Mini-14 round count
- Thread starter greyeyezz
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natedog
Member
I had a little under 1,000 through mine until I sold it.
Gunsnrovers
Member
Over the last 13 years, all my Mini-14 issues have been magazine and reload related. There haven't been too many along the way.
Best thing I ever did was add a Hogue stock and sent the trigger group up to Mike Knifong for a work over. The Hogue stock tightening things up and Mike's trigger job is very nice.
Best thing I ever did was add a Hogue stock and sent the trigger group up to Mike Knifong for a work over. The Hogue stock tightening things up and Mike's trigger job is very nice.
jobu07
Contributing Member
I've got probably between 1 and 2 thousand through my stainless standard model. The only problem i've had, and I mean only, was the mag dropping out after I fired the first round because it wasn't seated properly. But hey, that's happened on 15's i've seen before too 
(note: not to be taken as an AR-15 rant as I own 2 and am a big 15 junkie)
(note: not to be taken as an AR-15 rant as I own 2 and am a big 15 junkie)I got my Mini-14 as my 18th birthday present, back in 1988. Since then, the only problems were with cheap mags I bought as a bargain. When using factory 5 and 20 rounds mags, utter reliability. I'm guessing, but I've probably put at least 5000 rounds through it, with perfect functioning (not counting the el cheapo mags experiment)
Mannlicher
Member
Somewhere over 5 thousand rounds since I got the Mini Ranch Rifle back in 1994. I have only used Ruger Factory mags. I still have 10 in the original blister packs.
natedog
Member
My guess would be that perhaps some students were using sub-standard magazines. My Mini-14 ran fine, but the ranch sights had a tendency to fly off and not hold zero. Seemed robust enough, but it'd be really annoying if something did break- Ruger doesn't sell spare parts, you have to send it to them for servicing.
aerod1
Member
I don't really know how many rounds I have put through my Mini-14 ranch but it is a lot. I have owned it for 10 years with zero problems. I use 5 and 30 round mags.
Jim
Jim
Oh crap...
...I'm gonna shoot your averages to heck.
I have one that I was getting jams every round, or every other round. Turns out it was only Silver Bear ammo. And sometimes it would jam on Wolf/Brown Bear. If I put regular Winchester or Remington through it, no problems.
This was a couple years ago, and I haven't fired it much since. So I have no I idea if it was just a bad batch I ran across or what.
What I would like to know is whether or not the proverbial poster boy of the Mini line has had any jams. That would be Mace Windu. He's got about the most highly tweaked Mini I have heard of. Except maybe some of those nuts on Perfect Union. But I dunno...seams like some of them are using stuff like paper clips and chewing gum to get them to shoot less then 5"MOA. Practically witch doctor stuff.
...I'm gonna shoot your averages to heck.
I have one that I was getting jams every round, or every other round. Turns out it was only Silver Bear ammo. And sometimes it would jam on Wolf/Brown Bear. If I put regular Winchester or Remington through it, no problems.
This was a couple years ago, and I haven't fired it much since. So I have no I idea if it was just a bad batch I ran across or what.
What I would like to know is whether or not the proverbial poster boy of the Mini line has had any jams. That would be Mace Windu. He's got about the most highly tweaked Mini I have heard of. Except maybe some of those nuts on Perfect Union. But I dunno...seams like some of them are using stuff like paper clips and chewing gum to get them to shoot less then 5"MOA. Practically witch doctor stuff.
Dave Markowitz
Member
This is a bit different. I picked up my early-80s vintage Mini-14 a couple of years ago. Shortly after buying it I took it out to the range and shot 50 rounds of South African surplus 5.56mm ball through it. After the last shot, the bolt jammed in the rear and wouldn't go forward. I also heard a rattling sound when I moved the rifle. I was not pleased.
After getting the gun home and filed stripping it, the gas piston fell out. Considering that the piston in a Mini-14 is a stationary part I was a bit alarmed. It turns out that at some point in the past the gun had been detail stripped but when it was reassembled, the gas port bushing was left out. The GPB does two things: (1) regulates the amount of gas tapped from the barrel. Without it, way too much gas is tapped, which batters the action. (2) The GPB holds the piston in place in the gas block.
Note here that this rifle functioned for 50 rounds missing a very important part of the mechanism. It was being fed way too much gas, causing the action to be worked a lot harder than designed. Yet, it didn't malf until the gas piston finally worked it's way loose.
Since this was a used a gun I had to get the part myself. It was about $4 from Brownell's. Since replacing the GPB I've put 400 - 500 rounds through the gun, largely Wolf 55 grain JHP, and I've not had a single malf. I've used PMI 20 and 30 rounders, plus a few aftermarket cheapy mags. Following the ASB sunset I scored a couple of Ruger factory 20 rounders but haven't been able to test them yet.
After getting the gun home and filed stripping it, the gas piston fell out. Considering that the piston in a Mini-14 is a stationary part I was a bit alarmed. It turns out that at some point in the past the gun had been detail stripped but when it was reassembled, the gas port bushing was left out. The GPB does two things: (1) regulates the amount of gas tapped from the barrel. Without it, way too much gas is tapped, which batters the action. (2) The GPB holds the piston in place in the gas block.
Note here that this rifle functioned for 50 rounds missing a very important part of the mechanism. It was being fed way too much gas, causing the action to be worked a lot harder than designed. Yet, it didn't malf until the gas piston finally worked it's way loose.
Since this was a used a gun I had to get the part myself. It was about $4 from Brownell's. Since replacing the GPB I've put 400 - 500 rounds through the gun, largely Wolf 55 grain JHP, and I've not had a single malf. I've used PMI 20 and 30 rounders, plus a few aftermarket cheapy mags. Following the ASB sunset I scored a couple of Ruger factory 20 rounders but haven't been able to test them yet.
KarbineKrazy
Member
A few thousand... Not sure exactly how much, but I've bought wolf by the 1000 3 times, and also lots of Brass stuff.
Mines been tweaked on. I have a smaller gas port bushing so when not using GOOD ammunition and my range mags are a little beat up(crooked feed lips, weak springs, just not the best) I might get a stoppage or two every couple hundred rounds.
But when I use WWB or UMC OR surlplus 5.56 or anything Black Hills, and PMI or factory mags I have ZERO Problems
I'm happy with that.
Mines been tweaked on. I have a smaller gas port bushing so when not using GOOD ammunition and my range mags are a little beat up(crooked feed lips, weak springs, just not the best) I might get a stoppage or two every couple hundred rounds.
But when I use WWB or UMC OR surlplus 5.56 or anything Black Hills, and PMI or factory mags I have ZERO Problems
I'm happy with that.
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