[MajorM]

I have been reading over the forums and looked at some aftermarket barrels but am not sold on replacing mine since it doesnt look like accuracy improves past 1 MOA. So I considered options as far as modifications to this barrel. What I found in the aftermarket side kind oif surprised me since they were going longer. If the rifle already has a harmonic issue why would you put on a longer barrel even if it is thicker? It seems to me unless you need the velocity the barrel should be 16.5" unless your going into SBR territory. That way to have a shorter stiffer barrel to help fight the harmonic issues.

Some of the people have used a barrel sleeve. Have any of you used anything like that? I thought aluminum may be good weight wise but may scar too easy so a stainless tube seems like it would be the only option. Something with a 3/16" wall would probably look decent.

I read on here the barrels are 18.5" and checked mine out of curiosity since it really doesnt look that long and yep it is. Mine is a stainless 186 series mini 14 and I see now after doing some forum searching the twist is 1:7 which I like. I have a 18" ar15 and for some reason it looks a lot longer.

How many of you have cut down your barrels to 16.5" and do you have any pictures? That combined with a strut seems like the best way to stiffen up the barrel. It also helps give that M14 look I love but in a cheaper to shoot caliber. I think thats one of the big reasons I held onto the the mini 14 while owning ar's as well but I dont want to get into that.

Sights are the next issue. What front sights are you using? I have seen quite a few of the choate ones with the m14 like flashider but didnt see much else. I would love to upgrade my sights to something better. Since I have one of the ar's set up with a optic I will probably keep this as a iron sighted weapon. Since the M14 seems to have pretty good sights I would like to find or make something like those. I have one of the larger desktop mills if you have any ideas of something I could make.

 

[kwg020]

A sleeve for the skinny barrel Mini to me is the right idea. But few folks seem to have perfected it. I think aluminum with some cooling fins would be perfect but it has a different rate of expansion and shrinking than stainless steel. This could be a problem. kwg

 

[rutro]

MajorM those are all good questions and observations. There is so much info available here that it's hard to answer. Some have had great outcomes with a sleeve. The first real eye opener for me was 2Rangers tensioned barrel shroud. Like the old Dan Wesson pistolas a sleeve or shroud is fitted over the barrel with a stop at the back and then with some attachment or by threading the barrel it is streched so to speak thus killing the harmonics. Do a search for threads by 2Rangers or myself, or just search for tensioned barrel. I've got to mention the strut also. Kkina has what is the best in my eyes, just bolt it on and go shoot. Then there are barrel weights and other devices..........so many choices and so little time!!!

So you've caught the bug, I can already tell, we've all got it :lol::lol::lol: enjoy and share your experiance with the mighty Mini.

 

[subscriber]

This may answer some of your questions: http://www.perfectunion.com/vb/ruger-mini-14-mini-30/88058-195-mini-14-going-under-knife.html

 

[MajorM]

I thought about the expansion rates as well and wondered if an aluminum sleeve would "slip" once it got hot. Since it would expand faster than the barrels steel. That kind of spurs a little idea though. Going off the barrel tensioner idea yall have talked about I wondered if you could make a ring of stainless in my case for the rear "lug" to hold the tensioner in place. That way you could heat the ring and drop it over the barrel for a press fit once it was cooled. The front could have a pinned ring in place that was threaded. Then you could make a nut push off of that against the aluminum tube.

That would do away with the bulky locking ring and as a side effect of the aluminum tube you would get a better heat sink (from the aluminum). The aluminum would also grow faster putting more pressure on the barrel as it heats. You wouldn't have to have a threaded barrel if you used the pinned front ring either. I may make a new front sight with a threaded rear portion to give it a try.

I saw where a couple of the m14 stocks have a tensioner that pulls on the gas block. While at first that seemed like a easy option it makes me wonder how the barrel behaves once its hot. To me if you had a stiff enough stock to make this work with a decent amount of pressure you would get vertical stringing as the barrel heated. It would either go up or down depending on if you were pulling down or pushing up on the gas block.

Im still reading over that post you sent me a link to subscriber. I have scanned it once before but am giving it a more in depth look now. Man it would be so nice to have a lathe too.

 

[MajorM]

I was just sitting here thinking earlier and what result do yall think we would happen if I wrapped the barrel tight with stainless welding wire for maybe 3 layers of .035 wire? It looks like 308 stainless is a common version but im not familiar with that type. Would it hold up to the temperatures? I assume the same could be done with aluminum wire as well and give better cooling abilities but less stiffness. The mass though could make all the difference at a lower weight though.