Mini 14 & Ruger Rings Question

[The Preacher]

Have had my series 581 Mini 14 for about 3 years (day after the 2012 election results!) and with a nice trigger job by Doc she runs like a champ. Now I'd like to scope it to see what the real potential is with factory and my handloads. I've heard (on the internet of course) that the factory rings have a tendency to loosen up? Is there any validity to that? And if so what would be a better alternative scope mounting system for a mini 14 than the factory Ruger rings...if any. Thanks.

The Preacher

 

[DGW1949]

There's a lot of vibrating, clanging, and banging-around that goes on with the Mini action every time the gun is fired. Just going from my experience....on any given Mini, I'd give Ruger's "scalloped" ring mount system a 50/50 chance of staying put for more than just a few shots.
Some say that using blue Loctite helps but it didn't help any of mine much.
Adding a Wilson 1911 buffer to the receiver-end of the recoil spring guide may help too.

All in all, I think that obtaining the (Weaver type) rail which Ruger supplies with their newer Mini's is probably your best bet for long term, heavy duty use. Your particular gun probably didn't come D&T'ed for it but any gunsmith could do that perty-cheep...plus, you'll be able to use any sort of Weaver Ring afterwards. And Weaver rings are bunch cheeper than Ruger rings.
If you want to go that route, the rail can be had direct from Ruger, and it comes with all of the necessary hardware.

Other than that, all I can say is try what you got and see if it works for you.

Hope this helped.

DGW

 

[gunman42782]

I have never had the rings on my Mini come loose. And I shoot the snot out of it.

 

[The Preacher]

Thanks. I guess I'll start with the factory rings and go from there...

Gunman, did you Loctite things up?

The Preacher

 

[gunman42782]

Thanks. I guess I'll start with the factory rings and go from there...

Gunman, did you Loctite thinks up?

The Preacher

No sir, just screwed em in good and tight.

 

[Major T]

Mine are still good after 5-6 years. I never use loctite, but rather powdered
resin. Mine is topped with a 3-9 Redfield Revolution. So far, both rings and scope have stood up to the mini-14.

Jack

 

[rugerjunkie]

I ran mini's for years. Bought a ranch model when they first came out and never had an issue with rings loosening up and never used loctite or anything. As far as that goes , I've never had a set of Ruger rings come loose on anything wether it be a rifle or a handgun. And between the current inventory and the ones that were sold/traded off over the years amounts to 100 or so Rugers that used the factory rings. IMO they are rock solid and not an issue one needs to worry about.

 

[mohavesam]

Mine are still good after 5-6 years. I never use loctite, but rather powdered
resin. Mine is topped with a 3-9 Redfield Revolution. So far, both rings and scope have stood up to the mini-14.

Jack

- do you mean powdered rosin ? I was taught to use it in scope rings when mounting a scope, especially with "matte" finishes. I don't think I've ever seen it used on fine threads.

 

[groberts]

Just got a red dot for my 582 series and am using the Ruger Weaver rail that came with the Mini. And it also came with a tube of Loctite.

 

[Voyager28]

IMHO, the best thing you can do is greatly reduce the vibration and clanging by taming down the action. A reduced size gas port and a recoil buffer will do just that. Very cheap to do with awesome results.

Bob

 

[wwb]

I've had Ruger rings on a .30-06 M77 for over 30 years..... never a problem, and I guarantee there's a whole lot more recoil there than you'll find on a Mini. No Loctite - just tightened right to begin with.

 

[mohavesam]

To be fair, a bolt action of any caliber generates only one (recoil) impulse.

A semi-auto such as a Mini-14 generates more - the initial recoil of ignition, the rearward motion of the action arm, and return (fwd) impulse of the bolt & action arm... what's a poor scope mount to do? A bit of thread-lock doesn't hurt to keep everything tight & repeatable. Ny-lok screws are preferable.
Raw torque on those little screws isn't the whole answer. Remember the interior threads as-tapped are subject to imperfections all the time (at best a GNG gauge).
Blind holes tend to accumulate crud and potentially ruin the initial torque, so carry the appropriate wrench/driver and occasionally re-torque.

Tuning the gas flow and adding the right buffer are due diligence IMO when repeatable accuracy is the objective. Both are dependent on consistent ammo/bullet quality.

 

[Major T]

Yes, rosin. My bad, or sometimes the iPad thinks for me.

Works great on the base and ring half screws. Clean with alcohol or other cleaner to remove oil, the stuff grabs and holds. Inside the rings with gloss or flat finished scopes. Prevents slippage without over torqued screws.