Just about forty years ago,

[2ndovc]

My mom and I bought my dad the Mini-14 he had been obsessing about for Christmas.
I was 16 and all summer long I had been saving my money from taking care of his rental properties, cleaning up job sites and trucking the stuff to the dump. When school started again in the fall, I didn't have quite enough to pay for the whole thing. I told my mom what my plan had been and she volunteered to make up the difference. Mom spent a couple of days calling every gun shop she could find without much luck when she found a stainless version on the east side of Cleveland.
Dad couldn't believe that we had pulled it off without him finding out, but was thrilled with it.
Over the last forty years, that little carbine has traveled a lot. Many, many trips to our cabin and when he set sail for the Caribbean in the summer of '03, the little Ruger went with him. While island hopping around the islands, he was becoming more and more concerned that when he would check in at the various customs offices, that he wouldn't get it back. He brought it back to the States on a trip home for some medical stuff and left it here. I sent an old H&R, 12 ga. back with him and he never had any more issues with customs officers.
he still has the Mini and though he doesn't shoot it much anymore, he'll never part with it.

I've had a couple of Mini Thirties, but haven't had much luck with them. I came across this one a couple of months ago and thought I'd give it another try with a 5.56. I'm quite happy with this one.

Fifty yards with open sights, it shot very well, especially with the 62 gr. Federals. As expected, groups opened up with the 55 gr PMCs.
I'm sure I could cut those groups in half, but I don't think I want to put a scope on it.



Even though I'll end up with my dad's someday, this one is a keeper.

jb

[Ysabel Kid]

Great story Jason!

[Grizz]

good stories from good memories. Thanks

[Griff]

[2ndovc]

Thanks guys!

I'll have to get my dad out to the range and have him put some ammo through his Mini. He shoots handguns all winter long while he's in FL, but getting him away from the boat in the summer isn't easy.

jb

[Scott Tschirhart]

I love the Mini-14. Such a useful rifle.

[2ndovc]

That's one of the cool ones! I had one briefly that I'd picked up as a police trade for a real deal. A friend of mine wanted it so bad that he finally agreed to trade for a 3 1/2" model 27 that I really wanted. Ruger has reproductions of those stocks available again, but haven't decided if I want one or not. I like the stock that's on it now. Who knows, the ADD may kick in again and I'll order one.

jb

[piller]

I am not totally sure why so many of the Mini 30s are not very accurate. I would bet it has something to do with barrel being same outer diameter as the Mini 14 with a bigger bore resulting in a little bit thinner walls. There are a few Mini 30s which are decently accurate. They can be accurized, but that runs into some bucks. An AK or an SKS is probably more accurate in most cases. I think a fluted barrel would help without adding too much weight.

[AJMD429]

.
I remember getting my first mini-14 as a teenager and it was pretty cool. Of course back then teenagers weren't particularly interested in joining gangs or shooting up schools. But we did like to shoot guns...!

[2ndovc]

I am not totally sure why so many of the Mini 30s are not very accurate. I would bet it has something to do with barrel being same outer diameter as the Mini 14 with a bigger bore resulting in a little bit thinner walls. There are a few Mini 30s which are decently accurate. They can be accurized, but that runs into some bucks. An AK or an SKS is probably more accurate in most cases. I think a fluted barrel would help without adding too much weight.

You're probably on to something with the barrel. I put quite a bit of cash into the last one and I was still able to shoot circles around it with a 50 year old Chinese SKS. That and the feeding issues really put me off.

So far the new 14 has chewed up about 300 rounds w/o an issue. I'd still like to do something with the rear sight. It would be cool to have one that's easier to adjust.


Doc,
I know what you mean. I had better things to do than cause problems with a firearm.

jb