[dano1]

Hello, I've got a 197 ranch rifle, which, no matter what ammo I've run through it, it is not accurate.
I've read a little about accuracy problems with some of them, but did not take notice as to what serial numbers are involved.
There was also some talk that ruger knew they had a problem, so they made a heavier barrel, and that's suppose to fix it.
So, has anyone sent in a rifle to have the barrel changed out? Was there a cost involved? If so, what all did they do to it? (I've got mine dressed in an ATI stock) can I still use that stock or would i have to modify the stock.
Then, if there was a charge, would it be worth it? I contacted someone a while back about making my mini more accurate. It was going to cost me around $400. Which includes a barrel, some trigger work and maybe a few other little helpers.
So, If anyone has any comments, ideas, or tips of advice, I'd appreciate it.
Thanks!

 

[RJF]

Dano, I seriously doubt Ruger will swap out the barrel for a tapered one. But if you don't ask, the answer will always be "no".

ASI will do it for the mortgage of your home and, perhaps, a kidney from your first-born. Quality stuff, to be sure, but there are other options far less expensive and "close enough" for a light carbine.

Accustrut offers the best bang for your buck, and you can do it yourself - all for a bit over $100. Better yet, the inventor of the Accustrut - the first of the barrel stabilizers who spent a small fortune in research - is a member of this forum (Kkina). I would strongly recommend his product and his 6" LT product will likely cut your MOA in half.

Other suggestions are:
1) re-crown your barrel (always good anyways).
2) chop your barrel to 16.1" if your state allows (and then re-crown).
3) get a combo flash hider/front sight (e.g. Choate) (well under $100). That added weight at the end of the barrel helps attenuate the barrel whip somewhat. My old 181 MiniGB, with an 18" barrel and un-modified mechanically does about 2-3 MOA if I do my part. Same barrel as yours, with the primary difference being the factory flash hider.
4) Trigger work (some of which you can do yourself) should help - check YouTube (if it is still available), but helps the user-interface more than the mechanical function of the Mini.
5) Front/rear buffers to reduce the metal-to-metal contacts during firing. Plenty options out there, for very cheap, easily installed, and 100% reversible. 1911 buffers work as if they were made for the job. They will attenuate the vibrations somewhat, but a front buffer will also help survival of an optic (most of which are made to handle rearward recoil but not forward recoil. Your Mimi has some serious forward recoil.
6) Bedding the stock. Lots of bennies here. Much of that you can do yourself (again...YouTube).

But keep in mind your Mini is a carbine where 2 MOA in the current versions is considered acceptable. It is not a sniper rifle. With a few (relatively) inexpensive mods, you can get it to 2 MOA or better. No need to sell your first-born's kidney to do that.

 

[dano1]

RJF, thanks for the info...and yeah, you are right about Ruger giving stuff out. They were very prompt in responding to my email inquiry. Here is what they told me...
"It's more cost effective to replace the firearm with a new one. The new flanged style barrel would also include changing the gas block and slide. You may send you firearm into our NH facility, and we will offer to replace it with a new model at a discounted price. Please contact us at xxx-xxx-xxxxfor further information."
I am going to call them tomorrow to see what their "discounted" price is.
Then, with all the barrel modifications you spoke of, do you know if any of that will affect the way my ATI stock fits my mini?
Thanks for your information and prompt response.

 

[RJF]

Dano, your ATI stock will fit both your current and future Minis. I have one that slips right onto both my 181GB (1977) and my 583 Tactical (2016), with no mods required.

"Discounted" is a relative term. If your 197 functions okay, it is probably not a very good deal: most of the Ruger "discounted" prices are for non-functioning Minis that are not economically reparable.

Having said that, ask them for a price. I think you would do better selling your 197 and use the proceeds for a newer one should you choose that path. Personally, a few hundred bucks invested in your 197 will give you a fine shootin' iron, with a far better quality of build.

 

[dano1]

RJF,
I called them... the "discounted" price, $699.99 ! Suck what?!
Looks like the money I was saving for another shooter is going to be invested in improving my current mini.
Questions...You stated previously about chopping the barrel to 16:1, if my state allowed it, where would I find this information? I kinda did a search but didn't come up with anything.
Chopping the barrel, is this something I can do myself? I've got access to some band saws and such. Is there a method you recommend? I'm going to do one thing at a time, so I'm probably going to get the Accu strut, then the flash hider.
Until then, dano

 

[40nascar]

Your best economic alternative is to sell the 197, and buy new. Second best option is to have your mini professionally gunsmithed one mod at a time (if you have a good local "smith". First mod I would do is a trigger job, and a buffer or two. Next barrel crown. Next flash hider/muzzle break. Next, accustrut ( or similar). Next- Rail. If after all this, you can't get to 2 moa, I would definitely get a new mini, and offload the project mini.

 

[Ben Dover]

Have a competent gunsmith fit a Krieger or Hart barrel and tune your action, especially the trigger.

 

[RJF]

Dano, sorry for the delay in responding. Not sure what happened...

A COMPETENT gunsmith can chop the barrel, re-crown, and set the sight to the shortened barrel for (hopefully) about $100-$150 (depending on location). I would suggest getting the barrel threaded while you're at it...you never know when you might want a flash hider/can...

ASI can likely beat the Ruger price for a new barrel, but you will likely be stuck with .223 REM-only with no irons. You'll need to ask, as they might have some options.

Having a competent 'smith chop the barrel, re-install the front sight, crown, and perhaps thread it for future use is easily less expensive than having Ruger do the work. Ruger is in the market to sell guns - not mod them. They should adopt the MOPAR/MOPARTS concept of embracing improved mods. They don't seem to be detracting from current sales...Perhaps ASI has become that parallel.

But I digress.

My 181GB shoots 3-4 MOA without any mods, using factory ammo with a very impatient shooter (me). I'm happy with that as I intrinsically know the limiting factor is me, and not the Mini. With patience, hand loads, a good rest, and a decent scope (rather than a red-dot set on high), I suspect my ole 181GB could do close to 2 MOA without mods.

But that's not how I shoot it, so its ideal MOA is sort of irrelevant to me.

For do-it-yourself, a full length AccuStrut LT will give you the accuracy you seem to desire (keeping in mind the Mini is NOT a sniper rifle). I toyed with that for a bit, having to mod because my GB model has that pesky bayo lug in the way. Finally decided it was just fine for my purposes without the strut, but it was a fun project nonetheless.

If you don't mind being restricted to .223 REM, the ASI barrel options are pretty good, as several members on this forum will attest, and may be a great option for you depending on you preferences. For me, personally, I'll pass, as my 181GB is the first firearm I ever owned and prefer to keep it as I bought it in 1980.

I have a 583 Tactical for (presumably) better accuracy and portability. It has nowhere near the intrinsic value as my 181GB, so I am a little more inclined to toy with it. But it doesn't seem to need "toying with"...

If I feel the need for a 300 yard "sniper" gun close to 1 MOA (or less), I'll go with my Savage bolt gun with a 3-9X40 scope. Just gotta work on that "patience" part...

 

[Ben Dover]

If you shorten the barrel, by all means have it done by a licensed gunsmith, and keep the original receipt.

If there is ever any question of legality, you have a receipt from a licensed business, and the hammer is no longer over your heat.

 

[RJF]

If you shorten the barrel, by all means have it done by a licensed gunsmith, and keep the original receipt.

If there is ever any question of legality, you have a receipt from a licensed business, and the hammer is no longer over your heat.

Excellent point!!!

 

[kwg020]

Hello, I've got a 197 ranch rifle, which, no matter what ammo I've run through it, it is not accurate.
I've read a little about accuracy problems with some of them, but did not take notice as to what serial numbers are involved.
There was also some talk that ruger knew they had a problem, so they made a heavier barrel, and that's suppose to fix it.
So, has anyone sent in a rifle to have the barrel changed out? Was there a cost involved? If so, what all did they do to it? (I've got mine dressed in an ATI stock) can I still use that stock or would i have to modify the stock.
Then, if there was a charge, would it be worth it? I contacted someone a while back about making my mini more accurate. It was going to cost me around $400. Which includes a barrel, some trigger work and maybe a few other little helpers.
So, If anyone has any comments, ideas, or tips of advice, I'd appreciate it.
Thanks!

I have the ASI .625 "Conservative" barrel on one of my Mini 14's. It is a much better barrel than the factory skinny barrel. The ASI barrel is getting me right at 1" at 50 yards with a stock I bedded myself, with PMC Ammo and my handloads. It does get less accuracy with different ammo.

The .625 barrel is simple and looks very much like a factory barrel with the exception of the diameter. What I like most about the rifle now is, I can switch ammo and the point of impact (POI) is the same and not all over the target. Like I said, some ammo is more accurate than others but the point of impact remains the same.

The gun remains light and easy to handle. It feels real similar to what it did prior to the barrel change. Mine has the single blade front sight just like the skinny version. I did specifically ask for it to be installed.

A cheap alternative would be the AccuStrut. I've heard a lot of positive things about them. I did this before the Accu Strut was developed.

I'll put up a picture
kwg

 

[hawkguy]

A cheap alternative would be the AccuStrut. I've heard a lot of positive things about them. I did this before the Accu Strut was developed.

if this is the first time accustrut was mentioned, i will second that.

imo, unless you just really want to....its impractical to invest more than 100-200 into a mini for accuracy. past that point, i'd follow the advice of "sell it and buy a newer model." the accustrut is PROVEN effective on the thin barreled minis.

it just doesn't make sense to dump hundreds of dollars imo. if an accurate mini is the ultimate goal....ruger sells a mini target...i think you would get a better shooting rifle cheaper by investing in the target model.

 

[kwg020]

if this is the first time accustrut was mentioned, i will second that.

imo, unless you just really want to....its impractical to invest more than 100-200 into a mini for accuracy. past that point, i'd follow the advice of "sell it and buy a newer model." the accustrut is PROVEN effective on the thin barreled minis.

it just doesn't make sense to dump hundreds of dollars imo. if an accurate mini is the ultimate goal....ruger sells a mini target...i think you would get a better shooting rifle cheaper by investing in the target model.

I agree that the skinny barrel Mini will never be a target rifle short of a complete barrel replacement. I did this barrel conversion (.625) before the Accu Strut was developed. Unfortunately, do to life circumstances it sat in the gun locker for years before I started shooting it. That was a huge mistake on my part. It's a great shooter and looks and handles so much like an original Mini.

The Accu Strut is effective based on information provided by other forum members but there is nothing like a good clean barrel with nothing hanging off of it other than the front sight. But, the most important issue at least to me is I don't have to re-sight in the rifle when I switch ammo. Sometimes the point of impact (POI) would change as much as 4 inches in 50 yards. Especially going from a fast burning powder to a slow powder and vice versa. The difference could be huge.

Accuracy may change slightly but my POI has remained the same. Unlike the issues I was having with the original skinny barrel. No more chasing the POI.

kwg