Gave in to the temptation

It's cringy, trite and even unfunny, but I love it when a plan comes together.

Over the last few months, there was a listing on ArmsList locally for a Mini 14GB for sale including 4 magazines for what I thought was a really good price. I thought it was a poly stock, but it was actually the walnut stock that was stained blue (not sure if factory or done by a prior owner). I messaged the seller and he said that he was stripping and staining the stock back to walnut (he didn't do it blue). I hesitated and he sold it.

Anyhow, a week or so later, another, even more local seller listed a nearly new (<100 rounds through it, he claimed) folding-stock Tactical model with basically a "make offer" listing. He had some trade suggestions, but nothing I had. I offered him $1100.00, and he accepted. However, he was headed out of town for his honeymoon, so we didn't meet up then.

So, last night, he texted me that he was back and he asked if I was still interested, and I said that I was.

So, I met up with him, since he was less than a mile away in a neighboring neighborhood from me in Philly.

He was right, if there's 100 rounds through this rifle, it's a lot. Still in box with all included stuff.

It's mine now (a quick & dirty pic):


I've already ordered stuff to outfit it, extra mags (black, not those chrome things), a sling, mag loader and a case.

I'm too old and fat to join the A-Team, but maybe the Z-Team...and I'm NOT trading the Jagdwagon for a black custom van with a red swooshie stripe!

Aqualung

Now you need a B-team stock from Samson. For a matching 10/22

Ba-da-bum-bum bum-bum-bum!

I know it's resurrecting the "dead" thread, but I think it fits.

Well, I finally got to shoot my Mini-14 and I'm honestly a bit disappointed. I took it up to camp last week to check function and see how it works. I didn't really have a target set up, so couldn't get it dialed in for accuracy, but I wanted to see how it functioned and how I liked the platform. Some of my disappointment is self-inflicted, but a good bit isn't.

First off, let's start with the good.

It wasn't unpleasant to shoot at all. I'm familiar with the M1 Garand, so the safety being where it is isn't an issue. It handled the recoil nicely and didn't bounce around, allowing me to keep a good sight picture for fast shots if I wanted to make them.

Unfortunately, there's not much else good I have to say at this point...

First off, I really hate the magazines in how they latch into the rifle. There is no way I can get them to easily slide in and lock smoothly, I had to do a great deal of fiddly-fu**ing to try to get them inserted and most of the the time, they jammed in crooked, making me have to rip them out in order to try to reorient them in the magwell. Then, they wouldn't consistently lock in without more wiggling and jamming...forget about trying to load a full mag on a closed bolt. This pretty much killed my enthusiasm about this rifle entirely and completely eliminated any thought of it's becoming a useful tool for me for any type of utility use. Forget it as a self-defense weapon.

Second is the self-inflicted issue. When I first got the rifle, I broke it down to it's main parts. When it came down to removing the trigger group, I had to pry like holy hell to get it to unlatch...something I didn't think would be good once I mounted an optic. So, I did some "tweaking" to the trigger guard to get it to snap in place, but still not require a vice and 14" screwdriver to unlatch.

Well, when I finally seated my second magazine after futzing around to get it inserted, I raised the rifle to shoot and the trigger group fell right out of the bottom. Round in the chamber, magazine full and locked. Now, I needed to take care of all that and then get the trigger group back in. Looks like I adjusted it to where it would latch, but unlatch under recoil. I had to keep snapping it latched after every couple shots.

Then, there were the jams. I'm not sure if they were induced by the trigger group thing or what, but out of the 3-4 magazines I shot, I don't think I got a full one off without some sort of misfeed or double feed. Ammo is Federal or American Eagle brown-box 5.56mm XM193 ball.

Along with the issues I had with my AR9 pistol (the only 2 guns I took to camp to shoot), it wasn't a good outing.

I'll do some more work on the trigger guard to make it snap in better and will try to see if it'll function better, but I'm not really sure if I'll be keeping this one based on the magazine "manual of arms".

Jury is still out.

Aqualung

Mags on Minis are a bit of a pain. Have to "rock" them in, but I've never had major issues with the ones on my 151 model.

The trigger guard issue though... It shouldn't have been that hard to remove in the first place, certainly not hard enough to require anywhere near what you said. How old is the rifle? Might be worth a call to CS to see if they can take a look at it.

How did it function before you broke it down to its main parts?
You using Ruger mags or aftermarket?
Steel ammo or brass cased?
I too would ask Ruger about it.

Wow. And just why did this feller sell this all so perfect Mini?

I've owned many Mini's. I've just never had an issue of any kind, other than after market mags, which I've learned are all unsatisfactory.






.

Did you happen to bend the forks when you removed the trigger assembly?

https://share.google/aimode/qFXiVZYvuYUBjF5f9

I wonder if the trigger group problem could be from poor stock fit. Maybe that’s not the original stock? I feel sure the chrome looking mags ain’t factory.

"Looks like I adjusted it to where it would latch, but unlatch under recoil. I had to keep snapping it latched after every couple shots."
IIRC, the M-14 trigger guard required a fairly healthy palm slap to engage properly. On that note, nothing was funnier than seeing a troopie present his M-14 for inspection and having the TG unlatch.

The A Team made Stormtroopers look like Snipers!!!

hittman said:

I wonder if the trigger group problem could be from poor stock fit. Maybe that’s not the original stock? I feel sure the chrome looking mags ain’t factory.

Click to expand...

It's factory configuration and it normally ships with those flashy mags.

Mobuck said:

"Looks like I adjusted it to where it would latch, but unlatch under recoil. I had to keep snapping it latched after every couple shots."
IIRC, the M-14 trigger guard required a fairly healthy palm slap to engage properly. On that note, nothing was funnier than seeing a troopie present his M-14 for inspection and having the TG unlatch.

Click to expand...

My Garand needs a pretty firm snap to latch and a good tug to unlatch. However, it's made of a much softer/springy steel than on the Mini. Apparently, what I thought as sufficient latching tension wasn't enough.

Aqualung

thinckley said:

Mags on Minis are a bit of a pain. Have to "rock" them in, but I've never had major issues with the ones on my 151 model.

The trigger guard issue though... It shouldn't have been that hard to remove in the first place, certainly not hard enough to require anywhere near what you said. How old is the rifle? Might be worth a call to CS to see if they can take a look at it.

Click to expand...

It's a fairly new rifle, 2024 or 2025 manufactured, iirc. The seller told me it was a PITA to break down.

hittman said:

How did it function before you broke it down to its main parts?
You using Ruger mags or aftermarket?
Steel ammo or brass cased?
I too would ask Ruger about it.

Click to expand...

All mags are Ruger OEM, in fact, two I tried were sent back to Ruger because they didn't latch into the rifle, even when empty. Don't know what they did, but they sent them back "adjusted" along with 2 other mages they indicated as "range mags".

Ammo was Federal/American Eagle XM193 55gr FMJ (brass)

WAYNO said:

Wow. And just why did this feller sell this all so perfect Mini?

I've owned many Mini's. I've just never had an issue of any kind, other than after market mags, which I've learned are all unsatisfactory.






.

Click to expand...

The issues with the jams may very well be with my trigger group's coming loose. I plan to tweak it to latch more securely and test again.

I admittedly made my "adjustment" prior to testing for function beforehand.

Thanks all for the replies and sorry I didn't multi-quote previously.

Aqualung

As mentioned the mags rock in sort of like an AK. Trigger guard (like the Garand or M14/M1A) just needs a good slap to lock in. Removing you hopefully had hammer locked back/safety on? Some folks use a punch in the guard hole to assist lifting out.

So it's in less than 100 rds through it but the seller stated it's a PITA to break down ? There's a clue probably. I completely break mine done right out of the box to clean, grease and oil where needed (peace of mind). After that I shoot quite a bit before breaking down again. Quick wipe down and bore patches before being put back in safe.

I'll bet all the tweaking and adjusting probably wasn't a good thing for the "new" carbine. Bend/tweak that trigger guard just a bit out of spec and it's not going to latch.