Scoped Mini-14
Who actually has a Mini-14 with a scope on it?
How much do you shoot it?
How is your scope holding up?
I have a Mini that seems to tear up the scopes, just made a few changes and before I throw more money away I thought I'd ask.
To help soften things I installed a recoil buffer and a muzzle brake, hope this helps, I'm tired of sending scopes back.
How much do you shoot it?
How is your scope holding up?
I have a Mini that seems to tear up the scopes, just made a few changes and before I throw more money away I thought I'd ask.
To help soften things I installed a recoil buffer and a muzzle brake, hope this helps, I'm tired of sending scopes back.
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What kind of scopes have you had on it?
Liberty Bells Life Member
http://www.libertybelles.org0 -
I've owned one of the standard mini14s since the late 70's. At one point I bought the conversion kit which replaces the door one the side of the receiver to allow mounting an offset scope mount. It never worked well. The holes stripped out and the scope was never secure even when things were tight. If you want a scoped mini14 you need to buy one of Rugers "ranch" models which has scope mounts cast/cut into the receiver tops. A buddy who bought his ranch style a year or so after mine has had the same scope on it all that time. It has never been a tack driver but you don't buy a mini if you want minute of angle acccuracy. For the back of the ranch truck varmint busting they are hard to beat. 0 -
ern98 gave you the best insight.
My ranch model has never had any scope problems with the mounts that are recessed into the top. That said, at under 100 yards you may do just as well with the fip up 'peep' sight that is also on that model. The best I can do is 2.5 inches on a good day. I have not pursued hand-loads for this gun because there is so much cheap stuff around that all shoots about the same. The gun has not performed much better for others.0 -
My ranch model crapped out a perfectly good scope in less than 100rnds. Semi-auto's ESPECIALLY in the rolling block (M1) design, have a propensity for trashing scopes.
why chase the game when the bullet can get em from here?....
Got Balistics?0 -
I have a Mini 14 Ranch SS that i have a Leupold 3X9 mounted on it. About 5000 rounds and no problem with the scope or the mount. Semi autos are hard on scopes so you have to use a good quality scope from the start. I have Leupold scopes on everything from 22 Mag to 340 Meatherby with no problem. I also have a Leupold on a 454 Casull that is a deadly out to 200 yds. 0 -
Dave,
Don't take offense to this but the best solution to your problem is to get rid of the Mini-14. It's not worth the aggrevation nor the dollars necessary to correct the design problems that are built into it. Sell it and put the money towards a really good rifle. As I said, no offense.
Now, if you insist on keeping this and putting more good money into a pit, then you need to get an air rifle scope. Do some reading about the design of air rifle scopes and you'll see why this will work. And as an aside, brand names will not guarantee that the scope won't fail. I just finished selling off all of my Leupolds for this very reason. Look into the air rifle scopes.
Best.0 -
Obviously everyone has their own opinion of what is the best solution. If you want to shoot an air rifle, then scope it accordingly. There are better scopes on the market but not for the money. Mimi 14's can be tempermental but they can be great shooters with little or no work. I use mine for coyotes in the west with many shots in excess of 250 yds. Decide for yourself, but I would strongly suggest staying away from the airgun scope and keep the mini 14. 0 -
lowelc,
It's obvious by your response that you don't understand the concept of using an air rifle scope.
Some rifle scopes are made specifically for spring actuated air rifles. The dual recoil from one of these rifles is the absolute worst for scopes. Therefore these scopes are very heavy duty in order to resist the recoil and remain intact. Hence my suggestion to use one of these rather than fight the odds of getting a standard scope to work.
Leupold scopes are fine scopes but they no longer hold the top slot in quality, reliability and customer service. This is not new, it started about 4 years ago and Leupold has yet to address the problems. They insist on doing name changes instead of working on their drawbacks. It doesn't make them bad scopes, they just aren't the best value for the dollars.
Every time this subject somes up there is someone that wants to make a rule out of their exception. Mini-14's are not just tempermental, they are a poor design that is inaccurate from the factory because of its design. It's that plain and simple. The majority of Mini-14 owners can't get consistant reasonable groups from these rifles from the factory and most of time there isn't an easy or inexpensive fix. If you don't believe me, take a look at the amount of industry that has been built up around fixing the design and function of these rifles.
If you have one of the very few decent Mini-14's, be grateful because most of the other owners don't have one that is even close.
Best.
P.S. - I've worked on dozens of these and I won't touch them any more.
And so that I don't appear to be hoggish with posts, I'll add some more here. Snellstrom should have some space to add what he wants to say. I'm sorry that this got carried away. Anyway...
To save some more confusion, here is a photograph of a fine firearm. Please study it carefully so that you know the difference from now on. Note the quality and craftsmanship in this example, something that is definitely lacking in your choice. I'm just trying to save you from being embarrassed at some later date. Let me know if you need to see some examples for clarity. No offense intended.
Oh, and by the way, save the snotty, snide remarks for someone who might care what your opinion is. No offense.
This is a fine firearm!
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nononsense
I can only speak to my successes (or failures) and those of my customers. Having little knowledge (nor use) for the use of airgun scopes on centerfire rifles, I will leave that subject up to you. As per the effectiveness of the mini 14, you have the right to your own opinion. That does not mean that only a few of these fine weapons are worth having. Maybe the first thing is having the experience and ability to handle one. No offence intended.0 -
It all depends on what sort of accuracy is acceptable to you. If 2-3" groups at 100 yds are ok with you, the Mini-14 will serve you just fine. So will an sks, at about 1/3rd the cost of the gun, and 1/2 the cost of practice ammo. 0 -
Very few Mini-14 rifles have the sort of accuracy that makes them worthy of a scope. Those that exist are statistical abominations. Maybe 1 in 500 Mini-14s will shoot under 2 MOA. Maybe 1 in 5000 under 1 MOA. If you want accuracy, spend the extra up front and start with a rifle that is worthy of a scope.
MEMBER SINCE 10/24/1999.
To err is human, to moo is bovine.0 -
My mini 30 shoots 2moa and I shoot cheap ammo. I have cheap 30 round magazines that feed perfectly, and the only time the gun fails is when the ammo fails. It shoots well very dirty. The gas system makes recoil manageable for a relativly compact rifle. It is my favorite gun to shoot including ARs.
That being said, unless I was going to accurize my rifle, I would not scope it.
Ben
Play Ball!!!0
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