Mini-14, c'mon down!

[Oh Shoot]

Dunno what those are .. CDNN has usually had ProMag options there in the past, but have also had other "off brand" ones too.

 

Couldn't say what those cheapies actually are. Somebody who cares, call 'em up and ask?

 

- OS

[whitewolf001]

Just got off the phone with em, they know they're US made... Me: "So you DON'T know who makes these?"  CS rep: "Mmmmmm............. no sir."

[JAB]

Just got off the phone with em, they know they're US made... Me: "So you DON'T know who makes these?"  CS rep: "Mmmmmm............. no sir."

 

Elves.  Gotta be elves.

 

Oh, well, looks like if I do get a Mini 14 I had better look for 'Factory' in the description of any mags I might buy as 'O.E.' apparently doesn't mean, well, O.E.

 

Thanks, all!

[surfabilly]

Aw, man, I also hope that some company isn't doing something sneaky like that. It would be akin to a band calling themselves 'Free Beer' so that their flyers could read, "Come out to ___ this Friday night for Free Beer! (Actually, I think there was such a band on the local scene when I was going to U.T.)

i always thought the name 'free beer, no cover' would be marketing genius.

tonight only! free beer, no cover.

[tnhawk]

I've had a 6.8 Mini-14 since 2008.  ProMag is the only thing available other the 5 round Ruger mags.  It's fun to shoot but the 6.8 round and accuracy limit it's use.

[Clod Stomper]

I have an old-school Mini-30.  I can attest that the accuracy was pretty hideous.  Slung up and in prone, the point of impact would wander as the barrel heated up.  It was predictable.  It would print a "J" shaped group at 25 yards, moving 2-3 inches in the process.  That is up to 12 minutes of angle!  

 

Being a tinkerer, I couldn't help but spend more time and money than the carbine is worth to improve the accuracy.  I had the barrel cryo-treated.  That solved the lateral POI movement.  I had the barrel shortened and threaded and added a muzzle attachment.  That helped the vertical stringing.  Before I did those things, I added a "stabilizer bar" under the barrel.  That also helped the vertical stringing.  

After the mods, I didn't put the stabilizer lug back on.  It seems to be acceptably accurate now.  That's with Wolf ammo.  I suspect that if I handloaded some good ammo, the groups would shrink more.

 

I'm not a benchrest shooter by any means.  4 MOA is barely acceptable and 2 MOA is plenty accurate as far as I'm concerned.  But 12 MOA just will not do.  I'd rather have a shotgun.  

 

I need to dig out that old Mini.  I haven't messed with it in a while.

[whitewolf001]

Just took er out for a function test yesterday while visiting with the family. Chewed through the Wolf Gold like it was a fat kid and M&M's. I had trouble with one of the two mags I had, it was a non-standard Ruger mag. Feed lips were bent to the point they were physically stopping the bolt from going forward. So I used some precision skills and mashed the feed lips onto the metal table top which fixed that one issue, well aside from not having a front sight anyways. Slow fired the first fifteen rounds, then popped em off as fast as I could to try and simulate any failures but no issues came up. I must say that light trigger was nice compared to most AR's I've fired, had to be around the five pound margin and may have even had some trigger work done unless you other Mini fellers can attest to the triggers being that light?

[dawgdoc]

Earlier in the thread you asked about Tech Sites.  I have a newer Mini (bought shortly before Newtown caused prices to go crazy), and the Tech Sites are a gigantic improvement over the factory sites.  It's nice not having to use an allen wrench on both sides, and then re-tighten it after just 10 rounds.

 

I have only used Ruger magazines based on Internet advice.  I had a Pro-Mag, but it consistently failed to feed, although at the time, the extractor was also bad and was probably contributing to the problem.

[eRay]

I just got some Ruger factory 20rd mini 14 mags from Midway. They have them on clearance for $19.95.

[whitewolf001]

I just got some Ruger factory 20rd mini 14 mags from Midway. They have them on clearance for $19.95.

And I totally didn't buy seven of them last Thursday either...

Edited April 21, 2014 by whitewolf001

[Oh Shoot]

..I must say that light trigger was nice compared to most AR's I've fired, had to be around the five pound margin and may have even had some trigger work done unless you other Mini fellers can attest to the triggers being that light?

 

I guess mine are about that ... two stage, take up slack to tight, just a tiny bit of creep before decently clean break.

 

- OS

Edited April 21, 2014 by Oh Shoot

[eRay]

And I totally didn't buy seven of them last Thursday either...

 

You better get more. I bought 20 the first time, then they sent me a code for free shipping and I ordered 10 more.

[DAdams]

[Moped]

If you are looking for magazines, then you are about to find out about the other bad thing with Mini 14s. Mag's can be hard to find unless they are promags and when you find them, they are very expensive. I've had two of them. Now I have a Saiga in. 223. Utterly reliable, a bit more accurate and mag's are cheap.

[whitewolf001]

The mags I'm not super worried about, got a good deal from Midway(I know, hard to believe that good deal and Midway could be used in the same sentence).

 

Well I got the front sight on er, it took some... coercion. Needless to say, my new front sight has some brass markings on it but then, you wouldn't even notice that compared to the marring on the finish the last douchenozzle left on er.