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Posted: 2/28/2013 7:37:03 AM EDT
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What's the general consensus on the Mini-14's; current and past production.
I know their accuracy was somewhat of an issue in the past, has this been corrected? How simple is the field-strip process? Any information you could provide me would be appreciated. ETA: Is the Mini-14 a piston operated or a D.I. system? |
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Quoted: What's the general consensus on the Mini-14's; current and past production. I know their accuracy was somewhat of an issue in the past, has this been corrected? How simple is the field-strip process? Any information you could provide me would be appreciated. ETA: Is the Mini-14 a piston operated or a D.I. system? Because of economies of scale, and Ruger's self imposed and only recently overturned attitude about normal capacity magazines and serfs, I mean citizens, they will never really be competitive to ARs in terms of cost. That said, I have one that I got from my brother. Cost: Going to Victoria's Secret the day before Christmas to buy his wife a $250.00 gift card. I bought the card out of pocket and proposed the trade to call it even. He accepted. If you can find one for about $400 used and buy maybe 3 Ruger factory magazines, it is a reliable handy carbine that is practically accurate to about 300 yards. If you need bench rest accuracy, or shoot only from a bench, save your time and money. It will never be as intrinsically accurate as an AR. I like mine. YMMV
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I have a tactical 580 series that I enjoy. I haven't ran it extremely hard but for the most part it has run well. It has ran all different manufacturers with brass cased ammo, wolf, and Silver Bear without problem. I had one box of Tullammo that the first round stuck in the chamber. After a little fiddling and getting frustrated I place a pice of wood on the charging handle and tapped it with a rock to extract the casing. I continued with the same box and had another case get stuck and the rim was ripped off, I was done for that day. I had had another box but I was hesitant to shoot it. The next time I took it out I came prepared for the worst but the second box ran fine.
The 580 series are a big improvement over the older models, I would only look at the new models. They have stiffer barrels, much better sights and standard Ruger scope mounts. The Mini-14 has a few draw backs compared to the AR platform. While it is nice to have standard Ruger mounts, I have seen some butchered old models where guys have tried to put mounts on, You are pretty much stuck with them. Yes there are a few companies that make 1913 rails that you can attach to the base but it would put the optic so high it is hard to get a decent cheek weld. Probably one of the biggest drawback are the mags. Factory mags work great but are expensive, especially compared to AR or AK mags. Mini-14's are generally cheaper than AR's so the money saved could be put toward mags. There are a lot of after market mags out there, most suck. Tapco has made what seem to be pretty good mags with their Gen 2 Mini-14 Mags (I know I know there are many that hate anything Tapco, they make some good and some bad). Watch the Nuntfancy review on them and draw your own conclusions. Overall I love mine! |
FWIW, DiFi thinks they are OK. Not functionally different than a AK, or SKS, or AR if you forget the gas system. They are on her approved list of firearms that the servants can possess, as long as you dont make them look BAD, by adding a pistol grip, or folding stock, or Vertical foregrip, flash hider, etc. Oh, dont forget the 10 rnd mag either. Typical Cal female, appearance is everything.  |
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I have had 2-3 over the years one was a stainless GB and have no problems with them for a plinker. But at $700.00+ for a new one I would get a AR. I doubt you will find many at $700 these days. Every semiauto firearm is hard to find and expensive right now. |
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My dad bought a mini-14 years and years ago before he got his first AR because they were relatively cheap. I love that rifle and never have had any real accuracy issues. ours is the Ranch Rifle, and does a damn fine job at being a truck gun on the farm. It has killed countless coyotes and hogs out to 150 yds. It used to have a fixed 4x leupold on it but now it has the XS ghost ring rear and regular blade front.
Ours and all the ones I have shot have been dead nuts reliable too. filled with dust and dirt and dry as can be, and it will still burn through a 30 rd mag 100%. Mags- ONLY USE RUGER MAGS, promags are hit and miss but their formerly $10 price tag made it worth it to pick up a few |
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I've owned a few minis over the years and this is my thoughts on them. They are damn reliable, and a good choice if you're not looking for MOA accuracy.
That being said; if AR mags could be used in them Ruger probably couldn't produce enough as the Ruger mags, albeit very high quality, are ridiculously expensive. I just traded a virtually new Mini for a Colt 6920 (Kalifornia legal) because the Colt owner didn't want to be stuck w/ an "assault weapon" that he would have to surrender, I don't think he ever fired the Colt. (Yes, he paid for the x-fer, and yes, I have somebody lined up to buy the Colt) |
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I have the ranch rifle in 223 set up kinda scout "ish"
I've found it's more accurate than I am, unless I'm using a rest, it gobbles up any kind of ammo, its not picky. My main reason I went with a mini was fear, noone fears the ranch rifle but Feinstein, it looks harmless with the 5round flush mag. But I wouldn't feel under gunned in a war of ar's and Ak's 
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I've had at one time or another 3 over the years and had few complaints about either accuracy, operation or reliability of the rifle with any of them. I've heard and read a lot of opinions of them over the years but from what I've seen most of the people ragging on them had neither spent much time with one or were just getting their info from others and following the crowd.
Piston operated and pretty simple to take down and clean. In fact the only malfunctions I ever had were caused by crappy mags I bought during the ban when factory ones were sky high. Never had any issues with any of the old PMI mags or factory 20's or 30's that I've owned. My personal opinion of them is that they are good rifles for what they were intended to be. Not perfect but I've never seen a weapons system that was perfect. |
| I was at the range once and the dude on the bench next to mine let me put some rounds through his. Three shots is all I needed to cure me of ever wanting one. Accuracy was shit, the trigger was gritty, and the action itself felt so unpolished and mechanical, it was downright unpleasant to shoot. |
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I owned two before I got my first AR and to sum it up they were reliable and the least accurate rifles I have ever owned. I traded the first one for the ranch rifle model so I could put a scope on it and I shot it no better. Bought my first AR and found the accuracy I wanted. |
| I don't see how you can go wrong with the current production with the heavier cold hammer forged, nitride treated barrel. Mini's are durable, and reliable. They don't last long on the shelves around here. For 2013, Ruger updated the receiver to accommodate the included picatinny rail. The standard Mini tactical with the regular polymer stock is the way to go IMO. I would also recommend sticking with factory magazines. As far as parts. You can pretty much purchase any part you want for spares with two exceptions. This would include the bolt and the firing pin. No worries on the bolt, as those seem to last forever. You can find factory pins on eBay and GB, and they will require fitment to the bolt, which isn't a biggie. There is an aftermarket pin, but from the reviews these break easily. Back in the '80's I had a Mini which was subjected to a lot of abuse, and thousands of rounds through it for more than a decade. Not a single failure was ever encountered, nor any broken parts. It just wasn't the most accurate rifle. I picked up a new 580 series and I'm glad that I did, and the accuracy is so much better than the Mini's of yesteryear. I really like the rifles handling characteristics which no other rifle in 5.56 duplicates. It's slim, relatively lightweight, easy to operate in all environments, and really is a fun rifle to shoot. |
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I like mine... Like everyone said, iron sights are ok, but it is not as versatile as an AR...
I got mine before I was into ARs... Looking back I wish I had jumped into ARs first... Honestly.... AR mags are more plentiful... AR parts are more plentiful... The modularity of the AR is better... But the mini14 is lighter and smaller... But I would still recommend the AR over the mini14 all day long... Even though I plan on keeping my mini14... I guess if someone wasn't a gun person, and they wanted a gun to put in the back of a closet for a rainy day with a couple mags and a couple boxes of ammo... I guess in that scenario, if they could find one cheap, it would not be a bad set up... But for someone who plans on shooting regularly and using the gun for self defense, I would recommend the AR all day long over the mini14... |
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I’ve had one since my no-money college days. I started buying nicer rifles when I started working full time. It has sat in the safe for the past decade collecting dust. I keep thinking about selling it, but never seem to get around to it…  I had to sell my Mini Ranch Rifle because I was short on money for textbooks. It wasn't the most accurate rifle that I ever owned, but it ate any ammo that I fed it. Take the Mini out and play with it for a little bit. I kind of regret selling mine... |
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