Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles Mini 14 now available in 300 Black Out!

Thankfully I have lived long enough to see the perfect match of the perfect round with the perfect rifle.

how did they twist it?

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Surprised that there aren't half a dozen posts by now trashing the Mini-14, telling all about what a POS it is....

no need, everyone already knows what a rip Ruger has been bedding with anti gunners and what crap the mini is to boot.

I think I will pass, my next ruger is going to be the gunsite model.

300 Blackout is a great round, that ought to make for a fun Mini.

I still see the 300 BO as more of a niche cartridge for niche applications. The next Ruger I will test, shortly, will be the new Model 77 Hawkeye FTW Predator in in 6.5 Creedmoor.

That's exactly what I expected
Hank

Why not get a Mini 30 with a slightly more powerful, and much less expensive, round?

My guess it will be big with guys with cans
Hank

300 AAC

No thanks

Anemic round?

OMG yes and way way way over rated

Yawn...

its a perfect fit, a not particularly accurate cartridge in a not particularly accurate rifle.

No one has to, it's common knowledge I believe.

Will all the posters bashing the 300 BLK post whether they have actually shot one?

I haven't shoot one, and do not intend to own one. There is plenty of handgun ammo that is sub sonic, I can't see any reason that I would want a rifle that slow.

I started shooting deer with a 300 whisper Contender 14 years ago. Bought a can and now have a Noveske AR 10.5" that I ponied up $200 to do the SBR thing. I shoot both supersonic and subsonic. We have way to many deer on my farm and neighbors all around. I leave the can on my rifle all the time. Plenty accurate out my Contender and Noveske. Killed more than 80 whitetails with it with zero cripples or run offs. Most are dead within 10 yds and max I had to look for one is 80 yards on a double lung shot. I shoot 110 gr Barnes blacktips. Early on 125 gr Nosler ballistic tips. Subsonic, I load 220 gr Outlaw State Bullets which expand at subsonic velocities. Don't own a Ruger Mini but see the utility as a beater truck gun. I bought a Ruger Gunsite Scout in 308 win which is very accurate and quiet. My brother just bought a Ruger American Ranch in 300 Blackout. Very nice and I will get one also. I feel 9 out of 10 folks that bash the 300 Blackout have zero actual experience with the round. I have shot thousands and thousands of my reloads and my experience is it a great round. The 300 Blackout is also dirt cheap to reload. I love my 5.56's, 300 Blackouts, and 308 Winchesters. Need nothing bigger for what I hunt.

what is funny I guess is how companies invest in then abandon cartridges. Looking at the old 45 Colt its still being loaded, but recently we saw the mad rush to the 6.8SPC followed by a tapering of interest in that cartridge with the new fave being the BO. I do agree the 110 grain Barnes Vor-TX supersonic bullets make the cartridge more than it would be without them, that for sure is one thing they did right with it.

I'd rather a 110 grain TSX in 6.8 that is 30 caliber.

A souped up .30 carbine doesn't excite me much. That said, if you could get cans without paperwork and a tax stamp I would consider getting one.

in fairness 110 grain BO is 2300FPS in a 16 inch barrel vs 1900 fps in an 18 inch barrel for the carbine.

In fairness I did say "souped up".

You can get without all the hassle.

They aren't legal but just sayin....

Paperwork didn't take much or much time to get them once I put my mind to it...

- .308 vs .311 bullets
- can run subsonic if you want

Ballistics between the two are so close it doesn't make any difference.

saw one at a LGS yesterday, right next to a CORE15. The juxtaposition of the two was prophetic.

I was further enlightened by the proprieter that CORE actually made all their uppers and lowers at their little gun shop in Ocala!

I have an AR in 300 Blackout and like it a lot.

Anemic? It can easily push 208g A-MAX bullets to supersonic velocities. One reason I got it was to run them at subsonic velocities with a can.

My .308W Scout can also run 208g A-MAX at subsonic velocities, a load I would also intend to use with a can. Guess I should sell the Blackout and keep the Scout since it has more case capacity and is therefore not "anemic", even though the subsonic velocities are the same?

How accurate do you find the subsonic 300BO with the can vs the 308 win subsonic with the can?

Isn't a subsonic 200gr bullet called a 45ACP?

Isn't it 230 grains?

JWP right there you hit the nail square on the head, the emperor's new clothes....

the only merit that I could see in the round is that in supersonic loadings it develops its speed in 10 inches of barrel, but then it must be a pistol or an SBR, from 10 up to 16.5 inches it only adds "about" 200FPS.

300 BLK has an advantage over 308 Win when subsonics are used and that is TWIST RATE. Unless one is ordering a custom barrel for 308 with a twist of 1:8" or faster, the 300 BLK is superior for subsonic use. Accuracy difference is moot. Neither is benchrest accurate with subs, but 300 BLK can fire projectiles with more mass (generally, due to twist rate) and is less expensive to load.

I have used both 300 BLK and 308 for subs with a suppressor, and a 1:10" twist 308 barrel will not stabilize heavy projectiles. Heaviest I could go with 1:10" subsonic was 185 grains. 190's keyhole. 300 BLK barrels are 8" twist or faster. My 1:8" works for up to 230, and my 1:7" barrel can use the 240 SMK.

For those that ask why 300 BLK over a subsonic 45: VERSATILITY and SECTIONAL DENSITY.

While a 45 acp can do subsonic as well as a 300 BLK, it's a one trick pony. It can't also fire 110-125 grain bullets at 2350. Nor does it have the sectional density for penetration or resistance to wind that heavy 308 projectiles do, so there is an advanatage there.


To stay on topic: this was a natural move for Ruger. I don't care for the Mini-14 and won't be buying one but it should sell for them, and it helps their partner Hornady sell more ammo so I think it's a good thing in the market place.

I'm amazed at how fast the 300 BLK has taken off, and I think it's for good reason. I don't always require the power or reach of a full power 308 to hunt, I like being able to take a 6 lb AR and go.

Don't have a can yet, but getting one is high on my acquisition list. THat said, I plan to get a set-up where I can use the same can on my .300 BLK, .308 Scout and AR-15. (Knowing it won't be ideal on the .223.)

The .300BLK with the 208g subsonic A-MAX is quite accurate - more so than I will need. (i.e. I was able to blast clay pigeons at 100 with them.)

which was my point in starting this thread, the mini 14 is probably at best a 2-3MOA gun despite those who would swear the 1 MOA group they got that "one time" is characteristic of the gun. The BO with its 7 or 8 twist barrel is not a bench rest cartridge and thus well suited to a 2-3 MOA platform, and well good enough for sub 150 yard shots on thin skinned animals when 110's are launched at 2200 FPS. As a subsonic round JWP is right, its about a .45ACP in power.

or does a 3 MOA rifle shooting a 3MOA cartridge become a 9 MOA platform?

This..

So it's cool that you can take one gun, at least three mags and continually change your scope settings? No thanks!

What change scope settings? Supersonic 300 Blackout and Nosler 125 zeroed at 100 yds equals follow the thin duplex crosshair down to where it becomes thick again and you are spot on with subsonics at 100 yds. You shoot the round thousands of times as I have and you learn a thing or two. I started playing with this round in 2001 when I bought a contender barrel from SSK. The folks that bash this round tickle me to no end,especially the ones that just read about it and have never actually shot one.

I don't change scope settings. I suppose you could but it's easier to zero the rifle with a supersonic load and note the holdover in your reticle for subs at different distances. I wouldn't shoot a sub at anything that breathes at over 100 yards anyway.

I don't normally carry multiple mags either, but it's not like it's hard to put one in your pack or fit a 10 round Pmag in your back pocket. If it's daylight I take supers, scope is zero'd at 100 yards for them. If I'm shooting subs it's night time and I'm hunting hogs, and I only bring a mag of subs.

I understand that not everyone is into the same equipment I use, and that can make the task more complicated, but if one chooses optics conducive to holds it's a pretty simple straight forward operation.

To each their own.

EDIT:



We were typing at the same time, I feel like this too.

perhaps i failed to mention these were shot with a blackout. i haven't fired thousands of rounds out of it, but i've fired it at least 9 times. guess i just like 30cal. 223 is fine for yotes, but you can't kill a pig with it.

Sorry, for me it's just like the people who own Kimber 1911's or Glocks. They act like it's the greatet thing since sliced bread. I've never shot an elephant with a 458 Win Mag, but I know what it can do. Same with the 300BO. It's a lower end whitetail cartridge that can also double as a flatter trajectory 45acp. So what?

Now that is funny!

Except it does not have the frontal area of the 45.

there is one exception. if it's in the hands of a superhero and djones puts you right on top of the pigs, a 223 can be a marginal killer.

I have killed them with both 308 win and 5.56, Shooting them in the shoulder with either provided good bullets kills them for me. I dinna have a mask

I really like my blackout. It's been sub moa with almost every bullet I've tried with a little load development. My 125g NBT load at 2250 fps worked pretty well on pigs. I also shoot a lot of 110 vmax's at rabbits and varmints. They are pretty explosive at 2500 fps.

I need to get a can but I worked up a subsonic load just see what it would do and had 208 amax's doing 1050 fps and shooting 1" groups for 5 at 100 yards. Mine has a 16" 7.5 twist 5r barrel.

I like the round in part because I was able to send a few thousand old lake city brass to a guy and get them converted for about 7 cents each. They came back clean with the primer pocked swagged and ready to load.

I bet that's what people thought about the 8mm Kurtz and then the 7.62x39.

I like the looks of the old school mini.
Its so benign that its tactical...

Everyone knows you can't kill a pig with a 223



it's marginal at best? Mines not even a dpms.

What bullet? Barnes TSX?

55 gr Nosler Ballistic tips

Takes a tough bullet cause we all know how tough pigs are...

I know a guy that killed 17 with a 22 magnum when they moved in on his place

I had one run off when I shot him with my 44 spl pistol, finally figured out those noggins are tough but shoot em in the lungs and they die.

you're lucky he ran off. a texas hog would have killed you if you shot it in the head with a 44 spl. better step up to a dpms 308 before you get hurt.

I like living on the edge...

I killed my last one with a 36 grain Barnes Varmint grenade.