Mini 14-Ranch Rifle??

[m1der]

Looking for a coyoty hunting rifle. What's the difference between the Ruger Mini-14, Ranch Rifle? Is the Mini Thirty the same, but in 7.62 cal.? What scope do you suggest? Would the 223. be to small for deer? Should I consider the 7.62x39mm? Is that the same as the NATO round that I shot in the Marine Corps? Should I stay with Ruger? All my hand guns are Ruger's.

[tommy]

those sniper guy's did ok takin down those people with the .223
round so if you place you'er round good and you don't go after some big ole mule deer you should be able to take him down.

it has to do with shot placement you can take a deer down with a .22 if you hit it right!!

and if you can't make up you'er mind buy both .

[NRAJOE]

The Ranch rifle does not have the M-14 type sights. The rear sight flips up and down like the Ruger 10/22. It comes with scope rings and has grooves in the receiver for the rings. The Ranch is supposed to have less recoil than the regular Mini-14. I am probably gonna sell it soon. If I had been smart, I would have gotten the Mini-30 because of my recent AK addiction and I buy so much 7.62x39. I've had the Ranch rifle for almost 8 years and have never fired it...still NIB!

[PAPA G]

Originally posted by NRAJOE
The Ranch rifle does not have the M-14 type sights. The rear sight flips up and down like the Ruger 10/22. It comes with scope rings and has grooves in the receiver for the rings. The Ranch is supposed to have less recoil than the regular Mini-14. I am probably gonna sell it soon. If I had been smart, I would have gotten the Mini-30 because of my recent AK addiction and I buy so much 7.62x39. I've had the Ranch rifle for almost 8 years and have never fired it...still NIB!

whats a city boy doing with a ranch rifle

[NRAJOE]

Dreaming of wide open spaces!

[BattleRifleG3]

The 223 is fine for coyotes. The 7.62x39mm, since no one explicitly answered, is NOT the same as 7.62x51mm NATO. The former is the Soviet round used in the SKS and AK. The Mini-30 is terribly inaccurate and can't digest anything but domestic ammo. The Mini-14 is good for durability and reliability, but not the most accurate. Consider an AR-15. Olympic Arms makes "plinker" models that retail about $600.

[DANA]

TOOK MY LAST BUCK WITH A MINI 14. ONE SHOT TO THE HEAD AND HE WAS DOWN BUT NOT OUT. HAD TO SHOOT HIM ONE MORE TIME WHEN I WALKED OVER TO HIM. HAVE TAKEN DEER WITH A M1 CARBINE ALSO BUT I DON'T RECOMEND EITHER FOR GENERAL USE. SHOT PLACEMENT IS THE BOTTOM LINE!!!! YOU WILL HAVE TO PASS UP SOME SHOTS AS NEITHER ALLOWS FOR MUST LEEWAY.

DANA

[oneastrix]

Took my first white tail with a mini 14.......I love the gun.

My 1976 series 180 Mini14 have the Garand-like rear sight.

[FEG]

Originally posted by BattleRifleG3
The 223 is fine for coyotes. The 7.62x39mm, since no one explicitly answered, is NOT the same as 7.62x51mm NATO. The former is the Soviet round used in the SKS and AK. The Mini-30 is terribly inaccurate and can't digest anything but domestic ammo. The Mini-14 is good for durability and reliability, but not the most accurate. Consider an AR-15. Olympic Arms makes "plinker" models that retail about $600.

I have to agree with everything above. The Mini-14 has a "compromise" rate of twist (1:9), so that it will stabilize almost any .223 load. This translates into mediocre accuracy at any real distance.

I would also say that 7.62x39 is the absolute minimum that I would use on whitetail, and it is far from an ideal hunting round. Hunting deer with a .223 isn't even legal in many states.

I would consider a good bolt action rifle chambered in .270 Winchester. You can always download this cartridge for coyotes, or buy some of the more specialized, lighter loads.

[BattleRifleG3]

Savage bolt actions are affordable and accurate. If you want faster reloading, consider a pump action Remington 7600, or a semi-auto Rem 7400 (or if you really wanna spend big, an AR-10). The Remington comes in 243 Win and 270 Win, in addition to 308 and 30-06. Savages does all these calibers and more. Not sure whether FEG considers this ahead or behind the 7.62x39mm, but a 243 Win is generally considered the minimum for deer, and is also fine for varmints such as coyotes. If you want to do Coyotes and deer with the same gun, 243 sounds like a good bet.

[FEG]

Originally posted by BattleRifleG3
Not sure whether FEG considers this ahead or behind the 7.62x39mm, but a 243 Win is generally considered the minimum for deer, and is also fine for varmints such as coyotes. If you want to do Coyotes and deer with the same gun, 243 sounds like a good bet.

I see .243 Win as a sort of little brother to .270. It also has tremendous versatility and accuracy. I really love both of these cartridges. As much as I like my AKM and SKS, I consider the 7.62x39 as a "social work" cartridge, rather than a real hunting cartridge.

I almost mentioned the .243 Win as well. The problem is that you can buy less powerful .270 Win loads, but you can't buy more powerful .243 Win loads! Either one would be an excellent choice for the expressed intended uses. The only problem would be that these are not "plinking" cartridges; the ammunition is much more expensive than the military calibers.

I definitely consider the .243 Win as "ahead" of 7.62x39. Using the 100gr bullet as an example (since its the only standard weight that they share), .243 Win is 500-1,000 fps faster. More importantly, suitable hunting ammunition and component bullets are readily available in .243. If you don't handload, it will be difficult to find decent hunting ammo in 7.62x39, and the options are extremely limited. If we are comparing factory loads only (rather than 7.62x39's true potential), .243 is clearly superior in every category except diameter and typical bullet weights.

I am very partial to .270 Win. Over the years, I have discovered that there is very little that this cartridge can't do well. As a handloader, I can hunt anything from groundhogs to elk with this cartridge. Granted, I would probably NOT hunt elk with one, considering the travel, trouble, and money that is involved in an elk hunt, but the heavier loads are more than adequate.

[oneastrix]

.270 for coyotes? Come on guys...that's like a 300WinMag for jack rabbits......you must have more money to burn than I do.

If you take a responsible shot with a Mini14 you can place a good shot without a problem. it was meant to be a "combat acurate" gun; not a five hundred yard shooter. One thing that help the mini14 is a trigger job. They are tough out of the box.

I own both a Mini14 and an Ar15.....yes, the AR is way more acurate, but I love my Mini as well.

[FEG]

Originally posted by oneastrix
.270 for coyotes? Come on guys...that's like a 300WinMag for jack rabbits......you must have more money to burn than I do.

If you take a responsible shot with a Mini14 you can place a good shot without a problem. it was meant to be a "combat acurate" gun; not a five hundred yard shooter. One thing that help the mini14 is a trigger job. They are tough out of the box.

I own both a Mini14 and an Ar15.....yes, the AR is way more acurate, but I love my Mini as well.

I feel like you missed my entire point.

You can download a 90gr .277" bullet. (If you're lucky, you can even find some of the discontinued 80gr bullets.) You can't "upload" a .223 to reliably kill mule deer or anything heavier. Depending on the subspecies of whitetail, .223 can be downright marginal. If you reload, you can pretty much tailor a .270 Win to do anything except hunt brown bear. Is it the most efficient varminting cartridge? Heck, no. For that matter, a .223 isn't either.

In many states, you cannot legally either:
1) Hunt with a centerfire rifle cartridge.
2) Hunt with a semi-auto rifle.
3) Hunt deer with a .223. (Several with this type of restriction do not allow 7.62x39 either.)
That eliminates a LOT of states for hunting deer with a Mini-14.

I'm not down on the Mini-14. I'm saying that if you want to hunt deer and varmint with only one cartridge, your options are pretty limited. You're looking at either .243 Win or .270 Win, depending on your emphasis. If you do not reload and are looking for something to plink with as well, then I agree that these are not realistic options.

If you are reloading with hunting bullets, the most significant difference between .223 and .270 becomes the powder cost. I don't plink with a .270, but I can't think of a better all-around cartridge for someone who intends to own only one rifle.

[BattleRifleG3]

Which then brings up the question of whether it's better to just get two different rifles. A 308 for deer and a 223 for coyote would be great choices, and there's tons of affordable plinking ammo available. A Saiga rifle in 223 would run you in the mid $200 range (if anyone quotes higher, we'll explain how to get that price) And a Saiga 308 would run about $300. That would mean you'd spend under $600 and have two rifles. Only catch is that the 223 uaes only 10rd mags and the 308 uses 8, while more expensive rifles in those calibers can use high capacity magazines. Also, they're built on the AK action, which many of us swear by but some people don't like.
Both will be a little if not more accurate than a Mini, and more rugged and reliable.

So the question is, how important are:
Ammo costs (surplus, factory, handloaded)
Magazine capacity
Semi-auto or not
Style (and what your tastes are)

[oneastrix]

My bad FEG......I just skimmed it. I see what you are saying, and it is a good point about some states not allowing this or that. Lo siento mucho......though I meant no disrespect at all to ya.

[FEG]

Lo siento mucho......though I meant no disrespect at all to ya.

I didn't take it that way at all.

In Indiana, I have to drive to Tennesee to hunt whitetail with a centerfire cartridge (legally), so basically, I'm not taking a .223.

If you start talking in terms of two rifles, then .223 and .308 look pretty good. Deer to elk with the .308, and everything smaller with .223.

I still probably wouldn't tackle one of the great bears with a .308, but I don't intend to do that in the near future! People do hunt brown bears with .308, though. (Again, it would be a case of bringing something bigger to the table if you actually went to the time, trouble, and expense of organizing a bear hunt.)

With these two cartridges, you have access to:
1) Mil surp ammo and mil surp components for reloading.
2) Inexpensive commercial ammo and components.
3) A dizzying array of premium ammo choices and component bullet styles.
4) Pretty much every style of rifle imaginable. (As BRG3 notes, you can even get Kalashnikov style rifles in these calibers!)

In addition to all of the semi-autos in both cartridges, I believe that every manufacturer of bolt action rifles makes a .308. Some of them are not imported, but they make them. Virtually all make a .223, with more being added every day.

In fact, I would say that you couldn't come up with two different cartridges offering even half as many options.

[BattleRifleG3]

I thought of the Saigas because not only are they tough reliable semi-autos, but they are the least expensive repeating rifles in those calibers that I know of, with the exception of a few vintage 308 Mausers.

[oneastrix]

In TX you cannot hunt deer with anything but a centerfire.......interesting contrasts.

[NRAJOE]

In Ohio shotgun only deer hunting...don't ask me why!

[FEG]

Originally posted by NRAJOE
In Ohio shotgun only deer hunting...don't ask me why!

No muzzle loading rifles, even?

No offense, but Ohio and Illinois suck pretty bad compared to the other Midwestern states on 2nd Amendment issues.