Mini 14 stock rings vs Picatinny rails - opinions anyone?
Hi everyone and thanks in advance for any information or suggestions!
I have a Nikon 3-9x40 prostaff mounted with stock Ruger rings on my 581 series mini and have been considering an upgrade of both mount and scope.
So, has anyone compared weigand, gg&g, or any other picatinny rail mount to the stock Ruger rings? I would eventually like to be able to use a QD style mounting to the picatinny rail so I can add in night vision when I can afford it and swap out to a conventional scope.
Weigand is what i run and it works top notch, the bevel on the ejection side deflects all my brass so far and with a bit of blue lock tight you cant beat it.
I am going with rail only because the forward mount is so much faster. The mini 14 is not a tac driver, but rounds on target is all that counts. Even if they are 1 inch off your aim, you will still kill the SOB faster then he can draw on you.
I prefer the Ruger rings myself. I find that the "ring-mount" rails raise the optics too high for me even using low rings . Kind of sucks for me because I don't like to dedicate glass to one rifle.
Weigand is what i run and it works top notch, the bevel on the ejection side deflects all my brass so far and with a bit of blue lock tight you cant beat it.
Have a Weigant one my mini tac. Found it after an unfortunate try at the NCstar. Now there was a piece of junk!
Also, because of the spacing of the integral bases, some short scopes might not fit with the Ruger rings. I have a Nikon P223 3x32 carbine scobe and even after exchanging the included rings for one offset and one medium (the offset only comes in medium height and the stock rings are high), the scope was too forward for proper eye relief. So I too went with a Weigand rail. It came down to the Weigand and GG&G and I went with Weigand because it was $1.80 cheaper. Both are of high quality, and the GG&G has the advantage that the slots go all they way forward. I also looked at the Promag rail, which is extends forward over the hand guard to allow scout scope placement.
I am going with rail only because the forward mount is so much faster. The mini 14 is not a tac driver, but rounds on target is all that counts. Even if they are 1 inch off your aim, you will still kill the SOB faster then he can draw on you.
It looks like the bevel on the weigand is deeper than my gg&g. I can't get the bolt out with mine on. Just a little more info for you. It is oh so close, but i can't do it.
I personally prefer Warne quick detach rings because 1) I can quickly go to iron sights and still retain zero when I put the scope back on and 2) I can keep the scope as low to the bore as possible.
I have used both the included Ruger mounts & Weigand. Liked both but often had more problems getting bolt in and out with rail installed because of reduced room to operate. If you have to remove the Weigand for some reason, I have never felt confident with the "return to zero" even doing it as Weigand suggest.
If you have an absolute need to constantly be changing from one optic to another then go Weigand but will you require additional rings for use with picatinny? Expense.
I personally prefer the Ruger rings. KISS principal works best for me!
It looks like the bevel on the weigand is deeper than my gg&g. I can't get the bolt out with mine on. Just a little more info for you. It is oh so close, but i can't do it.
I can't remove my bolt without removing my Weigand rail, either. But my bolt is a PITA to remove. I have to remove the bolt catch to remove it, even though supposedly you don't.
>>>...I personally prefer the Ruger rings. KISS principal works best for me!...<<<
True enough, until you want to add a night vision system. Since this mini is the training rifle for my M1A, and I eventually want to add an honest to god starlight scope (big sucking sound of $$ out of my wallet there...) as well as something like an ART scope, I figured I would add a cheapie first gen NV scope to the training rifle to get my feet wet. Which means swapping out the optic....
As I have posted elsewhere on this forum, I have had great luck with the GG&G rail system and Red Dot Sights. With the GG&G there is zero problem getting the bolt out without disturbing the rail. The GG&G is excellent hardware and stays on the Mini without LocTite. The EOTech is a true Mil Standard rail. It also mounts very easily. My review on Amazon is here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3T3427...cm_cr_rdp_perm
I have one Mini mounted this way with an EOTech XPS3-0: Hosted on Fotki
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