Hi everyone and thanks in advance for any information or advice.
Well, the luck of the Irish struck again, and my 580 series just broke its firing pin. So, when sending a Mini back to Ruger, should I strip ALL the accessories off? Obviously the scope and bipod are coming off, but should I also pull the accu-strut from the barrel and cheek pad from the stock?
Frankly, it was a bad day at the range all along - first my Mini, then the scope on my 10/22 refused to hold horizontal zero. At 20 yds that rifle always shoots one holers and has pulled 1/4" center to center on a good day. It just shot a one bullet tall, 2" wide pattern of 25 shots at 10yds! Anyone know anything about Tasco warranty service?
Put it back to stock. I've heard both sides.. sometimes they'll send it back fixed and how you sent it in and other times it gets restored as its supposed to from the factory. I say why gamble.
When I called Ruger CS about sending in my rifle they said to take off any after market parts because they "didn't want to be responsible for them". Strip it down back to stock just to be safe!
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__________________________________________________ _____________________the average response time for 911 is 23 minutes. the average response time for 357 magnum is 1400 feet per second!
Thanks guys. Everything is off the rifle now, except for some silicone gunk on the stock (used it to keep the cheek pad in place).
Initially I toyed with the idea of using an aftermarket pin, maybe even get the existing pin rewelded. However, the bolt looks a little worse for wear, and it would probably be best to see if Ruger will replace it too. Basically the firing pin hole has 'peened' out like a little 'volcano'; not sure what caused it in the first place, but it looks dangerously able to cut a hole in a primer (sharp edges). FWIW I was firing factory M193 ball ammo (LC 2012) when I had a failure to fire. Turned out to be the first broken firing pin I have ever seen in a mini...
That's a real bummer about ya mini Grumpy was it a 14 or a mini 30 ?
I hope they sort it out ok for you, I'm sure they will.
Bit of a hassle about ya 10/22 scope not holding it's zero. I have finally got a scope for my take down but haven't fitted it yet. I hope to do that this week and get to the range to sight it in. It's a Burris timberline 3-9 ballistic plex so should do the job ok.
I've got a Tasco 4-12 on my mini 30 which seems to be going ok but I suppose they are a bit of a mixed bag these days with most of them made in China.
Hope all ya stuff gets sorted.
Take care and hot barrels
Send it to Ruger without the bolt as well. They should replace it. Call Ruger CS and email them before you send it off and tell them what is going on. If you email them they will get back to you within a couple of days.
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__________________________________________________ _____________________the average response time for 911 is 23 minutes. the average response time for 357 magnum is 1400 feet per second!
My one experience with Ruger service (a pistol, not a rifle) was stellar. Please let us know how it goes; everything I have ever heard has been positive.
The strut would *probably* be OK, but I would advise taking it off just to be on the safe side. I designed the Accu-strut to be completely removable just for such reasons, or should the owner wish to transfer to another gun.
Though I do wonder if Ruger saw enough struts come in.. whether they'd maybe start thinking of ways to re-design the Mini with a built-in strut. They have to be at least aware of it and probably manufacturing/design costs are holding them back. I think a built-in strut that maximizes stability would be great. Of course the downside of this, the current innovators/producers won't get much of the credit and loss of sales with the new rifles (though plenty of business from retrofitters).
That's a real bummer about ya mini Grumpy was it a 14 or a mini 30 ?
I hope they sort it out ok for you, I'm sure they will.
Bit of a hassle about ya 10/22 scope not holding it's zero. I have finally got a scope for my take down but haven't fitted it yet. I hope to do that this week and get to the range to sight it in. It's a Burris timberline 3-9 ballistic plex so should do the job ok.
I've got a Tasco 4-12 on my mini 30 which seems to be going ok but I suppose they are a bit of a mixed bag these days with most of them made in China.
Hope all ya stuff gets sorted.
Take care and hot barrels
Hi kiwihunter;
It is a 5.56x45, 18" bbl blue. Never saw a bolt or firing pin damaged this way before. I almost wonder if I had a pierced primer?
FWIW, I replaced the Tasco Varminter on the 10/22 with a Nikon Prostaff 3-9x40. duplex reticle. Not my first choice for this rifle, since I prefer mil-dot and either AO or SF for close to medium range precision training to make sure all the errors are mine (not parallax or misjudging holdover) but I had one in the spares bin and it will do nicely I suspect.
Despite Tasco's rep, I have had nothing but good service from this scope until now. It did take a nasty knock recently, which was something I wanted to check out in this range session. Now I know...and it has been a good enough scope that I will see how good their warranty is, rather than tossing it.
Good luck on your takedown 10/22! The Burris should be a fine scope for your rifle.
Hi everyone and thanks in advance for any information or advice.
Well, the luck of the Irish struck again, and my 580 series just broke its firing pin. So, when sending a Mini back to Ruger, should I strip ALL the accessories off? Obviously the scope and bipod are coming off, but should I also pull the accu-strut from the barrel and cheek pad from the stock?
Frankly, it was a bad day at the range all along - first my Mini, then the scope on my 10/22 refused to hold horizontal zero. At 20 yds that rifle always shoots one holers and has pulled 1/4" center to center on a good day. It just shot a one bullet tall, 2" wide pattern of 25 shots at 10yds! Anyone know anything about Tasco warranty service?
All the best,
Grumpy
Just curious, how much if any steel case ammo did you shoot through your mini? I'm just wondering if that issue can be eliminated as a cause of your problem. Your firing pin could have been damaged many rounds before it finally let go.
Though I do wonder if Ruger saw enough struts come in.. whether they'd maybe start thinking of ways to re-design the Mini with a built-in strut. They have to be at least aware of it and probably manufacturing/design costs are holding them back. I think a built-in strut that maximizes stability would be great. Of course the downside of this, the current innovators/producers won't get much of the credit and loss of sales with the new rifles (though plenty of business from retrofitters).
I could always sell them the design (since I have all the documented R&D behind the design), or become a dedicated vendor for them. Hey Ruger, give ol' kkina a call!
Just curious, how much if any steel case ammo did you shoot through your mini? I'm just wondering if that issue can be eliminated as a cause of your problem. Your firing pin could have been damaged many rounds before it finally let go.
Hi 40nascar;
That rifle has something like 4000 rounds on it. Worst of the bunch was maybe 1000 rounds of Prvi Partizan, mostly used on Federal AE223 (maybe 2500 rounds total). Most recently I upgraded to Federal M193 (500+ rounds). Close examination of my bolt makes me think that maybe the metal is a little softer than it should be - never seen a peened edge like that before, and I have had plenty of broken firing pins over the years (none in minis though).
One other observation - headspace on this rifle was okay out of the box, but only barely so. My 30 year old GB model tests much tighter, and I have no idea how many rounds that beast has seen. FWIW, the bolt on that rifle doesn't seem to have as many wear marks, so again it makes me think I got a soft part here.
Don't know if marginal headspace and a soft bolt can have anything to do with a broken firing pin, though. No evidence of a head separation having occurred, though a punched primer would be possible (wasn't keeping track of the brass on the last shot that must have killed my pin).
I could always sell them the design (since I have all the documented R&D behind the design), or become a dedicated vendor for them. Hey Ruger, give ol' kkina a call!
Yea, that would be an awesome break for all the hard work and the amount of time you put into the development of the struts.
That's a real bummer about ya mini Grumpy was it a 14 or a mini 30 ?
I hope they sort it out ok for you, I'm sure they will.
Bit of a hassle about ya 10/22 scope not holding it's zero. I have finally got a scope for my take down but haven't fitted it yet. I hope to do that this week and get to the range to sight it in. It's a Burris timberline 3-9 ballistic plex so should do the job ok.
I've got a Tasco 4-12 on my mini 30 which seems to be going ok but I suppose they are a bit of a mixed bag these days with most of them made in China.
Hope all ya stuff gets sorted.
Take care and hot barrels
it was a 14.
he said he was shooting M193
M193 is a 5.56x45 55grain FMJ round.
Ok so not the 30 aye maybe the firing pin was weakened or something before, when it was made.
The Burris went fine on my take down. Took it to the range yesterday and re-zeroed fine at 25m when I took the rifle apart and back together. Now to cut the barrel down and fit a suppressor those new 42g Winchester subsonic rounds go with quite a pop. I have only used them through my brno 22 with a suppressor on before and was pretty quiet then.
I have never had any problems with my Tasco on the mini 30, and ran a 4X one on my brno for many years with no worries. Both were made in Japan though, and I suppose the new ones are made in China and might not be as good.
Mind you if you give them a good whack it's not too surprising it went bung
Take care and good luck with getting it fixed.
I will post some pics of my targets on the takedown thread once I get back to the range
Originally Posted by grumpy_old_man
Hi kiwihunter;
It is a 5.56x45, 18" bbl blue. Never saw a bolt or firing pin damaged this way before. I almost wonder if I had a pierced primer?
FWIW, I replaced the Tasco Varminter on the 10/22 with a Nikon Prostaff 3-9x40. duplex reticle. Not my first choice for this rifle, since I prefer mil-dot and either AO or SF for close to medium range precision training to make sure all the errors are mine (not parallax or misjudging holdover) but I had one in the spares bin and it will do nicely I suspect.
Despite Tasco's rep, I have had nothing but good service from this scope until now. It did take a nasty knock recently, which was something I wanted to check out in this range session. Now I know...and it has been a good enough scope that I will see how good their warranty is, rather than tossing it.
Good luck on your takedown 10/22! The Burris should be a fine scope for your rifle.
All the best,
Grumpy
Originally Posted by Mr. Snuffalupagus
it was a 14.
he said he was shooting M193
M193 is a 5.56x45 55grain FMJ round.
Thanks Snuffy, I have no idea about all that M195 roger tango foxtrot stuff
We don't get enough ammo over here to know it by the numbers just brand name and caliber
Take care mate
Sorry about the confusion on the M193; I've been shooting surplus stuff so long I tend to assume everyone knows M193, M80, M2, M173, etc. Apologies!
Good to read that your Burris is working well, though I am a bit envious of NZ gun laws in one respect, if I read you right. Over here, suppressors are treated as rather exotic beasts, requiring special federal registration (takes months for the papers to clear), $200 federal tax, and Chief Law Enforcement Officer signoff (if the top cop in your area won't sign the form saying its okay for you to have a suppressor, its a no-go).
The mini I originally posted about arrived at Ruger today. Not sure how long it will take them to get to it, but I sincerely hope they replace the bolt as well as the firing pin. I will keep everyone posted on the outcome of my Ruger repair odyssey!
No worries Grumpy we pay so much for ammo they have to give it all fancy factory names to justify making us pay through the proverbial hole
I'm sure if you saw the price of our ammo you would gladly keep it hard to get suppressors over your way. Yes you don't need any conditions to buy suppressors here and .22 ones go for about $50 for cheap ones up to $100 for the expensive ones. Centerfire ones are quite a bit more expensive and seem to be around 3 to $400 ish.
We are allowed muzzle breaks but not flash hiders, And only 7 round magazines for centerfire rifles unless you have a special license, and 15 round mags maximum for semiauto .22s
Keeping my fingers crossed for your rifle getting sorted at Ruger and hope they replace that bolt to.
Take care dude
Just got my 581 back from Ruger CS the other day and ran 'er through the wringer yesterday. They came through, replaced the bolt and associated parts, along with the ejector (piece was throwing brass high, into the scope and I'd already had one scope bite the dust), and "repaired" the slide. They went above and beyond the obvious broken firing pin, and honored my requests, so +1 for Ruger CS on honoring our requests for service in all respects, +1 for Ruger CS in that they do good work on their repairs. The piece handles like new! Now I just have to wait until the gawdawful summer ends and put in more serious trigger time. Nothing like 100 degrees in the shade to spoil my marksmanship....
Hi Kiwihunter;
I see what you mean about "grass is always greener" - while I would love to be able to legally and easily suppress my .22's and forgo hearing protection, the mag limits in NZ would seriously annoy me! Not that I "need" a high capper on everything, but the fact is that when it is technologically possible to have one, I chafe at having a leash put on me by the nanny state types. The restrictions on auto-fire are mostly livable because I can't afford to burn through ammo any faster than I already do.
'Course if things go the wrong way next election, we may envy NZ for at least allowing a special license for standard and high cap mags. The gun grabbers over here would love to have a mag and gun ban where we had to turn 'em in, no licenses allowed. The "register" and "freeze" nonsense is just the first step on their agenda of turning America into a nasty little 3rd world "hellhole-istan" where only criminals and corrupt cops have guns, and the rest of us live in fear.
Oh well, I will enjoy my guns and mags while I am still able. Too many of my friends have passed on in the last few years, so I should enjoy every moment while I can.
Yea I'm sure eventually the gov't will try to take our guns away and it will probably be a hell of a fight. So I'll stock up on some hi-cap mags now just in case. Here in MI we don't have to register our rifles or shotguns at all so if anyone asks " I don't know what mini-14 you're talking about."
was it a 14 or a mini 30 ?
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