what i have done to my mini

[Morpheus]

well i tried doing this earlier but the damn power went out 3 times and i gave up-damn rain :angry: . ok i started out with a 196 series rifle. things i have done to it are: bought a "plastic" pistol gripped stock, bedded the forearm because it was flimsy/squishy and locked the metal op-rod guide with the bedding make it more ridged, smith muzzle brake, "sleeved" the barrel using 9/16" diameter steel from home depot and another steel tube that was about the same diameter as the barrel(see pic below), made a smaller gas port bushing from 3/16" steel rod and the smallest drill bit i could find, made gasblock to op-rod buffer from vacume cleaner belt bought from walmart(5/8" wide), bought op-rod to reciever buffer and trimmed thinner, chamfered the front mag catch to get rid of the little flat spot thats before the angle, took 400 grit sand paper and smoothed the areas on the bolt that contact the reciever, side scope mount, 2.5-10 bsa deerhunter scope thats had 800+ rounds through it, the single shot mod(change a screw to go from semi to single shot)and thats all i can think of now. all the targets were at 40 yards, on a nice day, firing a shot every 2-4 seconds.

ok top left target was me sighting in-had one flier on the upper group that i will blame on a bad round as there were no other fliers that day. the smaller group had one high that i will take credit for but a nice group none the less.all shots were using the single shot mod and winchester 45 grain ammo.

top right target is the same deal.

bottom left is me and the rifle warmed up. i have noticed that my groups go in a left to right line-maybe im pulling it alittle....... i like the fact that theres no vertical movement though. i shot more targets than shown here and they were all horizontal groups. also this is in semi auto using winchester 45 grain ammo.

bottom right is typical of 55 grain ammo in my mini at 40 yards!! if you are having accuracy problems go with either a lower or higher bullet weight. i bet it solves your problem!! i have to get some wolf 62 grain to test it out.

[Morpheus]

this is my top of the line shooting bench on some abandoned property across from my uncles place. notice the fine craftsmanship of the table top and rotting seats that i was afraid my butt was going to go through. and dont forget the rifle rest made by remington and federal hehe. in the bottom pic is a very heavy duty garbage can flipped over and a piece of large cardboard was leaned against it as my target out at 40 yards.

[Morpheus]

this is what my rifle will look like kinda when its all done with the barrel chop/crown, rubber pistol grip is on now. in the bottom is how to sleeve the barrel- one tube has a cut down the length to slide over the barrel and the non-cut outer tube is slid/tapped over it(very tight fit) and flash hider that will be on the rifle soon(sept).
also shown is how i did the single shot mod-take 3 nuts and weld together, put on bench grinder to round the outside and clean up, drill a hole into the gasblock and tap to matching threads, drill a hold almost all the way through the gas piston from the closed side(hole has to be the same size as the screw)- i didnt tap this hole because the last gas piston broke 2 taps and i had to buy a new one. any questions ask!! oh yea and i didnt notice any differance on accuracy between the semi auto mode and single shot mode........ <_<

Mike

[Morpheus]

this is what happens when 55 grain fmj .223 and .30-06 hits 1/2" thick aluminum hehhe

[tri70]

You can't argue with with the facts, nice shooting!!
You gotta love the cheap mini fixes!! :D

-tri

[cajungeo]

Thanks Morpheus for showing us the stuff you've done to your mini.

A trigger job, and stock bedding will tighten groups further, and get rid of fliers. Adding a muzzle brake or cutting, and recrowning the barrel will also improve accuracy.

[Morpheus]

whats up all! i think im gunna break out the hand tools and some lumber and make a shooting vise/bench. im almost positive that i can make one little ragged hole with my rifle. the horizontal groups are just me pulling slightly and the fact that the cross hairs are kinda lost in the big bulls eye if you know what i mean so i need a smaller bulls eye. i also forgot to say that with a cold barrel shot(s) my groups are at the same exact spot and dont seem to open more than 1/16-1/8". the above tagets/groups are what i would concider real world groups and could be done again if i were using a vehical,tree,building etc as support. i have bedded the front of the stock all around the op-rod guide and it locks the front of the rifle in very tight and the reciever end has always been very snug from day one. the trigger on my rifle doesnt feel too bad really, alittle creep but a nice let off. i just get too trigger happy haha.

Mike