Considering a local used current mini-14 tactical.
I had a mini many years ago and sold it to enter the ar world.
How much better are the current mini-14’s compared to the older mini’s?
A link to a web site is fine.  I can do my own research just want to know where.

The reviews i have read dont offer much in the way of comparison to past mini’s.

I want to like thr mini-14 again.

They are fun handy rifles. The mags are more expensive and more hard to find than AR magazines. The rifle is, in my experience, a 3moa plus rifle. It will ring steel with regularity at 100+ yards, but does not have the inherent accuracy that a good AR rifle is capable of. As long as that is fine with you then you will be happy with the current crop of rifles.

Not looking for super good accuracy.

@BDA
It sounds like they are not any better or not much better

The newer ones were made with update tooling. The barrel is thicker and shorter. It's was an ok gun, now the new tactical 16" barrel ones are great. Magazine are plentiful but pricey MSRP around $49

They plenty accurate enough, and probably better than some cheap ARs. Mags are available in every gun store I’ve been in recently. No, they aren’t cheap but will probably outlive the owner. $40ish each. If one can’t afford the mags, they can’t afford to shoot it anyway

Cdnn has them for around $33. The 300 BO are the same as the 556 mags and a dollars cheaper. There are deals on mini  14/30 mags to be had, just be patient and look around.

The newer models have a thicker, CHF barrel that is second to none in quality. Ruger has really stepped up their quality on their barrels. I had one for a couple years, it was about as accurate as the majority of my PSA ARs.

I doubt a Mini will ever be quite as accurate as an AR because of the design. But they newer ones are not the inaccurate Minis of years ago.

I only got rid of mine because I traded into it from a friend, and eventually he traded back for it.

I would never sell my ranch rifle, inspire of having ar's, as for mags, watch for factory blems, they just have faint roll marks, and can be found sometimes for 20.00 new.

I have a newer tactical and it’s a great rifle. It holds pretty solid 2.5” groups. It’s been 100% reliable with Ruger and the aftermarket mags I have. The new rear sights are shit but work when you get them sighted. It’s more fun to shoot than my ARs or AKs.

Most people report that the newer Mini-14s with the thicker barrel are considerably more accurate than the older Mini-14s with the "Pencil" barrel.

An older (Pencil barrel) Mini-14 can usually have some simple and inexpensive tweaks done to considerably upgrade its' accuracy, as long as the Mini-14 is mechanically sound, and the barrel and muzzle aren't damaged.   It is not unusual for the muzzle crown to have been damaged by poor cleaning tools and/or poor cleaning technique.  Depending on the amount of damage, a simple re-crowning might be all that's needed.  If the damage is a bit worse, a muzzle counterbore might be required.  Either procedure is a lot less expensive than a new barrel.

Ruger retooled the Mini 14 with the 580 series in 2005, and shortly after that added the thicker tapered barrel.  Those mid 580 and later series rifles are solid 2 MOA rifles out of the box.  The bad news is they stopped making the Mini-14 and instead just make the Mini 14 Ranch Rifle since 2005.

The rear sights on them are poor, but you can put a Tech Sights rear sight on the new Mini 14 Ranch Rifle. It’s not quite as easy to adjust as the Tech Sights rear sight for the straight Mini 14, but it’s still a very good sight.

——-

The previous 181 through 197 series Mini 14s and Mini 14 Ranch rifles were 4-6 MOA at best.  That said, if you put about $180 into an Accu Strut, Choate flash hider and a .045-.050 gas port bushing you can make the older Mini 14s and Ranch Rifles shoot 1.5 to 2.0 MOA.   It’s something to consider as the MSRP on a new Mini 14 Ranch Rifle is ridiculous as the least expensive of the, lists for $1229.   You can usually find an older Mini 14 for sale for around $600-$700,  At $800-900 total cost you’re saving at least $300.

I prefer an accurized older Mini 14 to the 58X series, but that’s just me.






One thing to keep in mind with the older series Mini 14s is that they used three different barrel twists:

Mini 14:

1-10” from 180-00001 through about 185-14,000

1-7” from about 185-14,000 through 186-81,000

1-9” from about 186-81,000 onward.


Ranch rifles:

1-10” from the 187- 00001 to about 187-5900

1-7 from about 187-59,000 through about 195-40,000

1-9” from 195-40,000 onward.


The 1-10” and 1-9”  twist shoots 55 gr FMJ and 62 gr FMJ better.  FMJs tend to be less precise and the 1-7”  twist causes excessive yaw and subsequent precession as the bullets transition from rotating around the center of form to the center of gravity on exit from the barrel.


Also be aware that Ruger didn’t use all the old barrels before putting on new ones so the serial numbers for the transition are pretty ballpark.  In addition, Ruger would usually replace the barrel on any law enforcement Mini 14 sent in for repair with whatever barrel was being put on new Mini 14s at the time, so you’ll find the occasional Mini 14 with a barrel that doesn’t match the serial range.

My 584 Series will do 100yd, 1.5" groups ALL day long with mixed, bulk 55gr FMJ.  NO mods, just Vortex Crossfire II scope, 2x7x32.  LOVE this damn thing!

I have had the older ones , with no problems sold off my older G/B models , picked up a new series L/E Stainless with the shorter barrel and bird cage , I like it very handy atv and truck gun , the only thing went back to the shop were I bought it 6 mo ago and they have a brand new later G/B 196 series stainless couldn`t believe it thin barrel I was going to trade my thick barrel in but not worth the hit . I think I `ll keep the newer type Mini I just got a few month back .

The new stainless Tac with the heavier looking barrel and G/B type flash has been good to go right from the box , the sights seemed dead on from the fact never touched them .

Excellent post.

I have two in Stainless steel . One is a pencil barrel with Accustrut, the other is the thicker tapered barrel. Both are as accurate as my rack grade AR's.....great little rifles.

Minis are often hated on this site for various reasons. Some reasons being due to damage done by previously owned Minis. especially due to "Bubba' improperly cleaning them.

Modern Minis are about 2 MOA short-barreled carbines and will shoot a little bit tighter groups with some inexpensive user-applied tweaks.

People who claim the Modern versions of the Mini inferior to most short-barreled ARs might be mistaken.

I ran back up to the gun shop that happen to have the new Mini 14 stainless G/B 196 series I saw 2 weeks back and passed it by because I already have the newer Tac in stainless with the G/B type flash which is a hard too find one around this area , The older but new G/B gun was gone that was kind of a good thing I didn`t need 2 with all my other shit . I do have a new better rear sight on the way for my newer model . when I shot this gun the 1st time my sights were dead on and still are the gun works great , picked up a few 10 rd fact mags yesterday .

No. I like any M1 action as much as the next guy, but the AR is superior in every single way compared to the Mini. The Mini is less accurate, less modular, more expensive, proprietary parts and magazines, the AR is also more environmentally resistant, easier to suppress, and assuming the AR isn't some $400 junker, more reliable and durable

You can make an argument for potential legal exceptions, but thats it.

I respect your opinion and agree with portions of it.  We'll have to "Agree to Disagree" on some points, though.

I'm curious what exactly you disagree with.

While 2 MOA might be more than sufficient for a 5.56 carbine (and I'd agree), a gun that costs half as much will outshoot it.

I had a 5.56 Ranch years ago, and thought I had a broken scope when I tried to zero it. Tried another scope with the same result. Realized that it was the rifle.

If the new versions are more accurate, that's good news. They are handy little rifles, and with thousands of hours carrying a 10/22 around in the woods, a similar form-factor is appealing.

Where did you get the SS magazine, flashider, and heat shield?

So, keep in mind, when we start busting on AKs, minis, etc. was that they used to be cheaper than getting a Colt SP1 or whatever.

There were not 42 different companies making ARs with 87 places to get parts from and build your own.

Modern sling, manual of arms, attachment items, magazine pouches, etc. were not developed like they are now.
The ease to outfit an AR, speed of the ergonomics, etc. we’re not as advantageous as they are now.

AR barrel twist rates, free float handguards, and various things were not like Baskin Robins yet.

ARFcom hates minis and AKs.

I purposefully have grabbed a couple of used minis, and went out to do everything in a manner that ARFCOM hates.


I hit the range on a very hot, very humid day.

I figured you would also hate curved 20 round magazines.

And picked ammo not known for being a favorite here.

And used cheap, crappy scopes.

And shot from prone unsupported because half the Fudds and half the basement dwellers probably hate getting up and down.

Not going to win any shooting contests, but 10 round strings at about 10-15 seconds per.

These were the typical groups.

One was right the first group before zeroing.

Didn’t really get any better or any worse with another handful of groups each.

I made an effort to incorporate as much stuff this site does not like as possible.




If one of those SS old school repro folding stocks was in stock somewhere, I would probably throw one on.




So, just randomly grabbing a couple of used minis that turn up at the local gun store, throwing some cheap steel ammo in them, using the cheap scope that was already on one, plus grabbing a cheap scope to throw on another,
And the reality is you could hand them out to your Wolverine buddies, and they could hit the prone and shoot people in the head out to 100m or so, and tag them in the body out to 300m or so-
Just as a basic carbine is supposed to.

They might not be a great choice for an Elk hunt, long range shot on a Mountain Ram or bunch of prairie dogs, DM rifle, PRS Match gun, sniper platform, etc.
But if you grabbed a Colt SP1, mini-14, AK, HK93, AUG, etc. of the rack randomly 33 years ago-
There was not really a wide range of practical performance.

I have had two of the newer production guns, outfitted completely differently:



The long fixed stock was nice, but I like the SS gun more, so I sold the long one at a point where I could break even on it (which I considered a success).

They shoot well enough for iron sights, and are fun.  Not everything needs to be, or should be, an AR.

When I purchased my Mini-14 Ranch in '93, it was way cheaper than the AR's offered by the store I knew of that carried both.  It's really odd to look back and see AK's and Mini's costing more than a no-frills AR.  I'm not complaining at all.

This accurized rifles with the extended gas tube are gorgeous.