It was screaming my name. Actually I’ve been looking for a cheap mini 14 for a while. 400 cash.

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No gold. Only lead. Bobby

Yep, I would have too at that price level. I haven’t seen an early 180 prefix mini 14 in good condition in probably 15 years. Good find and excellent deal!

I hope it shoots good. I’ve heard the older ones can have accuracy issues. Also if anyone knows where to get a barrel strut I’d like to get one. All of the ones I find are for 181 series and up, not the 180 series. Mfg around 77-78.

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No gold. Only lead. Bobby

Congrats on getting it. I like it!

You can start here, there are others but these folks claim to be the original version. Good luck, enjoy.

The Original Barrel Strut for Mini-14s

Nice........I've got one of the newer heavy barrel models (NRA).

I like the factory 20 round mags for SHTF moments...... but find that the factory 10round mags meet most of my needs without looking tactical..... not quit flush fit.

I also added a little weaver 1-3x20 scope..... don't think you can easily scope those early guns.

Enjoy..........

I have owned a bunch of Ruger Mini’s; none of them shot well at all. In fact, I doubt I could of committed suicide with four of them. I never had a Mini malfunction on me except the two that had USA brand mags. Factory mags fixed that problem.

I got MOMP results using factory Winchester 64 grain SP ammo; this is a good hunting load. This is pricey ammo, not for plinking. There are scope mounts that attach to the left side of the receiver.

My cousin Jeff (who did and still does own a well regarded ammunition company) convinced me in the mid 1980s to save up for a Colt SP1 rather than get a Mini 14. I took his advice and found that a Colt SP1 would shoot consistent 1.5 MOA groups with good quality 55 gr FMJ.

Thus it was about 25 more years before I bought a Mini 14. My first was a 184 series Mini-14 with a barrel that a previous owner had shortened to 16" and added a Tech Sight rear sight in a quest for better accuracy. The general rule is that the owners of accurate Mini 14s don't sell them, so unless it's from an estate sale, a used Mini-14 probably isn't going to be all that accurate, more often than not.

That was true in this case as well, despite the improvements as it was a 3 to 4 MOA rifle. This is a 50 yard target and pretty representative of it's accuracy:



However after adding an Accu Strut for improved barrel stability, a smaller .045" gas bushing for reduced recoil impulse and related harmonics, a recoil buffer for reduced recoil related vibration, a Choate handguard for better cooling, and a Choate Browning style flash hider for better barrel harmonics, it was shooting like this at 50 yards:



My second Mini 14 was a 187 series Ranch Rifle that was surplus from the NC department of corrections. It had a huge and very hideous 7 oz combination front sight, flash hider and bayonet mount that made it shoot so low that the rear sight was useless. They scoped them, so it didn't matter. But it shot 3/4" groups at 50 yards.



My goal with it was to get it back on the paper with iron sights with decent looks while preserving the accuracy. It also got a Tech Sight rear sight, an Accu Strut, a .045" gas bushing, a recoil buffer and Choate hand guard and flash hider. And when all was said and done, it also shot 3/4" at 50 yards. It subsequently got a new walnut stock as well.



Ultimately I put a 2-7 Leupold scope on it, since I had a short range Mini 14 already. The longer length of pull in the new stock was also better suited to a scope. It's proven to be 1.5 MOA accurate out to 350 yards.



In my experience then, the old skinny barrel Mini 14s and Ranch Rifles can be made to shoot well, and in fact can be made into what they arguably should have been when new.



That said, I'd leave a 180 series Mini-14 alone for two reasons:

1) Parts are very hard to find for them, so they are not good candidates for shooters. If you break it, you'll have problems getting it fixed and Ruger's support for them now is very limited.

2) They are becoming collectible, so they have more value as collector rifles than they do as shooters.

I replaced the front sight and installed an Accu-strut on my old Mini-14 and it did improve the accuracy. I love the Mini-14.

Another advantage for the Mini (so far) is that it usually flies under the radar when the "assault weapon" hysteria hits the news. I guess it's not scary looking enough.

I’ll get out and shoot it in a bit. If it can hit coyotes it will be perfect for me

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No gold. Only lead. Bobby

Ok I put 100 rounds through it. It will be a great coyote/woods gun. Only one problem. The bolt doesn’t always close completely. The hammer will push it shut when I pull the trigger. But doesn’t hit the firing pin when this happens. I’m betting on a weak recoil spring. Any thoughts? I see wolf extra power springs but as old as it is probably just a new stock spring.

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No gold. Only lead. Bobby

I like Mini 14s carried on with factory folding stock in my squad car. No the most accurate rifle but would shoot minute of body at 100 yards, easy to handle.
I found Mini 14s only work well with factory magazines no after market ones ever functioned for me.
I currently have blued GB model in 184 serial number range with factory folding stock that I shoot often, will have to try the 62 grain bullets.

Minis did have following in law enforcement and corrections and ask the French police bout them, they still are using them.

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SWCA 1932 SWHF 135

The Mini-14 and Ranch Rifles were on the "exempt" list in the last proposed ban legislation.

The "Ruger Mini 30", and "Ruger Mini-14 (w/o folding or telescoping stock or pistol grip)" are still on the exempt list in the current proposed legislation. It's obviously badly written as based on how it's written you could put a folding stock on a Mini 30 and still sell it as an exempt weapon.

The “Ruger PC4" and “Ruger PC9" are also still on the ban list.
Ironically enough,“SKS type rifles with fixed 10 round magazine and standard fixed stock" are also on the list.

So all the Ruger carbines with detachable large capacity magazines get a pass, while the functionally identical SKS can't have a detachable magazine.

Part of Ruger's more or less ban proof status is the fact that the Mini 14 doesn't look as scary or as military as the AR-15, AK-47/AKM/AK-74 clones, or apparently the SKS. Most of it however is that Bill Ruger was not opposed to banning high capacity magazines and Ruger as a company is still, 15 years after his death, seen in a different light than other gun companies when the anti-gunners start writing legislation.

It's a good idea to replace the recoil spring on any used semi-automatic.

Stay with the standard power spring however. Mini 14s are over gassed, and a smaller gas bushing is the way to slow down slide velocity. An "extra power" spring will just beat the gun up when the slide/bolt close.

The M1 Garand, M1 Carbine, M14, and the Mini-14 all use an L shaped firing pin that fits in a slot cut in the receiver bridge. This means the firing pin cannot contact the primer until the bolt has rotated all the way closed.

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My thoughts are that the problem with it not going all the way forward into battery is not the recoil spring, but more likely an issue with:

1) The slide not aligning properly with the gas pipe. The gas pipe is easy to replace however and the 180 series uses the same gas pipe as the later series Mini-14s.

2) The slide dragging on the stock.

3) The roller bearing on the bolt not running cleanly in the cut out in the slide.


Remove the action from the stock and remove the recoil spring. While you are at it, inspect the gas pipe for excessive wear, corrosion or pitting and see if there is any evidence of it striking the front the slide.

Re-assemble the rifle without the spring and guide rod installed and then check to make sure the slide moves freely back and forth in the stock. It should move under it's own weight when you tilt the rifle back and forth.

Check the slide to make sure it properly engaged the slot in the receiver, and ensure the roller is lubricated. This was an M-14 style feature as the M1 Garand, and M1 Carbine just used a stud with no roller. Ruger went back to just using a roller-less stud on the 181 series and later Mini-14s.

When you re-install the recoil spring and guide rod, make sure the guide rod is properly installed with the long side of the wedge on the barrel side of the cross pin. If it is installed upside down, it'll bind and that can cause alignment issues.

If any of the Mini’s I owned had fired a group this tight I would of sent the gun off and had it bronzed.

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The springs are probably fine. I would start with a thorough and detailed cleaning. After that, lightly lube and test fire again. That might solve a lot of problems.

That would have a negative effect on accuracy.

And it's a 50 yard group, so it's still only about 1.5-1.6 MOA, so don't get too exciting.

I cleaned it very good before I even loaded it. I clean all my firearms as soon as I get them, even brand new ones. I learned to do that with a 22 I bought new that wouldn’t function good. I ordered a new recoil spring (the wolf extra power is the only new spring I could find for a 180 series), but just for grins I stretched the old one about an inch longer. It works perfectly now. The bolt would slide back and forth with gravity fine. Put another 100 rounds through it with no malfunctions.

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No gold. Only lead. Bobby

$400.00, Great buy, nice rifle! I sure would have grabbed it!

You could pretty easily stay on a refrigerator box at 100 yds with the Mini 30 I had a number of years back . They are almost as accurate as a good Wrist Rocket .

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Grumpy Old Man With a Gun

I had a newer Mini about 5 years ago. I really like the action. I’m a big Garand guy. While the accuracy may not be as good as an AR, I stapled a 50 round empty box of 9MM ammo to a target at 50 yards. Iron sights and ripped pretty much as fast as I could and shredded it. Good enough for me.

Try Remington55gr PSP factory loads. It made my Mini 14 from the early 80`s a pretty good steel chicken rifle at 200 yds. With any other ammo it did not shoot nearly as well.
Jim

Tapco gen 2 mags function flawlessly and sell for 12-15$. Also Federal ordnance and PMI although they are hard to find.

Had one around 1983 or so. It would mount a scope but then field stripping and bolt removal was problematical; I wasn't that fond of it so I sent it down the road, later opted for an AR.

A few years later I dealt with a couple agency Minis that had been fired but not properly cleaned. Couldn't get the actions open; corrosion in the gas system. Did the M1 boot stamp to the op rod handle which did bust them open.

I think the factory's description of them as "the world's most expensive plinker" was about right.

Oddly enough I was interested for a while in the upsized "XGI" 7.62 version circa 1985 but Ruger abandoned the project. I actually got to look at one of the few made--before they went into the Ruger crypt.

Back in my cop days, a police supplier brought a bunch of guns to our range. One was a Ruger XGI. I got to shoot it. It was nice. Sure wish Ruger could have gotten all of the bugs out of it.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Congratulations! It happens! My last 1 like that was a P90. Had 1, and sold it. Not sure why??? Anyway, I picked this up for $300. Super clean, and fired little. It wasn't in my plans. Bob

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