240 towles
master of puppets
I paid 550 OTD for mine..... 10 years ago.
Does anyone have a Ruger Mini 14
- Thread starter Doitsouthstyle
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For years Mini 14s had a reputation for mediocre accuracy, apparently due to the thin pencil barrel. I believe Ruger introduced a heavier barrel a few years ago.
This Model 5847 looks like it has a heavier barrel.
Have they made a significant improvement in the accuracy?
I know that Ruger upgraded some of the line tooling and I think made the barrel slightly heavier when they redid the Mini back in the early 2000's.
I have a 182 series (pre-change, mid-1990's) and a 580 series (post change, mid-2000's) and the latter does indeed shoot a little bit better.
sgt23preston
USMC LLA. NRA Life Member
I had a top of the line Stainless Steel TARGET model with a Harmonic Balancer on the end of the barrel ($927.50 in 2011)...
In theory the weight & barrel were threaded & the weight could be moved to match the harmonics of many different bullets = IT DID NOT WORK PERIOD...
Regardless of bullet type or weight...
The good thing was it never failed to fire & was 100% reliable...
At it's best the accuracy was 4.5" @ 100 yards with a 20 power Nikon scope on it with a bi-pod under the front end (WTF?)...
I was finally able to get the accuracy down to 2.5" @ 100 yards by switching to 50 grain bullets & had the trigger reworked to a 2.5 pound target trigger...
It had a Bull Barrel, BUT it was cut down to standard diameter at the Heat Shield...
I finally sold it after 2000 rounds due to poor accuracy (for a Target Model)...
My best advice ($$$) is to buy a good AR from one of our local IP's.
Get a 20 inch long Bull Barrel for accurate work...
You'll be a lot happier & have a lot more options...
In theory the weight & barrel were threaded & the weight could be moved to match the harmonics of many different bullets = IT DID NOT WORK PERIOD...
Regardless of bullet type or weight...
The good thing was it never failed to fire & was 100% reliable...
At it's best the accuracy was 4.5" @ 100 yards with a 20 power Nikon scope on it with a bi-pod under the front end (WTF?)...
I was finally able to get the accuracy down to 2.5" @ 100 yards by switching to 50 grain bullets & had the trigger reworked to a 2.5 pound target trigger...
It had a Bull Barrel, BUT it was cut down to standard diameter at the Heat Shield...
I finally sold it after 2000 rounds due to poor accuracy (for a Target Model)...
My best advice ($$$) is to buy a good AR from one of our local IP's.
Get a 20 inch long Bull Barrel for accurate work...
You'll be a lot happier & have a lot more options...
For years Mini 14s had a reputation for mediocre accuracy, apparently due to the thin pencil barrel. I believe Ruger introduced a heavier barrel a few years ago.
This Model 5847 looks like it has a heavier barrel.
Have they made a significant improvement in the accuracy?
It wasn't just the thin barrel, it was the barrel twist. When Philly decided that they wanted to issue the Mini 14 as a patrol rifle, I was able to wring it out pretty well. Wow, what a disappointment!
Even with reloads that shot MOA with an AR, the best you could get was 3 inch groups with the Mini 14. It was called the AAC 118 or something like that and had a flash hider and bayonet lug.
I found out many years later that the problem was with the 1 in 12 twist, the same they used in their varmint guns that caused the problem. Today they have a 1 in 9 and are much more accurate.
That said, unless you are rich, mags will eat you up.
august1410
Marcas Registradas
I have a 180 series, 1976 Model. It's a pretty rifle. 30 round factory magazine set me back almost $50. I don't shoot it as much as I thought I would. My daughter shoots it more than I do.
I'm not really much of a rifle guy, but I bought it because I had a brief itch that needed to be scratched. I like .223/5.56, but I am not much of an AR kinda guy. I haven't really shot it more than 50 yards out. My impression is when it gets hot (and that thin barrel of the early ones really gets hot), it's sorta all over the place. Of course, I am not much of a rifle shooter, so some of that could be me.
It's a fun rifle. It's cheap to shoot. However, now I understand why the A-Team never hit anyone.
I'm not really much of a rifle guy, but I bought it because I had a brief itch that needed to be scratched. I like .223/5.56, but I am not much of an AR kinda guy. I haven't really shot it more than 50 yards out. My impression is when it gets hot (and that thin barrel of the early ones really gets hot), it's sorta all over the place. Of course, I am not much of a rifle shooter, so some of that could be me.
It's a fun rifle. It's cheap to shoot. However, now I understand why the A-Team never hit anyone.
5.56blaster
Ultimate Member
5.56blaster
Ultimate Member
From my cold dead hands.
august1410
Marcas Registradas
I may not shoot it much, but I think I'm gonna hold onto it for a while.
Makanik
Active Member
I will say towards the end of last year I started having problems with my first Mini14 a 182 series. I continued with it for a while trying to work the bugs out but never did. With many FTE and FTL I called Ruger. They were great to deal with. They gave me a couple things to try and said if it does not work to contact them again. Well I had to contact them again. Once again they were great. 3 weeks later they gave me a brand new rifle a 183 series and never asked for any of the accessories back from the older one. With that I now have 4 magazines which was really nice. The note that was received by the FFL read catastrophic failure malfunction replaced unit. I have had zero issues with the new one except I can never find all the brass it ejects lol.
5.56blaster
Ultimate Member
This is my point when I say AR. Both are fine firearms (I think my AR is much more accurate) but with the AR platform its user friendly. The Ruger not so much. Try having the machine gun version of this repaired. Its a giant PITA! I don't even think Ruger works on them anymore. If your AR has an issue it can for the most part be repaired easy and cheap by the owner.
Doitsouthstyle
Active Member
Well thank you guys for all the input I really appreciate. So most likely if I walk OTD under $800 I am not being bent over giving today's market. I may already have a few ARs that may or may not have been lost in a horrible boating accident. But looking for another gun that shoots .223/5.56 so any other suggestions would be taken into consideration. I did stop this morning at LGS and had one on the rack new for $815 but going to shop around this week and see what turns up.
dreadpirate
Ultimate Member
I think an AR is more cost effective - FWIW.
dreadpirate
Ultimate Member
My advice to people right now; go out and buy an AR stripped lower, or perhaps even two.
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