Posted: 5/13/2010 5:24:54 AM EDT
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Why does one Ruger Mini 14/Ranch shoot like shit...and the next one is ok?
Couldn't rely on my 1990's Ranch rifle to hit the same poa twice...tried all sorts of different ammo, scopes, mounts, etc. The rifle just wasn't all that great accuracy-wise. I swapped it for a A2 rifle...and never looked back. So last winter, I buy an older Ruger Mini 14 used.....exact same thing as the ranch excepting some minor details.....and it shoots just fine. This Mini 14 able to group it's shots...where the Ranch rifle more like 'patterned' it's shots. 
I checked out the stock fit on this new/old Mini....and it's pretty sloppy fitting, but tight. My traded off Ranch rifle fit tight, and was somewhat better fitted in the birch stock...but still shot like shit. The biggest difference between the two rifles is the traded off Ranch rifle was carbon steel, and the Mini I own now is stainless. I really cant see that making such a big difference. So what makes a Ruger Mini 14 shoot right...stock fit, barrels, geometry, kharma...or what? Thanx, Seventeen |
The stainless Mini ain't no match rifle...mind you. But it does lob bullets at or near to point of aim.
I recall the first time I fired a Mini 14(an early 1970's one), it was decent enough for accuracy. This rifle is an early 1980's rifle by the serial number. Definately a superior shooter group-sizewise to the traded Ranch gun. This makes me curious if the older guns were better? 
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from what I remember reading about them it had to do with the barrels, some barrels were turned down too quickly and didn't receive the proper stress relief after they were turned, so they never shot well and only got worse the more they heated up.
I remember a company called accuracy ? back in the 80s that advertised an "accuracy upgrade" and guarentee of 1 moa, what it consisted of was a new barrel and everything tightened/fitted. |
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The real question might be...how did you get one that shoots well? Ruger Mini 14's don't have a very good reputation for reliability or accuracy. I don't know where you got the idea they are not reliable. I've had several of them and they have never missed a lick as far as going off every time I pull the trigger. There are lots of shitty mags out there that don't work well and that may be the reason why some people think they are unreliable. But as far as accuracy, they are OK until they start getting hot. Cryogenic barrel treatment helps that some. The one I have now is not as accurate as the first one I had - a 200th year American Liberty model. But it's damn sure OK for killing coyotes out to 300 yds. Hanging a flash hider on the barrel does a lot to help the barrel whip when hot and closes the groups down. Also some people install smaller gas bushings to slow down the op rod and eliminate some of the barrel whip. You can drop your AR into a mud puddle 20 times and I can drop my Mini14 into the mud puddle 20 times and mine will come up shooting more times than your AR. I will say one thing about the Mini14s. They seem to really vary on zero when you change ammo. If I shoot Wolf out of mine, it will shoot 4 inches lower than regular 55 gr military ball at 100. And the 62 gr stuff is way off that mark by a bunch too. I took the scope off of mine for that reason. I shoot all kinds of ammo out of it and it never fails to go off. But the mags I carry, two 20 rd jobs, are loaded with 55 gr reloads and it does fine with them. Those mags have never screwed up either. One is a Ruger, one is a Pro-mag. 
I guess I got a good Mini14.
17Z- Go here for some really good info on increasing the accuracy on your Mini14. It's a good board and has some great info. http://www.perfectunion.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=106 |
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from what I remember reading about them it had to do with the barrels, some barrels were turned down too quickly and didn't receive the proper stress relief after they were turned, so they never shot well and only got worse the more they heated up. I remember a company called accuracy ? back in the 80s that advertised an "accuracy upgrade" and guarentee of 1 moa, what it consisted of was a new barrel and everything tightened/fitted. See Accuracy Rifle Systems in Odessa, Texas. I had one of their conversions and it loved 62gr ammo. Nice rifle but I eventually sold it and replaced with an AR |
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from what I remember reading about them it had to do with the barrels, some barrels were turned down too quickly and didn't receive the proper stress relief after they were turned, so they never shot well and only got worse the more they heated up. I remember a company called accuracy ? back in the 80s that advertised an "accuracy upgrade" and guarentee of 1 moa, what it consisted of was a new barrel and everything tightened/fitted. See Accuracy Rifle Systems in Odessa, Texas. I had one of their conversions and it loved 62gr ammo. Nice rifle but I eventually sold it and replaced with an AR that's the place, I was going to send the one I had to them, but the upgrade cost like a hundred bucks more than I gave for the rifle .
I liked the hell out of it, it was reliable to a fault, just wouldn't group better than 10" or so at a 100 yards with a scope, hell I could use the peep and do just as good. |
| I never owned one that would shoot decently , but a good friend of mine owned a ranch rifle that would do an honest to God 1.5 moa with good ammunition. I told him to keep it as it was probably the most accurate Mini made. He later traded it for an Auto Ordnance 1911 that looked like it had been made with a file and ball peen hammer. |
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I've shot Dan's rifle, it's a decent shooter for a mini, hell I was surprised by how well it shot, but like he said it does have a tendency to string a bit as the barrel heats.
and I can attest to how well it ejects cases, at one of the lex shoots I got tagged above the left ear with a case and it drew blood. |
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I've shot Dan's rifle, it's a decent shooter for a mini, hell I was surprised by how well it shot, but like he said it does have a tendency to string a bit as the barrel heats. and I can attest to how well it ejects cases, at one of the lex shoots I got tagged above the left ear with a case and it drew blood. Sorry about that Brother L. I won't let it happen again. 
And it does string 'em. If I cryo the barrel it will minimize that. It's only $45 or so to get it done but I just haven't got around to doing it. I mostly let fly 2 to 5 shots at the most to kill a running coyote so I don't really worry about heating it up. I'll ship it off one of these days and get 'er done. Cryopro in Springfield is just $35! http://www.cryopro.com/gun.html |
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Why does one Ruger Mini 14/Ranch shoot like shit...and the next one is ok? Couldn't rely on my 1990's Ranch rifle to hit the same poa twice...tried all sorts of different ammo, scopes, mounts, etc. The rifle just wasn't all that great accuracy-wise. I swapped it for a A2 rifle...and never looked back. So last winter, I buy an older Ruger Mini 14 used.....exact same thing as the ranch excepting some minor details.....and it shoots just fine. This Mini 14 able to group it's shots...where the Ranch rifle more like 'patterned' it's shots.
I checked out the stock fit on this new/old Mini....and it's pretty sloppy fitting, but tight. My traded off Ranch rifle fit tight, and was somewhat better fitted in the birch stock...but still shot like shit. The biggest difference between the two rifles is the traded off Ranch rifle was carbon steel, and the Mini I own now is stainless. I really cant see that making such a big difference. So what makes a Ruger Mini 14 shoot right...stock fit, barrels, geometry, kharma...or what? Thanx, Seventeen To improve the accuracy of a Mini-14, I would recommend removing the magazine, unloading the chamber, insert the ejected round back into the magazine, insert the magazine in a quality AR-15, and then pull and release the charging handle.....
Andy.. |
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Gas system in the front. Equal torque and tightening on gas block in the front can make a huge difference, along with a flash hider being hung on the front. Yep. And if you're going to be adjusting the screws on the gas block, it wouldn't hurt to change the gas port bushing in the Ranch Rifle for a smaller one. This will A) cause it to not put brass in orbit and 2) work the action less violently, thus potentially improving accuracy. And for anyone wondering "What does a flash hider have to do with anything?", it's all about barrel harmonics. To improve the accuracy of a Mini-14, I would recommend removing the magazine, unloading the chamber, insert the ejected round back into the magazine, insert the magazine in a quality AR-15, and then pull and release the charging handle.....
Andy.. There was a company that used to make magazines that would go into both an AR-15 and a Mini-14. As I recall, they didn't work in either gun. Generally speaking, however, AR-15 and Mini-14 take completely different magazines, so "insert ejected round back into the magazine" wouldn't help anyway. Now "insert ejected round into an AR-15 magazine" might... |
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The real question might be...how did you get one that shoots well? Ruger Mini 14's don't have a very good reputation for reliability or accuracy. I've never hear of any reliability issues with the Ruger Mini guns myself. Excepting the part about reliably hitting a target! I've only owned the two Ruger Mini's, the Ranch rifle earning my wrath and dissappointment for near complete lack of accuracy! 
I have not really 'checked' this rifle out off the bench.....but casual shooting would indicate this Mini is capeable of repeatedly hitting point of aim. 
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from what I remember reading about them it had to do with the barrels, some barrels were turned down too quickly and didn't receive the proper stress relief after they were turned, so they never shot well and only got worse the more they heated up. I remember a company called accuracy ? back in the 80s that advertised an "accuracy upgrade" and guarentee of 1 moa, what it consisted of was a new barrel and everything tightened/fitted. I considered an 'Accuracy strut' and several other options for my Ranch rifle. But just decided to cut my losses, and moth-ball the gun. Mothballed until I traded it for a Century A2 hbar....and a SKS...and a 9mm Chinese Tok. I will say the new owner loves the Ranch rifle...he commented how much more he liked the low mounted optics over carry handle optics just the other day! I didn't ask if he was hitting anything.
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I called Cryopro in Missouri and talked to the man. You can take the upper end off, put it in a triangular box from USPS, and send it to them. They have a label you can print out. They put it in the freezer on a Friday, take it down to 300+ below, then take it out on Sunday and then temper it three times in an oven.
Look at the website. It sounds like a good idea to do to a Mini14 to smooth out any barrel harmonics. I've had it done to two Krieger barrels before and they are sub MOA barrels. It ain't gonna make a target gun out of a Mini14 but it should make it a lot more consistent in accuracy. |
