Ruger Mini 14 All Weather Ranch rifle in 6.8 SPC

[flightsimmer]

Hi Everybody;

Is there anyone who has any experiance with the "NEW" Ruger Mini 14 All Weather Ranch rifle in 6.8 SPC caliber?

I have tried real hard but I cannot get turned on by the AR-15's, sorry. I guess I'm just an old traditionalist.

I have not cared for the Mini 14 either untill this latest All Weather Ranch rifle came out in 6.8 SPC caliber which in itself is another story but one I want to know more about. I know it has twice the fizz of a .223 and I'll bet the ammo may be hard to find but I have not shopped for any yet.

I'm not into rifles that much but I do have several, like the M-1 Garand, M-14/M-21 and the like but I saw the new Mini 14 stainless all weather in .223 and really liked the looks of it and would like to hear from others who have one or used one in 6.8 SPC caliber.

Have a great week everybody. Regards, Dan.

 

[Spyvie]

No experience myself (my NRA Mini is in plain old .223) but I have heard good thing about the 6.8. The one issue seems to be hi-cap mag availability... nothing but factory 5 rounds for the 6.8. That appears to be changing though, as Promag is now accepting orders for 20 round mags.

http://www.perfectunion.com/vb/showthread.php?t=67789

 

[wally]

Promag is now accepting orders for 20 round mags.

Don't waste your money. They make the only mags than can jam an AK.

Good luck finding 6.8 SPC ammo for under $1 per round.

I love my Mini-30, too bad none of the non-factory mags seem to work very well.

--wally.

 

[Spyvie]

Don't waste your money. They make the only mags than can jam an AK.

He won't be wasting his money, Promag makes the most reliable aftermarket mags for the Ruger Mini rifles. You should probably stick with commi mags for commi rifles.

As for ammo, you're probably right.

ETA: The Mini series production lines have been retooled, and their barrels redesigned. All of the old tribal lore about the Mini's is no longer true, if it ever really was. The rifles are now reasonably accurate and as allways are dead solid reliable. Most any new Mini will give you ~ 2 MOA, some a little better, and some a little worse.

 

[JerBear]

Is there anyone who has any experiance with the "NEW" Ruger Mini 14 All Weather Ranch rifle in 6.8 SPC caliber?

Dan, I've owned one for about a year and a half and have shot about 1200 rounds through it (mostly handloads) and I've been very pleased with my Mini-14 6.8. It will shoot 2-2.5 moa with some factory ammo (IMO Silver State Armory is best) and 1-1.5 moa with handloads. I like the rifle and the 6.8 SPC cartridge. The best place to explore the 6.8 is http://68forums.com

It's true there aren't any high capacity mags for the 6.8 mini yet, but I've been able to get by with a couple of factory 5 rounders.

 

[R.W.Dale]

given the low performance of the 6.8 loadings the Ruger can digest (read NORMAL) there's no point in choosing the 6.8 mini, unless you just like getting 7.62x39 performance at well over a $1 a round

more here

The Remington factory load clocked an average of 2462.7 feet-per-second (fps) from the Ruger’s 18.5 inch barrel, with the chronograph eyes set at ten feet from the muzzle

http://www.gunblast.com/Ruger-RanchRifle68.htm

 

[ArmedBear]

Why is velocity low?

Does the 6.8 just require a longer barrel to work half-decently?

If so, what's the point of the 6.8 at all?

If not, is there something about the Ranch Rifle that limits its velocity?

 

[R.W.Dale]

Why is velocity low?

Does the 6.8 just require a longer barrel to work half-decently?

If so, what's the point of the 6.8 at all?

If not, is there something about the Ranch Rifle that limits its velocity?

because at the pressure the cartridge is rated for with the limited case capacity that's all the speed you get. PERIOD

the confusion comes from wildly optimistic velocity claims at this cartridges introduction and now you have folks folks shootin "blue pill" handloads in magic twist rate barrels to try to meet those original and completely fictitious claimed speeds.

Honestly I'm surprised nobody has blown themselves up yet

 

[ReelFaith]

I had a new 6.8 on hold for me at Bass Pro a few months ago. $775, I let it go because I had a very hard time finding ammo. What I could find was very limited and expensive. Also, SHTF and there will be less of 6.8. I bought the Mini 14 in .223, 16 1/4" in SS and Synthetic stock. Maybe not the most accurate but for what it does it's fine. Nice and light. I really do like the Mini 30 also but was concerned about mags and firing pin issues. The 223 round could be traded and bartered and more universal than the other calibers.
IMHO

 

[HOLY DIVER]

i got a mini in 6.8 looks great i have no idea how it shoots though i'm NOT paying the factory ammo prices and bullets are on back order i got the brass in last month so when my bullets get i guess i'll then test the rifle out lmao

 

[wally]

He won't be wasting his money, Promag makes the most reliable aftermarket mags for the Ruger Mini rifles

That's not saying much because the competition is Triple-K and National.

If you've got ProMag Mini-30 mags that work, count your blessings! I've six, I can count on the fingers on one hand how many times I've been able to shoot all 30 rounds without a jam.

I've had good luck with all my metal after market Mini-14 mags (20, 30 & 40 rounds), but all mine are pre '94 ban (meaning I don't remember who made them, they weren't proud enough of them to put any markings on them). But now Ruger is making 20 rounders for civilians so we can hope they do so for the other Mini calibers.

--wally.