Know going in it isn't a sniper rifle... In saying that they are good rifles to play with

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Yeah, not expecting it to be a tack driver, just something fun to plink with, and to keep on me when hiking.

 

$520 is a fair price but if you are in California it would be a great price. I'm not sure I would sell a pistol but if the deal is right.

kwg

 

I do more rifle shooting than pistol shooting, and have no emotional attachment to the pistol.

 

Others will disagree but I wouldn't buy that rifle.

I played with the old (181 prefix) Mini-14s years ago and I'm done with the Mini-14. Folks claim the new ones are far better in terms of accuracy and I'm certain that's true because they couldn't get much worse. This opinion is based on several rifles, lots of types of ammunition and bullet weights.

The old Mini-14 was a very reliable rifle (and I assume the new ones are just as reliable) but other than its ability to function flawlessly, it has little going for it IMO.
Yes, modifications can improve the accuracy of those 181 prefix rifles but frankly I'd rather start with something I didn't have to modify.

Sorry to be such a downer on those rifles. I've owned/shot/worked on Rugers for decades. For the most part, I like Ruger products but the Mini-14 just doesn't make the cut for me.

 

Opinions on 181s are as plentiful as the ammo shot through them.

I have a low-serial number 181 built in 1977. I bought it in early 1980 and was my first firearm. I still have it and it is my favorite firearm. In the 37 years I've owned it, it has never even given a hint of a failure of any kind. Were I one to name my weapons, its would be "Old Reliable"...

It is a "GB", with a flash hider and front sight/bayonet lug. Some report that the combo of flash hider and front sight/bayo lug dampens the barrel harmonics that the infamous stringing is often complained about over "pencil barreled" Mini-14s. That stringing in mine is not noticeable, and it is about a 3-4 MOA shooter, which is about as good as I am. I don't bench shoot, but prefer a bi-pod.

Some considerations, though...
1) they have no provision for a scope or other optic. They were not designed with a scope in mind. There are two ways you can address that if you decide to mount a scope or red-dot.
- One is a funky side-mounted rail that requires no drilling, is reversible, easy to install, and pretty inexpensive (less than $30). I have one on my 181GB and - after some judicious use of blue loctite, is rock solid, but it took a while to get it that way as it would often work loose. There are two problems with this, though: a) it mounts the optic somewhat high, which results in a "chin weld" rather than a "cheek weld" (and also makes the Mini a bit top heavy with a scope) and b) it sits over the receiver. Early Min-14s eject brass more vertically than horizontally and quite often - if there is a rail and optic installed, the ejects will hit the optic (usually the windage knob). Mine occasionally does that - perhaps once or twice in a 20-round mag, and it is usually just a glancing blow to the bottom of the rail. Others have worse problems ("every Mini is different"). A nice feature, though, is you can switch from optics to irons by merely switching from a "chin weld" to a "cheek weld". No need to remove the optic to use the irons.
- The other option is a scout rail that replaces the hand guard and fastens to the barrel and gas block. The most popular is Ultimak. Sandog (on this forum) swears by them, and he knows his stuff! They're a bit pricey (about $110) but place the optic forward of the receiver (away from the ejects). They sit low and if you don't use an optic, you can still use the irons. An added benefit is that it both stiffens the barrel somewhat and helps with heat dissipation. A red-dot sight is the preferred optic to keep the weight and balance down. Were you to want to mount a scope, it would need to be a long-eye-relief scope. Mounting it is something you can do yourself and is reversible should you change your mind.

2) Ruger support is still available, but I have doubts about how much longer. The good news is that the 181 is essentially the same up through the 197 series non-ranch rifles, which were made through 2004. Parts are readily available.

3) The 181s have a 1:10 barrel twist, so lighter bullets generally do better. I shoot exclusively 55gr FMJ (either 5.56 NATO M193 or .223 REM), but it can shoot 62gr fairly accurately, too. Wouldn't go much heavier than 62gr, though.

4) In my opinion, the 181s have superior workmanship and finish. I also have a new 583 series I got last summer and the quality of the finish is much poorer.

5) If you decide the barrel whip is too much and accuracy stinks, you can address that with an AccuStrut (about $100), but I'd check to see if it is a big problem for you before planning to get one. I decided my 181GB was good enough for my plinking purposes without one - after I bought one... It drops man-sized silhouette pop-up targets at 300 meters from a supported prone position reliably. A 6" Accustrut will generally reduce shot groups by about half.

Hope this helps!

 

Thanks everyone! Listed up the Tokarev, will see what happens!

 

This is the Mini in question.

 

Looks to be decent shape and that wood handguard is a very nice add-on worth some $$, however, check it out thoroughly before you buy. Field strip if possible. It comes apart just like the M1 Garand or M14/M1A as you open the trigger guard, pull out trigger group, and then take the stock off of the action/barrel assy. Check for rust, damage, etc but don't be concerned if there is carbon buildup at the gas block as it vents into the stock.

As RJF said, you can do a lot to help it if it doesn't group as well as you'd like; the first being staying away from the junk, commie steel cased ammo like Tula and Wolff and shoot decent brass cased or better yet, your handloads. I have a 583 Series Ranch Rifle I got new about 2½ years ago that I've added a number of tweaks to so that it went from a decent 2+ MOA shooter to an honest 1¼ MOA shooter. In total, they cost me under $250, the cost of a good trigger set for an AR, and I did them all of them except the $55 trigger job, myself.

I prefer my Mini to all 3 of my ARs even though I've had them since the very early 2000s and shot them thousands of rds more. The Mini has the same manual of arms as the M1 Garand, M1 Carbine and M14/M1A and it just feels great in your hands, is compact and shoulders naturally. Mine is accurate enough with my handloads to allow me to reliably hit bowling pins at 200 yds with iron sights.

As to the overall finish, the Ruger is on par with most currently produced rifles in terms of fit and finish. Yes, they all aren't finished as well as they were some 30 yrs ago but what else is in this throw away society we now live in? That said, as a Garand inspired, wood and steel carbine, the Mini feels far superior in your hands than a plastic and aluminum AR.

My son has a Russian Tokarev TT pistol in good shape and honestly, the Polish made ones aren't anything special from a collector's viewpoint so if you don't shoot it, I'd sell it on because the Mini will be a lot more fun to use and cheaper to shoot as well.

Here's my Mini-14 Ranch Rifle under his big brother, my M1A. As you can see, I went for a look much like my M1A and think I achieved it rather well, right down to drilling a 'lightening' hole in the safety lever.

 

That is beautifully done! I am quite envious.

Worse case scenario, I can buy it next pay day.

 

Lot of people will tell you to stay away from the Mini 14 because of accuracy issues, but I can shoot mine all day and hit what ever I'm aiming at. Sure, it is not sniper rifle accurate, but if you set up some bowling pins, water jugs or maybe a small gong at 100 yards or so, I promise that a Mini 14 will make you smile. The guys that tell you that they never could get anything out of their "several minis" never really seem to have anything to back up their claims. I on the other hand like to back up my BS. So when I say, "the Mini 14 can hit what you aim at," I mean it, and I can prove to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUnqnUsoZDo

 

Not expecting her to be a tack driver, just something to have fun with and plink with. Something my wife can start out with when she gets to the USA that won't knock her as hard as a 444 marlin or a 44 Ruger carbine will.

 

Eternal, just be advised that once your wife gets to shoot it, you'll never get it back!!! That's a good thing: you'll get another for you!

 

Is the Mini-14 rifle you want a Ranch Rifle version....if so and you want to mount a scope on it I would suggest that you get a barrel strut stabilizer setup. You can pick one up from about $75-$120.00 they are very easy to install. Also suggest that you stick with Ruger Factory Magazines as well. I have a 188 series Mini-14 its very reliable may not be a target rifle but its a fun shooting rifle that I wouldn't be afraid to take it out hunting with say coyotes etc. Good luck!!!

 

Thanks everyone for the tips, pointers, and advice. It is greatly appreciated. Going to see if we can meet at the FFL Saturday morning and have my gunsmith friend look the carbine over.

 

Back when I was playing with the Mini-14 I didn't take pictures of my groups because:

A. They were not worth taking pictures of.

B. It was pre-digital camera days and not worth wasting a photo.

But, I had one early model Mini-14 that would just barely hold a sheet of 8.5" x 11" copy paper at measured 100 yards. That was prone, from sandbags with 55 grain factory ammo. On the same day I could shoot an A1 type AR with iron sights and consistently hold 2 M.O.A. (roughly 2" at 100 yards)
A few years later, with a better Mini-14, I could get those groups down to about 4" and I shot a Ranch Rifle (newer model) that would hold about 3" with a scope; IIRC.
During that same time frame I shot a H&K G41 and could easily hold 1.5" with iron sights at 100 yards (often better). My eyes were a lot younger in those days.

I never saw an early Mini-14 that would consistently hold less than 3" at 100 yards. In all fairness, that was before folks were reducing the size of the gas ports, adding Accu-struts and other mods. The fixed gas piston and massive OP rod slamming back and forth, didn't help the accuracy at all. The guns are super reliable but you needed to reduce the force applied to the OP rod in order to keep the accuracy at acceptable levels.

I openly admit that I was soured by the early Mini-14s. By the early 1990's I had given up on the Mini-14 and moved on.

I will say that the Mini-14 was an incredibly reliable design and would function without fail.

 

My old 181 has always liked 52 grain BTHP pushed to their max speed the best. It didn't/doesn't like heavy bullets.

Shooting old surplus 55 grain was always a joke for any attempt at accuracy. But it was cheap and the brass was for reloading anyway.

Still one of my favorites. I guess you either love em' or hate em', not much middle ground.

 

First several thousand rounds were NATO 5.56 M193. Did the 300 meter silhouette fine. Only switched to .223 REM 55gr PMC Bronze to gain some commonality of ammo with my other .223 guns. Worked fine with either, for my purposes...

Maddmax, agree: you either love 'em or hate 'em. I'm in the love category...Accuracy to me was always enough for a man-sized silhouette at 300 meters, It does that for me, so I'm happy. If I want MOA or better, I'll resort to my bolt gun. Different strokes (and expectations) for different folks...Hate paper (only useful for zeroing) to me.

 

First several thousand rounds were NATO 5.56 M193. Did the 300 meter silhouette fine. Only switched to .223 REM 55gr PMC Bronze to gain some commonality of ammo with my other .223 guns. Worked fine with either, for my purposes...

Maddmax, agree: you either love 'em or hate 'em. I'm in the love category...Accuracy to me was always enough for a man-sized silhouette at 300 meters, It does that for me, so I'm happy. If I want MOA or better, I'll resort to my bolt gun. Different strokes (and expectations) for different folks...Hate paper (only useful for zeroing) to me.

Had the same results with the M193 rounds and a 300 meter silhouette. I could maintain enough rapid fire control to keep all the M193 rounds hitting the target.

Same here. If I want tighter, I get out the bolt action.

 

Is a 52gr something I will have to reload for?

On a side note, will modern magazines work in the 181 series?

 

All modern Mini magazines will work.

I get great accuracy from my 52 grain bullet loads. I have tried 50 grain bullets but not enough to form a good opinion other than they shot well.

kwg

 

I don't have any experience with newer Mini's, other than what I read and several positive reports from owners/shooters that have and shoot them, but my 1986 era purchased Mini (184 version) has never failed me, while not a minute of angle shooter at 100+ yards, is accurate enough for my needs, and one I trust as much as my two AR's. I did mount a old Weaver 4x Widefield scope on it using a B Square side mount that is always rock solid, if I take it off and remount, it maintains it's zero. I've shot about every commercial brand of ammo though it, except the cheap Wolf, Tula, and others. I've shot a truckload of about every version of my handloads using 55 grain FMJ's and softpoints. Tried 62 grainers also. Always used US made brass and one shot PMC that I had from a 1000 rd ammo purchase when I bought the Mini. Only time it failed me was when I bought a unknown brand 20 rd steel magazine at a gun show and it was terrible for feeding-took it back. Use only Ruger 20 and 30 rounders, never had a commercial or handload fail to feed, fire, or eject.

Have been considering getting and installing a 'strut' on the barrel from all the positive feedback I read about them. Just might do it after I get a few other projects done. Adding a picture. Stock is a Choate that I installed about a month after I bought the Mini (about all that was available at that time). B-Square mount and scope were to high for a good cheek weld so I installed a custom "HogLeg Hauler" cheek piece on the stock using a old Mrs HogLeg Hauler kitchen towel wrapped around it and black duck tape. Replaced the tape a few times and a few years ago replaced it with more up-to-date and better black Gorilla Tape. Has worked so good, I've never tried anything else. I'm a 21 year LEO vet-as previously mentioned, I'd have no problem using the Mini for defensive needs. When I shoot it, it feels right at home in my hands as my trusty 4" Colt Trooper '357 that I carried for most of my crime fighting days.

 

I shoot the Federal Predator 50 rounds ... Very accurate out to 400 yards where I can hit a 8" plate 6 out 10 shots

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Thanks gents! Really appreciate all the help!

Saturday morning I will be seeing the rifle in person and letting my gunsmith look it over.

 

Bought it! Wound up getting it for $450 so not too horrible. Barrel looks brand new, and barely any wear and tear on the parts. Gunsmith estimates less than 200 rounds through it in it's life.

 

To the OP great find for $450.00 do yourself a favor and do the barrel strut setup I did mine for roughly $75.00 very easy install. The Mini-14 is a great rifle maybe not a tack driver but very reliable and still can be setup to be fairly accurate. My 188 series will eat any type of .223/5.56 ammo that I feed it wether its Tula steel cased or the good brass cased stuff Good Luck to you!!!

 

Excellent! Welcome to the 181-Club!

They're fine shooters, particularly the 181s, as the tooling was still new...

Very good price!

 

Now I just need to get a magazine for it! Just has the one 5 rounder. Surprisingly hard to find in California.

 

MidwayUSA has them: both 5 and 10 rounders, Ruger factory. I got two of each about two weeks ago, on sale. As well as another four 20-rounders.

Brings me to:
5-rounders: 2
10-rounders: 2
20-rounders: 17
30-rounders: 2

Places to watch for sales on Ruger factory mags:
MidwayUSA:
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1366165411/ruger-magazine-ruger-mini-14-223-remington-steel-blue

Brownells:
RUGER RUGER MINI-14 MAGAZINE 223/5.56 | Brownells

CDNN:
RUGER RUGER MINI-14 MAGAZINE 223/5.56 | Brownells

If you're interested in 5-rounders, I found once that it was cheaper to build them yourself by buying the box, base, spring, and follower separately from MidwayUSA. Defies logic, and it may have been a fluke at the time I checked that.

Others may chime in about non-Ruger mags - particularly the 10-rounders. Some have had problems with Ruger factory 10-rounders, but Ruger will make it well if you're up to the hassle.

Hope this helps...

 

Thought you had to have fixed magazines in Commifornia?

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Mini 14 doesn't have the evil features. It has no pistol grip, no bayonet lug or flash hider, so it's allowed to have a removable 10 round or less magazine.

 

Great price. Welcome to the 181 Club!

Over all the years, I always thought the 181s were the best of the bunch. The tooling was still brand new when I bought mine, had a couple upgrades and was still real wood.