Received a Mini Today - idiot alert (me) see last message

After going back and forth over the past few months between the ranch, tactical, stainless, wood, synthetic....I finally decided that what I want to do is clone my m1a scout. So I ordered a black/blued tactical and will put a walnut stock on it, along with the other popular clone pieces. I'm still in a bit of shock at the sticker price on the new models. I always considered them to be $500 rifles but that was a different time period I guess. It will make for a fun project I think. Plus it isn't just another AR.

Good choice. I still prefer my mini 14s to an ar15 .

The first Mini 14 I bought cost $149 in the second year of production.

pisgah said:

The first Mini 14 I bought cost $149 in the second year of production.

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Trying to mine value in this ?

Nice choice,OP.

I'm more excited about this rifle than I was when I purchased my Springfield.

Try the hogue stock, I have the NRA mini 14 that came with it and put one on my mini 300 blackout. The mini in blackout with a 30 round mag is what I call my Ruger 30-30

I have a walnut on order but like the looks of the od green hogue stocks very much. Rifle should be in tomorrow. I ordered through Galleryofguns. First I've purchased through them. There is a $600 difference between local pricing on GOG.

When you get the gun it will be absolutely covered in a sticky preservative, clean it, lube it, work the action and the trigger lock to loosen them up...then shoot the poo poo out of it but make sure no one is standing to the right of you(you'll see why :wink: ). I absolutely love my Mini.

Captain America said:

When you get the gun it will be absolutely covered in a sticky preservative, clean it, lube it, work the action and the trigger lock to loosen them up...then shoot the poo poo out of it but make sure no one is standing to the right of you(you'll see why :wink: ). I absolutely love my Mini.

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Thank you for the heads-up. Will do!

I meant to state in the previous post a $160 difference in local pricing, not $600!

After finding this thread I went looking for a mini in 300 BLK which is on my bucket list, you weren't kidding about the sticker shock, I'll still get one because the prices will only get higher the longer I wait.

pisgah said:

The first Mini 14 I bought cost $149 in the second year of production.

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the equivalent of $739 today. They were close to the same cost as now. I traded a Colt .38 pocket automatic for mine about the same time.

Is it normal/common for the new ones to come with the plunger and extractor ground down a bit from the factory? Because that is how mine came.

Called Ruger. They are sending me a new extractor and plunger. What the heck? It was cut at the factory after finishing, there is a bright grind spot. I installed the bolt and it doesn't seem to be necessary for clearance. Crazy.

It is possible the plunger was ground for clearance looking at it again with the bolt installed. It comes very close to the barrel as it is so maybe they grind to make them fit better. But, if this is the case then why not make the plunger a bit shorter to begin with instead of grinding into everything post assembly? And wouldn't they all come like this? I found one reference online to a similar issue and Ruger replaced the plunger and extractor. I'll check fitment with the new parts and report back.

Here's hoping it gets sorted out easily with the new parts, but it is really sad to hear these stories.

I know they are not alone in only doing sampling quality checks, but it really has an effect on folks who remember how it was so much different a couple decades ago.

I've become reluctant to order any new Rugers, these days I simply must be able to examine it first.

Again, Ruger is not the only company about which I have these misgivings.

I think I am just going to shoot it as it is and not worry about it. From what little information there is online, I believe that Ruger employees do this as part of the final fitting process to ensure the plunger does not contact the breech. Now some new rifles will have these grind marks as the person grinding down the plunger isn't the most diligent person in the world and doesn't seem to care if the extractor is also ground down a bit. I don't know if the rifles that receive the grind job are ones that didn't pass the test firing and this is Ruger's quick way to get them to pass but that seems like a possible explanation as to why some are ground and others are not. Either way, it is a piss-poor way for a manufacturer like Ruger to go about "gunsmithing" if you can even call it that. I can't imaging buying a Savage and seeing something like this.

So anyway, I'll get out to shoot it sometime next week. When the parts come I may replace at some time but there probably isn't any real reason other than looks. I don't think it is functionally compromised in any way.

I greased everything up nicely and got it back together. I like the feel of it even in the cheap plastic stock. The trigger isn't nearly as bad as some of the reviews online suggest. Yes, there is a bit of creep and it isn't the smoothest pull but it isn't all that bad either.

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Great looking rifles there. That is how I want to build out my Mini. Basically to make it a more economical and more fun rifle to shoot than my M1A while retaining the style much like you did in your build. I have mine packed up and ready for the range tomorrow to see how it shoots.

This firearm will not feed the first round from either magazine so it is going back to GOG.