Mini14 Issues

[KLS556]

I have a new Mini14 5.56/.223 with less than 500 rounds through it and have been experiencing damage to the casing on ejection. The middle of the casing is getting dented, the primer end is getting burrs and the projectile end is being crushed. It started out with just a small marring on the casing and by the time I got through 90 rounds it had progressed to the above description.
Does anyone have any ideas for what is going on?

 

[hittman]

Welcome to the forum

 

[NikA]

Looks like pretty standard brass chewing for a semi auto rifle to me. If you want to make it more gentle, you could reduce the gassing of the rifle to slow the ejection down at the possible cost of reliability. Mini platform is much less good in this regard than an AR-15.

Some semi platforms have been designed with rubber bumpers to mitigate. Would probably have to film to find proper placement.

.223/5.56 brass is basically scrap value either way.

 

[Mobuck]

Welcome to the forum.
The dents in the side and mouth of the brass are due to the VIOLENT extraction/ejection cycle of the Mini 14 bouncing the brass off the side of the action or anything else near the firing point. It's not a safety issue and doesn't significantly affect the cases if you choose to reload. I'm not sure what type of 'burrs' you're seeing on the 'primer end' but most likely from the same cause.
The case damage will continue but likely won't get any worse. Do you have a scope mounted on the Mini? Sometimes, the brass bounces off the scope mount. You may also notice brass smudges on the rifle's charging handle as this may be what's actually denting the cases as the brass is flung out into the path of the cycling slide.

 

[hittman]

I think many SFAR do the same thing

 

[nekvermont]

I was going to respond but Mobuck said it a lot better than I could have.

Welcome to the forum and enjoy your mini 14.

 

[KLS556]

Welcome to the forum

Thank you.

 

[KLS556]

I was going to respond but Mobuck said it a lot better than I could have.

Welcome to the forum and enjoy your mini 14.

Thank you

Welcome to the forum.
The dents in the side and mouth of the brass are due to the VIOLENT extraction/ejection cycle of the Mini 14 bouncing the brass off the side of the action or anything else near the firing point. It's not a safety issue and doesn't significantly affect the cases if you choose to reload. I'm not sure what type of 'burrs' you're seeing on the 'primer end' but most likely from the same cause.
The case damage will continue but likely won't get any worse. Do you have a scope mounted on the Mini?

I do have a scope mounted on it. I will have to watch next time and see if it is being hit by the casing.

 

[KLS556]

Looks like pretty standard brass chewing for a semi auto rifle to me. If you want to make it more gentle, you could reduce the gassing of the rifle to slow the ejection down at the possible cost of reliability. Mini platform is much less good in this regard than an AR-15.

Some semi platforms have been designed with rubber bumpers to mitigate. Would probably have to film to find proper placement.

.223/5.56 brass is basically scrap value either way.

So basically what you are saying is that the damage that I am seeing is standard for a Mini14.

 

[XUSNORDIE]

My M1A does that.....it's hits the op rod after extraction/ejection........it's not anything to worry much about.

 

[KLS556]

appreciate it

 

[turd]

Sell it and buy something that doesn't have every problem you can find. Mini 14s are the bottom of the heap.

 

[Randyzzz]

At least they don’t look like they came out of a HK…

 

[DGW1949]

Sell it and buy something that doesn't have every problem you can find. Mini 14s are the bottom of the heap.

The guy signed up today so he could try to get an answer to his concern and that is all you can think of to say?....Not a very helpful response, and borderline rude to boot. Shame on you.

DGW

 

[DGW1949]

So basically what you are saying is that the damage that I am seeing is standard for a Mini14.

Yes it is...it's a characteristic of the Mini-14's M1/M14 action. If you look closely at the hump on the operating slide, you'll likely see a brass colored line on the hump's top/front edge. Right there is where the op-rod and the spent cartridge collides....There's fixes for that if you're interested, but in the mean time it's not really hurting anything....Let us know if you need further information.

DGW

 

[dsf]

So basically what you are saying is that the damage that I am seeing is standard for a Mini14.

Accuracy Systems sells gas bushings that will soften ejection. Cheap and easy to install. They also sell an adjustable gas block. Easy to istall but not so cheap.

 

[KLS556]

Accuracy Systems sells gas bushings that will soften ejection. Cheap and easy to install. They also sell an adjustable gas block. Easy to istall but not so cheap.

 

[magpouch]

Do nothing, your rifle is working just fine. Enjoy it, I sure love mine!

 

[KLS556]

Sell it and buy something that doesn't have every problem you can find. Mini 14s are the bottom of the heap.

I wasn’t looking to enter a shooting or beauty contest with it I just wanted an accurate varmint rifle that can fire .223 and 5.56, which it does well.

 

[KLS556]

Do nothing, your rifle is working just fine. Enjoy it, I sure love mine!

Looks like pretty standard brass chewing for a semi auto rifle to me. If you want to make it more gentle, you could reduce the gassing of the rifle to slow the ejection down at the possible cost of reliability. Mini platform is much less good in this regard than an AR-15.

Some semi platforms have been designed with rubber bumpers to mitigate. Would probably have to film to find proper placement.

.223/5.56 brass is basically scrap value either way.

 

[KLS556]

 

[xtratoy]

Replace the gas bushing with one with a .041"-043" orifice and your brass will land 6'-8' away and the recoil impulse will be tamer. My stock mini 14 threw brass about 25'-30' with stock gas bushing.

 

[eveled]

I wasn't looking to enter a shooting or beauty contest with it I just wanted an accurate varmint rifle that can fire .223 and 5.56, which it does well.

You made a fine choice, enjoy your rifle. It’s perfectly normal.

 

[turd]

I wasn't looking to enter a shooting or beauty contest with it I just wanted an accurate varmint rifle that can fire .223 and 5.56, which it does well.

Sorry if I offended you with my response. I should have said that in my experience (I have never owned one, but the one a friend had) was very efficient at banging out .223, but was so inaccurate that it was a waste of time and money trying to hit anything over 75 yards with it. So, I advised you to sell it and buy a better rifle. JMHO

I do apologize for not addressing the specifics of your question. I no longer own one, but my Colt AR 15 did not abuse brass in such a way. In fact, my ejected brass from said rifle looked no worse than that ejected from a bolt action. Again, just my personal experience, no offense intended.

 

[KLS556]

No offense taken. I can't complain about accuracy as I'm getting a nice one inch grouping at 100 yards. My Ruger AR15 leaves the brass in perfect condition.

 

[KLS556]

Replace the gas bushing with one with a .041"-043" orifice and your brass will land 6'-8' away and the recoil impulse will be tamer. My stock mini 14 threw brass about 25'-30' with stock gas bushing.

I can usually find only a small percentage of my brass when shooting it because of that issue and the casings apparently hitting the scope. My Ruger AR15 lays the brass down about 8’ away consistently. I’ll look into that.

 

[dsf]

I wasn't looking to enter a shooting or beauty contest with it I just wanted an accurate varmint rifle that can fire .223 and 5.56, which it does well.

I have 4 Mini 14s and a 7.62X39 and like them alot. Mostly older types. Even if a newer version, wouldn't have been my first choice as a varmint rifle though. Maybe coyotes and raccoons under 100 yds, but nothing smaller or longer range.

 

[KLS556]

 

[KLS556]

Replace the gas bushing with one with a .041"-043" orifice and your brass will land 6'-8' away and the recoil impulse will be tamer. My stock mini 14 threw brass about 25'-30' with stock gas bushing.

Any suggestions on where I can purchase one?

 

[NikA]

Accuracy Systems. They're pretty expensive for a tiny piece of bar stock with a precision hole drilled in it. If you have any DIY skills, would be pretty easy to do this yourself.