Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Mini14/Ranch rifle accuracy

I hunted coyotes this past weekend with a guy who had a Mini14. I was going to get a Rem Mod 7 in .243 for coyotes, but now, I am tempted to get Mini14.

Any of you guys ever own/shot one? They have a reputation for not being very accurate, but I have never shot one.

Any experiences out there, good or bad?

I had a Mini-14 .223 about 10+ years ago. The best description would be POS. I know three other people who have had them with the same result. Lousy accuracy. The "cottage industry" out there that will take about a grand to make them into an accurate varmint rifle is there for a reason. My hunting partner has a stainless/synthetic Model 7 in .223 that shot under 1/2" right out of the box.JMHO.

Jeff

I have one that I use as a duty weapon that I had A.R.S do their magic on. Three weeks and $384.68 later it shoots under MOA. I restocked it myself with a nice thumbhole stock blank from Royal Arms so it doesn't look anything like a military weapon. Just what I wanted. Lawdog

They are a 'play war' gun with adequate accuracy for the purpose and a weak barrel. My two mini-14's will hit moving targets at a hundred yards given a large enough magazine. My 3x9 scoped stainless ranch rifle will shoot to 2.5 MOA on it's good days (and mine!). A friend and I sometimes play combat games with our .223 semi's--our barrels would get so hot you couldn't touch them after 15 minutes of cooling. His mini-14 and mini-30 barrels needed replaced after a few years of this; my AR-15's were just getting broke in. Steve

I owned 2 Minis for many years. I sold them a few months ago. Just not enough accuracy for me. They were great when I was younger and just wanted to blast some rounds but as my interest in accuracy increased they became less interesting. By the time you spend all the $$ to make them accurate, you can own an AR 15. All that said, if $$ were not an issue, I would still own my Minis. They were my first centerfire rifles. If only Ruger put a slightly heavier barrel on them. It would go a long way towards fixing their accuracy problem.

I second that emotion! 3-4 MOA...Crap!

I am not just sure why anyone would expect a military style carbine with a very light barrel to be a tack driver ? If you want a tack driver get a proper bolt rifle . The Mini is what it is , economical for a military semi-auto , about as tough as a hammer and able to function under horrible conditions , while providing minute of coyote accuracy to a couple hundred yards or so ........that's really what it is about and all the accuracy it really needs.......

So you want a gun that can't be used to shoot and hit ground squirrels ? That does not make sense to me.

Conrad:

Not sure your post is directed to me. I would not shoot ground squirrels with a Mini14...I have plenty of bolt guns for that.

I want minute of a coyote accuracy, but even a big coyote isn't very big, esp in Arizona where I hunt them most often.

Conrad , I have shot many ground squirrels with a Mini.....just not too far away (grin) . There is a reason it was called the "ranch" . It's the perfect utility gun , reliable as an anvil , and I have bumped off everything that walks or crawls on the place with a Mini , from snappin' turtles to a 250 lb whitetail ..........

The Mini series by Ruger are required to shoot 4 MOA @ 50 yds. with factory FMJ ammo. That and go at least 500 rds. w/o cleaning. If that's what you want.

The best, cheap accuracy trick is to square up the gas block assembly at the end of the stock and carefully torgue it evenly. This will often cut groups by 30% or more. With some load development work, one might be able to get better than 2 MOA. 3 MOA should be possible with any of them with enough effort.

Another problem they have is their fast twist barrels. Fragile varmit bullets fly apart when pushed over 2800 fps. So, you either use lower velocities or heavier jacketed bullets. There are many 55-70 gr. bullets which can be used in them at top velocities. E

Ditto on the bullets........handloads with the 63 gr Sierra have shot way better in the two Minis I have had than the run of the mill .223 plinking ammo.....

I don't think anyone here is looking to get into a pissing match over the Mini 14. The Mini is not for everyone. The Mini isn't going to have a lot of fans here because this site is full of people who value accuracy first and for the dollar spent, it not very accurate. I sold mine, but I don't think they are a POS. It's just not what I'm into. Only you can decide if the Mini is right for you. One other item - if you are looking for a website that supports the Mini-14, try www.perfectunion.com. Good luck and happy shooting.

While not a Mini-14, I really like shooting my Mini-30. Fun lil' plinkin' rifle. Would like to get a mini-14 someday, if not an AR-15.

Ive had 2 mini's one of the older peep sighters and sold it and upgrade to the ranch when it came out. They are a litttle shy on the accurate department but but both of mine would put the first shot out of a cold barrel dead center from there it was all over the place. Kept them sighted 1.5 high at 100yds and old coyote or white tail had better not let me have time to get a good rest. But they are very tough and dependable for a truck gun. Rode the rancher around and wore out three trucks and never cleaned it other than the old wipe the dust off routine. Just cram in some ammo and let it rip. It's had beer poured on it, dropped out the door, a few trips cleaning out the bar ditches and spent a nite or two in the woods by it self and has never miss fired. So don,t buy it for it's accuracy buy it for it's ablity to take abuse and keep on clicking.

A buddy had one several years ago and it would hit good the first shot and each subsequent shot would land a couple of inches higher and either to the left or right..It was sold.

Mike

I guess I got a good mini after reading these posts, mine was bought back in 85 or 86, a stainless model with a cheap Tasco 3x9 on it & I can hit the ground squirrel shillouttes at the range out to about 200 yrds. My blued mini30 with a bushnell 3x9 on it is good on the 6 inch gong at 150 yrds. They aren't sub moa guns but I'd take one over an AR anyday (sorry AR fans I just have bad luck with them, always jamming on me)