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Posted: 9/1/2008 6:29:00 PM EDT
| I heard a while ago that Ruger changed how they did the barrels in the minis. Is that true? If so has there been an accuracy improvement? |
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www.perfectunion.com/vb/showthread.php?t=63665 Thanks for the info! 
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Keep in mind that most semi-autos, such as the M1 and M-14, firing military ball ammo, are about 4 MOA weapons. Some better, some worse. Your asking for "2moa at least" may be a bit unrealistic. Granted, any rifle, even semiautos can be made to tight chamber/barrel tolerances and require the use of special Match ammo. OTOH, all these things make the rifle prone to failure. It is a mater of trade-offs. Now, I am sure that a good many folks will claim their personal M-Forgery will do better than 2 MOA, and maybe they can. However, my 20" bbl Colt Match HBAR is a 1MOA rifle with good match reloads, so I am sceptical of very many M-Forgeries being 2 MOA carbines. |
Well my AR and my Bulgarian AK and my Vepr all shoot 2.5 to 2moa with regular ball ammo and my Vepr does it with cheaper ammo. So I can not agree with that. When AKs can do it a mini should be able to. I was hoping they had improved because I love the rifles except for that. My Romanian AK was paper plate moa so I got rid of it too. |
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Here is a copy of a range report I did on a Mini I bought last winter. I think this is my sixth Mini. Yeah, I'm a slow learner. lol! I did get some handloads to shoot a "little" better but it would be nice to get some decent accuracy with bulk FMJ.  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well, I finally had the time and good weather to test the new mini 14 I got at the beginning of winter. I had bore sighted it and shot the gong in the pasture previously but that's about it. I rung the gong a bit with the iron sights too. It has a "craptacular" Simmons master series scope on it. The fit and finish of this rifle was good. It felt like a handy carbine. Light and pleasant to carry. Trigger broke at 6 lbs and is rough as a cob. A definite handicap. I bought some 1 inch grid sight-in targets. Today the wind was about as calm as it gets here. An occasional mild breeze but mostly calm to dead calm and about 70 degrees. I also bought a used Bushmaster 16" M4 looking AR last week. After a good cleaning and replacement of the dead Trijicon front sight, I thought today would be a good day to sight it in too. The trigger on this rifle was heavier than the mini and broke at 7 1/2 lbs. It was surprisingly smooth for an stock AR and actually felt lighter than the mini because of this. Before I start I want to say I have no ax to grind with the mini -14 or it's fans. I truly wanted this thing to be a shooter and really want to come back with a positive report. I'm not expecting AR-accuracy and would be totally happy with2 1/2" to 3' groups. I have had at least 5 minis in the past. I really like the rifles but the accuracy was never there. I had heard rumors of improvements being made so I thought I'd try another. After cleaning the mini I took it and the AR to my "shooting range" in the sheep pasture. This high tech shooting range consists of dump truck load of gravel dumped a little over 100 yards from the feedlot gate. lol! I took a couple shots at the gong first to clear out any remaining cleaning fluid. Both hit the gong. Hopes were high.   Then I started shooting at the paper. I was using some surplus 55 gr FMJ to start. I sighted in on the lower right target and shot five times. I couldn't see the hits while shooting and I just shot all 5 and walked down to look. The results were rather disappointing to say the least. They strung across the target to the upper right corner making a 7" group. I made a circle with the pen to indicate where I was aiming. I hoped the the poor trigger and low quality ammo were the cause of this less than stellar performance. Here is a pic of the first group.  Next I tried some Black Hills 52 gr match HPs. All my .223s like this stuff. This time I made an effort to sight it in a bit. First shot was high but centered. Second shot was about right for elevation but a couple inches right. I made an X across these two shots. I adjusted the scope and shot 6 shots for group. Disregard what the target says for a measurement. After looking at it again I see it was 6 1/2" not 7 1/2". Good news is, that still makes this the least accurate mini I've owned....and that is saying something. LOL! Here is a pic of the second group. I was aiming at the very center of the target. Two of the lowest right shots drifted into the first group. Sorry for the sloppy graphics.  Here is a pic with everything outlined with a black marker. Dotted line indicates the first group. Two of the three lowest shots are part of the second group though. The shots with a 1 and 2 next to them with an X are sighting shots. Hope it's not too confusing.  Next I tried the AR. I don't know the history of this gun. Saw an ad in the classifieds and bought it. It was very dirty. Had to scrape quite a bit of carbon off the bolt and carrier. I doubt the bolt had ever been stripped. Gas ring slots were all lined up. Looked good once it was cleaned up.   The iron sights were laser bore sighted in the living room. I used the surplus 55 gr FMJ again. Norinco I believe. For a target I used plain white butcher paper with an oversized orange targ-dot in the middle. Again, no optics on this rifle. I don't wear glasses but would probably benefit from a pair. Things were a bit fuzzy looking through that peep sight with these old eyes. I slightly raised and lowered the muzzle so I could see the orange dot appear and disappear to better see where it was. First shot was high. Adjusted a bit and the second shot was still a little high. Adjusted again a little too much and was a little low. Adjusted up a little and just shot for group. I shot 5 shots. Group measured 3". Here is a pic.  Anyway, not sure what to think of the mini. I guess I try a different scope to rule out that. If that isn't the problem I think I'll send it to Ruger first. I really don't see how they can hold their head up selling a product like that. I hope it is the scope. Much easier to deal with. Good hunting, Curt |
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The Mini 14 Target with the adjustable comp is a shooter from what I've seen. The regular Mini 14 Ranch can be made to shoot with some mods too. The thing that chaps my hide is nobody is expecting Ruger to make the Ranch Rifle a match shooter. They just want 2"-3" groups with average ball ammo. Not that big of a feat. I'd even be willing to pay a little more for a little better performance out of the box. It's their loss though. They have lost a huge chunk of the market by sitting on their hands and not addressing years of mass complaints about the poor performance of this rifle. They did make the Target model but most people want the original platform that just shoots a little better. |
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Damn Whacker, you are all over the place there..... is your scope mounts tight? My new Mini has had the first problems I have ever had with a Ruger scope mount system and the mounts loosen after every couple shots. I finally really dogged them down with a touch of blue Locktite and they seem to be holding. I have not shot mine off a rest yet, but leaning on the hood of the truck at a 100 yards I am in the 4 inch catagory. Before I noticed the mounts kept loosening I did have stringing shots like yours. I am shooting Winchester white box ammo. It sucks when a gun you want to like wont preform.... I have the same relationship with Winchester 94s. Love the gun, just cant find one I can shoot. |
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I would suggest the following: 1) Find out what Rate-Of-Twist your barrel has, and buy/make ammo to suit. If you have a 1-7 ROT, 62 gn bullets are good. If you have, say, a 1-10 ROT, 55gn might be better. Experimentation will show you what your Mini likes. 2) You might want to take another look at how the scope is mounted. Everything threaded should be loc-tited, with the exception of QD levers. Make damn sure that the verticle line on the scope is exactly vertical. A plumb bob will show you this. 3) Make certain that you can get a decent, repeatable cheek weld on the stock. Even if everything else is good, a slight mis-positioning of your head--and thus eye-- will cause severe problems, which will be magnified by using a scope. You might need a cheek-riser; that scope looks kinda high. DSArms sells good, QD units. After you get the cheek riser, make sure that the scope is positioned properly fore-and aft to give you proper eye relief without the possibility of your scope hitting your head. You want the head/eye unit to hit the stock, instantly, in proper alignment with the scope. the less "fooling around" to get into position, the better. Ideally, zero messing around. 4) Get a matchbook, 'cause you're going to need a thin shim. Unlock the trigger group and remove from the stock. Check for any side-to-side and fore-and aft of the barreled action within the stock. Less is better. Try to note any movement in either direction. OK, now that you've done that, look at the underside of the stock where the rounded part of the trigger group sits. cut out a cardboard shim to fit into that area, and re-install the TG. You should encounter definite resistance about 1/2" before the end of the trigger guard reaches its' latching point. If not, install another shim. You should have to exert definite effort to latch the trigger guard. What this does is make sure the barreled action is securely clamped into the stock, which obviously enhances accuracy. 5) Every thing I know about Minis says that the more weight you hang out at the very end of the barrel enhances accuracy. I suggest the Choate stainless steel A2-style flash suppressor with integral GI-style front sight. Doing so will enhance accuracy, give you a GI/AR style front sight picture, and give you some flash suppression which the short-barreled Mini very much needs. Make certain, as in: consult the MFR, that the FS will fit your new Mini. 6)If you need eyeglasses, then get them. Life is too short to live in a blur. Do these things and report back. If, repeat, if you are up to it, we can probably cut your Mini's groups by a good deal, and not have to spend much at all. Almost forgot: First thing to buy is a muzzle guide for your coated cleaning rod, Minis, like Garands and M1 Carbines are very sensitive to having their muzzles being damaged by idiotic cleaning techniques. If your mini's muzzle, after examination under good light and a good magnifying glass, does not look clean and sharp, then report back. There is an easy fix for that. |
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That Norinco ammo hasn't been around for 20 years. It shot terribly in my Mini-14 back then. It did better in my AR 15. Try a different ammo for your Mini-14. My rifles like the Federal American Eagle 50 grain hollow point flat base for bargain ammo. Dennis Jenkins |
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Greatly appreciate the advice. I plan on putting some effort into getting the rifle to shoot right. Everything is tight and lined up correctly. I'm a decent shot and normally get consistent results out of good rifles. I haven't tried any shimming or adding a suppressor. Eyes are good. I plan on sending it to GunDoc to at least work the trigger over and possibly make some other improvements. I did do some reloading for it and had some promising results. I tried some Sierra 55 gr HP handloads and it did much better. I was just a little disappointed that it did not shoot better with FMJ and Black Hills match ammo. One mod I did that seemed to make a bit of difference was giving a little attention to the gas block. Here was my second range results..... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well I got back out the weekend before last and tried the Mini out again. Before I went out I tried doing the gas block mod. I was a bit less precise in doing the procedure than the internet instructions suggested. I disassembled the gas block and used a med grit ceramic block on the upper half. This wasn't doing much so I took a wide flat file and locked it down on my work bench. Then removed some material from the gas block. It was slow going too. I removed a little less than suggested but enough to increase the gap. Then polished a bit with the ceramic stone. I didn't have a inch lb torque wrench at my house. Only foot lb so I made my best effort at evenly tightening the block halves by hand and maintaining the same gap on both sides. Then I headed for the range to try it out. I tried the same factory Black Hills 52 gr MHP that I used last time to see how much difference my attempted mod might have. Last time these bullets produced a 6 1/2” group. Conditions were about the same as last time. About 70 degrees with a light breeze. I took 5 shots. The first two were near the center and a little under an inch. The following 3 shots opened the group to 4.905. A noticeable improvement over last time but still pretty disappointing. I have to say the trigger is a major handicap on this rifle and makes it a challenge. I did my best to exercise good trigger control and kept the rifle steady in the bags while shooting. Here is the Black Hills target.  I had scrounged up 9 handloads I had left from hunting. They were some Sierra 55 gr. BTHPs over a charge of Varget I use on coyotes. Always a good performer in my ARs. I shot 5 then looked through the spotting scope and was pleasantly surprised to see a pretty normal rifle group and not a shotgun pattern. It measured 1.825. I thought I had just got lucky. I outlined each of the first 5 shots with a black felt marker and circled the group. After the barrel cooled a couple minutes I loaded the remaining 4 in the mag and shot them. Those are the shots with the diagonal line through them. 3 of the 4 shots were in the circle with the first 5 and measured just under 1.500 with the 4th opening the group to 1.870. Very respectable for a Mini I think. During that 4 shot string I felt I pulled the 3rd shot. However I don't know if it is the one that opened the group up. When it was all said and done 8 of the 9 shots went into 1 3/4”. I can live with that. Heck, I could even hunt coyotes with it if it keeps that up. I voided the heck out of my warranty but oh well. I'll have to load some more and see if it was a fluke. And if the trigger got some attention that could only help more. Here is a pic of the handload target. Again the first 5 shots are outlined in black and the final 4 have a diagonal line though. The upper right hole is actually 2 that key holed from the first and second groups. 
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I must have been writing at the same time Dennis. lol! Yeah I agree, Norinco is junk ammo but it shot good in my ARs so I figured I'd give it a try. Fortunately I've just about used it all up. 
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I had a case of the Norinco. The brass is good though.<G> Dennis Jenkins
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Take a good look at the picture of your Mini above. Keep in mind the stock has no built-in cheek riser, and was obviously designed so that the user would have his cheek down on the stock, and his nose very near the rear of the receiver. That scope is way too far to the rear, and too high for anything other than a vary un-natural chin-weld on the stock. Given that fact, getting a good repeatable cheek weld to the stock is impossible as thinga are. Your accuracy is bound to suffer on account of all this. |
If you look at the picture you will note the scope is as far forward as it can be mounted without hitting the rear sight. Maybe 1/4' of room left. I'm not removing or changing the sight. Fortunately it is in the perfect position for me too so I will be leaving it there. I'm not finding cheek weld or stock ergos to be an issue either. In fact I have no complaints about the ergos of the rifle. The things I will be doing are adding a flash suppressor. Trigger job. Supporting the action by having pillars added. This should make quite a bit of difference. That aside if I continue getting groups like I did with the handloads, just a trigger job would satisfy me. I'm going to try a couple other FMJ bullets and see if they shoot better too. None of this changes the fact that Ruger should take a couple steps to improve the performance of this rifle a little bit before it goes out the door. Improving this rifle a little bit before it leaves the factory just isn't that hard of a code to crack and would eliminate the steady flow of complaints and rifle returns for warranty work. It's good business and common sense. A person shouldn't have to dump a bunch more money, time, effort at modifications and hoop jumping just to achieve acceptable accuracy. There are guys that have minis that shoot ok from the start. I even had one. Wish I'd kept it and I advise anyone that has one to keep it. But as a rule most don't perform well without alot of attention. Attention you normally don't have to give any other gun. Heck an SKS usually out performs an out of the box mini. This is not an isolated instance. I moderate on another board and frequent several other where these complaints are posted almost daily. So either there are thousands of liars out there or Ruger is sending a large percentage of sub standard performing rifles out the door. I bought this rifle as an experiment with the sole intention of posting a fair range report on another site due to much past debate about the mini. I treated it like any other rifle I buy and wanted to see the results. I cleaned it. Put optics on and shot it. I truly was hoping to post a report showing Ruger had remedied it's past problems. How can they make possibly the best semi auto 22 lr in the world and such a crappy .223. And then rip everyone off on magazines to boot. Having said that I do appreciate the well intentioned advice. I just wasn't really seeking any really. I know what changes I need to make and am just a bit disappointed I have to do it. Take care |
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May I suggest taping a carefully folded facecloth or the like to your stock's comb before you dismiss the cheek-riser idea? I think you will find the exercise illuminating. Pillar bedding the receiver is fine, up to a point, although shimming the trigger group to ensure a tight clamp is simpler and less costly. What pillar bedding and/or shimming does not do is correct any fore-and-aft or side-to-side movement of the receiver. To do that, you will need to bed the "legs' of the receiver. Some vendors drill holes in the receiver and basically screw the receiver to the stock. While certainly effective, it is expensive and will definitely void your warranty. No amount of receiver bedding does anything about the critical interface of the stock and the forward band/gas block. It is vital to remove any slop in that place, and Brownell's Steel-Bed bedding compound is the best thing for that job, or for any bedding job, for that matter. FWIW, the bedding process for Match M1As/M-14s is very similar to the process used in bedding Mini-14s. There are some slight differences, though. I would also suggest the following: Send your Mini back to Ruger, complaining bitterly about any defects you feel it has. While it is there, have them sell to you, and fit to your Mini any "restricted" parts that you think you might ever need. Your owner's manual shows all the parts in your Mini, and also shows which are "restricted". I got a couple of extra firing pins, extractors, ejectors, and all their little springs and plungers. YMMV. Do this BEFORE you do any irreversible mods to the Mini. I realize you did some gas block work, but it's possible they might not notice, or if the do, will think it a factory error. Once Ruger has sold you a lifetime's worth of "restricted" spare parts, and gone over the mini with a fine tooth comb, THEN it may be time to make some changes. I will add that I did exactly what I have outlined above. The bolt was replaced, and presumably headspace was set to optimum. I can say that Ruger's work easily cut groups in half, and only a little extra was needed to bring the thing to a point where 1.5-2 MOA groups were the norm with good quality (NOT Match) reloads designed to mimic generic GI ball ammo. I know sending it back is a hassle, but if there is anything wrong with the mini, it is ruger's job to fix it, and maybe even learn from their manufacturing mistakes. Besides, sending it back is the only way to get the 'restricted' parts. |
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PredatorWhacker I read the post of your first attempt using surplus and Black Hills ammo. My immediate thought was this is an ammo issue straight up. Surplus ammo of any kind is not a good test for any rifle. At the same time and I don't want to ruffle any feathers here but I have never been impressed with Black Hills ammunition. I personally think it's way overpriced and it's performance accuracy wise has never matched federal AE in any of my guns. Others have had good luck with Black Hills for sure but my experience has been lackluster at best. My suggestion would have been, "don't change anything yet, just get a box or two of Federal AE in 55 and 62 grain and repeat the test". |
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I got a chance to try some more handloads through the mini on Sat. Conditions were as good as it gets in the old sheep pasture/ shooting range. Just an occasional wisp of wind. I have to say I am getting much happier with this rifle. After a couple shots to get it zeroed I let it cool off and tried shooting a couple 4 shot groups letting it cool in between groups. One measured 1.53 and the other 1.55 respectively. I have to admit that now that I paid more attention to it, a bit of a rise in the cheek area of the stock would be an asset. The next thing I need to address is the trigger. I am certain groups would improve a bit more once this was improved. I got a couple different types of better quality 55 gr FMJ to try but ran out of time that day as I was sighting in several rifles. I'm expecting better results with it as well. Now that I've reached a point of performance I can pretty much live with, do you think I should consider sending it in still, or do you think I'd run the risk of it coming back possibly worse? I can see the value of getting the spare parts. That alone may be worth it. Or would sending it off to GunDoc be a better option? Regarding the gas block work, Id be surprised if they noticed. Material removed was minimal and can not be seen with the eye. More attention was spent on evenly tightening the gas block screws and maintaining an even gap than anything. I also will look into improving receiver/stock fit too. I'll wait to do any other mods till deciding whether to send it back. Thanks raf GAU-8, It certainly is looking like ammo was the main factor in the poor performance of this rifle. I didn't expect alot from the Norinco but I've had good luck with Black Hills in ARs so I thought Id give it a try. In fact the same day I shot the mini last, I sighted in an AR I use for hunting. Nothing special. Flat top Bushy with a 24" fluted chrome lined barrel. After sighting it in it shot a .26 three shot group. Probably alot of luck involved and the Jewel trigger helped too but it happens often enough to not totally write it off as a fluke. It shoots under 1/2" with monotony with Black Hills so I expected it to do better than it did in the mini. But the ammo change sure made the difference. Thanks |
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I had a 2002 LEO marked GB and a "new" style GB Carbine. Both had outstanding accuracy, consistantly 2 MOA or under. That is, until the weapon got hot... Using good quality, 60+grn HP's yielded fantastic accuracy. The Carbine was even more accurate thanks to its improved receiver design and improved barrel dynamics. Many people who complain about the Mini 14's accuracy have no concept of what the rifle actually is. It was designed to be a light-weight, reliable 5.56 carbine not a MOA predator gun. AR's have really spoiled people in terms of accuracy. For a military weapon, AR accuracy is both phenomenal and essentially unheard of. Many military style automatics hold around 4 MOA +/-, including the Mini 14. If you are expecting AR accuracy from a Mini 14 or several other military rifles, you are the one with the problem. I have never seen a Mini 14 that wasn't capable of defensive accuracy out to 100 yards and beyond. Again, it was never meant to be a MOA varmit gun... However, the Mini 14 responds very well to accuracy improvements. IMO, one of the best improvements you can make is to apply ASI's mechanical bedding system. This uses steel posts that "lock" the receiver to the stock. It will not break down over time and during cleaning like other bedding methods. Ruger OEM stocks are very "loose" and this causes the action to "slip" inside the stock, affecting accuracy. If afte removing the trigger assembly and turning the weapon upside down the action falls out of the stock, its too loose. Quality aftermarket stocks can paralell a bedding effect, but obviously the real deal is much better. The Mini 14, like M14's is succeptible to barrel harmonics. Anything you can do to mitigate this will also improve accuracy. Buying a new model with a 6.8 SPC barrel profile, adding a balancer or even shortening the barrel to 16 inches will all mitigate this effect. Furthermore, you should be using high quality commercial .223 for accuracy testing. Years ago the 69grn SMK was the gold standard of accuracy in this caliber. A Mini 14 should have no trouble stabilizing this load and it should provide excellent accuracy. Personally, I find the 60+grn loads to be more accurate than 50+ grn loads. YMMV |
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Well, my Colt 20" throws some ammo at about 7 MOA, and then it will turn around and put another load under 2 MOA. In my experience, the AR's are susceptible to crappy accuracy too. Usually, with any rifle, you have to find what the barrel likes. I think many people don't realize this and never find out what something will shoot well. With that 20" the shift in POI is terrible from one load to another. It's very annoying. My LW colt barrel, doesn't have the POI shift problem, but it's not all that accurate either. At least with the loads tested so far. Which was a pretty good amount. Then, I have experience with WOA and Wilson barrels and they are by far much better shooters with almost every type of ammo. For some reason the WOA barrel really disliked the 68's, but liked almost anything else I've shot through it. I've always wanted a mini but I don't really need one. |
It's common knowledge that the mini was and is marketed to be used as a handy predator/varmint firearm in addition to filling it's role as a self defense weapon. Even though marketed as such, many times trying to use this rifle for it's marketed purpose is an exercise in futility unless your goal is to simply scare away said varmints. I don't think anybody is expecting it to parallel the performance of an AR. I certainly don't have those expectations or illusions and never suggested I did. However many, many minis do not come around like this one did by just changing ammo. I feel quite fortunate and am pretty darned happy at this point and could easily use this rifle as a medium range predator/varmint rifle as Ruger intended. Just to eliminate any confusion as to what Rugers intended role for this rifle is, and so one can "get a concept of what the rifle actually is", I quote from their website: (What is written below is next to a picture of a coyote also well known as a "predator".)
Weird, they don't seem to mention the Ranch Rifle only needing to be pie plate accurate for chest shots on the Zombie hordes. Seems they think it's main role is for varmint control. Now that we have established what Rugers intended purpose of this rifle is, let's look at one of the targets it is marketed to be used on. The coyote. Peel the skin off a western coyote and you can nearly touch your thumbs and fingers when wrapped around it's chest. Approximately 7" to 10" of body with the vitals being smaller than that. Yes, under ideal conditions a marginally accurate mini will probably get a bullet somewhere on the intended target at 100 yards and under, even if it's a 4 to 6 MOA shooter. Will it be clean killing hit? Often no. Throw some negative outside factors into the mix like a less than steady rest, wind, etc and you are almost certain to experience a miss. Is an owner out of line expecting a bit better from a $650 medium range varmint gun? In my opinion not at all. Want to be real frustrated? Try one of the not so good performing ones on smaller varmints. You will probably just get the little fella dirty. Again, I'm fully aware it was not intended to be an MOA varmint gun and never had those unrealistic expectations. But anyone that drops the $650 on one of these durable, lightweight, handy, varmint rifles are not out of line to expect at least a minimum level of accuracy. It appears I got lucky and with a few other small cheap changes like the good advice in previous posts, it will more than likely get better yet. I'm looking forward to using my "Ranch Rifle" as intended to pop an few varmints on my "Ranch" in addition to filling the role as a well made, reliable defense rifle too. |
If the thing is sufficiently accurate/reliable, then I suggest sending it in and not complaining about the accuracy. OTOH, you could complain about roughness/grittiness in the trigger or some other problem that you feel needs to be addressed. Thing is, that if you ever alter the Mini from bone stock, Ruger will refuse to work on it unless they return it to as-new condition, and that includes getting restricted parts from them. Their policy is a hassle, but, given the current and past proclivity of the Antis to sue out of existence any and all firearms manufacturere, understandable from Ruger's point of view. I don't like the policy, but i understand why it exists. In sum, I think having a lifetime's worth of spare parts outweighs the hassle, but that is just me. YMMV. Dunno about Gundoc; if he can supply you with genuine Ruger parts and accomplish the same goal, fine. Beware of counterfiet 'restricted' Ruger parts, as they are very often of inferior metallurgy/construction. Baggie up the spares, an emergency cleaning kit, and other essential items. Remove the buttplate of your stock, and stash all the stuff in there so it won't rattle/shift around. Now you can never lose the stuff, have emergency stuff always at hand, and have shifted the point of balance to the rear, making the Mini a bit more 'lively" in the hands. The trigger greatly benefits from a bit of polishing in a few spots, and those areas will be visible when the trigger group is completely dis-assembled after some firing which will allow wear marks to show up. A smooth, crisp trigger feels subjectively much lighter than the same trigger with roughness/grittiness, and a bit of polishing, which you might be able to do yourself, might all you need and/or want.. Unless the thing is to be used as a dedicated range rifle, be careful about having your gunsmith going too low on trigger pull weight. The Mini's trigger is very much like that of the M1/M1A, so any 'smith expert on them can do a good job on the Mini's trigger. In addition to the mods I mentioned above, there is something else that can be done, namely to buy an Ultimak Scout scope mount. this will do two things-- provide a base for a Scout scope (of course), and since the rigid aluminum rail clamps to the barrel in place of the handguard, it also serves to add some very much needed rigidity to the barrel exactly where it is required. Of course, the mount can be used in conjunction with your current iron sights and current scope even without mounting a Scout scope. As the owner of a Scout-scoped Mini, I can tell you in all honesty that it is miles ahead of a conventionally-scoped Mini in terms of utility and quickness of use. The mount and the Scout scope aren't cheap, but having used Scout scopes, I can honestly say the Scout scope and the Mini are a marriage made in heaven. You will not believe how much superior it is unless you try it. Something to think about, at least. |
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I am not picking on anyone. Clearly, I don't know what you were thinking when you bought your rifle. Probably the same thing I was when I bought my Mini 14's. I was thinking maybe I could join the A-Team.... My comment is basically aimed at the common Mini 14 begruddgers. They spend 450.00 on a rifle and think it will shoot circles around an AR15. The AR has really spoiled people in terms of accuracy. There isn't a military 5.56 semi auto that shoots with the accuracy of the AR15, the Mini 14 isn't an exception to this rule. Granted, "new" Mini 14's are supposed to be in the 2 MOA ball-park and if mine wasn't with any load, then I would be calling Ruger ASAP. Maybe I am really lucky or just skewed, but I didn't buy my Mini 14's to punch paper from a bench rest. Again, thats not what this rifle was designed for, no matter what advertisements might say... I used mine for a plinking/field/fishing/outdoor defense gun, which is what it was designed for. I'm not trying to pick on anyone but when I see people shooting any Mini 14 from a bench for group sizes it just rubs me the wrong way. To me, its as backwards as buying a H2 for gas milege. |
No offense taken. I see what your saying Ryno and agree with most of what you said. Only reason any of my rifles get put on a bench is to get them zeroed. Then after that it is plinking or hunting or waitng to serve it's defensive role if the need arises. Any rifle I have is going to hit the bench at least once. Only way To get a proper sight in.  Take care |
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