Why Won't the Ruger Mini-14 Just Die? [Part 1] [Part 2] is up!! Post #225

[trackhazard]

I would rock this hard as soon as/if the AWB ends:

[SDcollector]

Originally Posted by SharedShots

...The entire hooplah over Mini-14 magazines is almost funny. They aren't hard to get, some people just don't want to dig into their pockets to get them but have no problem spending hundreds and even thousands on fancy colored levers to replace working ones, rail pads to protect their hands from the cheese graters, different sights, barrel swaps, muzzle devices and such for ARs but complain about the price of magazines for the Mini.

Everyone gets it, some people not only dislike the Mini, but they also actually hate it. No problem, buy something else...

Amazing isn't it? It's the same on any forum, even on Ruger forums or in Mini threads. Some Mini owner will post something about improving his accuracy or finding some new accessory and you can bet the farm within 3 posts, some AR owner will chime in with, 'Sell it and buy an AR, they're cheaper, more accurate, more yada, yada, yada.' Even though the vast majority of Mini owners will tell them they own an AR and that if the shtf they would grab their AR or AK, the vast majority of AR owners (who don't own a Mini) can't let a positive comment pass without going out of their way to post that their AR does it better.

As someone pointed out on another forum, no rifle has generated so much visceral hatred than the Mini-14, probably more than the M1 did to the German ranks during WWII. Some will just never understand their popularity or why they cost so much (demand). If Ruger ever stops producing them their cost will soar and they'll really be perplexed. Being a retired spindly armed old fart, I love the wood, especially with the old wood handguard and they're just so much fun to shoot. I can afford a lot of things now that I don't need, this is one of them.

[Garandimal]

The Mini-14 just needs a few mods to make it a proper carbine:

- 1" off the butt and squared.
- TechSights rear aperture.
- 1-1/4" sling swivels/sling.
- Choate Ventilated Handguard.
- 10-round Ruger OEM mags.

GR

[trackhazard]

Part 2

[saudadeii]

[QUOTE=trackhazard;27468110]Part 2

You beat me to it!!!!

[DrewN]

Man, that's a crappy shooting Mini he's got. I wonder if the stock fit isn't great. When I bought my (Ca.) Target, you could fit a penny on both sides of the receiver with it mounted in the factory Hogue. Needless to say that gun wouldn't shoot for !@#$. Just bedding it helped tremendously. ASI pillar beds theirs. And weak *** extraction/ejection? Usually a stock Mini will launch brass into low Earth orbit.

[crufflers]

"It is really hard to justify a 6 MOA $1000 rifle in the year 2022."

That sounds like a con.

"You could grab any other 556 rifle off the shelf and it would be better than this".

He must be one of those Mini-14 deniers. I hear the new ones need a minor rub down and they will do 2" and then another massage to get to 1" and maybe a final sprinkling of magic dust to get to 1/2"... that's SUB MOA!!! Case closed. End thread.

[trackhazard]

old TFB vid on mini vs cheap AR



Seems like people have unrealistic expectations from their ARs as quality of barrels for ARs varies geatly.

[DrewN]

Originally Posted by crufflers

"It is really hard to justify a 6 MOA $1000 rifle in the year 2022."

That sounds like a con.

"You could grab any other 556 rifle off the shelf and it would be better than this".

He must be one of those Mini-14 deniers. I hear the new ones need a minor rub down and they will do 2" and then another massage to get to 1" and maybe a final sprinkling of magic dust to get to 1/2"... that's SUB MOA!!! Case closed. End thread.

Receiver to stock fit, over gassing and barrel flex is basically it. You can do a trigger job. On mine you need pretty strong mag springs, but I'm not sure that's universal.

[GeorgeMG]

I still kind of want one. I just think they're cool.

[k1dude]

Originally Posted by DrewN

Man, that's a crappy shooting Mini he's got. I wonder if the stock fit isn't great.

In my experience, that's not unusual. I've shot plenty of mini's that ran between 6 and 8 MOA. I've also shot plenty that ran between 4 and 6 MOA. Very few that I've shot have done better than 4 MOA. The one I kept is about 2.5 to 3 MOA, and that's why I kept it. However, I would still buy another if I could find one that would shoot 1 to 2 MOA.

[gwanghoops]

Is there a reliability issue with regards to feeding/ejection?
That's news to me, but I'm just a casual mini14 owner and never had a problem.

[DrewN]

Originally Posted by gwanghoops

Is there a reliability issue with regards to feeding/ejection?
That's news to me, but I'm just a casual mini14 owner and never had a problem.

It's usually the opposite, extraction is TOO forceful.

[FeuerFrei]

Mini Me rifles have gotten better. Yes apparently they have done some note worthy changes.

It is still a proprietary design that nobody else makes and makes a diy guy have to choose from a limited menu of parts to enhance the thing further.

AR guys almost always start Jonesing to do more with their rifles. Buys a box o stuff from Midway or retailer du jour and dumps it on a table in the garage and gets to work after watching gun monkey videos of "how to install a ...". Everything can be swapped for sumpin else in order to customize it or make it worse/better or do a project to keep from getting bored.

Dollar for dollar the Mini Me just doesn't present as much value when compared to an AR from a legit manufacturer. Value wise it's like comparing three flavors of ice cream to Baskin Robbins.

*need to look for a gun monkey torture test like the ones they do for AR clones. Drag test. Melt down test. Packed full of mud test. Stupid crap like that.

I just remembered. I don't care.

As you were...

[SharedShots]

It's the comedy thread.

In any gun forum:

OP - I just bought a (brand X) AR.

Reply: WTF? Are you insane, why that POS will never shoot, I've had 6 and all of them can't hold even 10 MOA.

OP - Then why did you buy 6 of them?

Reply: Dude, wake up, everyone knows (brand X) is pure junk, their barrels are crap, the finish is crap and you need to spend $800 just to get some of them to work. There is no way that budget bucket is going to shoot, that is why they sell them for $425. You can't get a really good AR for less than $1500.

OP - It seems to shoot ok.

Reply - For for crying out loud, didn't anyone ever tell you :BUY ONCE CRY ONCE? Everyone knows that. Any budget AR is over-gassed and ejects cases all over the place. Dump that POS and get a real AR, something like a DD, they are only $1700 or so. If nothing else, swap that BCG for the Ti/Cryo from (brand Z) and then make sure you throw on that adjustable gas block so cases just fall into a cup. Oh yeah, also get a carrier handle with sights, some anti-walk pins and don't forget to dump that milspec trigger and get the drop-in one with the Darth Vader laser engraving. Guaranteed to take off 3 MOA right there. To make it right, pick up some tungsten buffer weights and that flat braided buffer spring, everyone knows springs are supposed to be flat. Then to be a man among men, find some Cherry Balmz if you can. ARs need to run wet and that stuff just works. If you can't find that, dump some Frog Lube over every moving part and make sure you pay attention to the oiling holes on the BCG, they were designed to make lubing your AR super easy.

And in the next thread with different OP but same guy replying-

OP - I just bought a Mini-14

Reply - WTF dude, any cheap AR15 will outshoot it right out of the box, you are insane for paying $1000 for an outdated design like that. There are ARs you can get for $425 that will shoot less than 2MOA all day long and you don't have to do anything, just unbox, load and shoot. All my ARs can outshoot a Mini any day of the week, all week and twice on Sunday nights.





.

[DrewN]

Some manufacture should look at building a modern "traditional" carbine though. Surely you could design something that used AR barrels and mags (at the least) to keep costs down, but keep the look. Dump the op rod for a short stroke piston. I'd like to see a Mossy type safety.

[W.R.Buchanan]

If you can only shoot 6" with a 2" gun it's not the gun. Pretty much all <$1000 guns need something to make them right.

When all you have to do to improve accuracy is change out a $5 gas bushing which takes all of 5 minutes to do. And will result in a gun that 95% of owners can't outshoot on their best day. I have to take exception.

When I post instructions on how to index your sights on a target and all I get back is blank stares, it kind of indicates to me that there is a lot of people who just can't shoot and want to blame their guns for their own inadequacies, and spew a bunch of hate that they just pile onto existing haters to keep the hate flowing.

If I had a 6-10" Mini 14, I would either figure out what is wrong with it or send it back to the factory so they could figure out what is wrong with it.
A gun like that has got to have something that is obviously wrong with it in order to shoot that bad.(Bad Barrel would be my first guess) And even at that I would attribute about half of that to the fool behind the trigger or bad ammo or not holding your mouth right.

And in closing if you actually think that there isn't just as many sucko AR's out there, you really have lived a sheltered life.

Teh M16 I shot in qualifying as a Marksman in the USAF in 1969 put every single one of the 60 rounds I got to fire, thru the Target Sideways! I still shot 60/60 but told the DI that the barrel was shot out. He told me that the bullets were supposed to tumble. I mentioned that they were supposed to tumble "After they hit the target" and then dropped down for my 50 push ups!

There are so many variables that go together to make a rifle that to think just because it is a certain type of rifle automatically makes it accurate or not. If that was the case then AK's would have never been produced and yet more have been made on this planet than any other firearm know to man.

Apparently those makers don't think there is that much wrong with a 6-10" gun? Plenty more where they came from.

Randy

[W.R.Buchanan]

Originally Posted by SharedShots

It's the comedy thread.

In any gun forum:

OP - I just bought a (brand X) AR.

Reply: WTF? Are you insane, why that POS will never shoot, I've had 6 and all of them can't hold even 10 MOA.

OP - Then why did you buy 6 of them?

Reply: Dude, wake up, everyone knows (brand X) is pure junk, their barrels are crap, the finish is crap and you need to spend $800 just to get some of them to work. There is no way that budget bucket is going to shoot, that is why they sell them for $425. You can't get a really good AR for less than $1500.

OP - It seems to shoot ok.

Reply - For for crying out loud, didn't anyone ever tell you :BUY ONCE CRY ONCE? Everyone knows that. Any budget AR is over-gassed and ejects cases all over the place. Dump that POS and get a real AR, something like a DD, they are only $1700 or so. If nothing else, swap that BCG for the Ti/Cryo from (brand Z) and then make sure you throw on that adjustable gas block so cases just fall into a cup. Oh yeah, also get a carrier handle with sights, some anti-walk pins and don't forget to dump that milspec trigger and get the drop-in one with the Darth Vader laser engraving. Guaranteed to take off 3 MOA right there. To make it right, pick up some tungsten buffer weights and that flat braided buffer spring, everyone knows springs are supposed to be flat. Then to be a man among men, find some Cherry Balmz if you can. ARs need to run wet and that stuff just works. If you can't find that, dump some Frog Lube over every moving part and make sure you pay attention to the oiling holes on the BCG, they were designed to make lubing your AR super easy.

And in the next thread with different OP but same guy replying-

OP - I just bought a Mini-14

Reply - WTF dude, any cheap AR15 will outshoot it right out of the box, you are insane for paying $1000 for an outdated design like that. There are ARs you can get for $425 that will shoot less than 2MOA all day long and you don't have to do anything, just unbox, load and shoot. All my ARs can outshoot a Mini any day of the week, all week and twice on Sunday nights.

.

Kind of how I think about it!

Randy

[elSquid]

Originally Posted by GeorgeMG

I still kind of want one. I just think they're cool.

They are. A 16 inch stainless in the Samson stock would be a fun toy to play around with.

-- Michael

[bwiese]

1989 bought a Mini14 stainless 'ranch folder'.

- Wonderfully compact when folded.
- Nice balance.
- Good mags are hard to find
- triggers not that good, fewer options (vs ARs)
- older Minis less accurate than decent/cheap ARs w good ammo + shooter
- newer Minis a bit better
- barrel not chrome-lined.

I do know of a (late) gunsmith who used modded Colt AR chromed bbls
and reported better accuracy.

Some Mini inaccuracy is due to barrel whip and there are products out there
supposedly reducing it/increasing accuracy.

If Ruger brought out a Mini15 and it
- used AR mags
- had chrome lined barrel (balanced)
- improved trigger
... they'd sell a lot, esp if they brought back the "ranch folder" configuration.
Given Ruger is selling a Ruger American Ranch bolt rifle which takes AR mags, this is not that far outta the question.

[smle-man]

All this talk made me take my 185 series to the range today. From a front rest sitting at a bench with a Tech rear sight and a John Masen muzzle brake blade front sight unit and a barrel stabilizer gizmo I fired a measured 2.4" 5 shot group. The load was Hornady 68 grain BTHP bullet, BLC2 powder and CCI 41 primers. The barrel was warm. Ambient temp was 50F.

Compared to my ARs with optical sights this nothing to brag about but hardly the 4-6" groups that the Mini 14 is frequently accused of. I will say that it won't shoot 55 grain bullets to any accuracy. It likes 62 gr and up.

[Oceanbob]

Originally Posted by DrewN

It's usually the opposite, extraction is TOO forceful.

Yeah, I remember shooting at an outside range and peppering the guy with empty brass 3 booths down. We actually switched places after the next cease fire.

[smle-man]

Originally Posted by Oceanbob

Yeah, I remember shooting at an outside range and peppering the guy with empty brass 3 booths down. We actually switched places after the next cease fire.

I prefer the older series like mine that have an M14 style ejector in the bolt face. My empties go to 1o'clock, no pelting the shooters to the right of me.

[HKAllTheThings]

In the spirit of this thread...

If you guys are looking for Mini 14s, I will have some for sale in the CGN Marketplace. Mint: $2K. No lowball offers. I know what I got!

[DrewN]

In the spirit of this thread...

If you guys are looking for Mini 14s, I will have some for sale in the CGN Marketplace. Mint: $2K. No lowball offers. I know what I got! [/QUOTE]

I mean:


IMG_20210921_133459.jpg

[crufflers]

I wonder how much the M1A's went up in cost... I know after I had bought my Loaded, stainless, walnut 22" for what was a great price at the time, someone here got one for $1200-$1300 at SW or somewhere similar... and I got my sweet Socom16 via PPT with fiberglass stock for $1100. Do I like the M1A more than a Mini-14? Yeah. If they were similarly priced it is not a close decision IMHO. Though the CALGUNS choice is always buy both or buy everything... and I tend to go by that rule, hahah.

[jarhead714]

Originally Posted by crufflers

I wonder how much the M1A's went up in cost... I know after I had bought my Loaded, stainless, walnut 22" for what was a great price at the time, someone here got one for $1200-$1300 at SW or somewhere similar... and I got my sweet Socom16 via PPT with fiberglass stock for $1100. Do I like the M1A more than a Mini-14? Yeah. If they were similarly priced it is not a close decision IMHO. Though the CALGUNS choice is always buy both or buy everything... and I tend to go by that rule, hahah.

M1As are maybe $50 more than they were 10 years ago. Mini-14s are approaching $500 more than they were 10 years ago.

[gwanghoops]

Originally Posted by crufflers

Though the CALGUNS choice is always buy both or buy everything... and I tend to go by that rule, hahah.

^^^ This for many here.

Part 1 said the 2 reasons for buying: aesthetics and legality.
calguns #3 reason: because it's available and have room in the safe.

[DrewN]

Originally Posted by jarhead714

M1As are maybe $50 more than they were 10 years ago. Mini-14s are approaching $500 more than they were 10 years ago.

6.5 M1A's are seemingly easy to come by now. I'd rather have .260, but I guess another 6.5 wouldn't kill me.

[crufflers]

Originally Posted by jarhead714

M1As are maybe $50 more than they were 10 years ago. Mini-14s are approaching $500 more than they were 10 years ago.

If you think about it too, even Ruger competes with itself and dates the Mini-14... as discussed, not too long ago there were Ruger $350 AR's in a HERA featureless stock, including sights and a MAG! For $350... now that was NOT a Ruger price, but a SW price. They were available longer than most hot product drops too. That MAY NOT BE A NORMAL all the time price, but it does prove what can and will come up in the AR world of a million manufacturers and overstock and competition for your dollars. I should have bought a few but had nice 556 AR's stacked already. As it turns out, they are nice rifles - I shot one quite a few times and sighted one in with a LPVO but it was in a FRS-15 GenIII stock which is a good stock. I have the GENII's I think.

[GW]

Originally Posted by Kurgan

Feel free to ignore history. Bill Ruger was no friend of the second amendment. He was a businessman that clearly sold us out.

I know. I was there.

So what? Bill Ruger is long dead and the new ownership is proven to be clearly pro-gun. It's time to move on.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Originally Posted by bwiese

1989 bought a Mini14 stainless 'ranch folder'.

- Wonderfully compact when folded.
- Nice balance.
- Good mags are hard to find
- triggers not that good, fewer options (vs ARs)
- older Minis less accurate than decent/cheap ARs w good ammo + shooter
- newer Minis a bit better
- barrel not chrome-lined.

I do know of a (late) gunsmith who used modded Colt AR chromed bbls
and reported better accuracy.

Some Mini inaccuracy is due to barrel whip and there are products out there
supposedly reducing it/increasing accuracy.

If Ruger brought out a Mini15 and it
- used AR mags
- had chrome lined barrel (balanced)
- improved trigger
... they'd sell a lot, esp if they brought back the "ranch folder" configuration.
Given Ruger is selling a Ruger American Ranch bolt rifle which takes AR mags, this is not that far outta the question.

They already sell all they make, and when that is happening you don't change anything.

We gonna beat it, beat it, Someone gonna get mis-tweeted,,, So beat it!

Randy

[SharedShots]

Why Won't the Ruger Mini-14 Just Die?

The same reason people who YouGotTubed need clicks for the:

5 Things you need to know about ___________
3 Things _______ don't want you to know
10 Things you must do now
10 Things you should never do
If you see this on your toilet, call the police
The truth behind _________
The amazing _______ that will change your life
5 reasons a revolver sucks for SD
22 CB caps vs 357mag vs 460 Weatherby mag for hunting ants


AND, what you don't know and must now be told... (some will get the reference)

You Got Tubed.


Just saying.


.

[FeuerFrei]

Originally Posted by SharedShots

Why Won't the Ruger Mini-14 Just Die?

The same reason people who YouGotTubed need clicks for the:

5 Things you need to know about ___________
3 Things _______ don't want you to know
10 Things you must do now
10 Things you should never do
If you see this on your toilet, call the police
The truth behind _________
The amazing _______ that will change your life
5 reasons a revolver sucks for SD
22 CB caps vs 357mag vs 460 Weatherby mag for hunting ants


AND, what you don't know and must now be told... (some will get the reference)

You Got Tubed.


Just saying.


.

Well said...

[Garand Hunter]

el Squid, # 208, BOOL SNIT on your crapola remark about jammin M1 Garands. Mine did not.

Psalm 1

[smle-man]

The Mini 14 will be made until the tooling wear out because they've been selling all they make year over year.

[elSquid]

Originally Posted by Garand Hunter

el Squid, # 208, BOOL SNIT on your crapola remark about jammin M1 Garands. Mine did not.

Your Garand is less reliable than my M1903.



— Michael

[tacticalcity]

Because BA pities the fool who says they are not a great gun.



I have never owned one but do not knock those who love them. To each their own. Variety is the spice of life.

[Oneaudiopro]

I guess the simple fact is that some of us like wood/blue firearms and don’t like plastic/carbon fiber/kydex and all the other space age junk that they assemble firearms with these days. There was a time when firearm manufacturers was an art. The mini fits into that old school design philosophy.

[Dr. Peter Venkman]

Originally Posted by Oneaudiopro

I guess the simple fact is that some of us like wood/blue firearms and don’t like plastic/carbon fiber/kydex and all the other space age junk that they assemble firearms with these days. There was a time when firearm manufacturers was an art. The mini fits into that old school design philosophy.

This just confirms that it's just as much about nostalgic romance than anything else. I like old guns and I have far, far more of them than I do modern tools. That doesn't mean I need to try to convince people they're just as good or modern stuff is "space age junk". The largest appeal of the mini is appearance, and short of that, not triggering AW laws.