Mini 14 accuracy

[firecaptain]

Contemplating the purchase of a Mini 14 in a .223. I have heard the accuracy isn't all that great. Can anyone confirm this? Not looking to shoot 200+ yards but would hope there would be some decent accuracy under 100 yards.

 

[56-210]

Contemplating the purchase of a Mini 14 in a .223. I have heard the accuracy isn't all that great. Can anyone confirm this? Not looking to shoot 200+ yards but would hope there would be some decent accuracy under 100 yards.

I also read of accuracy issues in older models prior to purchasing mine, and the newer models are/were improved upon...

As of now I shoot mostly for fun&giggles, and concentrating, bottles at say 80-100 yards (seated and standing) are disposed of...

It's a great gun and a lot of fun...So much fun, my son needs to start buying his own dang rounds...

 

[eme]

I have a mini 14 ranch type. I reload 223, so I've found a combination that fits this rifle and me. At 100 yds, I can shoot about 3.5" +/- groups most times. At 200 yds I can place 5 rounds on a human form target inside the outline of the target. This is all with iron sights and in the prone position. Mini 14's are not meant to be target guns. They are meant to be reliable, easy to maintain and on target for varmits on the farm, and etc. If you're looking for a target rifle, I would say it's not the mini 14. Maybe the target type mini 14. I've seen a few, but have never shot one or know someone who owns one, so I cannot say good or bad
about this model. Hopefully someone else can commit and help you out further in your quest. Good Luck.

 

[RUT]

>>Contemplating the purchase of a Mini 14 in a .223<<

Buy yourself a later 580/581 series and add a barrel strut and you'll be just fine.

 

[mtdkrd75]

I bought a new mini 14 in march, blue steel, synthetic, also fiocchi ammo with 40Gr. V-max slug[real screamers]. Off the bench at 100 yds., iron sights got a 5 shot group of 2.25 inches, 4 were in 1.5 inches.
Surprised, YOU BET. Pleased, YOU BET.

 

[lctrcjim]

Captain, I've had an older model Mini 30 for about a year now & have been very happy with it. It's not a target rifle, but holes appear in the target pretty much right where I aim the gun. Using only the stock iron sights & my 57 yr old eyes, I'm getting 2-3" groups at 50 yds from a standing position. They're great little guns, very maneuverable, lightweight, well-balanced, idiot-proof & relatively inexpensive.

I'm assuming you're a member of the Ashland FD. FWIW, my grandmother lived across the street from the old fire hall on 3rd Ave.

 

[firecaptain]

Captain, I've had an older model Mini 30 for about a year now & have been very happy with it. It's not a target rifle, but holes appear in the target pretty much right where I aim the gun. Using only the stock iron sights & my 57 yr old eyes, I'm getting 2-3" groups at 50 yds from a standing position. They're great little guns, very maneuverable, lightweight, well-balanced, idiot-proof & relatively inexpensive.

I'm assuming you're a member of the Ashland FD. FWIW, my grandmother lived across the street from the old fire hall on 3rd Ave.

You are correct, I am a Captian on the Ashland FD. Been with Ashland 16.5 years with 6.5 of those as an Officer. Great Job. The fire station on 3rd St is now closed, only used for storage. The only remaining station is on Stuntz Ave. which we operate out of.

 

[lctrcjim]

Captain, sorry to get so far off topic................I meant to write 3rd St not Ave - oops..........as a kid, I used to spend summers at my Grandmother's & always had a blast there. It's a great little town & a beautiful area. I remember an old fire engine at the 3rd St Hall, maybe 30's or 40's vintage - it felt like an earthquake when they fired that thing up.
My wife ( a South Carolina gal) & I spent a long weekend last summer in Bayfield & Madeline Island - she fell in love with the area.

 

[X - Man]

FC, the post by EME is well stated and is typical of what one normally expects in a mini. Know that there are several variations that have been mfg over the years.

Ideally, find one you can borrow and take it out to a range, try it yourself. You might just take a liking to one!

 

[targshooter]

The weather was perfect; about 40 degrees F, no wind and clear but overcast. The rifle was cleaned and lubricated last night. The ammo was Wolf, 62 grain HP, steel case. The inital shot at 25 yards indicated the rifle was low and seemingly centered. Then it was off to 200 yards. I sight in and shoot at either 200 yards or 300 meters offhand. This weapon was a 200 yards sight in. The first three shots were quite low and somewhat to the left. After adjusting the sights (2.5 full revolutions up, about half way to full right) I was ready to see what the rifle would do. The sights moved and adjusted exactly per the directions in the Ruger User's Manual; publication MSI-KMSI/5-09. I must also add that I had previously been shooting an Ithaca Model 37 D&PS 12 gage with 1 oz foster slugs, a Ruger SP 100 with full power .357 and my Marlin .45-70 GG; thus I was not the steadiest. The first group of six was okay, being in about a 12 inch circle. It was the second goup of 6 that could be covered with the an extended fingers hand that gave some inkling that this rifle may have some accuracy potential. The final group of 6 was in about an 9 inch circle, my offhand average with my M4 at 200 yards. I have scoped the M4 and shot it at 100 yards off the bench. It is a true 1.5 MOA rifle. I would guess this Mini-14 Tactical is a 1.5-2 MOA rifle. Some observations after today's shooting efforts:
1] The sight picture is every bit as good as with the military aperture on my M4.
2] The trigger is far better than any military type rifle I've purchased in the last 20 years!
3] The rifle points very well, the weight of the little flash supressor making it just barrel heavy enough it settles down well for offhand shooting. A PS here, I walk from the firing line to the targets and back in between sighting groups, approx 1/4 mile, thus this observation has some basis in fact.
4] The gun is very quick to get on target. I only have one rifle faster, my Ruger Model 77 International with its NECG peep.
5] The rifle carries very well; even with the Ruger 20 round magazine in place.
6] Brass is not thrown to the right rear as with my other Mini-14s and Mini-30. This rifle throws the brass to the immediate right. The receiver wall where the brass ejects is now beveled on the inside; perhaps this is the reason.
7] This is the lightest recoiling centerfire .223 I've ever fired.
8] 6 rapid shots followed by three more within 30 seconds did not heat the barrel to any degree near as hot as the series 580 barrels get. It seems about on a par with my M4. I suspect that sustained fire (I do not do this) would heat this 581 barrel quicker than the M4 tho.
My summary:
This is an ugly gun; very little cosmetic finishing has been done, even relative to my Series 580 carbines. That said; it appears much as any military weapon; lots of toolmarks, seams and ugly finish. It also seems more military in its robustness than the 580 series rifles (the one exception being the sling loops). The gun functioned flawlessly through all 28 shots. The accuracy seems on a par with the better of my two Mini-14 Series 580 carbines, perhaps even the equal of the M4 I own. For me, the 580 series carbines pointed much faster than the M4 or any other AR 15 derivative; the new 581 Tactical, with its improved front sight makes it faster still. The gun cost me $631. For this money, as long as one is happy with a military type rifle (no cosmetic niceties), you get what you are paying for in full measure.
My most accurate 580 series carbine is a 2-3 MOA rifle, this after the bareel has heated; prior to heating it is a true 2 MOA rifle. It heats in 10 shots.
The M4 is a 1.5 MOA cold rifle, opening to about 2 MOA when hot. This takes about 20 rounds to heat up.

 

[Snake45]

For me, the 580 series carbines pointed much faster than the M4 or any other AR 15 derivative; the new 581 Tactical, with its improved front sight makes it faster still.

Good point (no pun intended). The importance of "pointability" in a defensive weapon is often overlooked. Much as I like the AR platform and admire many of its ergonomic features, it's among the poorest-pointing long guns I've ever handled.

 

[martyj]

I have an older one before the ranch rifles came out and it killed alot of Jack Rabbits

 

[clepidus]

Fresh out of the box cleaned and wiped down only and I was on paper at 220 yds today. Slight breeze clear and cool using Standard Remington 100ydd targets I was inside the circle @ 220yds. A little fine tuning and this rifle will do more than I expected a mini to do.

 

[martyj]

I heard alot about some of the mid range serial numbers not shooting as well as the early ones and the newer ones is there any truth to this at all?

 

[gig]

targshooter, let me say how much I enjoyed your post on the mini 14 target.

I notice at the Ruger site the target model comes with a barrel just over 16".
This makes me wonder how much improvement can be gained on any mini by simply shortening the barrel. If I am not mistaken, most ranch models are in the 18" range.
It seems every discussion on the accuracy of the mini finally gets around to solving the barrel harmonics.
Of course the shorter barrel does raise other issues of velocity and energy; but might one feel that the shorter barrel does as much to improve the accuracy of any mini as much as any other one change?

I have 2 mini-14 6.8 which I use mainly for wild hogs. The only changes I have made is adding a ASI trigger and adj gas block to one of them.
The other is factory except for a smaller gas bushing from the ASI kit.
(I like the bushing just as well as the adj block, and its cheaper)

Can't comment on their accuracy because as yet, I haven't development much of a taste for paper; but I will say they both kill hogs if I do my job.
When I got to where I could hit the broad side of the barn, I just started shootn' hogs.

My question for you more experienced shooters is how much improvement in accuracy might I expect by shortening the barrel on the 6.8?
And how would barrel length affect the 6.8 in velocity and energy as compared to the 223?

 

[martyj]

Im sure Ruger could build one that shoots, look at the new sr556 and that is shooting sub moa.
I do know my old one that I paid 160 bucks for from an Alco store was a shooter.
I guess if it doesnt shoot to well it will be the first Ruger rifle I ever owned that didnt shoot sub moa. Be hard to prove with open sights

 

[alienbogey]

Try this for the best Ruger Mini forum I've found:

http://www.perfectunion.com/vb/index.php

 

[firecaptain]

Just took a quick look at the site, looks great. Thanks for the link.

Firecaptain

 

[martyj]

Thanks for the site

 

[martyj]

Here is what ruger claims is an accurate mini 14.
The standard accuracy for this model is 2" at 50 yards.