Mini-14 question?

[chetrogers]

With my Sar-1 i notice that after pulling the trigger the empty shell comes flying out in a very impressive rainbow effect,shooting 20 ft away.Im curious about the mini-14 and how the shell casing ejects out.Does it do the same or not as bad.Thanks for any info.Also any opinions on the Mini-14 are appreciated.

 

[jobu07]

My mini ejects brass out to 1 or 2 o'clock. Maybe 5 to 10 feet tops.

 

[HankB]

There's some variation in how different series Mini-14s eject brass. My 1976 vintage (180-series) Mini-14 reliably ejects the brass forward and right in a low trajectory, going no more than 10 feet out.

 

[Dave Markowitz]

Most Minis eject the brass vigorously. Mine shoots them out around 1 or 2 o'clock and they go 10 - 15 feet.

 

[ArmedBear]

5.56 brass flies pretty far from my stock Mini Ranch Rifle, if you're standing and unobstructed. 20 ft. is not unusual, and brass goes farther than that sometimes. I believe the regular Mini-14 and the Ranch Rifle eject differently, with the Ranch Rifle being known for sending brass flying almost as far as lead.

People change the springs, though, and it doesn't go nearly as far.

 

[AZ Jeff]

Spring loaded plunger "bump-type" ejectors, such as those used on US military service rifles, tend to not throw brass nearly as far as fixed ejector types, such as that in the FAL or G3.

The regular Mini-14 uses the bump type ejector, and as such, throws brass about 10-15 ft forward and to the right.

The Mini-14 "Ranch Rifle" uses a fixed ejector, and throws it's brass a WHOLE LOT FARTHER.

 

[allmons]

About 15 - 20 feet for my Ranch Rifle

I've dinged the hood of my jeep and bounced empties off trees 18 - 25 feet behind me. Usually ejects 4 - 5 O'clock position, vigorously!

 

[Darth Ruger]

The standard Mini isn't bad, it's the Ranch that throws them, up to 40 feet in some cases.

Gundoc at Great West Gunsmithing makes a set of replacement gas port bushings that reduce the 'air time'. You can cut the distance in half or even more by replacing the gas port bushing. Also eases the banging of the action somewhat. There are three different sizes in the set, so you can experiment to find which one reduces 'air time' the most while not affecting reliability. $15.

http://greatwestgunsmithing.com/

(Also note that reliability with a replacement bushing may vary depending on the load, so you should experiment with all the loads you will be using. That's why there are three sizes to choose from in the set.)

 

[George S.]

Changing the gas port bushing size does cut the distance a Mini-14 will toss brass. I got a set from a different vendor and the smalle3s bushing dropped the distance the brass goes from the original 20-30 feet down to about 6 feet. I also noticed that the brass tends to go out to a slightly forward angle now.

Now I don't have to shoot at the far right lane at my range anymore!! If you go with the bushing set, also get a recoil buffer (see the Accurizing Improvments link on the website mentioned).

 

[1KPerDay]

It's good to hear my Ranch Rifle isn't abnormal. I've dented my truck a couple of times... it does lauch the brass about as far as lead (and more accurately! ).

I also get a huge muzzle blast and concussion with military surplus ball... I suppose a flash suppressor will help fix that? Any recommendations? I like the longer, M1A-style ones.