Hey fellas,

This week, I recently traded for a NiB Mini-Thirty Tactical (582 Series...the one with the non-tapered thicker barrel). I brought it out to the family farm during Christmas festivities to give it a rip and make sure everything functioned and also to ensure it was was fairly well zeroed.

Now, I've been a Mini fan all of my life, and I've owned several over the years. Some shot better than others, but overall, they were all capable of 100 yard shots with relative 2 to 3 MOA accuracy. One stands out in particular - it was heavily customized by Clark Custom guns around NorthWest Louisiana (The farm is in NorthEast Texas) and it was absolutely one of the best and most accurate semi-auto rifles I've ever owned, period. I had a Mini-14GB that was also a damn good shooter. I bought my Dad a 581 Series Mini-14 Tactical a few years back, and it delivers great accuracy at 100 yards, with no mods done at all.

This latest Mini-Thirty Tactical, I am sad to report, is a dog. I started off with a rest at 25 yards and verified zero. It wasn't exactly dead on, but it was on paper and at least in the neighborhood of POI. I was a little concerned that the best groups I was seeing at 25 yards were measuring around the 3" mark, but elevation and windage seemed to be in the ballpark. I went for a final group and really concentrated on the fundamentals and shrunk the group size down to 1", finally. I was ok with that hasty zero session and decided to quickly run it out to 100 yards. I knew groups were gonna certainly open up, but boy was I surprised! It absolutely would not stay on paper at 100 yards....and by "paper" I mean a HUGE 175 Meter Army M16A2 silhouette target. Groups were measuring about 8" outside of the black. I attempted to factor me out of the equation by turning it over to my dad, and my two older brothers....and they got the same craptastic results. It should be noted we were not using a scope, just the factory ghost ring iron sights.

Now, I know the Mini platform will never win any competitions in the accuracy department, but damn...it shouldn't be this bad. I did notice that the factory flash hider had loosened to the point that I could unscrew it by hand. Tightening it up seemed to make no difference. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to fix this? I've heard of and seen the various struts that can be mounted under the barrel, but I honestly doubt this would have any positive affect in my situation. I did check the gas block was tight and evenly gapped. I did not have a torque wrench to verify uniformity, however - I just had to eyeball it. I checked the muzzle to ensure the crown was in good shape and, other than the crappy factory flash hider being loose, I could identify no obvious issues on that end. The stock was secure and I could find no other loose parts. We did have several failure to fires using Golden Tiger ammo, though. They all but one fired after being re-chambered a second time.

I hope the intelligent minds here can offer insight and perhaps tell me how to better troubleshoot this disappointing problem. I really want to keep the gun and set it up with an Aimpoint in the spirit of a Mini BHD clone, but it is going back to Ruger for an evaluation if I can't figure it out on my own with your help.

Merry Christmas to you all!

I'm not as experienced as some with the Mini-14, but my suggestion is what you already mentioned, send it back to Ruger.

Check the rear sight,  it can get loose.

Also, does your action fall out of the stock? Sometimes those stocks are real loose.  The best thing I did for my mini tact was bed the stock.

What ammo was used?

There's a known issue with steel case ammo; the Ruger manual mentions this as well. Russian Wolf ammo isn't known for tack driving accuracy or consistency in powder charges, bullet weights, case length.

The firing pin protrusion is less than on an SKS or AK. Combine that with steel case also using hard steel primers and you will get inconsistent ignition.

Other problems are haphazard screw torque on the gas block, rear sight, and loose stock fit. Causes bad harmonics even with that quasi bull barrel on the 7.62x39 tactical. Just look at the barrel thickness under the handguards.

Your ammo choice isn't know for accuracy so that's a part of the
equation but it sounds like you could group a bit at 25yds so lets think
what could have changed when you went to 100yds . . . . . . . . . the
flash hider got loose.  Check the inside tip of the flash hider to see
if any bullets grazed it leaving the muzzle.  Even the tiniest of
touches will send the bullet into never, never land.  Even if you can't
see anything, I'd still remove the flash hider and give it a go to see
if it groups without it.  If it does, then that's your problem. I'd buy
one 20rd box of decent brass cased ammo and see if that helps.  If not,
I'd send it back to Ruger's CS explaining the issue and what you did to
identify the problem.

also, the ballistics of 762x39 is not like 223.  if you zero at 50, you will be 3" high or so at 100.  Coupled with the fat iron sight...

Will do, Steve. It will be a few weeks before I get back out to the range, but I'll keep ya'll updated. I have high hopes for this rifle. Despite the internet talk, I know that with some money, some TLC, and more than a little patience, the Mini can be turned into an accurate, handy little semi-auto rifle.

For the poster who asked what ammo, it was a mix of stuff and then some Golden Tiger that is supposedly good stuff - unless I was lied to.

Good thought....and you were right on the mark. My brothers and father were still in 223 land, but I knew the trajectory is very different. Everything I read says zero the Mini-30 at 25 yards like I did and I should be good at 100 yards. And still something very fucky is going on for it to miss such a big target with 4 different people with known skill levels.

Myi 582 mini thirty grouped 1.5-2" at 50 yards with win white box fmj and also liked silver bear.  That being said it never grouped better than 2-4 moa scoped

Hey Buck, did you try anything other than different ammo to gain better accuracy? I've seen some articles online that claim they got almost MOA with handholds after doing some minor mods to their Mini-30 Tactical.

Anyway, I've been needing a project. And it sure as hell looks like I got one now. Say a prayer and keep those fingers crossed for me...I'll keep you guys posted along the way.

JarHead94, take a look at my post outlining what I did with my 583 Series Mini Ranch Rifle in the Mini 14 Tactical thread.
Also, check out PerfectUnion.com's Mini 14/30 forum and you'll see that
with a few tweaks, the Minis can be made to shoot MOA and better.  As I
said, good quality ammo is a must, just like with an AR but you can get
yours running well with some simple mods.

Thanks again and will do, Steve. Do you have any suggestions on what would constitute "good" 7.62x39 ammo that I can start with?

I'd try brass cased Sellor & Bellot (S&B), Privi Partizan (PPU) or Federal American Eagle.  I've heard Silver Bear Zinc plated Steel case ammo is decent.  I can't remember if the new Tactical Mini 30's in 7.62 X 39 are .308 or .311 but I was thinking .311 like typical AK barrel.

I just did some checking and Ruger responed to an E-Mail question wher the Ruger Mini 30 barrel was .310-.311 so basically designed to shoot 7.62 X 39 ammo.

Thanks for going to all that trouble, VASCAR. I'll be on the lookout for some of the ammo you suggested. It'll be Spring before I get back out to the farm, probably, but maybe something will give and I can get the funds and time to get this Mini set up the way I want.

VASCAR2's got it covered on decent ammo.  I'm not a good source for commercial ammo as it's been some 20+ years since I bought any myself.  I handload for everything I shoot except 22lr and while I've got a few cases of it, I haven't shot a 22lr rd in years.