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The Ruger Mini 14 Ranch Model 5808 is a stainless steel and carbon composite semiautomatic carbine, caliber 5.56x45mm, 37.5" overall length, 18.5" barrel length including chamber, 1:9" RH twist, 6.75 lbs unloaded, detachable box magazine fed long gun, priced at $979.00 msr new.
Mine is matched with a Redfield BattleZone 3-9x42mm scope with the 5.56x45mm elevation dial designed for the 55 grain bullet/cartridge.
I boresighted and tested my scope mounted on it last weekend and these are my results on a calm clear windless day (see target below). The Ruger mounting system allows me to remove the scope and fire with iron sights whenever I want. Re-mounting the scope then is not hard with the Ruger all-the-way-in mounting system (two screws on the same side).
Note from the results on the target at 50 and 100 yards, that while the barrel is cold, the groups are very tight, almost 1 MOA.
As the barrel warms up, the groups spread, out to finally 2 1/2 MOA.
I was very happy with the results of the rifle and the scope.
For me this serves as my tier-three defense gun:
- Tier-one being my 45ACP pistol;
- Tier-two being my 12 gauge shotgun;
- Tier-four being my scoped bolt action hunting rifle.
With this carbine I can quickly engage targets in the 25 to 500 yard range, beyond the range of the shotgun, but less than the range of the scoped bolt action rifle.
The spread on the groups at various distances and 2.5 MOA with a warm barrel correspond with the following --
- heart shots at 100 yds;
- pericardium shots at 200 yds;
- lung shots at 300 yds and 400 yds; and
- chest shots at 500 yds.
I noticed with the factory trigger (quite heavy) that together with proper breathing and trigger squeeze that I can crank off a carefully aimed shot about every 5 to 10 seconds.
I have trained with the M-14 Rifle, the M-16 Rifle, and the M-1 Garand. Of all these, I like the Ruger Mini 14 best. It has the light recoil of the M-16 / AR-15 combined with the ease of action of the M-14.
My own 4 gun collection is now complete, with no holes in it. I can do anything with these 4 guns. Over the decades I have owned many more, but I have only kept these 4 as they are the best at what they can do.
If you are thinking of getting a 5.56x45mm carbine of your own, you can't go wrong with this one combined with this scope.
If you have experiences of your own, and target data, I would like to hear about it.
My personal view about carbines is that everyone should own one, and you should buy it after you have a pistol and a short barrel shotgun. After purchasing the carbine, ammo storage is the next most important thing. Once you have all these, you may want to consider a scoped bolt action rifle to enhance your range yet another 500 yards more.
Americans have always been riflemen from the beginning of our history. Eventually city folk began to crowd into the original colonies, and as the colonies became a nation, and the nation grew, the city folk increased as well. City folk are often not familiar with guns, unfortunately. However our government is founded on the premise that the people will enforce the Constitution and will take it upon themselves to defend the Nation when and if needed.
If you read the Federal Constitution and you take it seriously, these are the 3 or 4 weapons that you will ultimately need in order to carry the weight of your responsibility.
Mine is matched with a Redfield BattleZone 3-9x42mm scope with the 5.56x45mm elevation dial designed for the 55 grain bullet/cartridge.
I boresighted and tested my scope mounted on it last weekend and these are my results on a calm clear windless day (see target below). The Ruger mounting system allows me to remove the scope and fire with iron sights whenever I want. Re-mounting the scope then is not hard with the Ruger all-the-way-in mounting system (two screws on the same side).
Note from the results on the target at 50 and 100 yards, that while the barrel is cold, the groups are very tight, almost 1 MOA.
As the barrel warms up, the groups spread, out to finally 2 1/2 MOA.
I was very happy with the results of the rifle and the scope.
For me this serves as my tier-three defense gun:
- Tier-one being my 45ACP pistol;
- Tier-two being my 12 gauge shotgun;
- Tier-four being my scoped bolt action hunting rifle.
With this carbine I can quickly engage targets in the 25 to 500 yard range, beyond the range of the shotgun, but less than the range of the scoped bolt action rifle.
The spread on the groups at various distances and 2.5 MOA with a warm barrel correspond with the following --
- heart shots at 100 yds;
- pericardium shots at 200 yds;
- lung shots at 300 yds and 400 yds; and
- chest shots at 500 yds.
I noticed with the factory trigger (quite heavy) that together with proper breathing and trigger squeeze that I can crank off a carefully aimed shot about every 5 to 10 seconds.
I have trained with the M-14 Rifle, the M-16 Rifle, and the M-1 Garand. Of all these, I like the Ruger Mini 14 best. It has the light recoil of the M-16 / AR-15 combined with the ease of action of the M-14.
My own 4 gun collection is now complete, with no holes in it. I can do anything with these 4 guns. Over the decades I have owned many more, but I have only kept these 4 as they are the best at what they can do.
If you are thinking of getting a 5.56x45mm carbine of your own, you can't go wrong with this one combined with this scope.
If you have experiences of your own, and target data, I would like to hear about it.
My personal view about carbines is that everyone should own one, and you should buy it after you have a pistol and a short barrel shotgun. After purchasing the carbine, ammo storage is the next most important thing. Once you have all these, you may want to consider a scoped bolt action rifle to enhance your range yet another 500 yards more.
Americans have always been riflemen from the beginning of our history. Eventually city folk began to crowd into the original colonies, and as the colonies became a nation, and the nation grew, the city folk increased as well. City folk are often not familiar with guns, unfortunately. However our government is founded on the premise that the people will enforce the Constitution and will take it upon themselves to defend the Nation when and if needed.
If you read the Federal Constitution and you take it seriously, these are the 3 or 4 weapons that you will ultimately need in order to carry the weight of your responsibility.
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