Had a Mini 14 in late 80's Ranch model and loved it's being nice and handy. But had t0 sell it as it was the most inaccurate 223 gun I ever saw with my best reloads 4" groups was the norm. Why are they so inaccurate and can they ever shoot as good as an AR 15 that I use for gophers that is sub 1" all the time? Why doesn't Ruger improve their accuracy?
I would hazard a guess as to the barrel quality
I had one once and it was maybe a 1.5 MOA shooter with handloads
SS/Wood stock
It was a fun gun, but not an accurate gun
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I went to a gun show later where a guy had what was called the "GB" model
which he stated was the "Govt. Barrel" more for swat and cops and was a 0.5 MOA gun
I also talked to a gunsmith friend who said he accurized 2 of the standard blued mini14's just
as he put it to - "Prove a Point" the point being they could become an accurate gun
with enough work.
Putting a quality barrel on would be a first good step.
However the AR15 is the easy button with tons of swappable parts and more easily customizable.
Could also be the twist rate on the Mini 14 does not work well with the heavier bullets
Catered more toward 55 FMJ's which are not inherently accurate to begin with simply due to the
"Weight Forward Design" which causes more wobble
A hollow point with weight rear is more stable
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The Mini 14 was an inexpensive, good reliable gun, but was not built to punch penny's