[Riptide]

So my fiance' got a mini 14 as a gift from dad.

Are these rifles picky about ammo? Can we use steel cased russian stuff if we want (wolf) or does it want the brass stuff?

 

[WarBaby]

A free gun is always nice, but the 14 series has some reliability issues. Id feed it brass only.

 

[jdub]

MIni

I think the most of the problems with feeding come from aftermarket mags. Get good Ruger mags.

 

[Templar]

With good Ruger 20 round mags, you shouldn't have a problem feeding it most any brass cased ammo out there, but Ruger does tell people don't use steel cases.

 

[WarDawg]

I just bought some Pro Mags from Midway. About $23 ea for 20 rounders. A 20 rounder balances the rifle nicely. The Pro Mags are said to be equal to Factory Rugers. Thats the feed back I'm getting anyhow. The Mini is a good desisn. It's not a tack driver in it's current form. Normally anyhow. But it's a fun rifle thats very reliable . Honestly mine ( 187 series ) will shoot ammo my AR15 will not cycle on. I have never shoot steel case through her though. I stick with quality brass stuff.Remmie , UMC, and Priv P . It get alot of grief, but they are good rifles. IMO WarDawg

 

[Shrike37]

My dad had a Mini14 he purchased in 1983. With the factory 5 round mags, he had 0 reliability problems with it and Wolf Performance black box .223. He probably put ~900 rounds of the steel cased Wolf through it.

However, after letting him shoot my AKs a bunch, he decided that the AK was superior (or just about as good) in almost every way: cost, mag capacity, ammo cost, reliability, ease of maintenance, etc.. The accuracy differences were not that much, even with the Mini using a more inherently accurate round.

He sold the Mini to get a AR lower (for a future build) and have me help him build a nice AK. He has never looked back or missed the mini. He loves the AK.

:dance:

But hey, it is hard to beat a free gun :wink:

 

[Grim Reaper]

With good Ruger 20 round mags, you shouldn't have a problem feeding it most any brass cased ammo out there, but Ruger does tell people don't use steel cases.

+1. Good mags are an important factor for it.

 

[snakebite]

the pro mag 20rnders and john mason 10 rnds have to be the best aftermarket mags I know of.

 

[ivanlee]

I have a few rugers. With the pro-mag 20rd mags they have never malfunctioned even with garbage reloads with the "spinning heads" (i.e. loose bullets) from Maine cartridge company. Never tried steel case though. A note of warning, if you plan to reload be sure to have your buddy stand 20 yds to your right with a big net to catch the brass. If you need more info try this forum, plenty of useful mini info.

http://www.perfectunion.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=86

 

[Leviathan]

Dont know about the promags but I would suggest you not use the steel cased stuff. The necks are different and can cause the mini to be irritable. I used after market 20's I bought from cheaper than dirt and never had an issue with my mini. They are great rifles. I would suggest the factory 20's when I bought mine they were for the most part unavailable to me in the state I was living in. Now I cant go into a gun store with out seeing a few.

 

[Aero]

Other than factory Ruger Mags the only ones that seemed to work reliably for me were the Thermolds. I don't know if there is even a source for those anymore.

 

[blfuller]

The other type of mags that worked well were the Precision Mag.