Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Ruger mini-14... Poor man's AR?

Reasonably accurate....

Come shoot the 24HC challenge match in the AR forum! You been posting pictures of this gun for years, let's see how it does against a cheap chromed AR15 barrel. 10 shots on two targets at 100 yards averaged.

two to three inches at 100 yards, with a dot sight, rapid fire. I'd call that adequate. I am not a paper puncher like you Jeff.

I would agree with all the above, except to say the new 14's are a lot better than the early ones.
but in reality as much as i like ruger reverse engineering the garand and the carbine into the mini, the a.r. is so much a better deal from a cost/performance,reliability standpoint, it's not even close.
Even the mags you can get now for the mini, ruger didn't like hi cap, are a lot more expensive than for the poodle shooter.

I tried to talk a friend out of one, suggesting the plastic gun, he wanted the ruger cause he thought it looked less threatening. Okay. So he buys a tacticool ruger.

i can remember firing some of the early mini's and the sights falling off.

This

I've had 2. The last one was a Ranch Rifle. Both were inaccurate. I could get better groups with my AK at 100yds. Won't ever own another unless I get one DIRT cheap..

I have only owned one 14, that was enough.. I did go to an AR, seldom shoot it.. But when I do, I can hit something..

Didn't realize anyone was paying attention...

It's the nut behind the trigger that well may be the limiting factor...

You guys would make me look bad...

An ole fart can take just so much humiliation...

DF

No one complimented Mathman and me on our taste in cool rides...

All you guys can talk about is guns...

What's the deal...??

DF

To me, an AR is like a small block Chevy, bolt-on parts. The mini is just what it says, a mini Garand(M14). I just love the way they work. Maybe I'm old school.

When I bring up that subject, all I hear is Old Fart...

DF

To me the attraction of the Mini-14 is the Garand (mini) action. You can have Accuracy Systems Incorporated accurize them to the point where they are as accurate as an AR, but at a price. The box-stock mini's today are a lot more accurate than the older models. I think the current production ones will average 2-3" at 100 yards whereas the earlier ones were about "minute of pie plate".


Jordan

Had a mini. And that's what you will hear most folks say, "had".

Get an AR. They are simply better in all critical ways, can be cheaper, and are infinitely more modifiable.

I pity the fool who didn't think that Van was cool.!

That's who worked on the one I posted. My ranch hands had carried this Ranch Rifle in a pickup for years, shooting coyotes and other pests. When I got it back, it was toast. So, I didn't figure it had worth, had been fully "depreciated" if you will. So, what I spent with Accuracy Systems wasn't added to the cost of a Ranch Rifle. If one adds all that together, the ASI enhanced Ranch Rifle is way too expensive and AR's would be much better values.

I sorta like the way the Mini handles. Although I have some AR's, I've never warmed up to the pistol grip arrangement, to me they feel sorta clunky. The Mini handles, at least for me, more like a conventional rifle. I probably use my AR's more, as they're less bulky and shorter than this rifle, which makes them better truck guns. For shooting at PD's or such, this one would be nice. Just don't have PD's here in LA to shoot.

DF

Thats really not bad accuracy overall. I"m not at all happy with that, but in reality you can do a lot out to 200 easy with 3 inches at 100. As long as its pretty consistent.

The first fix to a Mini's accuracy is to fix the buttplate - if yours is one of the ones with the slick plastic plate. The same ones are found on the original .44 mag carbines, and the 10/22. I've found they slip all over my shoulder during firing, especially on the .44 carbine, which had moderate recoil. I glued some rubber to the plate, which helped a lot, and was a five dollar fix.

My mini is one of the original 180 series, and it's an orphan - nobody has any stocks or parts for them. If you have one of the later models, you can get the Ranch Rifle stock, which have decent rubber plates, or a plethora of aftermarket stocks.

Also note the Mini originally had a 1 in 10" twist, so if you have one, forget about heavy bullets.

I've had a Mini 14 GB Model 182 series for many years. When I do my part, it'll consistently shoot 2" at 100 yards. That is with PMC FMJ, Win. FMJ, and Win. 55 grains PSP. That's close enough for me.

As for spraying-'n-praying 200/300 rounds at a time, I've not done that but it's consistently reliable with 20 round Ruger magazines. I'm not looking to do any "crowd control" nor "zombie" duties with it.

I've killed a couple of coyotes, ground squirrels, jack rabbits with it with no problems.

As they say, "Close enough for government work."

L.W.