A couple things can be done;either put higher mounts and a layer of innertube glued to the area on the scope that gets hit,or send it in to ruger and pay money to have them install a ranch bolt and ejector so that the brass flys out horizontal instead of more verticle.I just read recently of someone else here on the board having done the ruger bolt swap.

 

Greetings,

I am probably the one magnomark is referring too. I have a 197 mini and I put a B Square scope mount on it. After a while I noticed that the bottom of the mount was getting all dinged up from the ejected rounds. I also had a faliure to extract and double feed problem with the gun. I sent it back to Ruger as the gun is still under warranty and they sent it back informing me that they had installed a ranch bolt. I haven't gotten a chance to shoot it yet to see if the problem has been fixed but an added plus of the fix is that the shells will eject differently and should no longer hit the scope mount. You either have to put something on the bottom of the mount, pay to have the bolt changed or just live with it.

Happy New Year!!

Chuck B.

 

My Mini14 is a Ranch, so it should already have a Ranch Bolt. I will probably just have to put something on the bottom of the scope. Maybe a thin piece of card board held on with zip ties.

 

Ruger learned that with the non-Ranch rifle, any scope include Leupold was being pounded apart. The receiver acts like a tuning fork, transferring vibration into the scope, the banging of the brass against the scope body both worked towards breaking the scope. The Ranch rifle was developed which as a rifle intended to be scoped. First, the ejection was changed to side ejection. Second, a recoil buffer was designed into the gun to reduce the impact of the slide in its rearward recoil. Third, factory rings came with the gun.

About the only way you can scope a regular Ruger Mini-14 (IMO) is to have a forward mounting long eye relief scope that is mounted over the barrel.

 

When did ruger learn this & when did they fix it?

Is why in the '07 catalog they have those features listed?

 

My 580 series ranch still dinged my scope.

 

It is easy to fix. You can adjust the shell ejection force and direction by installing a smaller gas port bushing. See Tips & Tricks for how to. I've made mine eject brass fwd to side or to rear by adjusting the gas port bushing. It also adjusts the force.

Also the leupold scope has long eye relief which allows you to adjust scope in or out some (to move windage knob out of the way) which will work with above tip.

 

could it be tat the op-rod handle is hitting the extracted shell on the rebound and poping it up into the scope. I noticed that with the stock gas bushing, hot rounds like lake city were being dented on rebound by the handle. Almost like clockwork. Still have a bunch of brass with the dings in them. Just a thought.

I just looked at my mini. Since it's duracoated, I can see right where the shells were hitting the op-rod handle at the front of the square piece, just in front of the area where the bolt roller (not really on a mini) is. I'm not sure if it does this with the new bushing, but I haven't shot any LC out of it since.

 

When did Ruger learn that scopes were being messed up by the Mini-14? Folks were returning scoped rifles with aftermarket scope bases & rings and complaining about it. Ruger engineers examined it and modified the design. As to when, look up the first year production for the Ranch Rifle.

 

I want to know when they started putting a 'patented recoil buffering system' in there? My 580 has no such system unless its built into the steel

 

Im having the same problems on my new 582 ranch. Dents on brass and it hits the scope! Anyone? I tried a smaller gasport, but then if wont cyle...