CoalCrackerAl
Member
I got the stock one out. To check if it was a .060 bushing. Reason is because im planing on a mini 30. And theirs is supposed to be .080 factory. I was planing to try my mini 14 one as a reduced gas bushing.
My mini 14 had a 0.100 gas bushing in it.
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westernrover
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My Mini-14 Tactical in 5.56 NATO that was made last year came with a big bushing. I read that it was supposed to 0.080 but I didn't measure it. Maybe I will later. I got the gas bushing kit from Accuracy Systems. I'm using the 0.045.
With Lake City M193, it flings the cases hard and dents them. I had to go down to 0.040. Then it would flick the cases into a pickup truck long-bed that I was standing next to. Unfortunately, handloads at the max-end of 223 data would not cycle the action. So I went up to 0.045. That seems to be a good compromise. The kit also comes with 0.035 and a 0.050.
The thing that matters is port pressure. Having higher or lower Maximum Average Pressure is one factor, but the other is the powder burn rate. A faster-burning powder will develop a lot of pressure in the chamber, but it will have dropped off by the time the bullet passes the gas port. A load of slower burning powder with the same MAP will have the bullet passing the gas port with a significantly more pressure behind it.
If I was expecting to shoot a wider variety of loads, I would get the adjustable gas block. As it is, I think the bushing kit gives me what I need since I only expect to shoot M193 and my own handloads that all use 55 grain bullets and that use powders with a similar burn rate to WC844 and I can load them to similar but lower port pressures. I believe my loads are lower MAP than Lake City because I think they use a powder that is close to H-335 if not the same thing, and according to the charges I've weighed after pulling bullets, they use a lot more over published maximums than I would load myself. The great thing is I can get the same velocities within data published for 223 (not even 5.56) by using a different powder.
Consider the bushing kit or the adjustable block depending on the variety of port pressures you expect.
With Lake City M193, it flings the cases hard and dents them. I had to go down to 0.040. Then it would flick the cases into a pickup truck long-bed that I was standing next to. Unfortunately, handloads at the max-end of 223 data would not cycle the action. So I went up to 0.045. That seems to be a good compromise. The kit also comes with 0.035 and a 0.050.
The thing that matters is port pressure. Having higher or lower Maximum Average Pressure is one factor, but the other is the powder burn rate. A faster-burning powder will develop a lot of pressure in the chamber, but it will have dropped off by the time the bullet passes the gas port. A load of slower burning powder with the same MAP will have the bullet passing the gas port with a significantly more pressure behind it.
If I was expecting to shoot a wider variety of loads, I would get the adjustable gas block. As it is, I think the bushing kit gives me what I need since I only expect to shoot M193 and my own handloads that all use 55 grain bullets and that use powders with a similar burn rate to WC844 and I can load them to similar but lower port pressures. I believe my loads are lower MAP than Lake City because I think they use a powder that is close to H-335 if not the same thing, and according to the charges I've weighed after pulling bullets, they use a lot more over published maximums than I would load myself. The great thing is I can get the same velocities within data published for 223 (not even 5.56) by using a different powder.
Consider the bushing kit or the adjustable block depending on the variety of port pressures you expect.
dh1633pm
Contributing Member
My Mini 14 sends them into the next county. I haven't taken apart the gas system to check. Just never bothered to work on it. I have purchased things from Accuracy Systems. They are good at what they do.
westernrover
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Too much force through the gas port beats the rifle up. I don't want to crack metal parts. Reducing the area of the gas port is the best solution. I also use a Wilson Combat 1911 buffer pad. Heavier-rate springs can also be had but I have not found that necessary with the smaller gas bushings.
When I bought my 5800 series,I messed about with the gas system changing the bushings. In the end,I changed it back to the factory stock gas bushing. If it sends the brass into orbit and dents the case I don't care. I have more AR .223/5.56 fired brass than I can shake a stick at. I want that rifle to fire and cycle like an AK when its mud caked,wet or any other adverse condition. I believe that why Ruger uses the larger orifice.
OP
OP
CoalCrackerAl
Member
I have a .045 in mine too. I'll drill out a ..050 to .060 for the 30 then. And go from there.
My 189 Series Mini-30 came new from the factory with a 0.100 bushing. I put a 0.070 in it from ASI and it tamed things down considerably. I may try the 0.065 that came in the pack of 3 at some point.
Of course the Mini-30 is very different when it comes to the minimum size bushing you can get away with and still function reliably with many brands and types of Ammo. Reducing the bushing was well worth the trouble. It does make a measurable difference.
The newer minis allegedly come from the factory with a 0.080 or 0.085 bushing... something like that.
Of course the Mini-30 is very different when it comes to the minimum size bushing you can get away with and still function reliably with many brands and types of Ammo. Reducing the bushing was well worth the trouble. It does make a measurable difference.
The newer minis allegedly come from the factory with a 0.080 or 0.085 bushing... something like that.
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nettlle
Contributing Member
I don't have a Mini 14 but hot rodding the gas system on my M1A isn't good for it.
Riomouse911
Member
My Minis gas systems are stock. I haven't taken things down that far, so I don’t know what the bushing sizes are. I can say that all three of them can probably sail a fired case through a football goalpost for an extra point. (195-, 583- series Mini-14 and 196-series Mini 30)
They all have been boringly reliable, so I accept them launching cases as a trade off.
Stay safe.
They all have been boringly reliable, so I accept them launching cases as a trade off.
Stay safe.
It's a comon accurizing tweak for the Mini-14 and Mini-30. The gas system is quite different than that of the M1A.
Has anyone witnessed a cracked Ruger. If Im lying im dying but I've been in the closet with my love of shooting mini's and never cracked any part. Now I put a buffer on my original from 1988 and it wouldn't function.
Gas bushing, I went down two sizes on the mini thirty and it sends reloads 90 degrees into my umbrella and drop to the rubber mat in the barn.
Sweet rifle !!! When you get older you'll find ways to stay out of the mud and stay dry
1KPerDay
Member
Very different systems. The mini-14 is a lot closer to an M1 Carbine mechanically. And this is the opposite of hot-rodding. They’re REDUCING the amount of gas entering the system (which is notoriously over-gassed from the factory) and prolonging the life of parts.
Riomouse911
Member
The range at the SO who did our range training quals issued minis to deputies. They had some of their hundreds of mini-14’s break over the years, mostly older guns used at the range. Of course those guns were shot easily 20-100 shots a day, 5-7 days a week for years and years before any hardware broke. (Springs are consumables, those don’t count.)
I do vividly remember a shark fin stainless/wood stock range gun I fired at a qual a few years ago was cycling perfectly, but keyholing at 25 yds. I passed the qual and showed the rangemaster the keyholes. He told me to down it. When everyone was done, we took it into the armory instead of putting it back on the cart for tomorrows shooters. (They would often qualify 40-70 people at a time, especially winter night shoots like this one.)
I called the range armory the next day about the gun. The guy laughed, and said after scoping the bore there was zero rifling visible for about six inches out from the chamber. It had completely eroded away from decades of duty and then range use. The rest of the bore was badly worn as well but some of the rifling remained.
Our office did have a handguard shatter on a rifle racked in an SUV involved in a high speed crash. A call to Ruger and a new handguard was at my office in a couple of days. Other than that one, the 65-odd Minis we had back then were good.
Stay safe.
I do vividly remember a shark fin stainless/wood stock range gun I fired at a qual a few years ago was cycling perfectly, but keyholing at 25 yds. I passed the qual and showed the rangemaster the keyholes. He told me to down it. When everyone was done, we took it into the armory instead of putting it back on the cart for tomorrows shooters. (They would often qualify 40-70 people at a time, especially winter night shoots like this one.)
I called the range armory the next day about the gun. The guy laughed, and said after scoping the bore there was zero rifling visible for about six inches out from the chamber. It had completely eroded away from decades of duty and then range use. The rest of the bore was badly worn as well but some of the rifling remained.
Our office did have a handguard shatter on a rifle racked in an SUV involved in a high speed crash. A call to Ruger and a new handguard was at my office in a couple of days. Other than that one, the 65-odd Minis we had back then were good.
Stay safe.
I'm 72 in a couple of months and live on a ranch in coastal Oregon....Near on impossible to stay out of the rain and mud.
Send some this way!!!
