Mini-14 at 400 yards?

[skeetlee]

id bet you just about anything you couldn't go 10 for 10 at 400 yards There are much better tools for that job!

 

[joshb]

The only accurate one I ever saw was a chrome plated model fired by a huge guy with a Mohawk and lots of gold chains around his neck. Who was that guy? I think his name begins with T?
Many years ago, I wanted its big brother. For the better part of a year, I tried everything to get that M1A to shoot under an inch at a hundred. I finally gave up and bought a Remington 5R 308 Tenth Anniversery. I found happiness with it. Then I found this site and fell into the rabbit hole.
Get the mini 14 if you want a blaster. Get a quality AR if you want any chance of accuracy with a 20 round magazine.

 

[ggshoots]

We use to call them "5 Gallon Bucket" guns. You might be able to hit a 5 gallon bucket at 50 yards.
Some truly were so bad a bucket at 100yds was a question mark.

 

[timeout]

I have personal experience with 3 mini 14's. 2 of my own and one belonging to my son-in-law. I was even naive enough to buy one that was marketed as a "target model". Didn't take me very long to figure out that I had been duped. I sold it on gunbroker at a loss. I have tried every so called trick in the book to make one of the minis to shoot one MOA @ 100 yards. Never achieved that goal. The best that I will say about them is that they sorta shoot in the general direction. I can't for the life of me see any reason to own one if you like accuracy. IMHO an AR has every advantage over a mini 14.

 

[Leo_B]

Well darn. I was hoping. I guess I'll just have to maybe someday get one to have one and reserve it for zombies and other things needing eliminating nearby. In the meantime I'll use my AR with the stupid 16" 1:7 upper until I can get the 18" 1:8 upper.

 

[ggshoots]

Yes good gun for zombie hoards, 1000 plus. Good chance of hitting one. Lol

 

[joshb]

Well darn. I was hoping. I guess I'll just have to maybe someday get one to have one and reserve it for zombies and other things needing eliminating nearby. In the meantime I'll use my AR with the stupid 16" 1:7 upper until I can get the 18" 1:8 upper.

If you want accuracy, buy a longer heavy barrel.
20-22 inch 1/7.

 

[kevinbritvec]

How feasible is it to consider a Mini-14 for 400 yards Appleseed Known Distance clinics? I know, the AR is everyone's go to but I really like the Mini-14 with a 20 round magazine. Without spending beyond optics how feasible is reliably hitting 10 inch dinner plates every time? (or darn close to it)

Mini-14 sights suck because they can't be easily adjusted like an AR-15. The front post is too fat for precision work as well.

Original Mini-14's were horrible as far as groups are concerned. Ruger has tried to improve accuracy over the years, so a newer model may be better than mine.

A 1:9 twist will stabilize a 69 grain Sierra MatchKing bullet, that would be my pick at 400 yards.

I used Tubb's Final Finish bullets in my early 1980's Mini-14 barrel because I had nothing to lose. It shot 4 - 5" groups with match ammo at 100 before the treatment. It shoots 2" groups now. Money well spent.

At 400 yards you will have to compensate for drop AND wind drift. This is easily done with an AR-15 using iron sights, with a Mini-14, not so much.

The most accurate bullets I have ever fired in .223 rifles are the 52/53 grain match varieties at 100/200 yards. It doesn't matter what twist rate you have, these bullets group tightly.

 

[choprzrul]

Which is more accurate: Mini 14 or M1 Carbine?

 

[RegionRat]

The M1 Carbine specs were on the order of 3"x3" at 25 yards.

It is debatable what Ruger intended for the Mini-14, but in some civilian contracts they were not spec'd much better than a handgun.

By standards, they would be lumped into the same pile.

 

[Pyscodog]

I remember seeing in the movies that prison guards used the mini a lot.

 

[AWS]

My BinL flew out to WA for a week long coyote and duck hunt. He brought his personal Mini 14, his department had just gotten Mini 14s for their squad cars, shotguns in the cab and Mini 14s in the trunk( small rural county sheriffs dept ). This was in the 1990s. He mounted a leupold 1-4 on it and shot 45gr Win HPs out of it. We sighted it in upon arrival and it shot right at an inch and he had no problem dropping called coyotes all week. Other than a rough trigger it did a fine job. He shot it for a number of years until something shinier came along..

 

[Ken]

Get a GOOD AR 15 7 twist

 

[misser]

some years back I called Ruger was wondering what they thought good enough accuracy was for the mini 14 was told 1'' at 50yds

 

[misser]

id bet you just about anything you couldn't go 10 for 10 at 400 yards There are much better tools for that job!

do you mean a 8'X8' sheet of plywood ?



x

 

[Bottom Fodder]

I would say maybe if your target is “ the broad side of a barn” the mini has its place but don’t think 400 yards is that place.
Feel free to prove us wrong