ruger mini 14 target model

[bowhunthard88]

I was thinking of purchasing a ruger mini 14 target model. does anyone have any reports on accuracy or anything?gun)

 

[britz]

I'm not familiar w/ the target modle, but a few of my friends have 14's and the accuracy out of them was generally nothing to write home about if you want to shoot a few hundred yards. Just mho.

OK, I known what rifle you are talking about now I'd reccomend not getting it if you are serious about making long shots. In my sometimes not so humble opinion () this is putting iceing on a burned cake. The rifle looks really cool but it's just not a accurate action to start from.

 

[dogdinger]

my son just bought one and i did some pretty extensive testing with it . shot several different brands of factory ammo and bullet weights, and was somewhat happy with a couple brands. 1" groups with factory ammo was about all i could do. havent tested any handloads yet but i think i can dial that down a bit. the gun is heavy.....the barrel weight on the end gives it a pretty balanced feel though. itried every position imaginable with the muzzle weight to tighten the groups but it did not seem to matter where it was , the groups were all about the same. it definitely did change the point of impact though. i ve killed one coyote with this rifle.....i handles and functions well when out and about. AJ

 

[bowhunthard88]

Thanks. What are the advantages of an AR-15 style rifle over the mini-14? I've heard some feeding problems with certain ammo in the AR.

By the way, I would be handloading.

 

[ebd10]

Thanks. What are the advantages of an AR-15 style rifle over the mini-14? I've heard some feeding problems with certain ammo in the AR.

By the way, I would be handloading.

The AR-15 is like the LEGO gun; you can attach all kinds of things to it. The design is way more inherently accurate, and the ergonomics are superior. Plus, if you decide you want to change calibers, you just put another upper on your frame and go shooting.

The Mini-14 has a well-deserved reputation for being inaccurate. Reliability was never an issue, but Ruger seemed to cater this rifle to the people who go by the "If you can't shoot well, shoot a lot!" philosophy. I don't know about this latest incarnation, but I've never encountered a Mini-14 that would shoot under 3 inches at 100 yards. There is some outfit that reworks them into some semblance of an accurate rifle but for the money you could buy an AR-15 that works out of the box and go shooting.

Obviously I'm biased, but the bias was born of experience.

 

[tony stark]

iv'e got a friend that had a company rework his mini.
if it was any more accurate than it was when it left, it wasn't much more, maybe just his luck.

 

[JPRITT]

I have shot the "reworked" rifle that was done by some outfit in colorado i think. it has a heavy barrel and light trigger. cost about 400 to do that. It is probably a 2 inch at 100yards gun now. lots of AR will do better if you have to have a semi. I would definately look at a decent AR for $800-$1000 range. Friends dont let friends by ruger mini's!

 

[britz]

A standard AR rifle with the plastic forarm isn't going to shoot bughole groups either --- but I'll bet my money that they will out shoot any Mini. You can get a heavy barreled AR with a free floated barrel and a lighter trigger for around 1000 or a hair more. Then you should be able to keep a real tight group! they are shooters.

 

[bowhunthard88]

Well, that puts the mini 14 out. But, since this is turning into an AR post which company of AR is better? Stag, Colt, or Bushmaster?gun)

 

[britz]

Honestly, I'd consider a DPMS even though there is a long waiting list.

 

[tony stark]

my friends rifle was reworked to a heavy barrel, trigger work the whole thing and about the best it would do was 3 minutes. it was also a lot more the 4 bills.

part of the appeal used to be (for california anyway) was it was a semi auto in .223 and not a banned item.

now with the O.L.L. thing we can now have a ar shaped rifle. there are still some restrictions to what you can do to it. but at least when you get done with it it should shoot.

 

[CooperNV]

Hello, my first post, great site here.

I have a mini that was reworked by accuracy systems in CO. Had it done in 2001, it will shoot sub-MOA as long as i feed it what it likes. I put over a grand in this gun to get it there. Was it worth it?? Probably not! As a shooter AR can be had for that or less. But the cool factor is worth something. It will be interesting to see if the factory target mini will be a shooter out of the box. FWIW I like my new DPMS sweet 16 better, but it is the new "girl friend".

 

[Greywolf18]

My Uncle had given me a mini-14 one year for Xmas, and its a fun gun to shoot but accuracy is 3MOA. I think I shot under 2 once but gusty winds probably threw the bullets the right way for me I have seen the AI out in CO and was seriously debating sending it off so I could have a good shooting semi-auto. However, it would have cost about 1200 to get it done....$2000 if you buy it from them new and don't send them your own mini. I saw and read several reviews on the Stag Model 6 Super Varminter and wound up buying one. It should be here this week! Buying from factory is I think 20 week waiting right now and going up every day it seems like. I had my name on the waiting list, but then found a retailer that had some in stock. Stag Arms says they guarantee 1/2" MOA which is what the AI said but there rifle is only $1055! Soon as I get it set up and shoot I'll let you know how it is. Just my 2 cents....if you rework the mini let me know where you got it done and how well it shoots.