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[5054]

Hello Everyone,

Found this forum about 2 weeks ago when I bought my first mini. A 1999 manf, wood/gb Ranch Rifle. Took it to the range yesterday for the first time and had a great time as well as my girlfriend she liked alot better than my handguns. I had two questions though has anyone ever heard or used this scope. http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=323022 I ordered it and figure it cheap and will try it out.
Second my mini sends the brass literally 10 yards when ejecting.Is this common or unique to the mini b/c it sends 2-3 times farther than any other rifle I own. Really like the forum and hope to learn alot more about this great rifle.

Thanks,
5054

[sticks]

Second my mini sends the brass literally 10 yards when ejecting. Is this common or unique to the mini b/c it sends 2-3 times farther than any other rifle I own.
Welcome to the forum 5054 !

Yes, ejecting the brass into the next county is common place with the Mini-14. The cure is to change the gas port bushing.
You can contact gundoc here on this forum; he can fix you right up.

http://perfectunion.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=120

http://www.greatwestgunsmithing.com/

[2rangers]

5054-
Welcome to the board!
Ranch rifles send brass flying quite far, as a result of the ejection system used to clear the brass from hitting a mounted scope. Sticks offered some good advice on the gas bushings, as well as recommending Gundoc. Gundoc is well respected in these parts.
As far as the scope, don't bother. Your ranch rifle has built in mounts for ruger scope rings. I suggest you use these, or, if they are missing, purchasing a set. The ruger mounts/rings, while not perfect, are tons better than using the side-cover-mounted deal, for they are much more rigid.
It also pays in the long run to install the best glass you can afford, as cheaper optics have a poorer image, as well as the reputation to let you down at the most inopportune time.
Mini's have been known to be scope destroyers. The action makes some racket in operation. this is known to jar scopes around. Look in the tips and tricks section for some good info on how to make a shock buffer for your mini, at little or no cost.
:sniper:

[timlt]

One other option to cure the brass ejection problem is a slightly different version of the "gas bushing solution." You can contact Accuracy Systems Inc ( http://www.accuracysystemsinc.com/index.php ), go to their Mini-14 accessories page, and they have what's called an adjustable gas block. It costs about $90, and you use it to replace the gas block on your Mini. It looks and works just like the factory one, except that it has an adjustable screw that you use to adjust the force of the ejection of your casings. You can go from "wide open" force, all the way down to having the casings just barely falling out of the gun at your feet.

This gives you two main advantages:

1. The ability to control exactly how far your brass is thrown, and

2. Some ability to tune the accuracy of your gun. Not as much as some other options, but I've noted it does have an effect.


As for optics options, I agree with 2Rangers on the scope details. Another option that you might consider is getting a forward type of mount, such as the Ultimak scout rail ( www.ultimak.com ) and putting a military-style red dot optic on it. The recommended optics for that scenario are: Eotech or Aimpoint. Expensive, but outstanding. With red dots, after some personal experience of them, I wouldn't consider anything less than these high quality ones.

[5054]

Thank you all for the info. I will be looking into the gas block options and be purchasinG one for the ejection "problem". As I'am fairly new to guns in general is this hard to replace or would it be better to send it out to someone or take it to my local gunsmith? Thanks again for the help all. I really appreciate all my newbie questions being answered.:)

[timlt]

I'm not sure if you're talking to me about the ASI adjustable gas block, but if you are, I was new to guns when I bought it, and I was able to replace it just fine. It's not super hard. If you want something much simpler and less expensive, you may want to stick with the gas bushings though. I just liked having the adjustable gas block; it was worth it for me. The trickiest part of installing it is, when you replace the gas block, you need to carefully torque down the screws. There's some guidance on that in the tips and tricks section.

[5054]

I was just thinking about doing the gas bushings first. Seems like I can do it :wacko: . If I get stuck a friend of a friend is a gunsmith so I could have him take a look at it or maybe just bribe him with a 12 pack of cold ones. :D Also I couldn't find anything about a buffer in the tips and tricks section and the search turned upa few but couldn't find what I was looking for.Some good news though my mother has just accepted a job with Zeiss and gets everything at cost so looks like I will be able to afford some nice optics :D. Thanks again all for the help.

P.S. I thought that GB stood for gun blue not for a Leo/Goverment model. My mini is just stock wood/ Gun blue?:blink:

5054