Mini M 14 - One of the most enduring and popular semi-auto rifles in America traces its lineage to the battlefields of World War II and Korea.
The Mini-14 rifle, designed and developed by Sturm Ruger, is widely used as a ranch rifle, defense weapon and even as a hunting weapon. Now in its fifth decade, the Mini-14 shows no signs of going out of production anytime soon.
Mini M 14
In the late 1960s, firearms designer Bill Ruger and James L. Sullivan began work on a new semi-automatic rifle design. The new weapon was based on the M14 assault rifle, which was later withdrawn from service by the US Army and Marine Corps. The M14 was a short-barreled, rotary-bolt gas piston rifle that traced its roots to the World War II M1 Garand rifle. The M14 differed from the Garand primarily by being chambered for the standard 7.62mm NATO cartridge and by having a 20-round detachable box magazine.
Mini M 14
The new weapon was externally similar to the M-14 and would have used the same operating system but had been reloaded for the .223 cartridge. Just as the M14 in 7.62mm was scaled down from the .30-06 cartridge, the new weapon has once again been scaled down to handle the .223 cartridge. The .223 cartridge was almost identical to the 5.56 cartridge used by the US military with the AR15, then the M16 and XM177E1 rifles. Ruger had obviously gambled that production of the .223/5.56 for the Vietnam War would give the cartridge staying power in the United States long after the war was over. He was right.
The resulting rifle was smaller and lighter than its military cousin and was introduced for sale by Sturm Ruger Inc. as the Mini-14 in 1973. The Mini-14 weighed 6.39 pounds unloaded, with a wooden stock and iron sights. It weighed just 6.39 ounces empty. It had a practical rate of fire of 40 rounds per minute and could hold both 20 and 30 round magazines. Like the M16, the Mini-14 had a right-hand twist rate of 1 in 12 inches, better for stabilizing the .223 round in flight. The Mini-14 had an effective range of 200 yards, a distance dictated primarily by the ammunition's ballistic performance.
The Mini-14 was well received commercially. Aside from a small number of commercially sold pre-Vietnam AR-15s, no other rifle did what it did, offering the firepower of a 20- or 30-round magazine. Most semi-automatic rifles at the time fed from an internal blind magazine. The move to a smaller cartridge also allowed the new weapon to carry up to 30 rounds in a single metal magazine. Although the detachable metal magazines were similar to those used by the M16, they were incompatible. Like the M-14, the Mini-14 had a slot in the magazine that required the user to insert the magazine at an angle and then rotate it up into the magazine well.
A side effect of switching to the smaller cartridge: concerns about potentially dangerous chamber pressures when using the 5.56 cartridge. The 5.56 military cartridge, intended primarily as a man-stopping round, generates significantly higher chamber pressures than the .223 sporting round. The pressure difference between the .223 and 5.56 is theoretically large enough to deter shooters from using the 5.56 in an early model Mini-14. However, there are few or no 5.56 ammo cases that cause a serious problem, and the problem was eventually solved by redesigning later versions of the Mini-14 to safely withstand higher pressures.
L4d1 Ruger Mini 14 Sniper For Gta San Andreas
Over the years, Sturm Ruger has updated the Mini-14 to reflect the latest trends. In 1982, Ruger released the Ranch Rifle, which included mounting points to install the sights. In 1987, when cheap AK-47 (7.62x39) ammunition began arriving from overseas, Ruger released the Mini-30. Not only did the Mini-30 give Americans an inexpensive rifle to fire even cheaper foreign surplus ammunition, it was also technically a .30 caliber, in some states the minimum legal caliber for deer hunting.
The Mini-14 has seen service in police SWAT and prison units across the United States. The Mini-14 never saw US military service, although Bill Ruger reportedly believed it could have become the US Army service rifle instead of the M16 if the timing was right. This would likely have been the select-fire version of the Mini-14, the AC-556. The Mini-14 was adopted by a small number of overseas paramilitary units, including the Police Force of Northern Ireland and the Bermuda Regiment of the Island and Bermuda.
Ruger has made more changes in recent years. The weapon is now available in 6.8 and .300 Blackout, as well as tactical models that have a Picatinny rail to add lights, lasers and optics. A longer and thicker barrel allows the weapon to fire for longer periods without losing accuracy. The Mini-14 is especially popular in states with so-called assault weapons bans, which ban semi-automatic rifles with pistol grips and detachable magazines. While the Mini-14 has detachable magazines, it has a more traditional shotgun grip.
The Mini-14 is not as accurate as the AR-15 and has not attracted as many followers. Still, it's a solid option for someone looking for a magazine-fed semi-auto shotgun, especially given recent gun control measures. This can give the rifle a new lease of life, ensuring the DNA of the American WWII rifle continues into the 21st century.
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Kyle Mizokami is a San Francisco-based writer who has appeared in The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, War is Boring, and The Daily Beast. 2009 co-founded defense and security blog Japan Security Watch.in AR-15, Daily News, Guns & Gear, Other Gear & Gadgets, Rifles by Nathaniel F with 236 comments
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A first generation Mini-14 from the 180 series, manufactured in 1975. I personally really like the look of these rifles and their basic functions. But in practical terms, they are some of the worst Minis out there! Image credit: Rock Island Auction, used with permission.
But if you want a rifle for a specific purpose and you have access to virtually every other modern rifle design, choose something else. I say this not to disparage Ruger or the people who own Minis, but because it's hard to ignore the limitations of the Mini compared to other more modern designs.
The Ruger Mini 14 Pencil Barrel Love
We at TFB are no strangers to cool handguns that aren't as practical as they could be. TFBTV did run-and-guns with antiquated military bolt-action rifles, not because they're the best combat tool possible today, but because it's fun and we mean it. If that's where you're coming from with the Mini-14, treat yourself to the max. And there are good reasons to like the Mini, despite its shortcomings. I do. It's something I've complained about in the past that there are very few decent "domestic" self-loading rifles on the market today. The Mini-14 is one, and one of the few that actually works well.
As penance to Mini enthusiasts worldwide for writing this article, I leave you with a drawing I did in high school. I still like the Mini to this day, but unfortunately I can't excuse my teenage taste.
Others have pushed the question of the Mini's practicality in the dirt. They are inaccurate, difficult to disassemble, break frequently, get stuck more often and handle dust and debris much worse than more modern designs. They are plagued by problems stemming from their origins in John Garand's 1920s design, some of which were exacerbated by economic measures taken during rifle development. If you don't believe me, you can ask any number of Mini experts, from Greg Ellifritz to former Ruger quality control manager Ed Harris.
Not only that, but in an era of sub-$400 AR-15s, the Mini-14 is nowhere near as cost-effective as the competition—much less cheap than they used to be. So for someone looking for a decent, affordable carbine for work, not pleasure, the Mini makes no sense. Why bother?
Mini 14 Samson A Tm Folding Stock
But pragmatism is not the reason most guns are bought, nor do I think it should be. Pragmatism should be a factor in choosing guns like EDC guns, LEO carbines, etc., but for every gun bought based on cold facts, there are probably 2 or 3 bought just for fun. And there are plenty of "damn" reasons to want a Mini. They are unique, attractive, iconic rifles (especially the "A-Team" model) that have a style that most modern carbines lack. No mystery why
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