How accurate can a mini14 chambered in 5.56 be

Unlike the 30-30 test this one is largely under way.
Interesting Read on Mini14 Accuracy by Ed Harris....
223 start loads or near start loads with H322 have long been a favorite of shooters for being an economic loading that is less temperature sensitive and is very accurate for a long time.
I actually bought some factory ammo. It shot horrible. Nearly 2 inches at 25yd with 5 shot groups.
My other ballpowder loads shot about 1 inch at 25yd which is typical of a good load. But not looking for good need great.
My 55gr fmj H322 load did pretty well, about a 5/8 by 3/4 group at 25yd. That's actually really good for a mini14.
The load made groups the 9/16 to 5/8 of an inch range. It was a Sierra 64gr tipped match king with 22gr of H322 and a cci400 primer.
I'm thinking about redoing a reloader 7 test, which is a fair bit faster burning than H322. Made real accurate AR15 carbine loads a that would cycle but they wouldn't cycle an AR15 rifle.

 

I have a mini 14 stainless steel model. Shoots pretty damn good, though I couldn't tell you, after all these years, what the grouping was. Good enough to eat with, though!

 

Haven't gotten a mini14 yet but hear they are pretty sweet. I did get one of these tho...

 

We played with the Mini-14 several times, it really all comes down to the barrel, both weight and quality, as well as proper twist! Got so mine with it's 1/8 twister SOCOM-sorta profile and polished feed would shoot bug holes all day long with Mil-Spec ammo, still, took a bunch of money to get it there, money that was better spent on a really super trick Kel-Tec SU-16 project!

 

Old topic and one that is beyond my pay grade. Mil spec and civilian 223 vary in both chamber and loading, a third compromise is also exists. Need to tailor your ammo to what you have. One comment on this is listed below.

Throwback Thursday: AR-15 .223 vs Mil-Spec 5.56mm Chambers

In addition it seems that bullet weight, velocity, barrel twist rate, etc, all play a major role in accuracy. In addition the origional Mini 14 was not optiminized for the effects of the harmonics of the barrel and was hammer forged and over the years different twists were used. One post went into the effects on accuracy different barrel treatments had. Love the Mini 14 but it is to me a spray and pray weapon and I would rather use some other rifle or a different cartridge for long range accuracy.

.Ruger Mini-14 Twist Rate vs. Accuracy

 

The barrel on mine is definitely very worn.
I'm going to attempt to put a new heavy stainless 580 series barrel on mine.

 

Problem with older minis is the new owner does mag dumps and burns up the barrel like BT stated
Then they try to sell it for what they have in the thing.
I understand the newer models have better barrels
If I was investing in one it would probably be a 7.62x39 or the 300bo.

 

I had one from the late 70's and it was a good shooter-should've never got rid of it. I always wanted one of the Mini 30's but never picked one up, and nowadays they are out of sight if you find one.

 

Had no idea they chambered one in 300 BO.

 

Mini-14®

 

Yeah the old barrels were button rifled, the new mini barrels are hammer forged.
That's one of several reasons I want to try and put a 580 barrel on an old rifle.

 

Have an older Mini (200th year, 1976 manufacture) Need to sight it in one of these days. One of the things I've noticed about it in the past was the fact that it would chamber and fire beat up, dented ammunition that made an AR choke. Pretty hard to beat it if you absolutely positively need something that goes bang.

Mostly play with ARs now, but it would be interesting to see how the Mini groups. I inherited it from my dad when he passed away and he just collected, didn't shoot. I've never done magazine dumps, preferring to aim and fire, not spray.

I've had good luck using Varget powder in the .223 with 55 gr. in the AR

 

Oh yeah baby,Minis are know to eat anything chambered.

 

My mini14 (with the old barrel) will swallow a 5.56 "no go" gauge with out hesitation.

 

Yep, forgot to mention that, in my previous reply. Shooting shitty Russian steel cased ammo thru an AR will result in a LOT of cleaning of the chamber and barrel. Shooting the same ammo thru my Mini-14, it will look at me, and say, "Is that all you've got?" I literally fired over 1000 rounds of steel cased ammo thru it, before I gave it a thorough (more than running a brush and swab down the barrel) cleaning, and it handled it, without a hiccup. Try THAT with an AR!!

 

I did a trigger job on the mini14. Got it to break with a little over 1.5lb of force with no take up and only a bit of creep.
I cut off 1 coil from the sear spring and ground the sear, I may need to get a new sear spring if 1.5lb of trigger pull on a mini14 is too dangerous. I didn't intentionally make it 1.5lb. I should have ground on the sear then maybe cut the spring.
Don't do it. It's probably a bad idea.
I would say the safe sane limit it about 2.5lb to 3lb.
I have noticed that a typical 5lb trigger pull with mil spec like creep is good for throwing off shots by at least an inch @100yd compared to a good 1kg trigger.
A 1.5lb trigger with no take up and no creep may fire when the bolt slams shut. That's why I left the slightest bit of creep.
To function test I'll let the bolt go on an empty chamber and see if the hammer drops. If the hammer doesn't drop slamming shut on an empty chamber then it really shouldn't when stripping a round out of the mag.

 

I took the bolt completely apart on my mini14. I'm pretty sure it has never been cleaned in about 40 years. I never cleaned it and I have had it for about 24 years.
Don't try that on an AR15.

 

I got my barrel fitted, clocked, had to do some hand buffing on the barrel to get the bolt to go into battery.
I ordered a 223wylde reamer, which is the same as a 5.56mm chamber, but uses the tighter 223rem free bore (0.224''), but a "longer than 5.56mm" freebore and the 5.56mm rifling lead angle.
I'll have to hog out at least 1mm to get the "go gauge" to go into battery maybe even as much as 0.050''. There might be a tiny patch of "5.56mm" 0.226 free bore left in the barrel, but shouldn't be a problem.

 

Head spacing a mini14 sucks. I got my mini14 to go into battery tight on the "go gauge" just like my much more accurate AR.
I don't blame ruger for fuckinup the head spacing on these trying to get dozens of these guns out the door per shift.
It took me all day to walk the head spacing in on my one barrel.
My guess is they screw the barrel in the reciever, mark it, use a "field gauge" head spacing gauge to set the head space, then put it in a jig and cut the gas port and extractor relief, put it together. A lot easier than what I did.
A "field gauge" is more like a suggestion or an "oh shit gauge" if you will. A "go gauge" is minimum chamber length to the shoulder, a "no go gauge" is supposed to be max for a new gun, about 10 thousands longer. A field gauge is even longer. If the "no go gauge" goes into battery your accuracy probably sucks with factory ammo. So I see no point in getting a field gauge.