I'm sure this topic has been beat to death but, most of what I have read is about older rifles and questionable ammo and unknown rifles.

Assuming you have a modern, or new, 1x9 barreled Mini-14 with FACTORY MAGAZINES and FACTORY AMMUNITION, is it reasonable to still expect a failure to fire every ~70 rounds and to get 6MOA levels of accuracy from 'good' factory ammunition?

I am looking for something reasonably lightweight and compact.  I will be using ammunition that is 55gr to 69gr in weight, mainly ~62gr.  I want 2MOA, or better, accuracy.  

Would a Mini-Thirty be a better option?  Same situation with a new firearm purchase and good factory ammunition.

TIA,
Sid

I have heard from folks owning "new" Mini-14s (with the "heavier" profile barrel) who usually get 3MOA using the best (for their particular Mini-14) factory ammo.  Sometimes a bit better. Handloads may shrink the groups further.

Mini-30s always had a "heavier" profile barrel, but it appears that the newer ones have a slightly "heavier" profile than the older ones.  Therefore, there was not as much change in accuracy as there was when the Mini-14 went to the "heavier" profile barrel.  Again, finding the "optimal" ammo for your particular Mini-30 (or Mini-14) can make a considerable difference in group size.  Most experienced Mini-30 users report about 3 MOA with "factory" ammo which their Mini-30s "like".  Some do better than that, and, again, handloads still better usually.

Assuming a Mini that is mechanically sound, properly lubed, and properly broken-in (200-300 rds), reliability should be excellent with Ruger brand magazines.  

Many reliability issues and most accuracy issues with modern Minis can be traced either to poor quality ammunition, and/or poorly made magazines.

A 6 MOA group with a modern Mini indicates that something is amiss.  It might be easy to fix, such as shimming the inside of the stock, or require a trip back to Ruger.  For this reason, I strongly advise folks to leave their Ruger firearms bone stock until they are certain that the firearms function properly.  Ruger hates user-done modifications; always has.

Keep in mind that all Minis are lightweight, handy carbines.  They were never intended to be "precision" firearms.  It may be that a "particular" Mini, right out of the box, will not meet your MOA expectations, but with a little, inexpensive "DIY" work may come pretty close to 2MOA.  Maybe not.

FWIW, my highly modified 186 series Mini-14 (Pencil Barrel) will shoot about 2-1/2 MOA using high quality generic milsurp handloads.  IOW, the handloads are not "tailored" to suit the Mini-14.

A Friend had a newer Mini 14 he put in a Boyd’s thumb hole stock.  This particular blued Mini 14 with 1:9 twist barrel was most accurate with Federal 50 grain JHP.   This  mini 14 was consistently accurate and reliable although the owner only used Ruger magazines.   This Friend sold this Mini 14 and has since regretted selling it.   I had a Mini 14 182 series in the early 80’s and it never malfunctioned but I only used Ruger 5, 20 & 30 round mags.   My Mini 14 was stainless steel with 1:10 twist barrel and was about 2.5 MOA if accuracy was averaged.   Some ammo would shoot a little better some a little worse.


The only issue I observed with a couple Mini 14’s (older versions) is the trigger guard latch would wear and come unlatched at inopportune times.   Any feeding issues was usually because of aftermarket magazines.

My FIL owns a like new Mini 14 GB and I believe that mini has the 1:10 twist barrel.   I think it has been shot about ten times, just enough to zero the sights and check function.

I had a 30 in stainless. Awesome gun and fairly accurate but too unreliable for me. I broke the firing pin 3 times before I sold it. I assume it was mainly due to the military ammo with hard primers and being the stainless variant.

Some Mini-30s have the problem of not igniting steel-cased ammo with 100% reliability.  The problem here is that some firing pins are not long enough to do the job.  Not accusing STUFFMAKER of this, but some folks mistakenly install "Extra-Power" hammer springs to fix the problem.  Unfortunately, this does nothing to compensate for a too-short firing pin, and often the increased power of the "XP" hammer spring causes the firing pin to eventually break.

The solution, if one's Mini-30 happens to fall into this category, is to install a new firing pin from either Firingpins.com, or Accuracy Systems Inc.  Depending on circumstances, the new firing pin may need to be trimmed slightly, which most owners can do themselves if they have the proper tools.

ETA:  This vid describes the steel-cased ammo situation well.   The owner "adjusts" his stock pin for greater protrusion, and also "flattens" the face of the bolt eliminating the small "volcano" which is sometimes seen at the firing pin hole in the face of the bolt.  The "volcano" is also a well-known "feature" of some SKSs.   VID.  I do NOT agree with installing an XP hammer spring; as said above will not solve the problem and tends to damage firing pins.

It wasn’t that long ago Ruger was very vocal
in the fact that steel cased ammo was verboten
(Steel cased stuck in chambers and hard military primers
Breaking firing pins)

Also you need to know the twist of the barrel on
the older mini14s. The first ones were 1~10? Twist
The one I saw at the range did not like anything over
55 grain bullets

And last but not least, the m14s  the firearm the mini14s
Was based on, only had an accuracy of 2 to 3 mos at a hundred
yards. We are talking off the rack, plain Jane rifles. Not
Uncle Fred’s national match

I’m sure someone will be along shortly to tell you
how wrong I am. Meanwhile I think I will take my mini to the range
In a bit

I'm reasonably familiar with the M-14/M1A rifles and have some M-1 Garand experience as well.  While nice rifles, way too heavy for me today.

Sounds like the Mini-14 might be a good option for me.  And a little work might wring a little more accuracy out of it.  Buying some good ammo to feed it shouldn't be too hard on the wallet since it will generally be a low-volume rifle for my uses.

@sidpost   Go HERE  and start searching and reading.  Ask questions when you wish.  

Suggest you have the end goal(s) of the Mini (whether -14 or -30) clearly in mind. Plinking?  Home defense?  Hunting?

Thanks!  Looks like a good site.

It is a good site for Minis.  I often post there.

They have me looking for a 6.8SPC version right now!

All things considered, an uncommon item, and would NOT be my choice. YMMV.

I have a Mini in ,300bo, great rifle and to me .300bo is a great caliber for it. My modern version of an M-1 carbine.

I have been tremendously happy with mine

gassy with a can, but that's fixable

I got about 2.5 to 3 MOA from my older Mini-30 with accu-strut and 123gr FMJ. Sometimes more like 2 to 2.5 MOA in ideal weather and with good shooting on my part, especially with Hornady 150gr FBSP bullets which it really liked.

It was a better shooter than the all factory AK-103 and some Mini-14s I’ve had.

Reasonable to expect that? No. The guy from that LuckyGunner video who experienced those failures and accuracy issues should have returned his rifle to Ruger for an evaluation. Judging from all the comments that I’m sure you saw, this is definitely not the norm. Also, as far as YT videos are concerned, MAC posted one not to long ago where he was getting less than 2MOA out of his new Mini. Ruger has the BEST customer service that you’ll ever find. In fact, they fitted a spare bolt to one of my Mini’s last month, and kept me up to date once a week until they shipped it back to me in a brand new factory box, with all new factory accessories.

To your original question, my experience.

5.56,  modern version.  Run it LPVO.

One failure in 10 years and around 5,000 rounds.  That failure came after over 900 rounds of wolf with out cleaning.  The residue was mostly like tar.  

Accuracy is around  2-3" with bulk ammo it likes and 1.5-2 with my hand loads, but I have to say I have not spent a lot of time developing loads for it.  I can get close to 1 MOA with the same loads on my colt M4gery and home built Daniel Defens based gun.