Hi Guys, I have had a brand new mini 14 n the safe for some years and I took it out of the box the other night and decided I want to trick it up a little. What can I do to it legally. It has no muzzle brake or threads on the barrel. Can I put a different stock on it, or folding stock. Can I put a flash suppressor on it. I am just wondering becuase I have always been a ar guy. But heck. this thing is just sitting in the safe and I may as well see if it shoots worth a damm. IT has a black synthetic stock and silver barrel and reciever. Anything thats tactical like for the min's
Thanks
Brian

Cheaperthandirt is your friend

Aside from the stand drop in mods, I haven't seen much done with the Mini-14s. Not to mention we can't have a pistol grip, a thumbhole/folding/telescoping stock, grenade/flare launcher, flash suppressor, or a forward pistol grip; but other than that anything is open. I think that leaves you with scope options and a heat shield

can I put a fixed stock on it with a pistol grip

Whoa.....I could have sworn I saw CA under his name. Maybe I am just going crazy

Neo, I saw it there too, he changed his location after making his initial post.

I have to retype this. Ya, I did change it a while back. It wasnt that long ago. Couple month or less. I was thinking about another board where its said texas for the last 4 yrs. I have had kind of a dual residents. Wonderful texas and hell, california. I dont need for you to move my add un less you see a reason for it. But I was asking about california laws and not texas. I know all the laws there already. I would much rather have texas as my location if its ok with you all , lol
Brian

nevermind.....you're a good guy

hell yes I am unstable. My wife is naggin the f#ck out of me today. I hope you all can forgive me. I sometimes vent here.

in that case: scope options and heat shields

Just kidding. I am sure there is plenty to do with it, but if you plan on making it 'tactical', you will probably only find 2-3 items TOPS that you can add.

1.  Send it to a gunsmith who specialzes in mini-14's and have them make it an accurate rifle.  I believe this means a new barrel, a new trigger (or a major trigger job) and a new stock with receiver bedding and some chnges to how the barrel is bedded (or not bedded).  Yes, thois will be relatively expensive.

Until it is an accurate rifle, you will be wasting your time and money.

i believe i got a Hogue stock. harris bipod adapter, and a tacpoint red dot.  this is the ranch model. it aint that accurate and the  brass casings launch out about 20ft.  i usually piss somebody off when i go to the shooting range. (fish canyon or angeles).

originally had  a weigan mount and bushnell scope. change over to a red dot since i am now shooting mini at Burro canyon at a private range.  this rifle still sucks in the tactical role.

have more fun with my M4 or even my friends Kel tec SU 16 with a Kobra scope. teh SU16 more accuarate and reliable than the Mini in my opinion.

since i dont rely on the Mini for SHTF situations... i dont bother stripping or cleaning it anymore.

when i had my weigan weaver mount and bushnell scope.. i HAD to take off the weigan mount EVERY time i stripped and clean the rifle.. usually lost zero. no way the bolt would come out with the mount on.  here's 2 pics of my mini.

Those mini-14's and mini-30's are probably THE MOST disappointing rifles made.  They promise so much and deliver so very little.

They can be made to perform but it is a very expensive road to go down.

Quoted: Those mini-14's and mini-30's are probably THE MOST disappointing rifles made.  They promise so much and deliver so very little. They can be made to perform but it is a very expensive road to go down.

Mike, that's a TOTAL exageration. (And I'm being nice here)

Is the Mini-14 out of the box "precision"? Nah. But, it's accurate enough for the avarage paper puncher and can shooter. My wife shoots the hell out of hers. Bare in mind that the mini-14 is the California Department Of Corrections "Tower Weapon", as well as the service rifle of the San Bernardino County Sheriff that sits in the racks of nearly every "patrol car" right beside the shotgun. This is not due to it being "THE MOST disappointing rifle made". I imagine these two agencies that I know f adopted these rifles for their utility, having pased their departmental testing and other criteria for selecting the Mini-14.

Is it an AR15? Not by a long shot, however, it's still a decent rifle for the money. I think you're occupied comparing the AR15 to the Mini-14, and there is NO comparasin. The Mini-14 is the "Family car" whereas the AR15 is the "NASCAR" league.

If you hate ruger because the company BLOWS, then you'd be on the money but your commentary serves no purpose than to provide disinformation to those who sincerely want to know about these rifles.
Mike, apples and oranges. If you offered me ONE of TWO rifles, 1 being a mini-14, 2. being an AR15, I'll always want the AR15, but if I can pick up a mini-14 for reasonable bux, I'm not turning one down.

Edited to conform to format.

Well, there are lots of used ones for sale, go buy another.  This is not disinformation in any way.  

There's a good reason there are so many used mini's for sale, too.  They are very poor rifles and difficult and expensive to improve.  They are inaccurate and unrelaible.  That is not just my opinion but also the opinion of everyone I know who has one or has HAD one (and sold it because the rifles suck).  

By the time you pay the price to upgrade a mini, you could have purchased an AR, which is an all-around better rifle.  The thread originator lives in Texas, too, so he can actually buy one.

Your example of a plinker who can sometimes hit a soda can is no case in favor of the mini's.  How often, 50% of the time?  At what distance, 25 yards?  You make my case for me.

That they are in the squad cars in San Berdoo, by itself,  carries no weight with me in this discussion.  What accuracy specification was written into the procurement spec?  It may mean nothing more than Ruger was the low bidder.  

Do you drive with one beside you?  If I did, I'd have it worked over and train with it and make it reliable and accurate.  I'd get the magazines worked on so they feed reliably.

Even Paul (the forum moderator) said his could only do about 6" at 100 yards.

By the way, I feel the same about 10-22's.  They are inaccurate until you spend lots of money rebarrelling, replacing trigger, and otherwise tweaking them.  

Honestly, given how many shooters there are in this great State of ours, I'm surprised a cottage industry hasn't popped up to remake the mini's into the rifles they should be.  After all, you can still legally buy one here in California - something that cannot be said about an AR.  Ah, there's still that pesky 10 round limit on new magazines purchases, isn't there.  

By the way, I have no particular problem with Sturm-Ruger.  You've guessed incorrectly on that one.

These are my evaluations & assessments of the mini's.   You are entitled to differ.  

That you attack me personally because we differ in our opinions reflects poorly upon you.

"..., you nearly blew up my full-o-shitometer"

"Fullofshitometer", LOL!  Well, at least it is funny!  I've never heard that one before.

jeeez, you all make me want to put the mini back in the box. LOL.
I actually never shot the things. It was given to me a few yrs back and its never been fired. Its brand new. I think I will try it out this weekend and it sucks as 90% of the people say then I will sell it and buy a su-16. I am hoping the rifle does well so I dont. I have shot a friends mini years ago and the thing worked great. but we were only shooting at 100 yrd tin can range. So I really dont know the grouping but it was good enough. His was the standard mini. The one I have is the ranch model. So is it true I can put a stock on it with a pistol grip?

Quoted: So is it true I can put a stock on it with a pistol grip?

I think this means, "NO", at least as long as it is in California:

12276.1. (a) Notwithstanding Section 12276, "assault weapon" shall also mean any of the following:
(1) A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine and any one of the following:  
(A) A pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon.
(B) A thumbhole stock.
(C) A folding or telescoping stock.
(D) A grenade launcher or flare launcher.
(E) A flash suppressor.
(F) A forward pistol grip.
(2) A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has a fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds.
(3) A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has an overall length of less than 30 inches.
(4) A semiautomatic pistol that has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine and any one of the following:
(A) A threaded barrel, capable of accepting a flash suppressor, forward handgrip, or silencer.
(B) A second handgrip.
(C) A shroud that is attached to, or partially or completely encircles, the barrel that allows the bearer to fire the weapon without burning his or her hand, except a slide that encloses the barrel.
(D) The capacity to accept a detachable magazine at some location outside of the pistol grip.
(5) A semiautomatic pistol with a fixed magazine that has the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds.
(6) A semiautomatic shotgun that has both of the following:
(A) A folding or telescoping stock.
(B) A pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon, thumbhole stock, or vertical handgrip.
(7) A semiautomatic shotgun that has the ability to accept a detachable magazine.
(8) Any shotgun with a revolving cylinder.

damm, I hate this state. My job in nevada fell through so We are now looking to buy property in Oregon.  Hopefully that state will be a little better.

damm, I hate this state. My job in nevada fell through so We are now looking to buy property in Oregon.  Hopefully that state will be a little better.

when i had my scope on my rifle,, shooting  off a benchrest.. using either  Win Q3131a or Federal M193, i averaged  3-5in groups at 100yds average.

i agree with Mike.. the mini is a very disappointing rifle.

is it accuarate, Hell NO.. is it reliable..... majority of the  time..  decent reliable hi caps.. not really.  i have feeding problems even  with my thermold 30rders.

Prison guards till use them?  i thought they sold them off to the civilian market back in the early 90's.. that why you were able to buy a 30rd OEM Ruger mag for $90-$120.

San bernardino sheriffs still carry them in their squad cars??  man, that is really hard to believe. anyone able to support this claim?  

i still shoot my mini, cuz the ammo is cheap.. i like the Hogue stock ergonomics and the recoil aint that bad.

If you're gonna keep the mini14 and go down the road of accessorizing it, you should take a look at the Accuracy Systems barrel harmonizer.  They claim to cut group sizes in half.  Not really sure if that claim is true or not, since I don't have one, but I do have a different tuneable barrel harmonizer on one of my ARs, and it does improve accuracy.  Here is there site.

http://accuracysystemsinc.com/ruger_mini_14_30.html

GL!

I think you should make the rifle more fundamentally accurate and reliable before you "accessorize" it - barrel, bedding, trigger, magazines, sights.



I still get a laugh every time I see that "full of shit-ometer" comment.  That is a good one,  I'm gonna use as soon as I find occaision.  

Quoted: Well, there are lots of used ones for sale, go buy another.  This is not disinformation in any way.   There's a good reason there are so many used mini's for sale, too.  They are very poor rifles and difficult and expensive to improve.  They are inaccurate and unrelaible.  That is not just my opinion but also the opinion of everyone I know who has one or has HAD one (and sold it because the rifles suck).   By the time you pay the price to upgrade a mini, you could have purchased an AR, which is an all-around better rifle.  The thread originator lives in Texas, too, so he can actually buy one. Your example of a plinker who can sometimes hit a soda can is no case in favor of the mini's.  How often, 50% of the time?  At what distance, 25 yards?  You make my case for me. That they are in the squad cars in San Berdoo, by itself,  carries no weight with me in this discussion.  What accuracy specification was written into the procurement spec?  It may mean nothing more than Ruger was the low bidder.   Do you drive with one beside you?  If I did, I'd have it worked over and train with it and make it reliable and accurate.  I'd get the magazines worked on so they feed reliably. Even Paul (the forum moderator) said his could only do about 6" at 100 yards. By the way, I feel the same about 10-22's.  They are inaccurate until you spend lots of money rebarrelling, replacing trigger, and otherwise tweaking them.   Honestly, given how many shooters there are in this great State of ours, I'm surprised a cottage industry hasn't popped up to remake the mini's into the rifles they should be.  After all, you can still legally buy one here in California - something that cannot be said about an AR.  Ah, there's still that pesky 10 round limit on new magazines purchases, isn't there.   By the way, I have no particular problem with Sturm-Ruger.  You've guessed incorrectly on that one. These are my evaluations & assessments of the mini's.   You are entitled to differ.   That you attack me personally because we differ in our opinions reflects poorly upon you. "..., you nearly blew up my full-o-shitometer" "Fullofshitometer", LOL!  Well, at least it is funny!  I've never heard that one before.

I'm glad you liked the Full-o-shitometer, I wore my creative hat for that one.

I didn't attack you personally other than to tell you that you are full of shit in your appraisal of the Mini-14. That's not a personal attack, that's an educated observation. If you took it as a personal attack, that Mike, that was not my intention. If you take my calling you on a BS post as a personal attack, I don't imagine we'll be drinking beer together on hot and dry sunday afternoons. Shit happens...

Sometimes, you you make some great posts, your posts on the mini-14 are not among those. As you do not care much for the Mini-14 yourself, you serve the thread author poorly by stomping on the mini.

You are however on the money when you said: "Honestly, given how many shooters there are in this great State of ours, I'm surprised a cottage industry hasn't popped up to remake the mini's into the rifles they should be."  The rifle has much room for improvement. And as I have addressed, it is clearly not an AR15, and once again, I remind you that I equate the Mini-14 to the "Family Station wagon" and the AR15 to the "Hot Rod".

Hey Mike, don't own a mini. There, better? *Pats you on the head* There, there...

Condescention, oooh, it's getting worse - much worse.  

I'm sorry you don't agree with my post.  Too bad for you.  Then again, it wasn't really intended for your consumption, now was it.


P.S. - I don't drink beer.

P.S. - I don't drink beer.

Ok, now this is where I step in.... Thats just wrong!

As far as the topic goes he
As I said---the mini *is* as it has been decribed in this thread with a few notable facts left out. The mini is a utilitarian rifle--- and is made as such. The action is loose causing poor accuracy (in general), however that also is a blessing in a time of need. That loose action contributes to its reliability. With factory mags a broken in Mini fairs quite well on my reliability scale. (Personal of course) With after market mags you might as well just sit there with you thumb in your ass.


The rifle breaks down quickly and easily, and is easily worked on by non-gunsmiths with a steady hand and some creativity. Which brings me to my next point....

In CA we have very few options for carbine/assualt type weapons as the laws are more than restictive of course. With that being said the mini can be had for ~ $450 new! Thats 1/2 the price of an "alright" AR, and short of any Kali-AR. Now we take that same $450 rifle and send it out for a nice bedding job, trigger job, and maybe a new barrel or cut/crown and we now spent another $350. So now we are at ~ $800 for a rifle that is *now* MOA.


If you want to go the do-it-yourself route and keep your Mini's price tag WAY low then there are a few "mods" you can do on your own to get your rifle shooting "proper". First I have to mention that above all else---get a professional to do your trigger job, and mayeb the bedding. This is a must. From there you have to do something about the Mini's second weakness---the barrel diameter.

The barrel on the mini is so skinny that it doesn't seem to have the rigidity, or strength needed to withstand the shock of sending a .223 down range. This lack of strength causes the breel to whip when one fires a round off throwing your shots. The second downside of the barrel diameter is cooling. Since the barrel is smaller, and has less surface area heat will not dissapate as quickly as it should after shooting a few 10 rounders. This will not only wear your barrel quickly, it will cause shots to string as the barrel heats up---shifting the POI. Both of these issues, in combination with the loose action, attribute to the poor accuracy. The good news is that there are a number of ways to fix the issue. I already stated you can replace the barrel with an "Ultra Match" barrel and go on with your day, however if you wanted to keep the weight down, or didn't want to chuck down the cash then a few simple mods can really get you a long way.

The first barrel mod that is worth your time is basically a strut from the Gasblock housing to almost the end of the barrel, or atleast to the necked down marker. I have made of the myself and have found some SERIOUS increase in accuracy. I have been following this gentleman from another forum (more Mini centric) in which he is trying to goto market with one of these struts. For an idea of what I talking about visit http://accu-strut.com/. You can also follow some home brew versions being made at www.perfectunion.com/forums/index.php?s=00789cce27c2c2a970e38c4e5daf5414&showforum=8]Perfect Union].

The other modification which increases heat dissapation (sp?), and barrel strength , and gives you more options for accessories is the addition of a scout rail. There are two--- http://www.thecountryshed.com/mini-14_trirail_mounts.htm which is the Amegaranges version. (The other is made by Ultimak) The first that I linked to it the one I use, and can reccomend although I have heard good things about the Ultimak aswell.


So now that I have rambled, skipped, and typo'd enough for the day I thought I would close with---

The mini is not a bench gun, and it will not drive a tack at 100 yrds, however with very little investment and a little time it will be MOB @ 150-175yrds (Minute of Bunny), and is certainly MOM @ 200 from the factory. in this state where our options are so limited everyone should have at least one of these.

or of course you could just go out and get a M1A and be done with the whole .223 game :-)


Dave


P.S.- DRINK BEER!

Good info, Cpt.

Check this link.

www.accu-strut.com/

Here's mine.  Added a Shilen barrel so it's very accurate.  The only reliability issue is with the mags.  For the most part the mags work, with a few hiccups.  So I spent a few extra $ adding a barrel no BFD.  Given our lack of options, I'd prefer a mag based rifle over a FAB10.  I use this one for all the carbine classes.

god damn, do u need a 8 inch cheek rest?

kel tec su16 is the way to go..   i'm sure you can always use your "grandfathered" AR15 mags that u bought pre y2k.  more accuarate and reliable than the mini out of the box.

Quoted: god damn, do u need a 8 inch cheek rest? kel tec su16 is the way to go..   i'm sure you can always use your "grandfathered" AR15 mags that u bought pre y2k.  more accuarate and reliable than the mini out of the box.

Well with the lack of Mini14 accuracy why even bother aiming  That add-on rail bumped up the height, along with the ACOG mount.

SU16CA is my next rifle one day.

I'm gonna contact Accuracy Systems and see what it costs to get a decent mini-14.  I suspect that by the time the one gets the mini to shoot 1 MOA it will cost about $1,000 (new barrel, trigger job, bedding, rifle purchase).  

I didn't include adjustable iron sights in that price.  If one is going to compare the mini to an AR you'd have to add the cost of good quality, adjustable iron sights to the $1k because the AR comes with very good sights included (A2 sights).  

From Accuracy Systems web site:

Mini 14® Barrel Conversion Packages & Prices    
Ultra Match Premium Air Gauged Complete Package  $782.95
416 Stainless steel air gauged barrel
Barrel diameters- 1" Bull, .875" Varmint, .750" medium and .625"
Length from 16" to 24"
Twist rate to be determined by us depending on the weight & caliber of bullet. Finish on barrel satin or brushed stainless. Black barrels matte.
3 point steel bedding pillars
New operating rod where needed or upgrade yours
True bolt & action if needed
3.5# match trigger with set and over travel if needed.
New over sized hand guard to fit thicker barrel
New gas block, sling swivel, gas pipe and operating rod cup busing
Sub MOA accuracy guarantee ( 1.040" is a MOA) Selected Ammo
Caliber available @ this price. .223 REm., .222 Rem, .204 Ruger, 6mm X .233, .17 REm. Others call for pricing.

Assuming a mini-14 costs about $400, this would add up to $1200.   Ad $100 if you want a Krieger barrel or deduct $100 if you go for their economy upgrade.  Remember, you need to add the cost of good adjustable iron sights to that $1200, too.  

Outside California, you can get a really good AR-15 for way less than that.  

Quoted: Condescention, oooh, it's getting worse - much worse.   I'm sorry you don't agree with my post.  Too bad for you.  Then again, it wasn't really intended for your consumption, now was it. P.S. - I don't drink beer.

Get over yourself Mike, you were never really THAT smart.

Quoted: Here's mine.  Added a Shilen barrel so it's very accurate.  The only reliability issue is with the mags.  For the most part the mags work, with a few hiccups.  So I spent a few extra $ adding a barrel no BFD.  Given our lack of options, I'd prefer a mag based rifle over a FAB10.  I use this one for all the carbine classes. img365.imageshack.us/img365/962/mini0hi.jpg

Now that is a sweet setup. How much was the barrel?

Quoted: Quoted: Here's mine.  Added a Shilen barrel so it's very accurate.  The only reliability issue is with the mags.  For the most part the mags work, with a few hiccups.  So I spent a few extra $ adding a barrel no BFD.  Given our lack of options, I'd prefer a mag based rifle over a FAB10.  I use this one for all the carbine classes. img365.imageshack.us/img365/962/mini0hi.jpg Now that is a sweet setup. How much was the barrel?

www.shilen.com/price.htm
Chrome-moly Match Grade ...$248.00 just don't get it wet.  Next time I'll go stainless.

Quoted: damm, I hate this state. My job in nevada fell through so We are now looking to buy property in Oregon.  Hopefully that state will be a little better.

Plenty of jobs around Reno. The unemployment rate in Washoe county is something like 2-3%.

I live in Fernley which is more free than Reno-no smog checks, you can get a fireplace put in your house, housing is cheaper, etc

Check out this link for custom Mini-14's

http://www.accuracysystemsinc.com/

We did that already in this thread.  Check my post above.  The link is a good resource, thanks.

Say Chain, I got an idea for your ACOG, given the non-existent cheekweld: mod a PVS14 head mount for yer TA01NSN

Quoted: Say Chain, I got an idea for your ACOG, given the non-existent cheekweld: mod a PVS14 head mount for yer TA01NSN

Something like this

You could get an adjustable cheek rest from Karsten, I got one for my M1A, it looks much better and is sturdy.  You got to drill holes in the stock though.

mine shoots sub-moa at 100 yards and only cost an additional 200 dollars of upgrades.  it is very possible to make it accurate WITHOUT a heavy barrel.  go here:   www.perfectunion.com/forums/index.php?s=45e5d33062dd62860cf154371acb6d69&showforum=8

if you do this, it is still california legal, which shoots down the whole "just buy an AR" argument.  Of course this only applies to californians.

My friend got a mini, put a cope on it and fired it with handloads for accuracy. It would average 2"-6" groups. A trigger job and bedding has cut it down to about 2"-4". In looking at the rifle, I could not help notice what may be responsible for the mini's terrible accuracy. The op rod. The damn thing weighs three times what an M-14 one weighs. Plus, it is levering away from the barrel at every shot, then slamming back. Combine that with the pencil barrel, no wonder they have problems. I thinka new gas system is in order here (along with a heavier, match grade barrel).

How about a lighter op rod? Or even better, put on an AR type gas block with gas tube, and put a master/slave cylinder back at the reciever.

Quoted: My friend got a mini, put a cope on it and fired it with handloads for accuracy. It would average 2"-6" groups. A trigger job and bedding has cut it down to about 2"-4". In looking at the rifle, I could not help notice what may be responsible for the mini's terrible accuracy. The op rod. The damn thing weighs three times what an M-14 one weighs. Plus, it is levering away from the barrel at every shot, then slamming back. Combine that with the pencil barrel, no wonder they have problems. I thinka new gas system is in order here (along with a heavier, match grade barrel). How about a lighter op rod? Or even better, put on an AR type gas block with gas tube, and put a master/slave cylinder back at the reciever.

I suggest you start engineering a new gas system for the mini.  once complete and it works with 100% improvement you can bet on it that pretty soon you'll have plenty of $$$ in the bank to do whatever you want I'll be one of your customers if it works out

I own a stainless Mini with the black synthetic stock. I bought years ago to take with me to the desert and other areas where possession of my registered "Assault weapon" is prohibited. Even though it is nowhere as accurate as my Bushmasters, it sure beats a handgun as far as accuracy and firepower. It makes a great camp gun or throw it in the trunk just in case gun. Remember the FBI Miami shootout was committed with a Mini-14 and a shotgun against handguns. I would take the Mini despite it's short comings.

I'd buy a mini but they're damned expensive.