[ULVER]

Quite curious... The "black rifle" crowd likes to bash my Mini-14. The accuracy issue---if it is one---I can deal with. This rifle is for home defence. It's when they claim the rifle isn't robust for serious use, I get steamed. I've never known Ruger to make a fragile weapon. Comments welcome!

 

[mbtp1]

I Have a mini 30 that I am quite happy with. It has never failed to function in the 5-600 rd's I have put thorugh it. All steel cased surplus ammo by the way.

 

[Paul556]

I put about 500 to 600 rounds through my guns each trip to the range. I have both a Colt M16 and a Ruger AC-556. So far I am much more impressed with the Colt. I am trying some different ammo for the Ruger to see if it helps, but this not something I expected I would have to do. A reliable gun should digest anything I can get my hands on. Even though I am not a soldier I expect my guns to operate as if I were and my life depended on them. Right now if I had to head to the hills I would grab the Colt and leave my Ruger behind. I hope I can work out the problems and not say that anymore, but for now that is my opinion.

 

[Dave3006]

I have had four AR15s and been to several "urban rifle" classes. In every class we had ARs malfunctioning, regardless of brand. My ARs all took alot of work to get them semi reliable.

The key point everyone misses is the reliability of the weapon under less than perfect conditions. Drop the AR in the dirt - then see how it runs. Mr. Murphy says you will trip and fall occassionally in a life and death situation.

If the SHTF, I would trust the Mini 14 more than ANY AR15. The mini does not have to run for thousands of rounds. If you fire 1000 rounds in combat, you will be dead or have a real cool new gun collection.

 

[Bear 1769]

I have owned 3 mini 14s over the last 13 years. The only time one has faild to fire was due to a bad round. The problem I have with the mini has been accuracy, this third one showes promise.

 

[quadfan]

I must agree with everyone else,the mini-14 is very tough! Ruger has a reputation for building robust and reliable weapons of all shapes and sizes since their inception,and back them up with a lifetime warranty!
I've owned countless mini-14's AND countless AR15's,and currently own 5 mini's, 2 AR15 and 1 AR10. They each have strong points,but most of my AR's had to be "fiddled" with before they worked well. Kindof like 1911's!

 

[treedawg]

Paul,
What problems are you having with your AC556? I'm looking forward to shooting mine after the NFA trsfr. is complete.....I hope this gun isn't a BIG let down. I've had trouble finding people that like them......


TD

 

[blzn69]

Do not forget that the mini-14 is a garand action and the
mini-14's brother is an M-14-M1A and his father is an M1Garand.

History shows that the garand action is one of the most reliable actions ever built.



blzn69







i bring the the flash and brash

 

[osprey21]

Originally posted by treedawg
Paul,
What problems are you having with your AC556? I'm looking forward to shooting mine after the NFA trsfr. is complete.....I hope this gun isn't a BIG let down. I've had trouble finding people that like them......

TD

Well you found one here !
I've shot several hundred rounds through mine (to be) and haven't had any trouble. It's a fun little gun and I dont think one can make a comparison between it and an AR/M16. Funny thing though... this gun LIKES Wolf ammo and wont run with Q3131a or Santa Barbara SS109.
When you get yours and IF you DONT like it, I can probably turn you on to a buyer.

osprey21 :usa:

 

[Paul556]

Originally posted by treedawg
Paul,
What problems are you having with your AC556? I'm looking forward to shooting mine after the NFA trsfr. is complete.....I hope this gun isn't a BIG let down. I've had trouble finding people that like them......

TD

It fails to extract a spent shell after about 3 or 4 mags. Works fine when cold. I have only had this problem with South African surplus ammo. I have not had the problem with Winchester white box, but I haven't run much of that through the gun. I just bought some Q3131, so I am kinda bummed to hear Osprey21 has problems with it. I am about to call Ruger to see what they recomend. When it runs it is a blast. There is just nothing worse than a $3000 plus gun that jams.

 

[Paul556]

Originally posted by Dave3006
I have had four AR15s and been to several "urban rifle" classes. In every class we had ARs malfunctioning, regardless of brand. My ARs all took alot of work to get them semi reliable.

The key point everyone misses is the reliability of the weapon under less than perfect conditions. Drop the AR in the dirt - then see how it runs. Mr. Murphy says you will trip and fall occassionally in a life and death situation.

If the SHTF, I would trust the Mini 14 more than ANY AR15. The mini does not have to run for thousands of rounds. If you fire 1000 rounds in combat, you will be dead or have a real cool new gun collection.

Dave, my problem is that my Ruger doesn't even work in perfect environment of an indoor, air conditioned range. I like the concept of the Mini-14, but it hasn't worked out for me. It should work. The gas system is great. It uses a piston to keep the crap out of the chamber area and a rock solid two lug bolt, but the dang thing jams.

The biggest problem with AR's is that many people like to get all the accuracy they can out of them. One thing they do to accomplish this is use a tight chamber. That kills reliability. On the M16, Colt uses loose chambers for reliability. I have only shot about 1500 rounds out of line and has not jammed once. I can't say the same for the Ruger.

Regarding ammo usage I will stop shooting when I am dead or I win. I don't give a s*** if it takes 100 rounds or 1000 rounds. Right now my head to the hills equipment includes two 30 round mags taped together in the gun and two USGI mag pouches that hold 3 mags each. That is a total of 8 mags, or 240 rounds. At the range I can only get through half of that quantity before the jams start. To me that is unacceptable. Like I said, I hope I can fix it, but I am disappointed that it has to be fixed.

 

[Dave3006]

Paul, I am sorry to hear about your Mini-14. I bought two of them about a year ago. One of mine did the exact same thing. It would fail to extract and leave the empty case in the chamber. I sent it to Ruger 4 times!! They replaced the extractor, bolt, polished the chamber. Nothing worked. Finally, they ended up replacing the gun. Since then, I have not had one malfunction with any type of ammo.

When the gun is not defective, I believe the mechanical principles of the Mini are infinitely more fool proof than the AR. It requires less perfection to run reliably. I do not trust the AR if I happened to get it dirty from a fall ect...

What I meant about the 1000 round comment is that your lifespan will be limited in a real firefight. I play paintball quite a bit. You will be amazed at how fast you get dead. I play 10 fifteen minute games in a day. On average, I am eliminated 3-5 times. In essence, I die 3-5 times in less than 2 1/2 hours of pseudo combat. Skill is just part of the equation. Often, it is the guy you don't see that gets you.

Good luck. Talk to Ruger and be FIRM. They are lazy and will do everything to convince you the problem is your fault. I had to protest to about 4 levels of management. But, I got a new gun. And it works.

 

[Dave3006]

Look at these threads of mine.

http://www.perfectunion.com/forums/showthr...=&threadid=1606

http://www.perfectunion.com/forums/showthr...s=&threadid=843

 

[Paul556]

Dave, thanks for the info and links. Looks like we have the same problem. I'll give them a call to see what they can do for me. The thing that kills me is that I know it is a reliable design.

 

[Dave3006]

If you are willing to spend the time with Ruger to get this working, it will be worth it. I really had to rant and rave to get my way with the "customer service" people. I was ready to sell the gun. But, I did not think it would be right to transfer the problem to someone else.

 

[OldFordTruck]

I have had my mini for over 5 years now. As long as the magazine is a Ruger brand it has run everything I have run through it without a single problem. But you better watch out for those cheap mags!

 

[Ron Y]

I have a 181 series Mini and it is compledtely reliable. I aways use good ammo and PMI or Fed Ord magazines. Accuracy could be improved but it works every time I pull the trigger. I have found AR's to be more sensitive to the elements and have more confidence the Mini.

 

[treedawg]

The AC556/Mini-14 that I have in tranfer is a class III full auto. This is the same gun that Paul is having problems with. I feel like Paul is right on.."There's nothing worse than a $3000.00 plus gun that jams" Well, I only hope that I get lucky on this one.....

I guess I expect them to all be as reliable as my class III Uzi carbine which would be alot to ask.....10,000+ rounds and the only problem I've ever had was with cheap mags and you can't blame that on the gun.......This gun has functioned no less that 100% throught all of those rounds as long as I had a good mag in it and it's a snap to work on....It will fire any ammo you feed it...she's not the least bit picky...

TD

 

[bubba052698]

I've had my mini for a little under a year and probably run 750 or more rounds through the thing. I've shot mil surplus and regular ammo through it, even remanufactured ammo. Not one problem. I have even gone through 2 cheap 30-round mags as fast as I could pull the trigger (I play paintball a lot, so I would say I have a fast trigger finger, hehe), without a hitch. The barrel was extremely hot and it was about 90 deg outside.

After reading up on this forum, I don't let the barrel get that hot any more. But I am very satisfied with the reliability.

 

[quadfan]

Wow,this thread has been an eye opener to say the least! I personally have never owned a full-auto mini-14,and the only complaints I've heard deal with inferior mags causing problems. I've had nothing but good luck with even the cheapest mags,with mini-14's.Of course it's hard to compare the two,because the AC556 would be slightly more prone to problems (on full-auto anyway).
Hey Paul, hows the extractor look? How about the extractor spring? Possibly the spring is prone to fatigue(cause it's lost it's tensile strength)? How do the rims on the spent shells look? Are the extractor marks deeper on the first few rounds?Then when the spring gets "tired",it does'nt get much of a bite,which you could probably see. I know the extractor spring causes problems for the AR's,hence the "D-fender",that little blue donut thing you put around the spring.

But treedawg,don't feel too bad,at least you live somewhere where you
CAN own full-auto firearms! The police chief,sheriff,county attorney,have all gotten together and decided there was too many class 3 firearms in my county.So for the past few years,no one who lives in my county can get the needed signature for the forms. There has been people who tried to go to court,but have failed. It really S_CKS!