I have a blued/wooden stock 580 Series mini-14. It’s a fun rifle and a great range toy. I’m about to be given a Satinless/wooden stock 185 series mini-14. I originally wanted a stainless mini but ended up with the aforementioned blued one.
Any thoughts on the stainless 185 series stainless mini-14? Any upgrades you guys would do to it? I live in California so 10 rd mags is the most I can get. But I would prefer to stick to the 5 rd factory mag.
A friend of mine once told me that if he had a mini-14 he would take two inches off the barrel length, put a muzzle break and bed the action. Any thoughts on having that done.
We ran an extensive thread on the Mini a year or two ago.
Sum: Reliable but not durable. Predicatable failures at 2500-5000rd intervals. Minimal armorer and user support outside the factory. Excellent service from the factory. Keep it wet to keep running. Accuracy is sufficient for most uses. Use only SAAMI-spec, .223 Remington ammunition. Use only OEM magazines, preferably 20rd magazines. Shortening the barrel and reinstalling gas block helps accuracy and consistency. Bedding isn’t worth the bother. OEM stock is too long for many/most.
Suboptimal choice, but a serviceable option if it’s what you’re limited to.
Thanks Skintop911. That kind of surprises me. I was under the impression that Ruger makes guns that can last a life time if decently maintained. I own a 10/22, PC9 and MkII, they’ve all been great. I was actually thinking of buying a GP100 but got a 686 instead.
I think Ruger makes great guns. BUT, over priced for what they are. It took me a year to think about spending $500 for my PC9. But its a very fun rifle to shoot and I never had a problem with it.
I’ve always wanted a mini-14 as a range toy. Not for anything serious, such as taking a rifle course or depending my life on it. But this kinda makes me wanna buy some wolf .223 and shoot the crap out of it.
I’ve got 3 mini 14’s and love them all. I would add a trigger job to your list of things to do to it.
I have to disagree with the previous poster that says minis have failures at 2,500 to 5,000 rounds. One thing I have noticed is that the Ruger Mini 14 has a major strength in being dependable and reliable. Accuracy on the older models needed some help, which could be accomplished with less than $75 or so. I did it to mine, so I know it can be done.
The Mini platform is dependable, reliable and can be made to have reasonable accuracy. They will run when dirty, much more so than the AR platform. I’ve never heard of the Mini OEM stock being too long. Lots of folks change out the original stock just because there are lots of fun aftermarker stocks to put them on. Ruger finally figured this out and is no offering pistol grip stocks and other variants as original factory equipment on newer models.
If you get the 185 series, bed it, cut the barrel, put a brake on it, test different types of ammo (as they are ammo sensitive) and do a trigger job. You will be very happy with the outcome.
I am a former members of a special forces unit which was prosecuted for a crime we didn’t commit. We went underground as mercenaries for hire helping others who have also been wronged. And while cruising around in our custom van the weapon of choice is the Mini 14 GB folder.
Granted we don’t hit a lot of the folks we shoot at, but when we see action this is the best firearm for shooting from the hip on the run.
Everyone I ever knew that had a Mini-14 ultimately traded it in on an AR-15. I’m not bad-mouthing the rifle because I’ve never fired one… just an observation I’ve made.
The Mini-14 is a commercial/sporting grade gun that most folks won’t shoot a whole lot. In that role, it will indeed provide a lifetime of service with minimal maintenance.
I’ve always wanted a mini-14 as a range toy. Not for anything serious, such as taking a rifle course or depending my life on it. But this kinda makes me wanna buy some wolf .223 and shoot the crap out of it.
In that role, it will be fine for you.
Certainly, experiences vary.
Those numbers are the interval in which certain parts can be expected to fail, especially the firing pin and extractor. That’s my own experience, and that of a number of armorer colleagues maintaining their guns. That interval is also a topic of discussion at the Mini-14 AC, if you get the chance to attend.
I’ve never heard of the Mini OEM stock being too long. Lots of folks change out the original stock just because there are lots of fun aftermarker stocks to put them on. Ruger finally figured this out and is no offering pistol grip stocks and other variants as original factory equipment on newer models.
Sport/rec/hobby shooters won’t really notice. If you’re going to fight with the gun, it’s more of an issue.
Most OEM stocks offered by manufacturers are too long. People just don’t know what they don’t know.
While users have reported having 5.56mm chambers, and Ruger has reported producing them, guns seen in the field, classes, and chambers castings from them demonstrated otherwise.
When Ruger is asked about their chambers, 5.56mm is the least consistent answer from them.
One particular agency deploying the Mini used 5.56mm NATO ammo exclusively. When they showed all the usual signs of tight chambers, Ruger told them to stick to .223. Reaming a Mini chamber removes quite a bit of material.
Sum: Not a POS, not unserviceable, but it is what it is.
I would partly agree with what some others have said, but I am of the opinion that the Ruger Mini-14 series rifles are both reliable and durable. In my home state, this series of rifles is used by the California Highway Patrol, California Department of Corrections, and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office, one of the largest Sheriff’s offices in the United States.
The rifle has been used in numerous shootings successfully and would not be in current service if it was deemed un-reliable.
I have personally owned (2) Mini-14 rifles and (1) Mini-30 (7.62X39) rifle and have found them to be both reliable and dependable. My current rifle is a 188-series Ranch Rifle .223, which I have owned for approx. the last 15 years. I don’t know how many rounds that I have fired through the rifle but it is well in excess of 5-6K. There have been no parts failures and the rifle has been proven to be quite reliable. With a Leupold VX-II 3X9 variable it shoots around 2-3 inch groups at 100 Yards, depending on the ammo (shoots Black Hills 55 gr .223 best) sometimes less.
As a hunting rifle, I find to be light, accurate enough for varmints (jack rabbits/ coyotes) out to a couple of hundred yards and easy to carry. The manual of arms is easy enough to train new shooters on and the gun is compact enough to fit most people.
Is it as reliable or accurate as an AR pattern rifle? No. But it was not initially designed as a combat weapon or a target rifle. That said, I would have no quams about using the rifle for self-defense purposes. Because, a round of Hornandy .223 TAP from my $700 Mini-14 rifle would be just as deadly as one from my $3,000 Noveske.
SkiDevil
P.S. For some good information on the Mini-14 series rifles, a great reference book written By Duncan Long is "The Mini-14/ The Plinker, Hunter, Assault, and Everything Else Rifle. It covers the development of the rifle, magazines, acessories, and modifications to the gun.
I have an old mini that my dad got as a commemorative from his agency in the 80’s. Not very accurate and too hard to clean to even bother shooting. I should probably run a patch of CLP down the bore, but unaccurate rifles don’t interest me.
I’ve got a tapered barrel 580 series ranch rifle, excellent arm. Typical Ruger toughness and dependability, and it is chambered .556. I have no plans to trade it in. Runs great on the 30 round mag or the 20 rounder. Brass cased Remington or steel Wolf- both run equally well…A really fun arm!
for self defence the mini is great I dont know what some of these guys are talking about, mine is accurate enough not a match gun (duh) but if there is a man size target 50 - 75 yards away it had better start praying, comparing it to an AR is not fair, not even in the same league
comparing em to ARs is relevant… this is M4carbine.net.
i ditched mine because i have ARs… if i didn’t have ARs, or some other accurate semi-auto sport gun, i would have kept the mini. if all you have is the mini, then the mini is a useful weapon. if you have other more durable/reliable/accurate weapons, the mini14 is totally needless. that’s not to say someone is foolish for having one anyway, or anything like that- i’m just saying there’s absolutely nothing a mini can do that an AR cant.
mine was kind of fun… i got it when i was in the Army, and i didn’t own my own AR. Wolf 223 was only $85 per 1000 (yea, you could get .223 for less than 9 cents a round a decade ago), so you could afford to just blast away with abandon. now that sending 1 magazine down range costs me $12-$14, blasting TVs and shooting from the hip and crap is a thing of the past.
I had to qualify with a mini for ten years. (Dept issue) Mini-14 + cheep red box ammo = rounds hitting targets sideways at 25m. I did own one, but I had it barreled by ARS in Texas With a 24" walther barrel bedded in a laminated stock = 1 hole groups. I miss it, and it was cool, but you can get better accuracy from other platforms for less money. If I really wanted a small carbine like the Mini, I’d get a .30 carbine M-1 and shoot soft points. However, in Commiefornia, the 15/30 round mags mean getting some custom cut down. A tanker Garand might fit the bill.
In the mid -90’s, I had a Mini-30 that I spent a metric ton of cash to try and get it to work right…no dice! It went back to Ruger who claimed everything from I had used surplus 7.62X39 ammo (wrong American Eagle NIB) to unauthorized mods to the gun (el wrongo again, nothing aside from cleaning it was done to it) Ultimately, I gave up on trying to get the gun to run even as a plinker and traded it for an Post Ban AR. Fast foward to a year ago, my old neighbor was given a Pre Ban Mini-14 with a fixed stock and a bunch (25) of factory mags. He knew zero about guns but wanted to keep it and learn about it, shoot it etc. He had it checked out by Ruger certified 'smith who gave it a clean bill of health (yay). Well, after a frustrating day at the range for both of us, he decided to sell the Mini because of horrendous accuracy and reliability. He was upset that no matter what he tried 5 or 8 rounds later a malfunction would occur. With that I got him to purchase a Colt 6920 and he really loves it. I had heard that if Mini-14/30 works right from the get go keep it, if not you will be frustrated from day one…
the only problem i had with mine was a bent extractor due to some gay failure to feeds due to some GAY KKK 30 round mags. Apparently KKK actually makes some decent stuff these days, but man they made crap back in the day.
