Ruger Mini 14 TARGET?

[VARminator]

ANyone have one or shoot it? Thinkin of getting one as a coyote buster.

[30378]

I shot one that my friend had. It was more accurate than previous models. Where it lost me was with the weight. It just does not handle well or have the lightweight characteristics I have appreciated from earlier minis. Probably a reasonable shooter but I would rather have a good accurate AR-15.:D

[VARminator]

Well I do and its heavy too, 24" HBAR. The ruger is also less prone to get the WRONG attention from people seeing me go into the woods. Everyone says it heavy, I need to hoist one.

[Brian in Oregon]

"Wrong attention"? You mean we should be more politically correct?:confused:

[dogdinger]

i had a regular mini stainless model that would shoot sub MOA 5 shot groups with reloads. I had heard all over the place that they were junk, wouldnt shoot, prone to breakdowns, bad trigger...etc etc....i got mine and bought 100 rds of reloadable ammo....took it home mounted a leupy 3X9 scope on it . it sprayed all over the place....12 inch group or so.....picked up 20 rds of brass....went in and picked out a medium load( 27grs win748 i believe)...seated some sierra 53 gr hp's WITHOUT CRIMPING......took it back to the bench and the first 5 shots were under 3/4 inch....after tweaking the trigger a little and tuning the loads i was shooting one hole groups with three shots.....it had a funny habit of throwing a flier if you shot the last shell in the clip and the bolt stayed open.....sadly i lost this gun in a fire....i am looking at getting the new target model to replace one of these days....it did weigh a lot but was handy as heck while calling....AJ

[Army]

"Wrong attention"? You mean we should be more politically correct?:confused:

Not PC, but simply aware of your actions. Some sniveling, blue voting, scared of his own shadow, can't do anything for himself, mindless Hillary drone, would see you in camo and toting an eeeeeevil black rifle into the woods, and immediately call the cops on the murderously armed survivalist that is stalking the neighborhood cats.

It's been done.

Actually, it probably wouldn't matter what rifle you were toting. They are scared of any inanimate object they failed in life to comprehend.

[briar]

i have one and my loads use a 50 grain bullet and it has about a 3/4" group. i have never had a missfeed or any other function problems. i have had it for 14 years.

[VARminator]

"Wrong attention"? You mean we should be more politically correct?:confused:

Ya, people are weird. You can take the black rifle or mini 14 and dress it differantly and get a differant reaction. Put a folding stock on a mini 14 and it becomes and "Assault Rifle" and not the tame hunting rifle it is.

[Fivehead]

I have a standard mini 14 ss ranch rifle that I just love. When I hunt with it I carry it unloaded, hold it by the muzzle end and swing it like a baseball bat at the intended target. That is my most accurate load. :( Otherwise I just throw it at the varmint and hope to knock it out. (not as accurate). Seriously though, if I do my part on the bench, and stay away from caffine for a few days, I can knock out a good 4 inch group at 100yds on a calm day. I have tried some handloads hoping to find the golden load that will group a nice tight 2" at 100 yds. No such luck yet. 13grains of blue dot got me 1" at 50 yards with a 55 gr sp.:D I have to admit though that its size and weight are quite handy, the trigger mechanism is solid, and when I pull the trigger it always goes bang. I'm just not sure where the bullet is going to end up :eek: . This was a wedding gift from my wife and I just won't part with it, in case anyone has the notion of trying to get me to sell it , forget it! I'm still looking for a load that will work if anyone has had success (seriously).
I hope this helps you with your decision to purchase the mini.

[VARminator]

Not really as I ONLY want the "NEW" Target Mini or and accurized Mini. Myabe you should do some of the suggestions to bring yours into accuracy compliance. Beeding, new Barrel, barrel banding etc.

[bcp]

Mini-14 Accurizing Forum:
http://perfectunion.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=106

Lots of interesting reading. Makes me kind of wish I still had mine.


Bruce

[VARminator]

Ya, I have a post on there. Don't know whether I want an accurized mini or the new target model.

[VARminator]

Finally got to see & hold one sunday at Riley's in NH. Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Like it!!:D

[VARminator]

Felt it agin th eother day and now the gun feels heavy. I like it a LOT but something is holding me back. I guess fear of a better rifle in this style coming along right after I buy it.

[Larry in VA]

The New Mini 14 – in a word (or two), is /Rugers attempt at “polishing a turd”. .. :eek: . IMHO of course. :D
It mildly amazes me when I read peoples critics of items that the ones who are fore an object have lots to say about it, probably because they are enthusiastic about said item, fair enough. Those who are against it seem to sit back and say nothing or very little about said item, also understandable because they have no bone in this fight and may feel like “why bother”.
I understand why someone would be enthusiastic about a Mini if it shot bug holes, I would be too. Hell, I’ve bought 3 so far in my life time in the hopes of a good shooter. Heck the guys here are proof that a few good shooters slip by Rugers "tight quality control" and make it to the public and I congratulate them on there good fortune. But the truth is for every good shooter hundreds just doesn’t make the grade. Yes, they are light and handy, the old ones at least, Ruger has even screwed that with the new ones I read. They do go bang when you pull the trigger so in these respects they are everything I would want in a small semi auto rifle except the accuracy department -THEY SUCK! .. IMHO of course..:rolleyes:
Heck just get yourself one of them “Evil Black Rifles” and it will shoot better than a mini (even this so called new and improved one) and if it don’t you can modify it until it shoots better than ANY mini. :cool:

What ever you choose I hope it works out for you, but my vote is for the EBR.

Just my two cents.

Larry

[VARminator]

Already have an EBR, MA. is not EBR friendly and they casue more headaches than worth in the field.


And its a shame there isn't anything else out there like the (semi's) mini style that is a good shooter.

[dogdinger]

my son just bought one of the new ones with the thumbhole stock and the compensater on the barrel.....mounted a nikon 3X9 on it.....shot it a few times to get it sighted....ran a bore snake thru the barrel after each shot.......first group he shot was about 1".......cleaned the barrel again......second group was 5 shots all in about 3/4 "......third was about the same.....never messed with the comp on the barrel yet....he was shooting cheap remington factory ammo.....60grainers i think.....i shot one 3 shot group with it that was about 1/2"......seems like its gonna be a shooter with a little tweaking.....planning to bed the action and do some load development for it.....he is a happy camper with it.....i believe he paid 769.00 for the gun.....you can keep your darn ugly black rifles....i just plain dont like'm, and they dont have a thing on the mini for weight.....every one i ever hefted was heavy as hell.....AJ

[VARminator]

I love AR's but I built mine too heavy for carry although we do it. More for bench and dog towns.

[gonzo gunner]

five head must have baught my old mini-14!!! i sent it back to ruger and had it rebarreled 3 times. when they sent it back to me it had a note that said that a 3 inch group at 100 yards out of a utility rifle is very much exceptable!!! i tried bedding, and hand loads from 40 to 75 grainers. i gave it a new home in a short time after that because a louisville slugger baseball bat was twice as accurate at 100 yards than the mini-14. i have found most people who want a semi-auto sale the mini-14 and go to a ar. rugers of any kind except the old tang safety rifles have never been very accurate to me. i just biult a m77/22 .22lr with a shilens barrel and a tightened bolt and it's now a good (not great mind you) hunting rifle if you don't mind using wolf match rounds in it. foreget the mini-14. get a ar based rifle instead. you'll like it much better. like stated earlier you can polish a turd, but in the end it is just really shiny crap!!!

[VARminator]

I repeat, Anything but an AR.

[Coyote Duster]

24 inch HBAR is the heavy barrel. The standard weight barrel is lighter and 20 inch would be lighter yet.

[James Staggs]

I have a couple accurised mini's and more than a couple AR's, the black rifle is a better cheaper option than accurising a mini. Mine shoot ok, well really but for the money I have in each one I could have bought a couple less bare's.
You best non-black rifle option would be a Tom Volquartzen 223 semi. just google volquartzen
JS

[dogdinger]

is the kel-tec.....i also own one of these and it is surprisingly accurate with good quality ammo.....i bought it for a truck carry gun, since it is so handy when folded up out of the way...i mounted a 4X scope on it that i had laying around, sighted it and proceeded to shoot a couple 1" groups....i have killed several jackrabbits with it....fun gun to shoot and the cheapest of the bunch......AJ

[Van Cent Nebr]

Already have an EBR, MA. is not EBR friendly and they casue more headaches than worth in the field.


And its a shame there isn't anything else out there like the (semi's) mini style that is a good shooter.

Volquartsen Evolution, I am about to order one myself.

[VARminator]

Volquartsen Evolution, I am about to order one myself.

Lucky YOU! BIG BUCKS, WOUdl like one myself.