hi yesterday i was in my local gun shop discussing with the staff how it would have been nice to have owned a m1 garand m14 or mini 14 then the man said he had a mini 14 out the back so i begged him and he gave me a quick look i fell in love so my question here today is what are they like to shoot/handle?
I have an older 183 series Mini-14 that I like, it's a fun carbine to shoot, it handles nicely and has been utterly reliable to date with probably 6k+ rounds down the barrel. I haven't had any FTE and the few FTF experienced were magazine related. Accuracy with factory sights is nothing to get excited about, but then again it's not meant to be a tack driver. On a good day I can get 3" - 4" groups @ 100 yards. The newer 580 series made from 2005 on are made with all new tooling and are supposed to be better.
The things I don't like about it is it's sometimes hard to find non-Ruger magazines that work well without jams, other than Pro-mag or some older Millets, the other aftermarket mags I've tried have given me problems. The barrel has a tendency to heat up after 3 or 4 magazines, after which I start having my groups really open up in a vertical pattern until the barrel cools down again.
One last thing you might want to consider is it's almost impossible to obtain some critical spare parts such as the bolt without having to send it back to Ruger to be worked on, they pretty much refuse to sell certain spare parts to the public, but like I mentioned earlier, so far the Mini has been trouble free.
I HAD one, wish i still did. i loved that gun, it just wasn't quite as accurate as i wanted for varmint hunting, great plinker tho. i just needed a gun that i could count on out to 300+ and with 2 inch groups at 100, that was enough to miss at 300 or more.....but i am guessing i will have one again someday. like i said, great gun, sturdy as a rock and extremely reliable.
well i hope you are able to get a hold of one down there in aussie land with your strict gun laws, good luck.
I own 2 a blue and a stainless. they are fun to shoot, accurate enough for hunting and self defence and 99.9% reliable. they point shoot really well. I knocked a turkey out of the air with 1 snap shot once. My daughters and I have killed numerous deer, hogs and turkeys with them as well as many differnt varmnits.
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