So I'm think'n about buy'n a Mini 14

[welder]

can I shoot 5.56 out of this gun? QUOTE

Yes.
The manual will tell you the same. The only exception is the Target version, the one with the tunable barrel, it is .223 only.

 

[DDDWho]

I bought one 3 days ago. The election has lots of folks running to the gun stores. Mine is the generic wood stock from Wally. I bought a 30 round mag and a Bore Snake for it at Academy. I've "test" fired it into a tree in my yard. This is my second Mini 14, I had one over 25 years ago and like a dumb A sold it, replacing it cost over 2X what they sold for then.
For me its a HD/SHTF weapon. Few material things I own right now gives me as much piece of mind and satisfaction as it does.

 

[The Preacher]

I have yet to shoot mine. Sent the trigger group to John at Great West Gunsmithing to do his thing about a week ago. Hopefully it'll be back within a week or so more. In the meantime I've stocked up on ammo and mags. I'm look'n forward to seeing what all the shouting is about with Mini 14s. Should be fun!

The Preacher

 

[wxl]

All the new ones are 1:9 twist. Mine shoots the 55 FMJ pretty good, but I handload.

 

[DDDWho]

The "hardwood" stock on Ruger guns is birch from Maine. Compared to Walnut on a hardness scale of 1-5 both birch and walnut are a 4. So durability is more or less equal. Walnut is a darker more figured wood than birch making it more desirable for gun stocks and consequently more expensive. Gun stock makers will stain birch to make appear more like walnut but in most cases the grain figuring is not there. Because of birch's lighter color scratches in the stained wood will be more pronounced.
I love walnut stocked guns for their beauty. If appearance is not a consideration its a wash as to which is better.

 

[Mus408]

I purchased one,just before vacation in the Ga. mountains,and had a great time shooting it.
Nice shooting rifle and hit everything I was aiming at out to 60-70 yds.!
I got the blued/wood stock ranch rifle with 20 rd. mags.

 

[Beachbum]

I have an older 196 series Ranch Rifle, one of the original style Ranches with the fold down rear sight and skinny barrel. Even using iron sights I could hit head-shot accurate at 50 yards and torso-shot accurate at 100. I discovered all rounds grouped in a size about as wide as my front sight appeared on the bullseye while shooting. They aren't as inaccurate as some would have had us believe but the new barrels have really shut up the critics.

 

[woodchuckssuck]

I have a 196 series Mini-14 stainless. Just the regular Mini, not the Ranch rifle. Out to 50 I have no issues keeping them in an 4" circle with just a front rest off the bench. Offhand I can do OK with it, I need more practice If I toss in a rear rest as well, and sit down and take my time, I do better.

Now, if I shoot Federal XM193 5.56 ammo, it will shoot that good at 100 yards. 4" at 100 yards with basically the same ammo our troops use? Should be all that is needed.

I do have an Accu-Strut installed on mine, and it helped quite a bit. I havn't been to the range with it in a while, I need to. The front sight is very wide, just about covers a 4" target at 50 yards.

I hear people say how AR-15s are more accurate. Maybe so, but I can't shoot my cousins bushmaster any better than I can shoot the Ruger. And I prefer the Garand style action and the plain rifle stock over the "black gun" look and feel.

 

[welder]

I have a couple 196 series, a Mini 14 and and Ranch model. I also have a new unfired 581 series 5920 in reserve. I prefer the Mini over the AR all though I have one of those too. The Colt 6920 has had exactly 50 rounds through it and I just don't enjoy shooting it.
I can hit 6" steel at 75 yards every time with .556 Federal 55gr. in either Mini and that suits me fine. I have no optics but am thinking of adding a Red dot to one to see what all the fuss is about. Maybe a adjustable gas block too.

 

[gatling]

Mine is the Circassian stocked version. It shoots best with 63 grain Sierras, but I have a lot of 55 grain FMJ BT bullets that I load with either 748 or 4198 and those do well, too. These are not target rifles, but they are tons of fun to shoot. They are far more accurate than most of the folks who shoot them, and if you compare what the rifle can hold compared to what the shooter can do, they are good enough. They are grand plinkers and although I don't hunt much anymore, I imagine they would be fine on rabbits and coyotes. I have more accurate rifles, but I shoot my Mini 14 more than any other rifle I've ever owned. I like shooting a rifle with iron sights. Just spent the afternoon on the range with my Mini today, and as always, it didn't disappoint.

I've posted this photo on the Ruger board before (my apologies for bragging, but I really like this rifle)...

The cartridge length in the above photo is wrong...it was actually 2.25 inches OAL.