Bushing in the gas block to limit the brass from going into the next county. My brass lands about 3 feet from me. I took my Target out today after some prairie dogs, 4 shots = 4 kills. Ranges from 100 to 200 yards. (I know...only 4 shots...I had to get home before the wife knew I was gone) I would not trade my Mini for an AR.
 
After I put a home made stabiliser on the barrel groups improved. Out of a cold barrel it would hit right where it was pointed. After that,accuracy falls off. But it never FTF never jams, and eats anything you feed it. Its tough for me however to shell out another $700 just for an ASI upgrade. Im saving mine for SHTF days...
 


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