[Sebastian777]

I've heard mini 14's aren't very picky as far as ammo, but are there any brands or types that I should avoid?

 

[DiN_BLiX]

Any .223/5.56 should feed perfectly.

 

[COBrien]

I personally avoid anything steel-cased. While it saves you money in the short-term, it tends to be dirty, and Berdan-primed ammo can cause firing pin breakage, which then requires a trip back to Ruger for proper (read: reliable) repair.

 

[Sebastian777]

Any issues with Brown Bear?

 

[DiN_BLiX]

Any issues with Brown Bear?

None that I'm personally aware of. Alot of mixed info on steel cased ammo on the interwebs. It IS dirty, slightly underpowered, and less accurate generally than brass cased ammo, harder of the gun? I don't know. With ammo prices and availibilty being what they are I'd buy any .223 I could find.

 

[PDXS3T]

For the Mini-14, I always have fired brass ammo. With the Mini-30, Its mostly been brass ammo but I have feed it steel cased ammo with mixed results. I try to stay away from steel but, I do shoot it because its cheap (was cheap).

 

[grumpy_old_man]

I'd stay away from the steel cased stuff myself, but for a different reason - barrel wear. A lot of the steel cased stuff uses combloc bullets with a steel jacket and copper wash ('bimetallic construction') that wears bbls excessively. Take a look here: http://www.luckygunner.com/labs/brass-vs-steel-cased-ammo/#bookmark4

Basically the bimetallic bullets ripped the heck out of the rifling and dramatically shortened the life of the bbl.

All the best,
Grumpy

 

[KingANuthin]

I personally avoid anything steel-cased. While it saves you money in the short-term, it tends to be dirty, and Berdan-primed ammo can cause firing pin breakage, which then requires a trip back to Ruger for proper (read: reliable) repair.

Is there is a lot of berdan prime steel case 5.56 out there? I thought it was all still boxer anyway. The 762x39 is because of how hard and ak pin hits and is prone to unintentional fire with boxer.

 

[curt mini14]

fired thosunds of steel case ammo through my mini still acc as all get out same with my 45 i see no excessive barrel wear all internet bull****.thats why we now make steel case ammo .and brown bear is good ammo very acc in my gun.

 

[grumpy_old_man]

fired thosunds of steel case ammo through my mini still acc as all get out same with my 45 i see no excessive barrel wear all internet bull****.thats why we now make steel case ammo .and brown bear is good ammo very acc in my gun.

Glad to read that it worked out okay for you. The tests looked good at that site, but the thing to remember is that "steel case" is not necessarily synonymous with "bimetallic bullet" or "steel jacketed bullet". But I am unaware of any reloadable boxer primed brass ammo using a steel jacketed slug.

All the best,
Grumpy

 

[Shley65]

what I'm curious about is how can you have a soft point bullet if it's bi-metal ?

 

[grumpy_old_man]

what I'm curious about is how can you have a soft point bullet if it's bi-metal ?

No one ever said a soft point or even a hollow point will necessarily expand on impact. Consider the OTM (Open Tip Match) slugs that the military issues for special purposes. They don't count as Geneva Convention prohibited, since the open tip is not designed for expansion (in theory, the reason for the special slug construction is that it permits a flat fully jacketed base for greater consistency).

Plenty of other marginally performing JHP for that matter - consider the 147 gr 9x19 subsonics that were designed for suppressed weapons. Gained quite a following in the '90's, even though it didn't necessarily open up on impact. Good penetration and overall trauma though, so it's not like its useless.

All the best,
Grumpy

 

[40nascar]

fired thosunds of steel case ammo through my mini still acc as all get out same with my 45 i see no excessive barrel wear all internet bull****.bear is good ammo very acc ithats why we now make steel case ammo .and brown n my gun.

Hornady imports the steel cases from Russia then adds the other components to manufacture the cartridge.

 

[grumpy_old_man]

Hornady imports the steel cases from Russia then adds the other components to manufacture the cartridge.

Those would be fine for the barrel IMHO, since they are US slugs. The issue with lack of obturation and chamber fouling can be dealt with by cleaning.

Best,
Grumpy

 

[Shley65]

No one ever said a soft point or even a hollow point will necessarily expand on impact. Consider the OTM (Open Tip Match) slugs that the military issues for special purposes. They don't count as Geneva Convention prohibited, since the open tip is not designed for expansion (in theory, the reason for the special slug construction is that it permits a flat fully jacketed base for greater consistency).

Plenty of other marginally performing JHP for that matter - consider the 147 gr 9x19 subsonics that were designed for suppressed weapons. Gained quite a following in the '90's, even though it didn't necessarily open up on impact. Good penetration and overall trauma though, so it's not like its useless.

All the best,
Grumpy

Grumpy, do you think that the soft point and hollow point bullets used in Silver and Gold bear cartridges would harm the bore of minis ?

I did put a magnet to one of my soft point rounds and it's magnetic .

 

[grumpy_old_man]

Grumpy, do you think that the soft point and hollow point bullets used in Silver and Gold bear cartridges would harm the bore of minis ?

I did put a magnet to one of my soft point rounds and it's magnetic .

Honestly don't know at this end. It all depends on how hard the slug is compared to "normal" gilding metal jackets. A few for hunting probably wouldn't hurt, but I'm not sure. FWIW on my beater AK's I don't care and run combloc ammo through 'em. My nice matching parts AK and my AR and Mini's get better ammo, and my M1A's get the kid glove treatment.

If it was my mini 14, I wouldn't, but I understand that there are plenty who do. I just want my bbl to last as long as possible since its a PITA to send it back to Ruger for replacement.

All the best,
Grumpy

 

[MDsonofthesouth]

Bear and wolf digest great in my mini 30. I have never fired it, but tulammo seems to get alot of bad reviews.

 

[hottarod]

All the 7.62 that I buy is FMJ or jacketed hollow points. Very old military cans of ammo might be steel jacketed which will wear out a barrel quick but all the new stuff that has steel in it has steel cores that never touch the barrel.

I tried some soft points and neither my SKS or my Mini liked them so I just don't shoot them. I want to try the Hornady SST or VMax but I just have not been able to find or buy them yet.

My mini 30 has never seen a brass cased round. If I have my preference now I only would shoot Golden Bear. They are brass plated steel cased and you can get fmj, hollow points or soft points. They are a bit hotter than Wolf or Tula. The steel cases are so thin on these rounds that I can't imagine them causing a lot of damage to a rifle unless you run a couple hundred thousand through one.

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

avoid any corrosive primed ammo - usually steel cased.
if shoot it always liberally spray windex or windsheild washer fluid to the breech, barrel and gas pipe area then wipe dry and lube

 

[oneyeopn]

Ok I roll my own 5.56 and I use #41 CCI primers, are the primers going to be to hard for the mini firing pin?