Ruger mini-14 rifle question?

[mg357]

Dear S&W forum, over the weekend i watched a documentary about the U.S. Navy Seals and one of the Seals was carrying a Ruger mini-14 rifle with a stock that folded under the rifle. Now here is my question. Have American military units ever used the Ruger mini-14 rifle? sincerely and respectfully mg357 a proud member of the S&W forum.

 

[safearm]

A couple of questions: Are you sure it was a Mini-14 and not a M-1/M-2 carbine? What was the date of the documentary? If it was during the Vietnam war, it was most likely a M-1 or M-2 carbine with a folding stock (the Mini-14 was introduced in 1974). I never heard of any US military unit carrying the Mini-14, although a very few foreign military units were equipped with them (Bermuda and Honduras according to Wikipedia). It would not be unusual for a US special ops unit to carry the same weapon as a foreign unit they were working with, so it's not outside the realm of possibility that a SEAL unit training with the Honduran military could have carried a Mini-14, but that's a long shot.

 

[29aholic]

There is/was the Ruger AC556 that was a select fire version of the Mini-14. Factory Ruger folding stocks fold to the side, and the butt folds up to a stud on the forearm to keep it from unfolding by accident. I've never seen an underfolder on a Mini.

 

[A10]

I'm not aware of any standardized use of the Mini 14, I do know there were some mercs back in the 80's that used them, and that the USSOCOM can use pretty much anything they can buy. I've never seen an underfolding stock for one though.

 

[1 old 0311]

There were THOUSANDS of American Viet Vets that went to Rhodesia after Vietnam. The Mini was very popular with the Americans who worked 'Security' or guards on farms. The Rhodesian army usually carried the FN FAL.

 

[Class III]

Federal Ordnance manufactured an underfolding stock for the Mini-14.

Class III

 

[ColbyBruce]

The military M14 rifle was offered with both a underfolding (Type III) and sidefolding (Type V) stock. That is probably what you saw.

 

[Rule3]

The military M14 rifle was offered with both a underfolding (Type III) and sidefolding (Type V) stock. That is probably what you saw.

Wew!. I thought you were gonna say it was a Glock rifle!

 

[K1500]

In addition, the A-Team carried Mini's. Their experience matched mine in that they were very inaccurate. They never could hit anybody!

 

[novalty]

In addition, the A-Team carried Mini's. Their experience matched mine in that they were very inaccurate. They never could hit anybody!

I have a Mini-14 Ranch Rifle, and find it to be plenty accurate for it's intended purpose of varmint control.

 

[canoeguy]

If it was a documentary made by New Dominion Pictures, it may have been a re-enactment using whatever weapons they had laying around, weapons not meant to be period accurate.

They do a lot of picture shooting in the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area of Virginia, the City of Virginia Beach helps them out with police cars and officers a lot.

I've seen a lot of thier documentarys where the bad guy is toting a Daisy BB gun that looks like a 1911 pistol, others where SWAT teams are armed with SKS's, that sort of thing. I enjoy watching thier shows to catch the gun in-accuracies.

Here's a link to their web-site:

New Dominion Pictures / Home

 

[max]

The Mini was introduced in 74 and Vietnam was about over by then.

 

[GatorFarmer]

The factory Mini14 folding stock looks "sort of" like an underfolder, though it folds to the side. The Mini14 actually was in U.S. inventory for a while. Marine guards at Embassies had them. Saw photos of them in the arms rooms, etc. No, I don't know why they had them either. I think DSS also had them. I suppose that it is possible that if a Naval Special Warfare team was training with embassy folks one might have been used. Or it could have been used for training since a wide variety of domestic and foreign small arms were, and are, fired for training and familiarization.

Supposedly a few may have been used in South and Central America during the 1980s - commercial availability making them deniable presumably.

 

[rimfired]

I bought a used SS Mini in @ '93. Original box and came with a Fed. Ord. underfolder wood/steel stock. I sold the underfolder stock for more than I paid for the package.
Still have the Mini. Max is correct, no Ruger Mini's in Nam.

 

[John Frederick Bell]

I don't have the book at hand, but Dick Marcinko's autobiography mentions the formation of SEAL Team 6 and lists some of the hardware he wanted. Pretty sure he made specific reference to ordering - and getting - a case of stainless Mini-14s.

I'll have to dig it up and see if I can find that part.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Dear S&W forum, over the weekend i watched a documentary about the U.S. Navy Seals and one of the Seals was carrying a Ruger mini-14 rifle with a stock that folded under the rifle. Now here is my question. Have American military units ever used the Ruger mini-14 rifle? sincerely and respectfully mg357 a proud member of the S&W forum.

The A team has used them.

 

[novalty]

The A team has used them.

Caj, I like you to refer to Post#9 paragraph 1, sentence 1.

 

[ogilvyspecial]

There were THOUSANDS of American Viet Vets that went to Rhodesia after Vietnam. The Mini was very popular with the Americans who worked 'Security' or guards on farms. The Rhodesian army usually carried the FN FAL.

Speaking of Rhodesia & the FN FAL, here's a close friend with his FN while serving with the Rhodesian Light Infantry (RLI.)

 

[AKAOV1MAN]

Seal team 6 was not formed till after VN. So Marcinko could well have bought some Minis. Mini 14s were found in some arms rooms at various diplomatic stations/embassies, as well as for civilian use at US military installations, security guards and the like. Minis were used by some fed LE types for a long time and still are found in some armorys around. The most use of the Minis by government were at various prisons for tower guards as the Mini is very easy to train personnel with. Moreover they are very reliable and prison weapons frequently get minimal care but are used everyday-just not shot a lot. I have had Minis for many years and the newer guns are head and shoulders above the previous guns, but even the old guns could be made to be quite accurate by a good smith. I like them very much and one is in the back of my work car as I write this.

 

[PWJones0]

Seals & Mini-14

I can only say that I work with a former USN Seal, recently I told him that I was thinking about buying something in 223 / 5.56 NATO. He told me that while he dearly loved the AR-15,
when it came to trusting his life to a rifle he would choose a Mini-14. Guess what.
I recently purchased a Tactical Mini-14 in 5.56 NATO I chose the standard synthetic stock over the folding model.