I noticed that for 2005 the new Ruger Mini 14/30's have better sights.

They seem way to expensive however for what you get. Am I wrong?

I have also heard that their accuaracy is poor. Is that true for new ones?

Any comments or opinions would be appreciated.

I don't personally know, but a very good friend of mine in the Orlando area has a Mini-14 and it's accurate as hell, and NEVER jams.

I told him to never let go of it.....

HH

The A-Team was quite fond of them...

I had a mini-14 once. very reliable with decent mags, accuracy is about on par with an AK. It can be made a lot more accurate for cheap.

Well, be prepared for numerous negative comments about them from people that have never owned one, but still can't get past their hate for Bill Ruger so they say all Rugers suck.

I had a Mini thirty, but I sold it. It was a decent gun but I actually prefered shooting my AK's and SKS more than the thirty. I didn't find it to be exactly accurate, but unlike what most guys here say, that may have been more my problem than the guns.

Excellent guns for the money. They go boom first time, and every time. I found them to be less than accurate when compared to an AR. Magazines are more expensive.

They are not the greatest, but there should be room in your safe for one.

Keep in mind Ruger has a tight grip on parts, so if you ever have a problem it has to go back to Ruger. It is about as far away from an AR in a semi auto .223 that you can get...

...saying that, I wouldn't mind having an old one again, or one of the rare .222s...

They suck. I dunno about Mini 14s, but my brother had a mini thirty. Numerous failures to fire, and it had excessive headspace--enough to pop the fire control group right out of the rifle. He called Ruger...apparently they had had that problem a LOT before. It ran poorly even when we got it back. I had a FTF while trying to shoot a deer. Luckily I had my M77 Mk2 on hand as well.

It's more reliable than your AR (with good mags) and will hit point of bad guy up to 200yds just fine.  A good SHTF rifle.

Quoted: Keep in mind Ruger has a tight grip on parts, so if you ever have a problem it has to go back to Ruger. It is about as far away from an AR in a semi auto .223 that you can get... ...saying that, I wouldn't mind having an old one again, or one of the rare .222s...

Yes, they have to go back to Ruger, but guess what, they usually don't charge to repair a problem.  They have no stated warranty, but unless you really bash the hell out of one, they will usually fix it for no charge.

Quoted: They suck. I dunno about Mini 14s, but my brother had a mini thirty. Numerous failures to fire, and it had excessive headspace--enough to pop the fire control group right out of the rifle. He called Ruger...apparently they had had that problem a LOT before. It ran poorly even when we got it back. I had a FTF while trying to shoot a deer. Luckily I had my M77 Mk2 on hand as well.

Are Ruger Mini14/30's junk for the price?

Yes

I owned a 180.... series mini 14 that would shoot 1/2 " 100yd  groups with 1 particular handload.
I sold it after the AWB for double what I gave for it. I sorta wish I had kept it but an AR is fAR better IMO.

Quoted: Are Ruger Mini14/30's junk for the price? Yes

And your answer is based on................................?

Quoted: I owned a 180.... series mini 14 that would shoot 1/2 " 100yd  groups with 1 particular handload. I sold it after the AWB for double what I gave for it. I sorta wish I had kept it but an AR is fAR better IMO.

But you should have both, in the best ar15.com tradition.

I have several ARs, but I am seriously considering a Mini 14 just for the fun of it.  Part of it is also to piss off some on this board who badmouth Rugers and Bill Ruger when they have no clue as to what they speak.

Quoted: Quoted: Are Ruger Mini14/30's junk for the price? Yes And your answer is based on................................?

Had a Mini 14 that would not shoot for shit as far as accuracy.  I also had feed problems with it.  In my opinion, they are junk for the price when you can build an ar for about the same price.

Quoted: It's more reliable than your AR (with good mags) and will hit point of bad guy up to 200yds just fine.  A good SHTF rifle.

I agree but they arent worth the $ they are fetching.
I had one and didnt really like it very much. If they were like $275 or so I would give them more praise.

I had one that was accurate and very reliable, and I sold it...........I wish I had it back now.

First of all, I don't think all Rugers suck!

Second, I have 2 friends that have mini 14's.  Both of them have problems with accuracy.  It doesn't matter who shoots the gun, they always have a large MOA movement.   Both guns are scoped and shooting at 100 yards.  They will both only hold about a 4-5" pattern.  That pattern does not include "flyers" that are way out of whack.  One of them glass bedded his and it is better but still not great.  I would say IMHO they are average guns, nothing very special.

I have a Mini-14 Ranch Rifle in .223.  I've never had it jam or fail to go "bang".

It simply works every time.

Depends on the price.
What was the price you were seeing them for?

I've had them, they were very reliable, always went bang. Accuracy was not up to AR standards, a bit better than an AK accuracy wise.

Also, not as evil looking. If that matters....

Quoted: Quoted: They suck. I dunno about Mini 14s, but my brother had a mini thirty. Numerous failures to fire, and it had excessive headspace--enough to pop the fire control group right out of the rifle. He called Ruger...apparently they had had that problem a LOT before. It ran poorly even when we got it back. I had a FTF while trying to shoot a deer. Luckily I had my M77 Mk2 on hand as well.

Its a Garand style FCG that hinges out of the rifle. The headspace was excessive, and the batering caused the FCG to hinge out of the rifle.

I have a stainless ranch rifle, I bought it before I knew about AR's. It is extremely unaccurate, like 6in at 100yrds with a scope. But it does go bang every time.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Are Ruger Mini14/30's junk for the price? Yes And your answer is based on................................? Had a Mini 14 that would not shoot for shit as far as accuracy.  I also had feed problems with it.  In my opinion, they are junk for the price when you can build an ar for about the same price.

You can build an AR for about $450???????  I don't think I would want to be around when you light it off the first time.

Yes, they are inaccurate, that's a given, but they work well enough for what they were intended for.

As for feed problems, stop using USA mags with it .

Quoted: First of all, I don't think all Rugers suck! Second, I have 2 friends that have mini 14's.  Both of them have problems with accuracy.  It doesn't matter who shoots the gun, they always have a large MOA movement.   Both guns are scoped and shooting at 100 yards.  They will both only hold about a 4-5" pattern.  That pattern does not include "flyers" that are way out of whack.  One of them glass bedded his and it is better but still not great.  I would say IMHO they are average guns, nothing very special.

Hell, AKs have about the same accuracy, but all I hear from them is that they were not designed to be tack drivers.  Well, neither was the Mini.

I had 2 Mini-14s and 1 Mini-30. They suck.
Even though they are 1-trick ponies, AKs are much better weapons.

Good rifles.

Quoted: Quoted: Are Ruger Mini14/30's junk for the price? Yes And your answer is based on................................?

Knee jerk negative anti mini response, can't have a mini-14/30 thread without it.  


Its not a great deal if you pay full retail at your local gun shop.

So.....

Do what I did, buy a clean used one, its a great $250.00 gun, and I knew it wasn't a tack driver going in, so no complaint there.

 They are ok for the money.  Some are not accurate out of the box and should be, for the money spent.  

So, the mini-14 is not much different from an M14.

I've owned a couple of them. My Kids and I had mucho fun with one when they were growing up. I currently have a like new older 181 series with the wooden hand guard just because I think it looks cool.

I have never had a single problem with any of them as long as I'm using good mags. I found the thermolds work just fine after a little breaking in so I use them rather than my Ruger 20 and 30 round mags.

I can hit a paper plate at 100 yards and for a Mini-14 minute of bad guy is just fine with me.

I traded a marlin 30-30 and $125 dollars for a GB version in 1983.  The rifle would never shoot as accurate as I felt it should.  It was like new and reportedly a Kentucky SHP trade in.  After about 400 rounds through it, it would drop the FCG (trigger assembly) out onto the ground.  I had it fixed a few times, but after a couple of hundred rounds it would do the same thing.  I finally sold it in 1989 to a guy for $600.  With that money I bought a Springfield Armory 1911 and put some cash back in my pocket.  

I'll never own another.  A $300 beater AK is superior.  They don't even compare to an AR.

Just my $.02

SM

I have a SS/Synthetic Ranch Rifle.  Bought it new.  I'm an FFL.  I wouldn't sell one of these to anyone that cared about hitting a target.  Home defense maybe.  "Accuracy", if you can call it that, is minute of pie plate at 25 yds. and minute of trash can lid at 100.  Not sure if I could hit a human size target with less than 5 shots at 100 yds.

The first shot (scoped) is usually pretty good, maybe the second shot.  After the barrel warms up; forget it.  I understand this is very common with Mini-14's.  Ruger ought to be embarassed to sell these things.  It's a real shame because the rest of their product line is very good.  I have 10/22's, MKII's, and P90 45's.  All of them will do minute of beer can at reasonable ranges.

The Mini-14 is well built, reliable and cute as hell.  Just severely lacking in the accuracy department.  I haven't sold mine yet because I would feel guilty about sticking someone else with it.  I may try rebarreling it, even though I'll have the cost of an AR into it by the time I'm done.

The AR may cost more up front, but out of the box accuracy is much better.  Also easier to work on as far as triggers, etc..

They are okay. Since I am in commie hell land all I really have to choose from is the Mini14, SU-16, or a FAB-10. They are not very accurate, but they do work 100% of the time if the mags are good. I can feed it the worst, crappy, import .223 and it will feed it. Very much like an AK in realiability.

Somone on the board had a mini 14 that they cut down the barrel and put a phanton flash hider on, they made it an SBR. They said it improved the accuracy, something to do with harmonics due to the long unsupported pencil barrel. And the gun looked better too.


I wanted one but never bought it.

Have experience with three separate Mini-14's.  Accuracy is about the same as everyone's experience.  I've never had the FCG fall out of mine.  That trigger guard locking system is tight, usually need a screwdriver to pry it open.  My current piece is a Ranch Rifle with a Butler Creek folding stock and a 3-9x42 scope.  Looks pretty sweet.  Thinking about getting the barrel cut down and a Flash Hider installed to bring it to just over the legal minimum length.  There is some evidence that simply shortening and recrowning the barrel improves accuracy.  We'll see.

Mini-14 was designed to have 3-4 MOA out of the box.

The new Mini-14 is supposed to be designed for 2-3 MOA out of the box, but the new Mini-14's don't feed 30 round mags reliable.  They almost always get hung up on the 21st round.

www.ultimak.com
http://www.accu-strut.com/

Buy a used mini, get these two items and you cant get a ~2moa rifle out of them with stock ammo.  The Ultimak is nice because its a scout rail, and more importantly it replaces the upper gas block forcing you to retorque the screws.

The rigidity strut seems gimicky, but it was born out of an idea on perfect union's boards.  Two shutgun flash light clamp mounts and a piece of steel tubing will keep the barrel cooler and prevent whipping.

I have a home made strut (I followed the prototype threads on perfect union and made my own for less than 40 bucks) and a Ultimak mount.  It maintains 2 moa and if you keep the rof low and the barrel cool it will get lower than 2 moa.

So buy a Mini-14 off a ARFCOM hater for 250, or 300, 50 bucks to buy or make a strut and 120 bucks to get a scout rail.  420-470 isnt bad for a 2moa SHTF rifle.

All this FCG falling out etc etc I have never heard of or witnessed.

You can also cyro treat your barrel which helps eliminate flyers for less than 40 bucks.  Trigger job for 10 bucks.

Great project gun.  I challenge anyone to build an AR for less than 450 that is as reliable and maybe even as accurate as a mini-14 and good mags.

I have about 25 years experience with the Mini-14's, so I feel I am qualified to given an opinion.  And at one time I had 5 in my gun cabinet... I still have two.

First, the Mini-14 and Ranch are very reliable with good mags.  I understand the recent versions have a slightly different spec on the mag catch.  There is a smith whose name is on the Perfect Union site that fixes the catch by welding on some more metal and grinding to shape.  

Pluses:  The Mini-14 is reliable, very easy to clean, and will function well with little or no cleaning for a very long time, and little or no lubrication.  The stainless version is great for a rifle that may be stored away with little or no maint.

Minuses:  The Mini-14 will not reach the level of accuracy of an average AR-15 without spending a lot more money than the price of evan a modest AR-15.  But it is not as bad as some say.

First, replace the crappy, loose wood stock with a sythetic stock  The Choate and Butler Creek stocks are tight and by themselves will reduce group size by appx 50%.

Better sights or scope.  If you will use a scope, the Ranch is the way to go.  A simple 4X, or even 2.5X fixed power scope is all that is needed.

Magazine availability.  Ruger Hicap mags are almost impossible to find, and they were even BEFORE the AWB.  Now they are very rare and very expensive.  

Federal Ordnance (aka Precision Magazines Inc or PMI) mags are every bit as good, and much cheaper.  Fed Ord went out of business about the time of the passage of the AWB, but some may still be found though about triple the price of USGI M16 mags.  The 20, 30, and even 40 rnd mags all work well.

USA and the Eagle and Ramline plastic mags, don't waste your time.  Thermold are not bad if you can find them.

No, you cannot modify USGI M16 mags to work with the Mini-14.  One minute with a Mini-14 and a USGI mag will reveal why.  Anyone who tells you they can do it, challenge them to put up or shut up.  If it could be done, I would have done it myself many years ago.

I conclude by saying that to get the entire weapon system up and running, rifle, mags, stock, etc, you will have spent about 50% more than for a basic Bushy, DPMS, or Rock River AR-15 and mags.  

I had a mini 14 as my primary carbine for several years before I got into ARs. My brother has it now. it was an adequate little rifle. I'm simply hard pressed to find something about it that's better than an AR. My first AR was a JT kit on a DPMS lower, and it outperformed the mini in every way.

Quoted: The A-Team was quite fond of them...

If Ruger put a decent barrel on their Mini along with sights blike those found on the M-14 and if I was assured a good supply of parts and high quality magazines, I likely would not own any AR-15's.

Ruger had potential with their little gun. They just didn't put the effort into it that they needed. But I am telling you, with just a few modifications, they could have made a world class rifle out of the Mini-14. Too bad they chose to do otherwise.

Quoted: The A-Team was quite fond of them...

And they never, ever managed to hit anyone with them either.

Ask Edmundo Mirales about going up against a Mini-14.

If it always goes bang that is a huge plus. As far as accuracy, how many justified shootings occur at range? From experience (and reading all that is available) very, very few. If anybody knows a good place to read about long range engagements with other than .gov or .mil on one side I would be interested to read about them.

Factory high caps are a bear to obtain. I once had a gun store saleman sell me all the Ruger high caps he had when he offered to sell me one. When the owner found out he was Super F'in Pissed at the guy that sold them to me. They work 100%.

My experience with Ruger customer service has been a fix or receipt of a brand new replacement.

Overall though, stay with an AR unless in CA, etc.

Quoted: The A-Team was quite fond of them...

Yes but I dont ever remember the a-team actually HITTING anyone they were shooting at --ever !!!


Back to real life though my SAR3 in 5.56 is more accurate than my mini14 (with the same ammo) but neither of them ever fail to go bang and the mini is fun to shoot.............

I've had 3 minis in my life.  I like them, but I also dislike them in some ways.  The accuracy issues as others have mentioned, along with the scarcity of quality magazines.  PMI made good mags, but they are getting harder to find as time goes on, and are a bit pricey when you do find them.  All the magazines available at your local gunstore are probably going to be either USA or Ramline, both of which are pure junk, and will cause many feed problems should you decide to use them.  But with quality mags, the rifles are very reliable, and much easier to take down and clean than an AR.

My other complaint was with my Ranch rifle (or more likely the scope rings).  I couldn't keep the scope rings tightened onto the receiver, they would loosen up after a few rounds.  I tried 2 different sets, with the same results.  I guess I just don't like the Ruger ring setup.

None of mine had the newer sights, which I've heard are much improved over the older sights, which weren't that good.

The Mini is an alright rifle in my opinion, but I probably wouldn't get another Ranch rifle due to the Ruger rings.

YMMV.

Quoted: Quoted: The A-Team was quite fond of them... And they never, ever managed to hit anyone with them either.

And the Army MPs chasing them in every episode never, ever managed to hit anything with their M-16s and M1911s.....

Have had one for a while and like it and have a Butle Creek stock on it and it does Ok at the range.

It main duty lately has been getting rid of the old green Wolf ammo and the surprising thing is that I never clen it and it just keeps eat that nasty old laquer (spelling wolf ammo).

I'm really getting impressed with it for not malfunctioning after a few thousand rounds of the Wolf ammo and no cleaning.

If you buy one new, it's a $5-600 commercial rifle.  
Even it's adherents say you have to use RUGER mags, which are hard to find.

If you're about to spend $550 on a rifle and another $120 for three good magazines, man up and get an AR-15, FAL, G3, H&K 93, AK variant, Garand.......any of the above will give accuracy on par with the Mini14/30 series and will have a much greater base of parts, magazines and knowledge.

Quoted: Keep in mind Ruger has a tight grip on parts, so if you ever have a problem it has to go back to Ruger. It is about as far away from an AR in a semi auto .223 that you can get... ...saying that, I wouldn't mind having an old one again, or one of the rare .222s...

Yea, but they were a company that thought ahead in 1986 and made SPARE AC556 receivers and registered them. So, break one and it can be replaced with ATFs blessing...