For when you don’t want to be seen with a “scary” rifle.
What is the reputation of the improved Minis?
It is lot better than the one I got in the 90’s. The best group that I ever got from it was 4 MOA using a scope off a bench rest using match ammo. The new model - I regularly shoot 3 MOA using XM193 using iron sights off a bench rest. Which was good enough for my needs - a PC ranch rifle while running around my hunting land.
I had reliability issues with the 1st one. However, they were due to the use of aftermarket mags during the ban days. The new rifle( using Ruger mags only) has been 100% reliable for the 1500 rds fired so far.
I haven’t tracked the forums on the rifle for a while, but there were reports of firing pins breaking. It appeared at the time to mainly be the Mini-30 firing steel case ammo.
However, lately I have gone back to carrying my BCM Midlength M4. I feel that it is a far superior rifle. With AR’s becoming the most popular selling rifle, the PC factor is becoming less of an issue.
Data and experience is slow flowing. Few are shooting them to any meaningful extent. On the LE size, they have largely been exorcised. Ruger’s efforts to get back in are half-hearted. Sales are sluggish in most markets due to competition with lower end ARs. One of the big attractions of the Mini used to the be the price point. It wasn’t an AR, but you weren’t paying AR prices for one either and could get a stand-by rifle. That gap is closed to “why bother” range.
My limited experience with the newer version(s) is slightly better than the earlier. The 16" barrel is less prone to heat and wander. Accuracy and consistency were better but I don’t recall the numbers. I believe they were 1/4-1/3 better or so. The balance of the gun remains largely what it is, so spare bolts or internals for same are advised.
Others wringing them out report that the newer are better, but they are still not a GTG AR.
As always… For best results, keep them lubed generously, shoot domestically produced, .223 Remington spec ammunition, and use OEM 20rd magazines.
The fact that Ruger now sells an AR is telling. No one except a very small segment of ranchers wants one. For the barrel profile, they’re certainly too heavy.
If I wanted a “PC’ish” rifle, I’d get a slick top AR and throw some laminated wood furniture on it with a 5-10 round mag, with a bag full of P-Mags to back it up.
A Mini 14 can get away with a synthetic stock look, but wood on an AR15 is just butt ugly imo.
If Ruger ever expects to get into the “tactical” market with the Mini-14, they will need to adapt it to take AR mags. I cant justify adding a .223 non AR platform rifle that takes different mags…and is a sub-par performer.
What’s actually been improved?
I put myself through the Ruger Mini-14 Armorers class when I was with my old agency so I could speak from a knowledge base when discussing / advising the Mini vs. the AR. We had a bunch of Mini-14’s and a few AR’s back then. After attending the Armorers class I will never endorse the issuing of the Mini-14 as an agencies primary patrol rifle. We engraved the bolts and trigger groups with the rifles serial number so that we made sure to put the right parts back with the right guns. This was done to ensure that head space and other specs stayed intact. These guns do not like to be mixed and matched. The factory recommended tools and gauges are numerous and expensive. The instructor was very squared away and did a great job with the class.
The current guns have better barrels. The profile was beefed up which helps. The 16” barreled guns were always more accurate. To the point that if you have an old one have a gunsmith chop and crown the barrel at 16” and your accuracy will increase (statistically). This has to do with barrel whip and heating, do your own research. I have heard that other upgrades where made but I have no idea what they are other than the rear sight. These upgrades only came after Bill Ruger died allowing the company to move forward. These changes should have been made decades ago.
Factory mags are the only way to go. We had a lot of issues with none factory mags with department guns. The only non-factory mags that worked well were the old Thermolds. The guns themselves ran great. You pull the trigger and it went bang unless the mag failed you. The rear sights did not do well bouncing around in a rifle rack in the cars. The reason we had the Mini’s was that “It looks like a normal rifle” and “We can get two for the price of one AR”. My old agency traded in all their Mini’s for S&W AR’s a few years ago. They got a good deal and are very happy now.
CA Highway Patrol had the Mini-14 in the early 90’s for just a few years and then ditched them for AR’s. I never asked what issues they had with the Mini’s but I know that they got rid of them quickly.
CA Dept. of Corrections has used the Mini for a long time. I got to check out their armory at their academy one time. They had a purpose built transit chest just for Mini-14’s. They had so many going down on a regular basis that they just got the chest and when it was full they sent it to Ruger for repairs. Ruger did back the guns and fixed them. Cracked receivers seemed to be the main reason they were sending them in for repair if I remember correctly.
If I had to buy a Min-14 I would only buy one of the new Tactical Rile versions that come with a 16” barrel, what appears to be more durable rear sight and Ranch Rifle receiver. I would only run factory mags with US produced ammo.
That’s my $.02 for what it’s worth to you.
Um well I guess I should have said “new version”…
Larry Vickers weighed in on the Mini in a recent thread and didn’t have anything good to say about it.
“A big 10/22” and “fine as a plinker” was the verdict.
AR-15’s aren’t really considered “scary” anymore. Wal-Mart is selling the shit out of Colt 6920’s and every time I’m there someone is fondling one. Instead of “a chicken in every pot” it’s going to be “an AR in every closet”. 
And the “new” Mini-14 is just an improved boat anchor.
I’ve also attended the Ruger ACs. Agree on the above.
Adding… Ruger’s CS is pretty good, but their field support to armorers, and what they will let them do with the guns, is pretty minimal.
The instructor was very squared away and did a great job with the class.
Did you have Rob?
There are two types of people in this world. People who don’t think AR’s are scary and people who are scared shitless of them. Don’t think that just because ARs sell like hot cakes that they are all of a sudden socially acceptable with your friends and neighbors.
Psychological research has been conducted showing a tendency on the part of college students to judge a hypothetical defensive shooting “good” vs “not good” based on whether it involved a wingmaster or an AR. The AR shooting was judged less likely to be justified…
Draw your own conclusions from that, but it is something to think about.
Agreed, just mentioning an option for a non-evil black rifle look if one was concerned about that type of thing. I’m certainly not.
Couldn’t disagree more. Reminds me of the old Sudanese rifles. The wood in the pic above does look like crap though.
I would have to dig out his business card to know. It was a long time ago. I did run into him a couple of years later at the SHOT show when the new guns came out and he gave me a quick run down on them. Great guy but I do not recall his name. Older guy who had been with Ruger a long time.
I don’t have any first hand experience but basically everything I’ve heard on the newer models vs the old echos what you posted. For me personally what you said above pretty much sums it up for me. I’ve always wanted a mini as it has that somewhat classic look and in some ways is kinda like a baby Garand–or as somebody said a big 10/22. However at the current price point it just doesn’t make sense vs what else can be purchased for the same money or at least in the same ballpark.
Rob Dearden probably. I believe he was the only one doing them most of the time. The ACs were getting pretty rare anyway (still are) and usually found in Ruger legacy agencies. Nice guy. Good instructor. Tough product.
I remember that he had some very specific verbiage he was careful to use on several data points. Not evasively, but it was pretty deliberate. It stuck out like a sore thumb.
The kind of people who will find an AR “scary” aren’t likely to be too keen on any rifle.
I’d like to see the study you are referencing.
well, since there seems to be a lot of hear-say and assumptions I’ll throw down with my experience.
I’ve owned minis since 1995. started with a 187 series, moved to an excellent 195 series then the new model 58x series.
The 58x series differed from older models in that it had CNC points on the receiver to allow for repeatability and consistency. it wasnt revolutionary but it did make the rifles more consistent to each other, presumably making parts easier to fit to a rifle. the rifle did actually improve and folks are seeing better accuracy across the board, with 1.5 MOA being pretty common.
ALL MINI-14’S REQUIRE THE USE OF FACTORY MAGAZINES TO BE RELIABLE AND ACCURATE. period.
Cautionary Tale: I purchased some very nice aftermarket polymer mags. they were quite pretty and actually worked very reliably. never had any feed problems. one day my girl and I were out shooting and she started complaining that her groups were bigger with the polymer mags. thinking she was just doing something wrong I tried it compared to the factory 20’s and sure enough… groups were 50% larger! darndest thing.
Over the years at classes I can remember that every schlub who brought a mini with cheap aftermarket mags had problems at some point with the gun. EVERY TIME.
Conversely, I have used about every POS steel case ammo thru that thing with factory mags (usually 20’s) and have never had it choke, in spite of minimal lubrication, dust and dirt and lack of cleaning. the thing just chugs along. I believe it’s due in large part to the generous bolt movement tolerances and the amount of gas that it gets fed. It’s just a very reliable rifle second only to the AK in my experience.
Accuracy: I dont remember what the old 187 series did. it shot and I had fun. the 197 series shot really well with 69gr match bullets. IIRC around 1-2moa. everything else did OK at around 3 MOA
The 58x series actually got bedded by me and was given a simple trigger polish and a burris scope. It shoots a pretty regular 1.5" with Barnaul Brown bear 62gr HP, which seems to be it’s preferred fodder. How lucky right?
To be honest every mini-14 hate story I hear comes from doing things with it that it doesnt like. I suppose it’s like every other gun in that respect tho.
If you want one, go get one. they are fine and reliable and accurate rifles when you feed them with factory mags and clean them occasionally.