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Posted: 1/7/2006 7:05:42 AM EDT
[#1]
I always liked the minis, but they'll never shoot with an AR.
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Posted: 1/7/2006 7:06:14 AM EDT
[#2]
A given, but what king of accuracy can you get? |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 7:07:00 AM EDT
[#3]
AFAIK,no.However there are people over at perfectunion.com that have come up with a lot of ways to tweek the accuracy on them.
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Posted: 1/7/2006 7:08:12 AM EDT
[#4]
According to the last article from Massad (Ruger apologist) Theboob, Ruger has tightened the tolerances on the Mini's considerably, and 1-2 in. groups are the norm, now. Ayoob is an unabashed Ruger whore, so take that with a grain of salt.
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Posted: 1/7/2006 7:08:53 AM EDT
[#5]
If a tree falls in the woods...............does anyone CARE?
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Posted: 1/7/2006 7:36:21 AM EDT
[#6]
What fishwrap is that article from? I know there's a gun mag that has a full page "Ruger Forum". Think that might influence their opinion? |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 7:51:49 AM EDT
[#7]
read in one of the gun rags that ruger is working on a heavy 20" barrel target version with a lamenated target style stock, its for scope only, no open sights.
MLW>"< |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 7:55:56 AM EDT
[#8]
abominable... closer, if you've got a good arm. |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 8:03:31 AM EDT
[#9]
Do they take 5.56 ammo?
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Posted: 1/7/2006 8:03:35 AM EDT
[#10]
Oh, nice. Now you only have to decide which scope you don't mind having the crap beat out of by ejected brass. 
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Posted: 1/7/2006 8:34:21 AM EDT
[#11]
High-and-mighty sarcasm works best when you don't fuck it up by forgetting words!  A friend of mine has a Mini-14. I like it, but it wont shoot in the same league as an AR. His is actually a "Ranch Rifle", only a couple years old. It doesnt seem to like too many mags other than the ones it came with. He tried a scope on it and was dissapointed. I never shot it with a scope, but with open sights it'll ring the 100 yard 12" plate as easily as my AR. Not a 5.56 chamber, either. My buddy shoots the WWB 40rnd 223 Value Packs, with no reliability concerns. ETA- I wouldnt mind owning one. |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 8:52:19 AM EDT
[#12]
It doesn't make a noise if nobody's there, but when someone comes around later, you can hear a distinct "I've fallen and I can't get up." |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 8:54:27 AM EDT
[#13]
 Yep.   Buddy has a mini-14. Chokes on Q3131A milspec ammo. So much for it's vaunted reliability. (does like Wolf though) |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 8:58:33 AM EDT
[#14]
Mini 14s suck ass. Save a few more $$$ and get a real weapon.
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Posted: 1/7/2006 9:04:27 AM EDT
[#15]
Could happen. The one I refer to shoots both WWB and older Wolf (laquer) reliably. Pretty strange. Is your example older? My buddy's is pretty new, I think he bought it and a bunch of Wolf for Y2K. Maybe something diferent in the chamber/mag area? |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 9:06:43 AM EDT
[#16]
Mini-30 is the way to go. At least with 7.62x39 accuracy is the last thing a person will expect.
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Posted: 1/7/2006 10:19:27 AM EDT
[#17]
I have a 20+ year old mini and a newer stainless ranch..they shoot fine
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Posted: 1/7/2006 11:27:16 AM EDT
[#18]
I have to thank Ruger and my soldier son for pushing me int the AR camp. I bought a new synthetic stock ranch rifle several years ago and was horrified at the lousy "accuracy". Minute of dinner plate at 50 yards. Proportionally worse at 100 yds.. Ruger should be ashamed to sell these things.
The problem seems to be in the barrel and the op rod system. There's heavy barrel conversions and stabilizers out there which probably help. I talked to a Ruger rep at a Ducks Unlimited show. He couldn't/wouldn't give me a straight answer as to what level of accuracy is acceptable. The only reason I still have the Mini 14 is that I hesitate to stick someone else with it. I'd love to rebarrel it and get it to work the way it should, but I have AR's that shoot great as is. |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 11:29:47 AM EDT
[#19]
his is probably 6 years old, I'd guesstimate |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 11:33:23 AM EDT
[#20]
you all most made me choke on my pop by putting all those words together in one sentence. you get what you pay for.
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Posted: 1/7/2006 11:37:25 AM EDT
[#21]
Dude no way.If you want a fairly accurate rifle in 7.62X39,go with like two yugo sks rifles and a case of ammo for cheaper than the mini-30.Actually,if you want a decent,inexpensive rifle in .223/5.56,the new keltec rifle is a much better value than a brand new mini-14.However,if you can pick up a used mini for a song,I wouldnt let the reputation for accuracy to stop you.Intalling a cheap and simple brace on the barrel,replacing the wood stock with a decent aftermarket stock to improve the bedding,try a couple of different flash suppressors or muzzlebreaks,work up some loads it likes and you can greatly improve the accuracy of most mini's. |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 11:49:11 AM EDT
[#22]
I'm selling my 181-series Mini.
It was a good starter gun when I entered the .223/5.56 world but only gathers dust now that I have Black Rifle Disease. The one exception to the mini that I found is that it can eat just about any brand of ammo and ask for seconds. After-market mags suck like a $2 crackwhore. Accuracy....well, at least I could always outshoot my buddy's AK, but got humbled when he dragged out his Bushie. |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 12:01:12 PM EDT
[#23]
Well out here in Corruptfornia, the choice is very small. Even though for the time being
a certain type lower is avail. The window is also very small for this via DOJ. So a few yrs back I bought a mini-14 as it's still legal here in Kali. I had to spend WAY too much on it, but have finally been able to "hit the side of a barn". I wouldn't ever do it again, as I don't get out much anymore, but if I have to, I CAN hit what I aim at. Still the AR would be the much better choice. Anyway > pic14.picturetrail.com/VOL544/713502/1204867/54977209.jpg |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 12:06:56 PM EDT
[#24]
No, the choice is actually simple................take your talent & effort elsewhere. |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 12:12:22 PM EDT
[#25]
Why would we want to abandon the most populated state in the union to the treehugging,latte drinking gunbanners?I say we need to encourage our brothers behind enemy lines,not tell them to cut and run.Hell in WWII we supplied the pussy frenchy resistance,should we do any less to gun owners in Kali
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Posted: 1/7/2006 12:22:51 PM EDT
[#26]
2-5moa  & as far as the mag thing goes, I have had good luck with everything except USA mags.
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Posted: 1/7/2006 12:38:16 PM EDT
[#27]
Well Sir with all respect, your user name says it all. I'm a member of the NRA and the Calif Rifle & Pistol Assn. I have a last parent who needs to be close to one of the Kaiser Hospitals here in SoCal, and our family doesn't believe in rest homes. I take care of her here. Until the status quo changes, I try and support both assn's with the pittance I can afford, as well as continue to vote for pro gun politicians. So far it's worked as Russ Bogh and Bob Dorton are both pro gun here in Cal, as well as Jerry Lewis over on the House side in D.C. However with honey sometimes comes sulfur and Sens Boxer and Foulstink are at the two top spots in stink when it comes to this vs Rep.Jerry Lewis and the firearms issue. So in the meantime I hope for the best and expect the worse. But thank you for your opinion. |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 12:49:01 PM EDT
[#28]
I can respect that choice. though unless you have some love of California, I would suggest the battle is lost and to E&E to a Free(R) State. We can win the fight in other states, we are winning. Some states are just too far gone, and by contributing your money, your efforts, your taxes, your life - you just enable them to keep doing what they are doing. I finally bailed on Maryland after 11 years of banging my head against a granite wall. There's just not much point in a place like that. But I'm not from Maryland, and I didn't have any strong ties. So I voted with my feet, my talent, my effort and my money. Not just my money either, since I'm a field office of an Oregon company, I took the sales tax revenue of our product with me. 
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Posted: 1/7/2006 2:05:13 PM EDT
[#29]
I have a older mini 14 and with a 4 power scope knocking off prarie dogs at 225 yards isnt really that hard. I know a few people who have bought the newer models and had them accurized and they shot pretty well. Mine is factory original and had thousands of rounds ran thru it.
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Posted: 1/7/2006 6:08:34 PM EDT
[#30]
You people crack me up. Sometimes I wonder if you even own firearms and are just repeating something you read on "the internet".
There is nothing wrong with Ruger firearms. There is nothing wrong with the Mini 14. There is nothing wrong with Ruger politics past or present. |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 6:18:37 PM EDT
[#31]
I have a mini 30 I purchased a couple of years ago and it's very accurate. I would have never know they where inaccurate if I hadn't have found this forum.
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Posted: 1/7/2006 6:23:22 PM EDT
[#32]
My ranch rifle is most accurate with Wolf. Go figure.
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Posted: 1/7/2006 6:30:03 PM EDT
[#33]
Mini-14, great concept, piss poor execution.
Personally its the gas sytem that causes the bad accuracy. The opperating rod weights a TON, also the gas port is halfway down th barrel. as a result the rod starts to move before the bullet exits the barrel, the subsiquent momentum throws accuracy way off. Ruger needs too.. Revamp the opperating rod and gas system chamber in 5.56 offer a model with a chrome bore and chamber and parked metal. better BUIS for the ranch Find a way to take AR mags Do that and you will have a very good alternitive to the AR and sell a whole lot more rilfes. |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 6:38:46 PM EDT
[#34]
What rock did you crawl out from under? 
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Posted: 1/7/2006 6:43:14 PM EDT
[#35]
Guns Magazine "Combat" special. I only bought it because I was facing some serious downtime at the Hospital a few weeks ago when I took my wife in. It was the only thing on the news stand I hadn't already read. |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 6:47:14 PM EDT
[#36]
Lemmie guess, You sleep with Neal Knox and take his word as gospel? Same song and dance. |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 7:05:52 PM EDT
[#37]
Had 2. Scoped from a good solid rest, you should be able to get about 12 MOA. (If you do your part)
I do not doubt that some may have been accidentally built with better accuracy. A good AK or SKS will typically outshoot the average Mini 14. An AR15 is in a different class altogether. |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 7:07:36 PM EDT
[#38]
I've had a Mini-14 for over 20 years, a 183-series.
It shoots fine, fairly accurate (however, not as accurate as an AR), & hardly ever a feeding / extraction problem as long as you use quality mags. NOTE: It has only had handloads fed into it, never factory ammo (except at the factory) |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 8:18:18 PM EDT
[#39]
Mini 14s come in three accuracy grades:
Improved, modified, full.
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Posted: 1/7/2006 8:44:02 PM EDT
[#40]
I have one that I bought about 11 years ago.
It is NOT a ranch rifle. It shoots great. I have 2 high cap USA mags for it that have not experienced any failures with the rifle. I haven't shot the Mini-14 in about 8 yrs as I have plenty of other rifles. |
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Posted: 1/8/2006 1:55:05 PM EDT
[#41]
Most, if not all, of the negative posts about accuracy come from those who never owned or shot one. The world is full of internet commandos.
The Mini 14 is a sporting rifle that will shoot minute of chest at 200 yards with any ammo. You can abuse it, neglect it, and ignore it, and it will perform within design parameters on command, assuming you have factory or quality mags. It is not a battle rife, nor is it a target rifle. It is an excellent rifle that is ideally suited as a utility rifle, patrol rifle, or guard rifle. There are other opinions, of course. They are wrong, but what the heck. All this being said, and that likely being wasted on the mis-informed, uninformed, and the truly stupid, my SHTF rifle is an AR with the Mini being used at my cabin. It gets the job done as needed and doesn't scare the shit out of the sheeple. |
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Posted: 1/8/2006 2:11:08 PM EDT
[#42]
My Ruger Ranch Rifle will eat most .223/5.56. It only had problems with some Spanish ss109 that it tore the rims off of the soft brass. It eats old and new Wolf, burns through the crappy Olympic without trouble and handles 5.56 without trouble like XM193, and Q3131a.
Aside from the great reliability, it has horrid accuracy with most ammo. Putting on a muzzle brake helped, and groups are somewhat decent with blue box Black Hills and XM193. It also likes the 62gr FMJ WWB. |
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Posted: 1/8/2006 2:34:09 PM EDT
[#43]
My Mini-14 was pretty friggin accurate with 70 grn handloads but it was shit for reliability it had to be lubed just so not to much not little and had to be absolutely clean if you wanted too shoot 600 rounds in a row you had better just forget about it.
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Posted: 1/8/2006 3:14:53 PM EDT
[#44]
My mini 30 is reasonably accurate with handloads using .308 bullets, (1.5 MOA at 100 yds) but won't shoot imported ammo (.310) at all. (3-5 MOA). Reliability with aftermarket mags has been terrible. I've heard good things about the PMI mags, but haven't tried them. The gun is scoped and used for playing at the range and hunting, so the 5 round mag isn't a issue to me.
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Posted: 1/8/2006 3:18:43 PM EDT
[#45]
IIRC they call it either DU or troll rock 
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Posted: 1/8/2006 3:20:47 PM EDT
[#46]
I have had 2 bak when i was young and the extra $$ for a AR was just simply out of reach
both were ranchs both stainless both had cheapie 3-9x on um both worked great with factory mags I had factory 2 hi caps too I was able to puick up semi cheap One was a good shooter 2-3 MOA all day no matter how hot the other was also a 2-3 MOA gun till it got hot and turned into a 4-5 MOA gun Nothing wrong with them but now with ARs coming down in price or building your own and the Minis going up in price I see no real reason to go with one unless it is a AC556 |
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Posted: 1/8/2006 3:26:17 PM EDT
[#47]
Or maybe they call it someone who knows more than you two. |
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Posted: 1/8/2006 3:30:49 PM EDT
[#48]
The first 2 are correct, the last one not quite. |
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Posted: 1/8/2006 3:41:59 PM EDT
[#49]
I've had 4. Three .223s and one 7.62. Accuracy uniformly sucked. Sometimes I could get a 5 shot group that had 4 within 3" or so of each other, then the 5th would stretch it out to 5+ inches.
Well...on a good day. Think of it more as a really powerful .22 rimfire. Good for about 50 yards.
Truer words have never been spoken. |
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Posted: 1/8/2006 3:48:36 PM EDT
[#50]
Then what good is it?  Serious question, BTW..... |
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