• Watch Out for Scammers!

    We've now added a color code for all accounts. Orange accounts are new members, Blue are full members, and Green are Supporters. If you get a message about a sale from an orange account, make sure you pay attention before sending any money!

Accurizing Mini-14

CJS-6.5

CJS-6.5

Full auto flintlock user.
Banned !
Full Member
Minuteman
Sep 15, 2017
724
339
I realize this horse has been beat to death but my mini 5.56 is not bad. 1.5 moa. What the issue is, is the trigger feels like wiping hemorrhoids. What trigger will get rid of my mini's hemorrhoids?

Next issue is barrel heating. Who makes the best replacement bull barrel?

Other than that this one is way ahead of my last one. It was a solid 4 moa shooter if I twitched helpfully.
 
Accurizing a Mini 14 is a two step process.

First: Sell Mini 14

Second: Buy any AR in that price range.
 
That is what I thought I would get. Does selling it make it more accurate?
 
Never owned a Mini 14 but I admit the design/package is attractive.

Funniest Mini 14 shooting statement I read was....

When shooting the Mini 14 begin by tossing a 6 foot hula hoop to the right of your shooting position.

Fire your target.

Inevitably the spent brass grouped in the hula hoop will be tighter than the rounds on target.

Brag about your spent brass group.
 
The guys over on Shooting Sports Forum can help you. My mini is under 1.5 MOA with my handloads. Never fired any factory fodder so I can't make a comparative statement.
 
Thanks guys. It just annoyed me a bit not to get it to shoot better. anyone have experience with Rugers Boss setup for the mini?
 
Maybe look at a barrel tuner like on the target model, I have never owned one don't know much about em. Just an idea.
 
I don't hate Mini14's but I don't love them either . I still own one that I worked over, and have had a few of them enough to know the negatives to fix . Lathe a new gas bushing and drill with smaller gas port hole, and add 'front and rear' recoil buffers to the OP Rod system . Other than Hideous Ruger Trigger pull, and it's using only proprietary Ruger Magazines . ( It is what it is ) the biggest inherent flaw you are unable to fix, the unchangeable main design & that's the OP Rod gas system that slamming back and forth adding stress for barrels accuracy .

Getting 2 MOA average group size @ 100 yrd. is about the going average . They definitely look better than they shoot and I always put the Mini14 in the same class as a good AK-47 .
Positives+ the mini14 has is it's a short OAL rifle. especially if you cut the barrel down to 16" . It a nice lightweight packing rifle to . It reliable and it will eat and extract anything you feed it for ammo . But It will never be Half as accurate as your low-end retail AR15, but it runs cleaner than Impingement that barfs dirty gas back into the Receiver, So that make it fun with easy maintenance . Just run it hard and then spray a little break free on the bolt and put it away .
.
 
Exactly. It's a piece of junk that I like so much that I don't want to send it down the road. I wish it would jam or misfire so I could have a reason to get rid off it, But typical Ruger it is designed so that it is reliably inaccurate.
 
No offense intended but trying to make the Mini14 a 1 moa shooter is a fools errand. I know first hand because I went down that road and after spending many $$$$ modifying and various hand load combinations scoping it it never shot better than 2 moa.I finally gave up. I understand the newer models ones are more accurate. The one positive note it was very reliable.
 
Mini14.jpg
 
Yea I have one that's on a good day will hold 3 moa at best. Out if curiosity what makes them so inaccurate, they are basically a scaled down M1A which can be very accurate. I had a custom 18 inch M1A crazy horse built by Smith Enterprise and it was a consistent .5 moa shooter.
 
Bull81 said:
Out if curiosity what makes them so inaccurate, they are basically a scaled down M1A which can be very accurate.
Click to expand...

IMO, they didn't copy enough. They should have scaled down the original gas system instead of creating their own clusterf*ck. At least then people would know how to bed them. Could have had a whole cottage industry of trigger jobs, replacements, and more magazines. The barrels may be another issue. I know the barrel on the Mini 30 I owned was horrible compounded by the chamber.

I can only equate these to the FN-FAL, made worse by forums full of blue falcons who want you to join in the misery of ownership. There's only 1 gunsmith in the entirety of the USA that I know can make one accurate and it won't have a front end reminiscent of the original.

 
If you want to get better accuracy, work up a specific custom load for your individual Mini-14, and find the exact bullet weight & velocity it likes.
Apart from that.... no need to waste money trying to do all these upgrades, just use it for what it was meant for, a great brush & ranch rifle.
 
Thanks. To answer my own question. Yes. Selling it does make it more accurate. I traded it on a Ruger RPR in 6.5.
 
Mike_in_FL said:
IMO, they didn't copy enough. They should have scaled down the original gas system instead of creating their own clusterf*ck.
Click to expand...

Truer words have never been spoken ha ha, one look at the inside of one of those was enough to turn me off too. I really believe if Ruger would've started doing different stuff with the platform that people actually wanted before the AR15 market got hot, mini 14s would maybe actually be somewhat desirable in the year 2017 but whatever that's not reality we live in. I'd say maybe they would be worth it if they were priced equal to an entry AR but good golly, I'd hate to see what design features they cheap out on to achieve that
 
K-tech said:
Truer words have never been spoken ha ha, one look at the inside of one of those was enough to turn me off too. I really believe if Ruger would've started doing different stuff with the platform that people actually wanted before the AR15 market got hot, mini 14s would maybe actually be somewhat desirable in the year 2017 but whatever that's not reality we live in. I'd say maybe they would be worth it if they were priced equal to an entry AR but good golly, I'd hate to see what design features they cheap out on to achieve that
Click to expand...

Ruger was a full on supporter of the AWB with the intent to sell lots of inaccurate Mini 14s.

He sold out gun owners for profit.

He is lucky the AR was not as prevalent than as it is today or his company would have been boycotted into bankruptcy.

Present management knows what they did was wrong hence now they are big 2A supporters.
 
I couldn't agree more, Pm, they really stepped on their own dick back in those days. I just didn't want to go off into a full on Ruger bashing session because I didn't think it contributed to the thread. Lucky for us they seemed to have changed their tune since then
 
K-tech said:
I couldn't agree more, Pm, they really stepped on their own dick back in those days. I just didn't want to go off into a full on Ruger bashing session because I didn't think it contributed to the thread. Lucky for us they seemed to have changed their tune since then
Click to expand...

Agreed a thread about accurizing is no place for politics, its like taking a knee during the Anthem, but I thought it needed mentioning when talk of the Mini 14 competing for sales against the AR is mentioned.

Fair competition fine but selling out the Constitution to sell your rifle - Eat a Dick.
 
After changing out the gas port on the rifle and working with reloading, My sons mini is far more accurate than what the factory set up with commercial ammunition could be.

The mini shoots less than 1.5MOA with a Leupold 2X7 scope and handloaded 60gr. Nosler ballistic tips.

The mini is one of the late models that has been changed somewhere around the gas block.

After changing the gas port, the brass only flies about 7 or 8 yards instead of the factory 23 yards.

Yes, my ar platform rifles are a little more accurate and easier to shoot but when I'm sitting in the snowy swamps of Western Montana the mini is the one that goes with me.

Believe it or not, I can hit the animals and targets I am aiming at!
 
Some years back at a friend's request, i did some minor load development for his Mini-14. Basically, i used a 52 grain match bullet with a near max load of Varget. The years dim my memory, but the pattern (I can't really bring myself to call it a group...) shrank down to about half of what regular 55gr FMJ factory loads delivered. I called it a win and forged on.

Another friend just wanted something for blasting chucks in his pasture. I put a Tasco Dot scope on it, bought him a spam can of TulAmmo 55gr FMJ and he was very happy.

Love it for what it is, a basic infantry rifleman's quality firearm capable of delivering suppressing fire. The DM should have an AR handy. ...

Or use the suppressing fire to get up close and deliver the Coup de grace...

Oh, and it's not a deer rifle at any distance greater than 100ft. Use 55gr soft points, a handful.

Greg
 
Last edited:
bigjake83 said:
Accurizing a Mini 14 is a two step process.

First: Sell Mini 14

Second: Buy any AR in that price range.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, yeah. I have an FAL and I wish I hadn't put that money into it. Now no way I could sell it for what I have in it. It's a damn nice rifle, but it'll never be what I wanted and if it were consistent 1.5 I'd be happy. As for the trigger, it has an amazing trigger for an FAL, lot like a 3 gun trigger. Jard makes triggers for some rifles other than AR's worth looking into if all you want is a trigger. I can understand that. But I wouldn't invest more than that in a Mini14. Used to have one, it was fun, but an M4 is the more serious platform and more suitable for accurizing, period.

Good luck!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

F
Red Dot + Ruger Mini 14
Replies
7
Views
571
B y r o n
B y r o n
A
AR15 accuracy issues
Replies
56
Views
2K
Snuby642
Snuby642
CheapBasterd
Window Shopping - 223 Bolt Action
Replies
26
Views
876
noremorse92
N
JohnDeereGuy1996
Geissele GFR Maritime Reconnaissance 6mm arc write up and review
Replies
52
Views
3K
BulletWithBirdWings
BulletWithBirdWings
A
Need some troubleshooting help: Bad Gas Block or Out of Spec Bolt Catch
Replies
45
Views
754
AleksanderSuave
A
Top Bottom
Back