I can. They did my trigger work. Good folks.Originally Posted by MandoWookie
I can. They did my trigger work. Good folks.
In the P-F basket of deplorables.
I've never owned an AR but my friends Daniel Defense trigger seems to be pretty good. I don't own a smiths torque wrench but your comment has sent me looking for one.
In the P-F basket of deplorables.
I never did jump on the Accu-strut band wagon. I just didn’t like the idea of adding front end weight to the rifle and the price was pretty steep for what it was. Lots of folks swear by them though. I agree with you - it seems most of the Mini 14 “Accuracy Enhancements” are really about getting rid of stringing and fliers. As for ASI, I’ve purchased from them a few times. I purchased my gas bushing kit from them as well as recently a replacement rear sight and stainless steel Ruger flash hider for when I can make my Mini14 Great Again. They are well respected in the Mini community and know the rifles as well as anyone. That said, I am firmly convinced that the Mini can be a HUGE rabbit hole if you insist on trying to make it something that it was never intended to be (a precision rifle). Much of Accuracy Systems’s market seems to be heavy barrels and geared to making the Mini into a precision rifle which in the end is going to cost you way WAY more than a precision AR will and won’t shoot as good. I guess it makes sense if you can’t own an AR but even in California you can own a neutered AR.
Still the Mini makes for a good general purpose semi automatic rifle, especially if you like the idea of a more traditional profile.
I will admit to being a Mini fan and have shot them for years. I actually used a Ranch Rifle on a ranch and it was a useful gun that never failed to go bang when needed. As I started to reload I put the Mini away for a BA.
Anyways I have a lot of trigger time on the Mini and like them for what they are. Like Suvorov, I have a Samsom folder for when I am out of CA. They are just too cool not have if you go with a Mini.
A while back I compared my pretty much stock 580-series to a pretty much stock AR and found out they shoot about the same. Here is a link to my post:
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.ph...#post-12016047
I don't want to imply that a Mini is as good as an AR, but they are not as bad as some folks make them out to be. I am intrigued by the Mini 30. I like the 7.62x39, have a decent supply of ammo and think the Mini-30 would make a pretty handy rifle. I have read to get 100% ignition with steel cased ammo you need to add a different firing pin and then they run great.
The newer models are much improved and the guns are pretty solid.
Last edited by ECVMatt; 04-24-2022 at 07:15 PM.
The real problem with the mini is the serious lack of quality aftermarket parts. Almost all of the stuff made by accuracy systems is pure garbage. The accustrut does nothing except make the gun look like an m14 and their adjustable gas block is aluminum and will lead to gas leaks and short stroking when it heats up. The Ultimak rail is only good for mounting an optic as the picatinny rail is out of spec and to shallow to run most popular offset light mounts.
All gun really needs to run well is a good optic mount, a good light mount and some side sling mounts. The fact that Samson is starting to manufacture more parts for the platform is very encouraging however.
From personal experience Mini 14s will not stand hard use high round count like military grade rifle such as an AK, AR, FAL etc….
I had one of the original 180 prefix series guns I bought used circa 1985 and I learned why nobody ever got killed in those A team episodes....the rifle made it rather obvious. I would guess 12-14 moa at 100 yards if it could do that.
But a close friend has a 2021 made '14 that I have been able to shoot quite a bit, it runs 100% so far with factory 20 round mags and is easily 2-3 moa with 55gr ball ammo inside 200 yards. His was a nostalgia buy, but he could not find one of the factory folders, I let him know tonight about that Samson stock and I suspect he will have one on order shortly.
So how much does it cost to buy one of those military grade rifles? Your average Ruger AR 5.56 or S&W Sport II hasn't been tested by the military for high round count. They aren't military grade rifles.
My civilian needs are miles away from any military applications, thank god.
I've got about 2K through my 14 and never had an issue with any kind of failure to go into battery, fire or eject a spent round. That's with my not-so-perfect hand loads. Granted, not the 20K torture test but lets get this into perspective here. It isn't state-of-the-art military weaponry. The receiver and gas piston/op rod design is WW2. By the way, the AK-47 uses the same system. I've seen AK-47 accuracy. Nothing to brag about on the internet.
The 14 or 30 isn't the best SD rifle to own. We all get that. For someone who likes to shoot a carbine with WW2 tech it's a lot of fun and it works. Way better than an M1 carbine for many reasons.
Are you being deployed any time soon where you need a military grade rifle?
Last edited by Borderland; 04-24-2022 at 10:26 PM.
In the P-F basket of deplorables.
Probably not. That said, it probably isn’t really an issue for 99.9% of people looking for a semi-auto rifle. If someone is looking for a high round count rifle then I agree the Mini is not the one. For a general purpose rifle that will serve as a range gun, home/ranch defense, camping gun that will most likely see less that 10,000 round during its life it is an option. Actually I have long thought if I had the kind of disposable income and time to do it - I’d love to attend a few big name classes with one.
The Samson stock is a licensed copy of the original Ruger stock and nice quality although it comes at a price. They had a pretty long wait to get one back when I got mine, but I think I got an email a while back saying that that has shortened and Brownells had them in stock a while back as well. My first Mini had a Butler Creek folder on it which was pretty nice and actually a little handier than the Ruger, but those things are long out of production.
That also reminds me of one plus for the Mini which may have been mentioned already - with a folding stock, they make for a very compact full barreled rifle, especially if you have a 16” barrel.
The whole Mini thing always kicks folks into overdrive. A few things that I have thought about over the years...We did not always live in the days of $500 AR's, quality AR's, or access to a plethora of different types of military style rifles. Folks from back then, me included, view the Mini as an affordable, reasonable accurate rifle that is more than adequate for civilian self-defense. Back in the day, many police, state trooper/highway patrol, and prisons used the Mini-14. The Mini-14 has also popped up at some infamous events such as the Miami shootout, Ruby Ridge, and in recent times during the San Bernardino terrorist attack. I am not saying it is the best choice, but it has been out there for quite some time and has seen some serious use. For the average gun owner/user the Mini-14 is a viable choice for a defensive weapon.
On the other hand, I understand why a quality AR is a better choice for serious or high volume shooters.
I think it important for the individual user to pick the best platform for their use. I would rather have a neighbor who was armed with a Mini-14 that they loved and shot often than a neighbor decked out in plates with a tricked out AR they copied from a video game.
Edit to add: Here is a story about the CHP buying Mini-14's in 1989: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-...292-story.html
Last edited by ECVMatt; 04-24-2022 at 11:15 PM.
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