mini 14 accuracy

[kwg020]

go to your search engine and type in perfect union. it has every thing you want to know about the mini 14. kwg

[cetmedog]

One problem that the mini 14 has that screws up groups is the stock you have on it. If the wood or plastic on the stock is pushed all the way into the front gas block and is seated against it, it will affect accuracy. When fired, the rifle will recoil first against the gas block instead of the back of the receiver as it is supposed to. This will actually flex the barrel before the bullet is out. Also when the FCG is inserted it should be tight to push in at the end before locking.
I have a old Falcon folding stock on mine (better copy of their folder) that is a good 1/8 inch short of the gas block and you can see the heat shield under the gas block cup easily. When I got rid of the old stock that bedded against the gas block tightly, groups moved in noticeably. When fired it recoils at the back as it should. Ruger has some issue in quality sometimes but they are getting better.

[Larry Barnett]

This makes a lot of sense! I'm going to try milling on my wood stocks and/or try some other stocks. I'll post the result. Thanks

[Larry Barnett]

I have seen a lot of good information as apparently a number of shooters have managed to fix the lousy shooting mini-14. See this link for a really good job of studying and correcting the problems: Mini-14 RR Project Results - 06/23 - PerfectUnion BBS

Thanks to all that sent the good suggestions.

[Kcoyboy]

If you reload You should get the mini to shoot 2 inches at 100 yds. One of my loads is 24.3 grains of Hod blc2 powder with a 55 grain fmj or softnoze bullet. Bedding is easy with Brownells accruglas. look up bedding for the m14 rifle its the same! Now im not saying you are going to win many tarket matches with this gun as you will have flyers however its will easily do coyotes in at 100 yds or better. Cant understand why Ruger just doesnt put heavier barrels on them ( I know they do now with their target versions but I think they look like s) they actually had a good 308 prototype years ago and it didnt make it to market bad merchandizing I think. I hear the Ruger family will not be making the decisions anymore and changes are on the agenda!

[SwedeSteve]

Talk about resurrecting he dead, LOL !! There was/is a reason why the Mini 14 was called The Most Expensive Plinker Ever Made !!

[mwatson]

I have a mini 14 LE version, it is the newer 580 series and it shoots so much better than the 180 series I used top have. I dont think it will hang with my Colt Govt. carbine, but not much can. I am old school and I like the iron sights.
Mike

[Fackler Rebel]

I disagree with all of you. I have three Mini 14's and could hit anything that I could have hit with my M16 when I was a GI. I use iron sights and can put it within 4 inches of what I am shooting out, all the way to about 200 yards. I'm down South and we don't make a lot of long range shots, like I did when I lived in El Paso.

Reb

[jrswanson1]

Quit bagging on the Mini. I have a 186 I bought used for $450. I'm getting 1.5" groups at 100yds with a stock change and muzzle brake. I have less than $600 invested in this rifle, and with the new stock, it can do something your AR can't. It folds

Jim

[jrswanson1]

My last target on 10/18/2008, 100 yards, 50gr JHPBT

[sell33]

Not bad^^^ i had one a year ago that i traded because i thought i wanted better accuracy, i wish i had it back sometimes, especially since i must have had a good one, shot a little under 2" consistently. oh well i love the m77/22 mag i traded it for. i will have another some day.

[DaTeacha]

This is w-a-a-a-a-a-y out of line from what you guys are saying and will sound like a tall tale, but it's true.

I was shooting groundhogs over my back fence quite a few years ago. I just sat there in the lawn chair, drinking Pepsi, eating chips and waiting for a groundhog to show his head in the pasture behind my place. A friend who is a Viet Name vet came by. This guy was about 58 at the time, did not wear glasses or anything like it. In country, he did some things he still won't/isn't allowed to talk about and he can't pass through an airport metal detector naked without setting it off due to pieces of shrapnel he carries with him all the time.

Anyways, he walks up to me and asks what I'm doing. I asked him what it looked like since I was there with the scoped 22/250 Ruger #1 watching a pasture. He allowed that it looked like I was shooting dirt pigs, but I must not be since there was one that I hadn't shot. I asked him where it was and he pointed to a place up the hill at the edge of the pasture where it went into the woods, about 250 yards out. I had to use binoculars to see it, but there was a groundhog up there, mostly hidden in the grass.

I asked him if he'd like to shoot it since he spotted it. He said sure, so I offered him the gun. He asked if he could just use his, which was in his trunk. I said sure and he came back with an iron sighted Mini-14. I kind of looked at him like he was nuts -- which a lot of people think is the case anyways. Then he proceeded to take aim, offhand no less, while I watched through my rifle scope set at 9X.

At the shot, the groundhog went down and Steve started swearing. I asked him what he was swearing about. He said he missed. I pointed out that the groundhog was very much dead. He said any fool could see that, but he didn't hit what he was aiming at.

I asked him to explain and he said he had been aiming at the eye and missed. I told him he bore a great resemblence to the rectum of a male bovine suffering from constipation. He went on to tell me he had missed the eye and the bullet struck about 3 inches below the left ear. I had further comments about his utter lack of ability to tell the truth and he invited me to walk up and check the carcass.

Well, as you can guess, I did just that. The bullet entered the groundhog just about 3 inches below the left ear.

Steve did not seem impressed by the shot. He had hit them out to 400 yards with the same gun.

Please don't tell me all mini-14's won't shoot. And remember, this was open sights, standing on his hind legs and shooting like a man. Oh yeah, he does hold some kind of medal from the Army for his ability to hit what he aims at.

[sniper762]

you cant do enough to accurize an out of the box mini-14, but there are heavy barrel accurizing kits for it advertised in shotgun news and gun digest mags. they boast moa groups.

for hunting though, the 3 moa accuracy works ok keeping your shots under 200 yards.

btw, my two sons both grew up deer hunting with the mini-14. starting at age 11, they both bagged many deer with it. dont use the factory 55 gr. stuff though, no penetration, they are too light and too hot. i used 62 gr sierra sp, handloaded to 2700 fps. most deer shot, between 75 and 200 yards, dropped in their tracks with first shot, bullet totally penetrated on side shots.

[hlr270]

I have hand lapped chamber and barrel, polished the bolt and transfer bar, and spring guide rod metal stock liner and moly coated them, relieved the stock forearm enough to line it with carbon fiber. I also shoot handloads using 55gr Nosler B-Tips, IMR4198 (21.5gr) and partially resized brass so that the bullet just engages rifliing at lock. I use a Bushnell scope in factory rings that where lapped after insureing they lined up true with the bore. It's not a certified tack driver but does deliver 1moa accuracy as long as I don't get it HOT. I have taken 3 deer with 150+yd headshots with it and scope is zeroed at 200yds. So they are capable of achieving very decent accuracy.

[xSephirothx]

hopefully I am not stealing the thread or anything. But I have a Ranch Rifle in 223 and like many of you, i aggree it shoots poorly. 4" at 100 yds. I would like to spend some money on it, would you guys put on a new barrel? a harmonic stabilizer? or this Har-Bar thing I came across?

here is the link to the harbar :mini 14 accurize accessories

Rebarreling sounds like a good idea, but its so pricey, at least i came across a site advertising for nearly $700.

I don't want to sell it, because of how fun the gun is, but an extra 700 is quite a bit to pay for the mini 14

edit: I did notice though that my barrel has a slightly visible ring about 6" from the end of the muzzle, and if you feel along the ring, the barrel is a little narrower from that ring to the end. maybe that would be one cause of poor accuracy

[billy]

these mini-14's remind me of 10-22's,
they can be good shooters.
if you funnel money into them........

[Rex in OTZ]

All I can cay is mine does MOW at 150 yards...............thats Minuet of wolf.
sometimes a good hunting rifle has nothing to do with tack driver accuracy some guy's that have great hunting rifles pretty much know where there shots are going even before pulling the trigger it s being intuitive, the fella who dont shoot much thats a different story they over think it and see how small a group it makes, hunting is a loose but smooth amalgmation of judging distance,target speed,up hill/down hill hold over/ under, ther's allot going on in a instant, no time for shooting bench mentality, the critter will be gone by then.

[billy]

rex
i agree.
you dont need a benchgun to hunt.

[xSephirothx]

very true, but it eases the conscious to know that when determining and factoring in all the variables that your guns accuracy is not something you need to consider as well

[jrswanson1]

xSephirothx, get a muzzle brake for your Mini. It really helps.