Fun.
Old school cool.

They fail at all else.  

That being said, I love ‘em.

"Accuracy" issues with older Minis are often due to former users damaging/destroying barrel rifling at the muzzle due to improper cleaning tools/technique.  Easily fixed with a simple barrel/muzzle "re-crown" often done by owner with simple and cheap components from Brownells.   Some older "pencil-barrel" Minis will certainly benefit with installation of an add-on barrel strut.  Most Mini users find it very useful to "shim" the innards of their stocks in order to prevent side-to-side movement of the barreled action within the stock.  Most Wooden stocks for Minis are notoriously very loose.

Flash suppressors for all Minis abound. The commonly available "short" Choate muzzle devices offers an A2-style flash suppressor as well as a military style front sight.   Reversible, if needed.  

Cost: this becomes complicated.  Some States allow Minis, while refusing ARs.  Depends on where you live.  Mini cost inflated due to Gov't laws.

Factory Mini mags will always be more expensive than similar AR/GI mags made in the millions.  I've had to re-build both types of mags with new springs/followers.  

All I can say is that I've won $ bets shooting against shorty AR owners with my Mini.

Uh, you live in Washington.  Isn't that the only 5.56 rifle you can purchase new now?

I have one and I plan on doing some modifications
The first is the seal between the barrel port and the clamp that is screwed around the barrel
The screws may not be torqued evenly
The seal is steel and may not be the perfect size
I have read that this is a problem on some mini 14s
I plan on making one out of copper that will crush down some so it is not sitting up higher that it should
This I hope will make it be an excellent shooter

The leftists are getting smarter, they did not miss the Mini this go around.  

Anyhow- they do have a good “not an AR, made in the USA, will last 100 years” feel to them.  If you have enough AR’s for any basic rifle task, no reason not to have something else just for the hell of it.  

Have one I am SBR’ing.  Chopping it down ought to actually improve the accuracy.  Old style wood and steel folder stock, will look like an AC556 as much as possible hopefully when done.

Strongly suggest you make a thread about the changes you are considering HERE .  You will get some good information.  

@kychas

This question seems to come up periodically as does the issue of accuracy with the Mini 14.

The original 180 series (center in the next to bottom picture) had a smaller .052” gas port bushing as well as a much lighter slide with commensurately smaller gas block and stock.  It was a much trimmer and slimmer rifle and with the reduced reciprocating mass and smaller gas port, they shot 2 MOA out of the box with decent 55 gr ammo.

Unfortunately Ruger developed the select fire AC 556 and used a larger .080” gas port bushing as well as a much heavier slide and slightly heavier bolt. Between being over gassed and having much more reciprocating weight, accuracy went down hill making them 3-4 MOA rifles.  Over the years as the tooling war and with changes in barrel twist from 1-10” to 1-7” accuracy went downhill even farther, particularly with cheaper surplus 55 gr FMJ ammo where the faster twist aggravated any inconsistencies in the projectiles.  5 to 6 MOA wasn’t uncommon.












A switch to 1-9” twist and new tooling beginning with the 580 series improved accuracy and the heavier tapered barrel introduced in the middle of 580 series production brought it back to being a 2 MOA rifle.


—-

The older series rifles however can be made to shoot quite well.

I have both a 184 series Mini 14 (top) and a 187 series ranch rifle (bottom) both with 1-10” twist barrels.  Both got the same accuracy treatment:

1) Accu Strut's 4" SOCOM model, installed in milled divots in the gas block for greater rigidity and carefully aligned to place no stress on the barrel. (I like the looks of the shorter strut compared to the 6" 2 clamp model);

2) Tech Sights Mini 200 rear sight, with aperture inserts;

3) Choate Browning/M14 style flash hider and front sight (this both improves the front sight, and adds some muzzle weight that improves the barrle harmonics);

4) Choate ventilated hand guard (improved cooling), although I have since put a wood handguard back on my 187 and an aluminum handguard on my 184.

5) a .045” gas bushing; and

6) a shock buffer.

The Choate muzzle device was put on with the rear sight mechanically centered and indexed to zero the rifle.  It’s a slip fit and was indexed with masking tape around it and on the barrel behind it using pencil marks and test firing. Once the indexed location was found it was removed and then reinstalled with Locktite 620, a high temp cylindrical fit adhesive good to 450 degrees F for 30 minutes.  



Accuracy with both of them is 1.5 MOA 5 shot groups at 100 yards using handloaded Hornady 55 gr FMJ ammo. That’s the same accuracy I get in my M16 style Colt SP1 and my Colt M16A1 upper using the same load. It’s a very fair and realistic comparison.



It’s not as good as the sub MOA accuracy I get with my purpose built service rifle match AR-15s or my Varmint AR-15s but it’s better than an M4gery and far better than some low end AR-15s.  

Thought the Mini, M1 Carbine, & the Garand were the only military type semi-auto centerfires importable into Washington State.  ARs, AKs, even the SKS & M1A were all banned by name.

Your post just explained many things to me about the evolution of the Mini, not least why Ruger no longer has parts for the original series.  Thank you.

Like him or not, Bill Ruger and his lobbying efforts were very effective at keeping the Mini 14 off the various proposed ban lists, and that effect persisted for a decade or so after his death.

Some folks despise him, but what he did was an at the time reasonable effort to work across the aisle to find an acceptable middle ground.  

Unfortunately history has shown since 1994 that anytime the pro gun community tries to work across the aisle and give a concession or agree to common sense gun control, or something more meaningful like addressing the underlying mental health issues,  like what was intended in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the anti gun response is to promote it as just a “good start” on the road to more restrictions and gun bans.  Worse, anti gun administrations use the rule making process, or more correctly circumvent the rule making process to exceed the congressional intent of any laws that might be passed.

As I recall Ruger also continued to sell 20 round magazines post ban, they just didn’t sell the 30 round magazines to the public until after Bill Ruger’s death.

It’s ironic that the Mini 14 gets a pass in many jurisdictions.  Historically it’s been because its blued steel and wood stock make it look more like a traditional hunting rifle.   But in terms of function it has a higher cyclic rate than the AR-15.  It can also be “converted” to a binary trigger configuration using a standard office staple in increase the space between the primary and secondary hammer hooks.



Ruger promoted them very heavily to law enforcement and offered very good deals on initial purchase with free repairs and upgrades to newer rifles (mostly to compete with the 1208 and 1033 programs).

On the other side of the coin many police departments liked the Mini 14 as it didn’t have the para military, tactical, scary, “weapon of war” look of the AR-15. That and the fact it fit in a vehicle rifle rack while the 20” AR-15 did not, made it very popular as a patrol rifle.  

The only real advantage the M16A1 had going for it was it’s availability at no cost through the 1033 program and the previous 1208 program.

As far as I know the Mini 14 is currently the only semi auto 5.56 rifle FFLs will sell/transfer in IL :/

Standard model Mini 14 is still legal as well as stock  M1 Carbine.

They are a hoot. I love the way they handle. The only issues I ever had were from shitty non factory/ non pmi mags.  I also love my Bula M14. I actually miss having a Mini around and am working on rectifying the situation.

love it with the Tech Sight

got it dead on with irons

light and handy

https://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/2696805_20-minutes-of-Wisconsinite-rambling-about-almost-making-AR-mags-fit-his-Mini-14-a-decade-ago.html

Dupe

Dupe

I have owned several Mini-14s in the past starting with the 181 series and up through the AC556.  All were sold for a variety of reasons most of which included financing other gun purchases.  The AC556 was loud, had excessive recoil and IMHO a poorly designed FA/3-shot selector linkage bar. It was in no way comparable to an AR/M16 series.

All that being said, I just recently purchased a new 580 series Mini so that I would have a "legal" trunk gun to travel interstate between my red state into a neighboring blue state which is an almost daily occurrence.  It is the standard Ranch Model in stainless steel with the full synthetic stock.  An optic will follow, probably a LPVO or red dot.

I like the Mini-14 and it brings back fond memories of simpler times shooting with friends.

YMMV
TheMULE

Well, you've got the 3 shot selector down.

LOL
Fixed it.

@raf

How is the reliability with quality ammo and factory mags?

Given a good and thorough cleaning to remove sticky preservative Ruger sprays everywhere, and a proper lubing, reliability should be excellent with good ammo and factory mags.

thanks

Whatever happened to the dude from here that was all fired up & was going to design a build a 10 round enbloc clip & internal magazine for the Mini?

Maybe he discovered that installing a 10-rd mag, a "MagLatch" which prevents the mag from being removed without tools and dis-assembly of the rifle, and a Cogburn Arsenal Stripper clip guide to feed the mag from the top accomplishes the same thing at likely far less cost/hassle.  "Bonus" points if one cuts off "flush" the finger lever on the (spare) mag release lever.

I may be forced to do all the above if proposed 2024 RI AWB is enacted.

Having thought ahead, I have all the required parts.

You are still able to purchase a Mini 14 in Washington state.

I have to call out some BS on this thread.  The guy claiming he outshoots people with AR's with his mini 14 and the other guy claiming the mini shoots faster than an AR are just being completely untruthful.  I will shoot for pink slips with a stock Colt 6920 against his stock mini 14 any time, any place.  While I love my GB new production mini, it will not outshoot a stock colt. It's not even close.  A stock colt 6920 or A4 will shoot around an inch to 1 1/2. With match ammo.  A mini will not.  I get the love of the mini on here but stop the BS.  As for the cyclic rate or speed of the mini over the AR..  The AR is faster. It's not even close.  If it could then it would compete in 3 gun more often . It's not happening.

I think you mean me when you say: "The guy claiming he outshoots people with AR's with his mini 14...".

It happened long ago shooting my carefully modified Mini-14, Series 186 (Pencil Barrel), which "appeared" stock, but was not.  I was shooting against "selected" short-barreled AR users who I judged to be "long on gear, but short on skill".  Did this more than once, but word travels fast in a rifle club, and the pool of available "Marks" dried up. I admit to "throwing" some shots in order to entice them into betting against me.  No, I have no documentation, as these were entirely ad hoc events, cash transactions, and occurred before cell phones with cameras were common.

I have a very nice Colt Match HBAR (and other ARs), so I don't need to be told the differences between the AR and the Mini.  Yes, my HBAR is much more accurate than my highly modified Mini, but my modified Mini is much more accurate than an unmodified Mini.

Please read carefully and maybe ask questions in the future before calling "BS" on a situation you may not fully understand.

@MGYSGT8541

I appreciate your response. It better explains it all.  You were exaggerating a bit (shooting against people who didn't know how to shoot well) when you said you were beating people with AR's with your mini for money, I knew it was fishy. My offer still stands. I will shoot a completely stock colt 6920 against your mini for pink slips. Even off of a Ranson rest.  Careful tooting your own horn because you will be called out . Don't underestimate people on here.

I'm sure that your Colt will shoot tighter groups than will my modified Mini-14; My other ARs do.

That was never an issue, at least for me.

I'll be sure to give your warning all due consideration.

I’ll put my Mini 14 up against any AR-15 in an accuracy contest.

We’ll shoot for total points with two courses of fire:

Course of fire A:

1) low  crawl 50 yards under wire entanglement, through a mix of mulch, leaf litter, and sand, with periodic explosions in pits along the course liberally showering rifle and shooter with the same mix throughout the crawl.

2) B-27 target;

3) 10 rounds per target;

4) 20 seconds per string, no alibis.

- Repeat 1-4 at 50, 100 and 200 yard targets.

Course of fire B:

- The same low crawl, but using IPDA targets with 2 targets at each distance, 2 shots per target, using IDPA scoring for total time plus score down.

——

Based on my experience with the Mini-14 and with M16A1s and AR-15s I’m confident the Mini-14 will prevail.

The AR-15 won’t score enough points to win in the A course based on the shots it is able to fire, given the time needed to remove the bolt carrier and wipe out the sand and grit before it will function.

The AR-15 will again fail to win give the time needed to clear the grit from the rifle before it is able to put two rounds in each target.

Doesn't the Mini-14 have an open charging handle slot into the receiver while the AR-15 is completely sealed up if using the dust cover & a magazine?

Not as funny as NUT COAL.....but close

Completely Redonkulas.  Shoot for accuracy and speed (and crush him with my AR)  will take the guy on. Let's stretch out some of the distances from 50-500 yards. M4 is as reliable as any weapon around. I never had one fail in the Desert with live ammo.

Crawling through crap and doing all that stupid crap.. no way. I did the stupid stuff for 27 in the Corps. Not doing that anymore

My dad got into guns late in life. I was going to give him one of my spare AR’s but he got a Mini-14 from my uncle. I kind of liked it.

Variety is nice when you’ve been shooting the same platforms for 20 years.

You are absolutely correct.  The AR-15/M16/M4 has a dust cover that in theory keeps the upper receiver, bolt carrier and bolt protected from dirt.

In practice it doesn’t.  I chose the low crawl element precisely for that reason.  I’ve never had an M16A1 or A2 in conditions like that and had it ready and able to fire more than 1 or 2 shots before it would fail to feed a round.   Anytime we stopped for a couple minutes, I made a habit of pulling the rear pin to open the receiver then remove the bolt carrier and for a quick wipe down and lube along with wiping any contaminants out of the upper receiver.

The M1 Garand, M14, M1A and Mini 14 have much more open designs, but those open designs also have much looser tolerances that are not affected nearly as much by dirt. Turn it upside down, shake it, cycle the bolt and it’s good to go, if it needs any help at all.  

The Mini 14 from the 181 series forward to the 580 series are also badly over gassed with an .080” gas port bushing compared to .052” on the original 180 and the later 58x series. That over gassed condition and excessive slide velocity doesn’t help accuracy, but it does allow it to function with dirt in the action.

If circumstances allow, user can put a bit of tape over the opening in the receiver.  The tape will prevent ingress of most crud but will be removed after the first shot.   Kinda like a plastic muzzle cap.

There's always an ad hoc workaround.

If you get a mini-14, order a pack of Wilson combat 1911 buffers to go with it and stick one on each end  of the op rod. -That cut my groups from 6” to 3” with m193 and from 3” to 3/4-1.5” (3x 5 rnd groups of <3/4” and 3x 5rnd groups of 1.2-1.5”) w/Amax 52 grn.

as to why to buy a mini 14, the main 2 reasons would be ban compatibility or to have a cool m1ish or m14ish looking rifle that shoots 223. Otherwise. An AR or JAKL will do everything else better for less than mini-14’s cost nowadays….

Edit to add: -I did re-torque the gas block screws as described above at the same time….

No offense, but how old are you?  

Aside from being issued M16A1s, I’ve owned, shot, competed and hunted with a variety of AR-15s for 40 plus years.  I also understood long before most that the AR-15 needs to be run wet, something a new generation of troops had to rediscover in Iraq and Afghanistan.

My sole point is that the Mini-14 with its looser tolerances is far more dirt tolerant than an AR-15.  The AR-15 can be made reliable, but you don’t have to worry about reliability with a Mini 14 (at least with Ruger magazines, aftermarket mags are an entirely different story.


—-

A separate issue with M16A1s received through the 1033 program and its predecessor program is that the A1 wouldn’t fit in a vehicle weapon rack which meant if carried as a patrol rifle in ended up in the trunk.  A Mini 14 on the other hand would fit, and could be carried in a weapons rack where it was much more available.

The Mini 14 also looks a lot less scary to the average citizen, compared to an M16A1 or AR-15.

My wife has one….its never jammed…..she won’t let me sell it…. I hate it….. she hasn’t shot it in forever….. I bought the damn thing for her….

My agency solved that problem by swapping uppers onto them that weren't 60 years old.

Nobody ever told us our M4s or MK18s look too scary. (Some did complain about the MRAP though).