[Alaskafe]

I bought a 582 series mini 14 Tactical a couple of weeks ago and have put 30 rounds through it so far. It wasn't a serious sighting in session but was just a chance for me to check the rifle out using various 55gr reloads. Today however, I have some loads that I worked up specifically for this rifle over the weekend and it is time to do some serious shooting. The one conclusion I came to was that when I am at the range I want to be at the far right table. I apologized to the guy next to me for all the hot brass zinging at him and he was nice enough about it.

When I went to the range last week, the rifle was shooting minute of basketball which is sort of what I expected. I am hoping for tighter groups today because this rifle is meant to replace my AR 15 which is a long story that I'll get into later. I've been doing a lot of reading here and now I know I might want to retorque the gas block and that an Accu Strut or Mo Rod might help but because of the shorter barrel, but it's doubtful. Bedding the action is something that will also happen and I'm fairly certain I will replace the iron sights with something else. Williams WGRS series maybe?

Anyhow, I'm off to the range and will file a range report later.

 

[Alaskafe]

I've been back for several hours but I'm just now getting around to the range report.

Well, this Mini 14 is going to take some getting used to. When I went to the range last week I eventually moved the target out to 100 yards and was getting 4 round groups of about 7 inches using Hornady 55gr VMax. Today I shot 5 rounds of 52 grain HPBT at the first target and it wasn't pretty. I took a picture of the target which is 7 3/4 in diameter but I needed a wide angle lens because, well you be the judge.

After firing 20 rounds at four targets my smallest group was 14 inches! I guess my rifle doesn't like the lighter bullets. I finally moved the target in to 50 yards just so I could get some sort of idea and this was the result.

If you look closely, there are 4 pasters on this target. Those rounds were actually fired at the target that was above this one when I still had it out at 100 yards. And the aimpoint for those shots was 15 inches above the bullseye in this target. I guess I'll just have to be patient and spend the breakin time practicing my gun handling technique and not care too much about the groups. I'm sure my 62 year old eyes aren't helping things much either.

Also, I have some Hornady 60 grain and some Sierra 63 grain bullets that I think I'll load up and give those a try later on.

This is frustrating and fun at the same time. Does that make any sense to anyone besides me? :wacko:

 

[Alaskafe]

A look at a set of Tech rear Sights won't hurt either.
Put a set on my 581 and it was night and day.
If you get some buy the adj. tool also. Makes thing so much easier.
Richard

Thanks, I'll go take a look at their site.

Your mini needs a minimum of about 200 rnds of break-in before trying to accurize your loads. I would recommend that you not shoot any steel cased ammo during your break-in shooting. Good luck.

I have a bunch of 55 grain reloads that I can put through it so I guess I have some shooting to do. Darn

Hi Alaskafe;
The mini is somewhat more sensitive to variations in shooting technique than some other rifles. Here's an interesting read: Accu-strut for Mini-14

I thought I had my technique down pretty well before the ammo drought. Last time I had it out, I proved that good marksmanship skills can be perishable.

Good luck and all the best,
Grumpy

Thanks Grumpy, I'll read that article tonight.

 

[Alaskafe]

Some good info there guys, thanks. I have already taped a piece of paper to the wall above my reloading bench with the different ideas you've given me. I am going to clean the rifle today so I'll check to see if the action drops out or not. I think the trigger job and bedding will be the first item on the list, or maybe the new rear sight. Availability of funds is the driving factor right now. Oh, one more thing I forgot to mention and, while it didn't cause yesterday's results in itself, it's also a big part of my problem. I discovered that my safety glasses were blurring my view of the front sight a bit so I will be replacing them also. I wonder if they make safety glasses with bifocals?

One other minor chore I have now is to build myself another target stand on a slightly smaller scale and put it next to the shooting bench. I'm tired of flinging brass into the next area code. When you live in Alaska, that is a very long distance. :sniper:

 

[Alaskafe]

CLF, This is the best place for me to live, no question.

kwg020, Yes, it is a brand new rifle and I have some Sweets 7.62 solvent that I will be using. Hopefully that will improve things a bit and I have some 50 grain Nosler ballistic tips buried somewhere on my bench that I'll be loading up next also. I'll have to go with the powder I have on hand though since finding some of any type in the stores around here is an exercise in futility. Thanks for the tips.

Footloose & jandg, A part of the fun is doing as much as I can myself. I do know my limitations though and with all the good things I've heard and seen (his videos) I will be sending it off to him to get the rest of the work done. I don't know if the Mo Rod/Accu Strut option will help with my 16" barrel but I do know that IMHO it improves the looks of the rifle a bunch. Thanks

 

[Alaskafe]

Did you retorque the gas block screws and shoot? You may have a good shooter with the lighter bullets after this is done. Do 1 mod at a time and shoot with the same ammo to base your achievement on, definitely get to the gas block.

I went out and measured the gaps on either side of the gas block last night and came up with a gap of .044 on the left side and .054 on the right. I am going to fix that today but would this have been big enough to cause some of the problem? We'll see I guess.

 

[Alaskafe]

I haven't picked up a torque wrench yet so the gas block remains unchanged but, I took a bunch of rounds to the range today to continue the break-in process and something strange happened. I didn't take the target as I was just planning on shooting into the berm but I noticed my rounds were hitting all around the orange skeet disc I was using as an aim point. I was stunned because the berm was 200 yards out. At one point the other guy on that range offered me the opportunity to shoot one of the cans of spray paint he had set up at 200 yards and he was spotting my rounds for me. I fired the last 5 rounds from the magazine already in the rifle and all five shots were on either side of it but all within 3 or four inches. I changed out magazines and on my next shot I nailed the can. 200 yards and I hit a 3 inch wide can with a mini!

The only change I had made from my previous trip to the range was to use the front rest only and support the butt against my shoulder. Hmmm. Well, I am going to put together some more rounds and give it another try later. I love doing this stuff.

 

[Alaskafe]

Point taken.

 

[Alaskafe]

Just a quick update. I haven't done anything to the rifle yet. I do have a torque driver on order and will check the gas block screws when it does. I loaded up some 55 gr Spitzers with four different loads of IMR 4198. The first three loads were grouping 8" to 9" but the final, and hottest load, of 21.0 gr of 4198 gave me a 5 shot group of 4.25". Not great but it's an improvement. This load is above the max listed in the Hornady manual but Nosler and Lyman still give slightly higher loads as max. I kept checking for pressure indications but still nothing so I am going to load a few more and step them up to 21.7 gr and see what happens. Once I've finished testing the 4198 loads I am going to try Varget or Benchmark or maybe H-335 and see how they do.

Meanwhile, I have some buffers on order and I will be ordering a Tech sight soon also. Bedding may happen in the future but not yet.

 

[Alaskafe]

I load 21.5g IMR4198 behind 55g Hornady FMJBT and it's very accurate. I used to load 21.7g for years without any issues. I believe the Lyman manual list 21.7g IMR4198 as their accuracy load. One note on the IMR4198 is that due to the stick powder it tends to bridge in the powder dispenser and you can get very inconsistent charges. I found if I tap the handle back 3 times fairly hard between charges it settles the powder and I get very accurate charges each time and it doesn't add much time to the process.

Thanks for the info on the max loads. I do pretty much the same as you with the powder dispenser. For these test loads though I've been using a dipper and measuring each one out. Takes more time but I have nothing but time these days.