GUNS & ROCKETS

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rfjustin said:
How does that Benelli run for you? I'm eyeing their M4 that I would LOVE to have... :)
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Haven't had the opportunity to shoot it yet. I think it will shoot great. Benelli shotguns have the lowest recoil I can think of. When I worked t the gun store and range two of the guys had a race with Benelli M-4's. Those guns stayed flat while they were shooting.
I have owned many Mini 14's. It was the first major caliber semi auto I bought. They all worked flawlessly. I liked that they looked like an M-14. I have an Mini-30 now. I can run my .30 cal suppressor on it with subsonic ammo and it's fairly quite for that size caliber. Still ear safe. They hold their value well too. I also was able to get good accuracy with them too. With a scope about 2". I just looked at Gun Broker. New or used they are close to $1000. If you get one get a Ranch Rifle one. What I really want is a Ruger AC 5.56. Those are select fire. In 2014 I could have got one for about $8000. Now they are about $18,000. Machine gun prices have gone through the roof. MAC 10's were about $5000 now they are $13,000. Uzi's were about $8000. Now they are over $20,000. I told my wife they would be a good investment back then. Looks like I was right.
 
ThirstyBarbarian said:
Anyone care to share opinions on the Ruger Mini-14? I’m not in the market for any more guns (just yet!), but it seems like it could be a fun rifle.

I like the nostalgic look. Also, here in CA, most 5.56/.223 semi-autos are restricted in the kinds of features that can be combined in one gun. All the AR and AK type variants and similar guns with removable box magazines and pistol grips have to have some kind of modification that in my opinion compromises the design in order to be state compliant — things like paddle grips or some mechanism to separate the upper and lower receivers while changing mags. I don’t like those workarounds. Traditional rifle stocks are allowed, so I think that’s the best way to go to have a gun that works the way it is designed. That’s why I’ve opted for the 10/22 and PC Carbine so far rather than “modern sporting rifle” styles. It seems like a Mini-14 might be a good CA compliant option if I decide I want a real rifle caliber carbine.

Let me know what you think.
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I've owned a mini for about 35 years. Mine is a first generation stainless, with the old wood upper handguard. Very solid and reliable firearm. It even functions with reloads and cheap magazines. Ruger Mini-14's are highly regarded in this household.
Jim
 
Banzai88 said:
The only gun I've ever worn out was a Ruger. P89, 9mm. Shot tens of thousands of rounds through that gun. Ruger rebuilt it for me 3 times before they retired it and sent me a new one.

That said, Ruger has always had superb quality, even if Bill Ruger was often on the wrong side of the gun control debate (and thankfully those days are past).

As to the Mini14, I've owned two. Both were solid. Hopefully any that you get can hit something better than the A-Team was able to accomplish! ;)

View attachment 624492
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Ruger has just re-released this version. The hand guard is different, but it’s probably good enough for the B-Team until they get promoted.

https://ruger.com/products/mini14TacticalRifle/specSheets/5895.html
With the folding stock and pistol grip, this is not CA compliant. I wouldn’t opt for it anyway. Although, I do like the stainless and might choose that with the traditional wood or synthetic stock.
 
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Jim Hinton said:
I've owned a mini for about 35 years. Mine is a first generation stainless, with the old wood upper handguard. Very solid and reliable firearm. It even functions with reloads and cheap magazines. Ruger Mini-14's are highly regarded in this household.
Jim
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I was not aware Ruger ever made them with wood upper hand guards. That’s interesting. I kind of like the look of the current metal hand guards, but wood is even more reminiscent of the M14.

You have decent luck with aftermarket magazines? Almost everything I’ve read or watched has recommended sticking with OEM Ruger mags, even though they are pricey.
 
ThirstyBarbarian said:
I was not aware Ruger ever made them with wood upper hand guards. That’s interesting. I kind of like the look of the current metal hand guards, but wood is even more reminiscent of the M14.

You have decent luck with aftermarket magazines? Almost everything I’ve read or watched has recommended sticking with OEM Ruger mags, even though they are pricey.
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OEM mags are expensive. I use MagPul and they work fine. One thing to look out for. I bought 27 Mini-30 MagPul mags and 11 wouldn't seat. The ones that would seat had a indentation rather than a hole that goes all the way through the plastic of the mag. The MagPul mags fit a little to tight too. But they will seat. I sent the bad ones back to MagPul and they exchanged them. No questions asked. They sent the new ones back fast too. Mine are 30 round mags. Not legal where you are I think. All though I think I remember the Supreme Court ruled that law unconstitutional. Anyway. If you only want 10 or 20 round mags and don't want a stockpile just get some of the metal OEM mags. 10 round OEM mags are $35 each on Midway.
 
ThirstyBarbarian said:
I was not aware Ruger ever made them with wood upper hand guards. That’s interesting. I kind of like the look of the current metal hand guards, but wood is even more reminiscent of the M14.

You have decent luck with aftermarket magazines? Almost everything I’ve read or watched has recommended sticking with OEM Ruger mags, even though they are pricey.
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I got the cheapie mags during one of the mag bans, I lived in CO at the time. With MagPul and Ruger mags available, that problem is solved. The wood hand guards went away in the 80s. The current models do a better job of keeping your fingers off of the operating rod, the old ones made the rifle look more like an M 14. A word to the wise, don't grab the gun by the barrel after firing, you won't do it twice.

Jim
 
Jim Hinton said:
I got the cheapie mags during one of the mag bans, I lived in CO at the time. With MagPul and Ruger mags available, that problem is solved. The wood hand guards went away in the 80s. The current models do a better job of keeping your fingers off of the operating rod, the old ones made the rifle look more like an M 14. A word to the wise, don't grab the gun by the barrel after firing, you won't do it twice.

Jim
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After reading your earlier post, I looked up wood handguards. There are companies that make them. One makes all kinds of different wood, metal, vented, and non-vented handguards in different finishes for different looks. But I think I would probably prefer having the operating rod covered.
 
rfjustin said:
I mean its a Ruger so yeah good to go... :)

I have owned or operated a dozen or so Rugers, and every one has been solid as can be. I rank them very high in quality, value, performance, and customer service. I dont have any direct experience with the Mini14, but I would expect it to be solid.

I would search gunbroker for a gently used one including a red dot or other goodies out of the gate.

Best,
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The older Mini-14s had accuracy issues due to the thin barrels... Newer ones had thicker barrels.
An Accu-Strut helps considerably with the older ones (plus a couple of other "tuning" tricks).
Do your homework... serial numbers vs age/barrel. All things considered... good rifles. They do like to throw your brass into the next county.

https://accu-strut.com/how-it-works.html
 
Here's the Bane of Wile E. Coyote next to my 10/22. The Mini was built by Accuracy Systems, INC. Absolutely perfect BTW.
Amazingly accurate, (yes it's a Krieger barrel) and awesome with just Iron sights.
Upside is ALL mini issues fixed - it'll fire both 5.56 and .223 safely.
Downsides are weight and no more bang bang bang fun due to the costly barrel.Ruger Twins Right Side.jpg
 
RobertH3 said:
Here's the Bane of Wile E. Coyote next to my 10/22. The Mini was built by Accuracy Systems, INC. Absolutely perfect BTW.
Amazingly accurate, (yes it's a Krieger barrel) and awesome with just Iron sights.
Upside is ALL mini issues fixed - it'll fire both 5.56 and .223 safely.
Downsides are weight and no more bang bang bang fun due to the costly barrel.View attachment 624994
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Wow! That is gorgeous! The 10/22 is beautiful as well.

Accuracy Systems makes that stock for the mini? I looked at handguards on their site earlier and missed the stocks, but I did notice their accurizing services.

I dropped in to my local gun store yesterday and took a look at two mini-14s. It’s the first time I’ve actually had a close look. They’re nice! They feel very solid, and the only false note to me was the composite factory handguard seems cheaper than the rest of the gun.

The other thing that would be an issue for me but not a problem for most people is that my eyesight does not agree with the iron sights. I’d need an optic, and my understanding is that mounting optics on the mini can be a bit challenging with the open-top receiver. Scopes are less of a problem than red dots which tend to mount too high, or have to be mounted forward on special handguards.

One thing I really liked was the balance and feel of the gun. I’m a relatively new gun owner and have not handled a lot of guns, so I’ve been surprised how much of a difference the balance and weight distribution makes to how heavy or awkward a gun feels. My shotgun, PC Carbine, and the Mini 14 all weigh around 7 pounds. But the shotgun feels heaviest and most awkward. The PC Carbine is a lot handier and lighter than the shotgun, but still slightly nose heavy. The Mini-14 felt very well balanced, and the same 7 pounds didn’t feel as heavy.
 
IMHO (for certain on this subject lol) - the Garand action is simpler and more reliable. Thus a built mini vs. something with a Stoner action.
We had M-14's in the Navy and you just get used to certain things.

ASI has a ton of stocks to choose from. This is the "Schutz" stock. I was going to get one that matched the 10/22 with a thumb hole, but was able to get this one tailored to my arm. Yes, that is not a waste : )

Cheers / Robert
 
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ThirstyBarbarian said:
I‘m very happy with the quality of the Rugers I’ve bought so far.
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I’ve had a number of .22 Ruger handguns and they were solid, reliable and accurate. Loved their Single Six with the .22 Magnum cylinder installed. Nice gun for bunnies.
 
RobertH3 said:
10/22 stock came from Stocky's and was 100 and change and super easy to home-install. After all, it's a .22
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Nice. I know there are a ton of aftermarket stocks and pretty much every other part of the gun for 10/22s. It seems like maybe not so much for the Minis.
 
SkyFire said:
Was considering buying a Whitney Wolverine a few years ago. Could have picked up a nice one for $700 - $800. Now they are selling in the thousands!
541900-58bcea6e691ff6b0d2701da136c1f488.data
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As a kid one of my favorite toys was a plastic version of this that shot yellow pellets!

1000015485.jpg
 
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KenECoyote said:
As a kid one of my favorite toys was like a plastic version of this that shot yellow pellets!
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were the yellow shot like soft rubber? I remember them coming on a slab that you plucked the soft pellet off a plastic tree like you would cut a plastic model part off of. Later you could get them all loose in a bottle but cost more that way.
 
I own a Ruger PC Carbine, which I like and is fun to shoot, so I’m always on the lookout for accessories for that gun. I recently found a service making wood stocks. Some of these have WWII era styling cues, while not trying to be replicas. The options with the wood forend, barrel band with sling swivel, and the sling slot in the stock are vaguely M1 Carbine reminiscent. And with the M-Lok forend, it’s kind of PPSH-ish. It’s an interesting take.

https://woodshopwednesday.com/shop/ols/products/ruger-pc9-custom-order-wood-stock
Here are a few from their gallery.

IMG_0682.jpeg

IMG_0683.jpeg

IMG_0684.jpeg
 

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