[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Mini 14? (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 5/31/2006 6:43:24 PM EDT
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Anyone own one? I am wondering if someone can tell me if it is a reliable rifle when used with factory magazines. I have heard mixed reviews and have an option to buy one cheap, seems like a handy gun. Is the magazine issue central to questions about its reliability? thanks |
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Stop. Just Stop. They are the suck. I've had one in the past. i got an Ak and an Ar-15 and never looked back. I had to go through 6 magazines to find one that worked and even that one stopped working after a few hundred rounds. Save the $400 and buy yourself an AR lower or an XD. |
That is a given. I know the mini is not an AR, it is what it is. I just wanted to know if the negative claims of its reliability have to do with using/not using factory magazines, or if has to with the design of the rifle itself, accuracy aside. |
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they are very reliable, I have used PMI and Factory mags and those work well IMHO all the cheapy mags suck but you can get lucky just not something worth dealing with. not very accurate not as fun to shoot as a AR or AK but not a bad behind the seat beater. ALTHOUGH, the rear site flew off of mine recently! |
Uh, yeah, let that be your first upgrade....new rear sight 
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Yes, the major issue with the reliabilty of the mini is whne people don't use factory mags. I have shot thousands of rounds through two of my minis with and without factory mags. I have had outstanding reliabilty with factory mags. The accuracy of the mini is another issue. It is not nearly as accurate as the AR. I own several ARs and love them dearly, but I carry my mini with 2 - 20 round factory mags everywhere I go. It is a very handy and reliable rifle. |
I have seen Mini-14s malfuction in several different ways, granted a few of those cases were magazine related, but I am extremly anti-mini-14. I haven't ever used aftermarket mags. Check out this other still active thread in the AR discussion forum (Link) |
I tried a PMI mag but did not have good luck with it. The mag looked much better than the USA and other cheap brands you see out there, but ths PMI mag I bought did not eject the last round. I picked up a factory 20 rounder and one of my buddies and I shot about 300-400 rounds through our minis without any problem. I went back to the gun shop, bought another factory 20 rounder and shot 300-400 rounds throuh my mini. The quality of the factory mags is far superior to anything else I have seen out there. Neadless to say, I bought many more of the factory mags in the past few years. 
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With factory magazines mine is pretty reliable, with an aftermarket magazine I picked up at a gun store it jams about one shot in twenty. They have one advantage over the AR-15. They look more like a hunting rifle than the AR does. That might make a difference to you, it might not. In all honesty, as a long time AR and Mini owner… The AR is better in every other way. If you need a PC rifle or just like the look and feel then get a Mini-14 they are nice rifles if you are willing to accept their limitations. But otherwise save the extra couple hundred and buy an AR. |
are there any good aftermarket sites for the ruger? |
Is that thing suppressed?? 
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Bump fire a mag at a car and it will do one of 2 things. 1. It will launch the car into the air as if it hit ramp and do a cool 40mph side flip that compels your opponents to just simply crawl out and surrender. Or 2. It will ignite the cars gas tank into a huge super sweet pants wetting fireball of awesomness. |
I think it is some sort of add on bbl stabalizer. Cut down on bbl Harmonics...improving accuracy |
| I say if you can get one for a good price then get it. You can never have too many firearms. We carry them as patrol rifles and I can't complain about it. It's not a tack driver but it stays withing the silhouette at 50 yards. I've yet to have any problems with reliability, but then again I've never shot anything but federal ammo out of factory mags. There are a few mods out there. The Ultimak scout scope rail is IMO the best. |
With factory or good aftermarket mags they are 100% reliable. The magazine issue is central to reliability. Accuracy in my experience wasn't anywhere near as bad as everyone else says it is, according to most people Mini's cant hit a barn at 10 yards. I found that to be complete bullshit, I had no trouble hitting coke bottles and other similar sized stuff out to 100-150 yards. If its cheap buy it, especially if its a ranch model. |
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The Mini was my first leap into the .223 experience...got it cheap, it was fun to shoot--sold it to pay for that damn black rifle disease addiction. Its all Eugene Stoner's fault, dammit !! The Mini was fairly accurate until the skinnyminny barrel heated up....good thing they make 30 rd. mags so you can throw enough lead in the general vicinity. The Mini will never be as accurate as the AR , but even with a red hot barrel, it can out-shoot an AK any day of the week. My Mini could eat ANY type of .223/5.56 ammo all day long and ask for seconds. It'll shoot all the ammo that makes some ArfCommers wet their pants and run screaming like a little girl if they ever got their AR within 10 ft of the stuff....like....Olympic Ammo  The action is simple and reliable. The after market Magazines suck. Accuracy can be improved: > by shortening the barrel to 16" and recrowning (from Mini-14 forum) >buying a barrel stabilizer bar that clamps on.(this or the above suggestion work to reduce barrel whip) >Adding a simple recoil buffer (tightened up the receiver-to-stock interface) >Bedding With what you will spend on buying the Mini and spend on trying to make it as accurate as an AR....you could build 2 AR's from kits or buy one tacticool blinged out Bushmaster. |
| I have had 3 mini 14's, I liked how they were not as noticable as a black rifle. They all ran with out a problem. They all had poor accuracy. I do not have them anymore, although I still have the factory mags. Just in case I ever find a used one with an aftermarket barrel or other accuracy enhancing changes. |
| I had a Mini and with Ruger 20 Ruger mags it was reliable with all ammo. I was dissapointed by its accuracy. The new Minis are very expensive and are in the AR price range. There are only 2 ways I would buy another Mini, if it was cheap or Ruger got off it's ass and made this gun right in the 1st place. |
I'd agree (mags are an issue with mini14s), and an SU-16 might just be what he's looking for, provided he doesn't want a "traditional" looking rifle. That said, Ruger clearly states in the manual that 5.56 NATO is just fine. |
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Get the stainless steel version with synthetic stock if you plan on doing any bump firing under water. But seriously folks, I like mine. Accuracy is fine on my GB series. (gov barrel with bayo lug) It's been very reliable with Thermolds, triple-K and even jamline mags. |
Everyone should own a Mini-14 at least once just to compare with decent rifles. If accuracy is important to you, The Mini-14 will cost you a lot of cash and anti-acid tablets. It would be a good general purpose rifle under 100yds. Pretty much the same as a slug gun. Personally? Buy a .223 Siaga. 
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accuracysystemsinc.com/mini_14_30_accessories.html Do a search on the page for: New M1A Style Rear Sight. It is hooded, plus windage and elevation adjustable. I have also read where guys have taken .30 carbine rear sights and ground them down to fit on the Mini. Either of those may interfere with your scope mount rail, depending on if and how you have a scope mount. You might need to do a little grinding on the rail as well. Oh, and as always, YMMV... |
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I've owned mine for about twenty-two years, and have been happy with it. It is light in weight, and with a Choate folding stock, is a very compact piece to stash in the truck. It is very easy to clean, and when used with quality magazines, is reliable. I disliked the factory rear sight, and so replaced it with an aftermarket open sight. This cost me all of $4 to accomplish. It is now fast on target. The accuracy is mediocre, like an AK. However, there are ways to improve it without spending a lot of money. The perfectunion board has a thread describing a new doo-dad that attaches to the barrel, improving the harmonics (similar in concept to the Browning BOSS). To be fair, you should give no more credence to reports of Mini's being unreliable than you would of ARs, whose owners admit that they fire Wolf in USA brand magazines. Aftermarket magazines are well-known to suck for the mini-14, but suckers persist in buying them. ....And then whine about how unreliable their rifles are over the net. Due to its light weight and proven reliability, my Mini-14 is my rifle of choice when backpacking or for a "bug out on foot" event. |
| The mini 14 is a decent rifle. It is very reliable. I will shoot ammo that will chock an AR. Been there and done that. It is not worth it if it's in the AR range of price. But if you get it for cheap or decent saveings get it. It's a good design over all. Not perfect but good non the less. Ive hed mine since 1986. And also CP products over in the AR 15 magizine forum stated they are going to buils ome mags for the Mini 14. They make a very good mag. It should be on par with a ruger factory mag. But much cheaper. WarDawg |
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I've owned a couple of Mini-14s and still have a Mini-30 and I found all of mine to be extremely reliable when used with factory ruger mags, only trouble I ever had was when trying to use aftermarket mags. The only other mags I've had good luck with are the Thermould, they worked for me as good as the factory mags and can still be found for the mini-14 for a reasonable price, about $20.00 ea for 30 rd mags on Auction arms last time I looked. Also 44mag.com has brand new factory ruger 20 rd LE marked mags for sale, a little pricey at $36.00 but I'd buy a few if I still had a Mini-14, http://www.44mag.com/prodinfo.asp?number=RGMAG20 The only reason I don't still have a Mini-14 is my last 1 got stolen. They aren't tac drivers but they aren't meant to be, they're ranch rifles. Still they aren't as bad as most people make them out to be. Both my 14s would shoot 1.5" at 100 yards scoped and 2" to 2.5" with iron sites, more than enough to be effective hunting rifles. The rear site on the ranch rifles really sucks but there are loads of replacement sites out there, I replaced the little flip up rear site on my mini-30 ranch rifle with 1 off a .30 cal carbine, it's the carbine site with windage adjustment and that slides up and down for ranges from 100 yards to 300 yards, only had to do a little dremmel work on it as it fits in a dovetail joint just like the ruger site. So I say if it's a good deal, Go For It tacman22!! Can't ever have too many Guns and variety is the spice of Life!!! |
I have to agree with this, the barrel gets insanely hot when rapid firing. I rapid fired through a couple 30rds when I first got mine and I though it was going to catch fire Still a handy weapon though. Another note I have never had mag issues with the Ramline or the Promags. |
tacman22 You have an e-mail. I am in the Everett area and have a nice Ruger mini 14 pre-ban I may be interested in parting with. I have so many AR-15's I don't hardly ever shoot it anymore. Comes with an underfolding stock and a standard full stock. |
