Gentlemen,

I just got a new stainless Ruger Mini-14 ranch rifle and am getting ready to start the testing of different factory ammos...to see which ones produce the best accuracy (and yes, I know that Mini-14's are not noted for extreme accuracy). Does anyone have any current experience in what the new Mini's have an appetite for? Do they stablize the lighter weight bullets OK?

Thanks for your input.

Rafter-S

I'm sure not an ammo expert but I have owned several Mini-14's. As a matter of fact I still have a Ranch Rifle and a factory folder Standard Mini-14.
I've always used 55gr 223 ammo, not 556 in Ruger Mini-14's. There's a difference.
I have good luck on target with Winchester 55gr 223.

Be sure to use FACTORY 5, 20 & 30 round magazines in your rifle. All the internet **** about Mini-14's jamming is posted by those using aftermarket mags . They're are a great little semi-auto.

GF

I know that this is not an answer to your ammo question but may be of interest as it seems to make the Mini-14 more accurate.
Har-Bar Mini-14 Accurizer

+1 on the factory mags, as for as ammo i get what ever i can (no wolf) i love my ss gb!

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WILL WORK FOR AMMO!

The Mini 14 at 100 yards with peep sights is a minute of pie plate weapon which is what it is designed for (actually I can shoot 5" groups standing offhand with mine) . If you want a 1" 200 yard gun, buy a tricked out AR or get one of those Remington BOlt actions that Giz has.
I paid $400 for mine plus $60 for a Williams peep sight and I'm good with it. Totally industructable and it goes bang every time I pull the trigger.
Oh and +1 on the factory mags-I have 5 20's and 5 30's all factory.

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Forum consigliere

I've had my ranch rifle since 1997. It devours what ever I feed it. With my scope it will do will at 200 yds 8". It is not an AR, but it was less than 1/2 the cost.

55gr .223 If you want repeatable shots/groups from your gun, don't get in a hurry or blast through a magazine. The barrel gets 'warm' fast.

The last round out of a mini14 mag is always a flyer, do not shoot the last one for record.

They originally came with a 5 round mag. Normally, the first 3 or 4 rounds from a cold barrel are pretty tight, the 5th from a 5 rounder will be a flyer. New mag will start stringing the hits up and right as the barrel warms up.

Let it get dead cold again, and those first few shots will be dead on again.

They like 55 gr 223 as mentioned above.

They were designed to shoot that way when heated up. It was part of the two-in-one cost saving measure. It's a low-tech reliable sniper rifle when cold, and automatically becomes an area-fire suppresive-fire weapon after the sniper shots have been taken.

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I use .223 Wolf, cheap and they work just fine.

The best Mini-14 site on the web.


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WALSTIB

Good luck and don't set your expectations very high. The mini 14s I've owned, including the one I currently own, shoots patterns...not groups...
They are good, tough, reliable little shooters, but accurate they are not. Great guns for a gunfight but definitely not a 400 yard varmint rifle. There are several mini 14 gunsmiths who specialize in accurizing Rugers, where you can spend several hundred dollars to raise it to near the accuracy level of a low end Remington 700 straight out of the box.

I've always heard this about the Mini 14s, but I thought that Ruger made some improvements to the new models, and they are now suppposed to have much better accuracy, and repeated shot accuracy. Does anyone have one of the new models that can speak to accuracy (even after multiple shots)?

I've considered getting one, but have a few ARs, and would only be interested in getting the Mini 14 if it is indeed 'improved.' I think they are great looking/handling rifles...

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NRA Life Member

I have one of the new Mini-14's and also an older rifle.

The new one will shoot inch and a half groups at 100 yds with 55 grain bullet loads. The older one about 2 1/2 to 4 inches, depending on the ammo, but I have seen some older minis that wouldn't do that.

So yes the accuracy is much improved on the newer ones.

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too TOO young!!

Good information; thanks for the post... Local GS has one on the shelf for $599 (I think...), so this is now on my 'list.' Thanks again.

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NRA Life Member

This post gets my circulation going on my new Ranch Rifle. I was hoping the new ones would shoot a little better than the Mini-14's of yester-year. I had one in the early 90's and it was one of those "pattern shooters" with most ammos. I did find a Winchester round it liked, but beer can size groups was all it would do at 100 yards...and that particular Winchester ammo was expensive.

I have a Leupold 3x fixed power scope for the new rifle as soon as I set the peeps. But before anything can be done, this cold, windy weather has to go back where it came from. It's too miserable to even think out there the past couple of days, much less zero in a rifle.

Thanks again, men, for all your experiences and suggestions.

Rafter-S

I don't have one, but if you search on the web you'll find that they improved the mounting of the gas block assembly and that is the primary reason for the supposedly vastly improved accuracy.

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NRA Life Member

You can always get this one with the "Harmonic Balance thingy" Very heavy rifle, not a truck gun.

Ruger® Mini-14® Target Ranch Rifle - Laminate Autoloading Rifle

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Still Running Against the Wind