I took my 18.5" Stainless Mini out the other day to sight in its new scope(short p-223 in 3x) and decided to take some reloads to test out the grouping and the general accuracy of the mini.  Having heard the accuracy of the mini isn't great(bad in the early models and only "better" with the new ones), I wanted to test it out. As a kid I shot the older pencil barrel minis in the 80s-90s and now have one of the new 2013 models.  One thing I noticed... once I set my target at 100y, a 3x scope is not enough for precision shooting. The cross-hairs literally took up the majority of the center of the target.

So, with that being said... The picture below is a 4 shot(out of 5, I pulled the 5th low) group at 100y. The other shots in the pic are of another group of 5 with a different load.

Keep in Mind:
I'm using a 3x P-223 scope for 100y shots
I'm using a couple sandbags for the front of the rifle only and me holding the rear.
Shots were fired in semi-rapid succession with a warm barrel
I am not and have never been a precision shooter
These are some of the first reloaded .223(or any) rounds I have ever made

They were 50g v-max using 28g of BL(C)-2, with a OAL of 2.250 (+/- .001)

http://distilleryimage4.ak.instagram.com/fae1e938c04c11e389a20002c99af64c_8.jpg
I cannot complain about its accuracy

The p-223 is a great scope that works work well for practical uses, but I am tempted to replace it with a redfield 2-7x for use at the range.

I had an older one from the 80's that shot dime size ragged holes at 100 yards with mil-surplus.....many didn't. Glad you found a good shooter!

Good to see your new rifle is grouping well. Ruger was looooong overdue in fixing their accuracy issues. Many of us love the Mini-14/30 platform but got burned on older rilfes that shot groups resembling shotgun patterns. The Mini-14 I owned (15 years ago) was awful in regard to accuracy.

Now that Ruger has fixed the design, the price is getting prohibitive. I looked at a new stainless Mini-30 this week...$830!!!! Dang, so much for the poor man's AR. I'd like to have one for hog hunting but don't know if I can justify that price. It would be nice to have a 30 cal rifle that I can buy plinking ammo for $229/K.

all mini-14's are sub MOA you just need to use a bigger font

[size=200]MOA[/size=200]

Nice shootin'! I'm looking to get a 581 series Mini 14 in the future.

Mine (new in 2013) shoots 2-3" with Wolf ammo and a 1-3x scope.

So, I'm assuming it's capable of better groups with better ammo and optics.
Very happy with that.

Id say thats some fine shooting.

My old man has the newer 18" stainless too.  His will shoot pretty decent groups will good factory or hand loads.  I don't know if I'd call it a sub-MOA rifle though.  Accuracy is plenty good and much better than the rep they have.  I like it a lot.