Curt Barrett
New member
Well I got back out the weekend before last and tried the Mini out again. Before I went out I tried doing the gas block mod. I was a bit less precise in doing the procedure than the internet instructions suggested. I disassembled the gas block and used a med grit ceramic block on the upper half. This wasn't doing much so I took a wide flat file and locked it down on my work bench. Then removed some material from the gas block. It was slow going too. I removed a little less than suggested but enough to increase the gap. Then polished a bit with the ceramic stone.
I didn't have a inch lb torque wrench at my house. Only foot lb so I made my best effort at evenly tightening the block halves by hand and maintaining the same gap on both sides.
Then I headed for the range to try it out. I tried the same factory Black Hills 52 gr MHP that I used last time to see how much difference my attempted mod might have. Last time these bullets produced a 6 1/2” group. Conditions were about the same as last time. About 70 degrees with a light breeze.
I took 5 shots. The first two were near the center and a little under an inch. The following 3 shots opened the group to 4.905. A noticeable improvement over last time but still pretty disappointing. I have to say the trigger is a major handicap on this rifle and makes it a challenge. I did my best to exercise good trigger control and kept the rifle steady in the bags while shooting. Here is the Black Hills target.
I had scrounged up 9 handloads I had left. They were some Sierra 55 gr. BTHPs over a charge of Varget I use on coyotes. Always a good performer in my ARs. I shot 5 then looked through the spotting scope and was pleasantly surprised to see a pretty normal rifle group and not a shotgun pattern. It measured 1.825. I thought I had just got lucky. I outlined each of the first 5 shots with a black felt marker and circled the group. After the barrel cooled a couple minutes I loaded the remaining 4 in the mag and shot them. Those are the shots with the diagonal line through them. 3 of the 4 shots were in the circle with the first 5 and measured just under 1.500 with the 4th opening the group to 1.870. Respectable for a Mini. During that 4 shot string I felt I pulled the 3rd shot. However I don't know if it is the one that opened the group up. When it was all said and done 8 of the 9 shots went into 1 3/4”. I can live with that. Heck, I could even hunt coyotes with it if it keeps that up. I voided the heck out of my warranty but oh well. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif I'll have to load some more and see if it was a fluke. And if the trigger got some attention that could only help more. Here is a pic of the handload target. Again the first 5 shots are outlined in black and the final 4 have a diagonal line though. The upper right hole is actually 2 that key holed from the first and second groups.
I didn't have a inch lb torque wrench at my house. Only foot lb so I made my best effort at evenly tightening the block halves by hand and maintaining the same gap on both sides.
Then I headed for the range to try it out. I tried the same factory Black Hills 52 gr MHP that I used last time to see how much difference my attempted mod might have. Last time these bullets produced a 6 1/2” group. Conditions were about the same as last time. About 70 degrees with a light breeze.
I took 5 shots. The first two were near the center and a little under an inch. The following 3 shots opened the group to 4.905. A noticeable improvement over last time but still pretty disappointing. I have to say the trigger is a major handicap on this rifle and makes it a challenge. I did my best to exercise good trigger control and kept the rifle steady in the bags while shooting. Here is the Black Hills target.
I had scrounged up 9 handloads I had left. They were some Sierra 55 gr. BTHPs over a charge of Varget I use on coyotes. Always a good performer in my ARs. I shot 5 then looked through the spotting scope and was pleasantly surprised to see a pretty normal rifle group and not a shotgun pattern. It measured 1.825. I thought I had just got lucky. I outlined each of the first 5 shots with a black felt marker and circled the group. After the barrel cooled a couple minutes I loaded the remaining 4 in the mag and shot them. Those are the shots with the diagonal line through them. 3 of the 4 shots were in the circle with the first 5 and measured just under 1.500 with the 4th opening the group to 1.870. Respectable for a Mini. During that 4 shot string I felt I pulled the 3rd shot. However I don't know if it is the one that opened the group up. When it was all said and done 8 of the 9 shots went into 1 3/4”. I can live with that. Heck, I could even hunt coyotes with it if it keeps that up. I voided the heck out of my warranty but oh well. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif I'll have to load some more and see if it was a fluke. And if the trigger got some attention that could only help more. Here is a pic of the handload target. Again the first 5 shots are outlined in black and the final 4 have a diagonal line though. The upper right hole is actually 2 that key holed from the first and second groups.
