VaqueroAZ

I've had my mini since the late '70s. Maybe it doesn't look as good as when it was new, but 30 + years later it still works as good as new! I ain't getting rid of it!
God Bless
Daryl

SBHylander

Well I did make it out to the range today. Gorgeous day. Low 60s, cool air, sun shining, and last day of vacation.

Anyways, it was my first outing with the Mini and it went much better than I thought it was going to. I shot 60 rounds of PMC Bronze .223 55 Grain FMJ and 20 rounds of PMC X-TAC 55 Grain XP193 (5.56mm). I had zero FTF or FTE. I don't have a scope yet, so it was just the iron sights that came mounted on the rifle. I only had 100 yard targets, but I only shot from 50 yards sitting at a bench (without bag). Out of the 80 rounds, only 5 or 6 were outside the black on the target so I was pretty happy with that since not only is it a new rifle, it's actually my very first rifle.

I thought the ATI Stock was fine. I was actually extremely shocked at how little recoil there is shooting the Mini. I was expecting more recoil than what I experienced. The only real issue I had was I have a Howard Leight Impact Sport Electronic headset and I was having trouble finding a comfortable position with the cheek rest and being able to see through the sight without interfering and rubbing against my headset. I think once I have scope mounted it won't be much of an issue.

heymatthew

My father-in-law has been in the hospital the last few days so I haven't had any time to get out and about. This morning I hit the family farm for a few minutes to spend some time with my new Mini 14.

HOLY CRAP. I feel like such an idiot for not buying one of these sooner. I had to adjust the sights a good bit to get it where it needed to be, but once I did, it held consistent groups. I shot three different kinds of ammunition (20 rounds each): American Eagle .223 FMJ, Wolf Steel Cased .223 and some kind of Mil-Surp .556 that I picked up along with the other two boxes at the local shop. It came in a nondescript brown box so I don't know the brand. All 60 rounds shot flawlessly and held similar points of impact if I did my part. I was only shooting at about 25-50 yards. At first (on the left target) I was shooting from a rest to get the rifle sighted in. Once I was where I wanted to be, I tried off-hand shooting at different distances and stances. I had a few rounds left and got started on the bottom target (the one on the right) and was really pleased to see how it did on a clean target where I could really see my shots. I'm sure the rifle is far more accurate than I am. It's minute-of-potato (which are a blast to shoot) and that's all I need. It's just a range plinker so I'm really, really pleased with the way it shoots.

I just ordered about 400 rounds of ammunition for it. Probably should have doubled that because I can see that this thing is gonna be F-U-N!

Thanks for all the feedback guys. Enjoy your weekend and I'll keep updating with my results.

Best,
Matthew

Dixiejack

Going to buy a mini ranch rifle tomorrow if Walmart still has one. No one in 40 miles of me has any AR's and I really am drawn to the mini. Local Walmart SS has a couple of mini's for $647.00 plus tax and a Bushmaster Patrolman for $929.00 + tax. I can buy a lot of ammo with the difference. Mainly I'm looking for a truck gun. Plan to put an old 1.5 X 4.5 Weaver that I've had for 30 years on it. Get a couple of 10 rd. an 20 rd. mags. and I should be in business or will be posting complaints like I read on the forum. LOL

Grew up using a stock 1903A3 for deer hunting and the Army taught me all about M1's and M14's, so I am partial to wood stock military rifles. Had experience with the black rifle" and never liked it.

heymatthew

I went to Walmart this morning and they had the Ranch for $667 so if you can get it for $647, that's even better. And you're right, you can buy a lot of ammo for the difference between that and the Bushmaster. My Mini shoots the steel-case TulAmmo just fine so you may want to try that. It's just under $5 per box of 20 which is an awesome deal. I bought 10 boxes 2 days ago and am taking the whole lot of it out to the range this weekend.

Let us know how you fare with the Mini search!

qcarr

Dixiejack - glad you're getting a Mini! I, too, like the wood stock because of the traditional M1/M-14 feel. I now own both a wood stock 185-xxxx and a synthetic stock (standard, not ATI) 582-xxxx Mini-14 Tactical and love both of them.

Pretty cool that you can get a Ranch Rifle at Walmart! I was shocked the first time I saw one at a local store.

NY Ruger

Glad to hear all are having a blast with 'em.
One of these days I have to get myself one of the newer Mini14's.
My old one (late 70's) is a hoot to shoot, but yea it's somewhere around a 4moa carbine.

If you've never shot an M1 Carbine, if you ever get a chance, try one.
Even more fun, if you can believe it.
The 10/22 was designed to have the same lines of the M1 Carbine.

Lots of little pieces of historic guns designed into the lines of these Rugers carbines.

ijustdontknow

Love my new mini 14 ranch. I've only had it to the indoor range twice, but it's such a joy to shoot. Plus it's really loud in the indoor range!

I only have 10 round mags because that's the maximum in CA. I did stick with the Ruger factory mags hoping to avoid any issues.

For now I'm shooting the iron sights but these old eyes just aren't the same as when I was 16.

Enjoy!