Probably Been Asked Before, but...

[TedKennedy]

Same experience I had with the mini that I briefly owned.

I hung glass on it, got it on paper at 25 yds. then I moved out to 85 yds. with three different brands of ammo shooting on bags and it shot patterns not groups with all three......it quickly got sent down the road.

I hear stories like this all the time about Minis. I'm pretty sure they're all the older versions.

 

[diggler1833]

I've killed quite a bit with the now discontinued 64gr Gold Dot out of a .223. It did quite well as long as you understand that it is not as devastating as a larger caliber. It still makes living things dead however with boring regularity.

My back door rifle is still loaded with them.

I would generalize that one would get a little more penetration with a 62/64 grain offering than they will with a 55gr bullet of the same construction.

 

[Deleted member 45960]

I agree. Unless you just want to load for it, I’d try factory Winchester 64 gr Power Point ammo in it. Both my boys killed deer and pigs with that ammo out of a NEF single shot 223 when they were starting out.

I’ll be honest and say I’m a little surprised you hit a deer with a Mini 14, because every one I’ve had has only shot minute of barn.

I have to agree with your assessment of (lack of) accuracy with a Mini 14. Next move for me was to sell Mini 14.

 

[magna19]

Shot one deer with a buddys Mini-14 with a 55 gr SP. Made a good quick kill at 125 yds. Was lucky to say the least. Several years later we got it back out and tried to use for varmint hunting and found out 4 inch 100 yd groups was the norm. Hand loads didn't help a lot either.

 

[Waltercat]

We all pretty much know that the original mini's were questionable but the newer, 585 series I think,
are all over YouTube shooting at 100 yds. and more with great accuracy for a 'carbine'.
I have both M&P Sport and a Mini. Not to offend anyone but the Mini is funner to shoot. IMHO

 

[magna19]

We all pretty much know that the original mini's were questionable but the newer, 585 series I think,
are all over YouTube shooting at 100 yds. and more with great accuracy for a 'carbine'.
I have both M&P Sport and a Mini. Not to offend anyone but the Mini is funner to shoot. IMHO

Yes they are funner to shoot.

 

[diggler1833]

I remember reading an article by Bart Skelton, shilling for Ruger. The title was along the lines of "MOA rifle...". He managed to shoot a dozen 2-4MOA groups, and then put four of five shots (once) into 1"...but the 5th shot was out. Yet he had the nerve to declare it a MOA rifle.

They can be fun to shoot, nothing against an owner for enjoying a day plinking with one. However the design just doesn't lend itself to good consistency...so what...it doesn't have to.

Anyway, I have a Mini-14 target to share:

 

[Moparman485]

I have astounding results with the 70gr Barnes TSX. Far outperformed any other tested projectile. First runner up was the Speer gold dot (of any weight). But the copper punched much deeper and expanded bigger. Friend dropped three big boar with my 70gr load during rifle season.

 

[wolfkpr]

I have astounding results with the 70gr Barnes TSX. Far outperformed any other tested projectile. First runner up was the Speer gold dot (of any weight). But the copper punched much deeper and expanded bigger. Friend dropped three big boar with my 70gr load during rifle season.

There are folks who use frangible bullets like the ballistic tip, vmax, etc- but I dont. There are 2 reasons to use tougher bullets- 1- to get an exit. Even with .30 cal- sometimes deer run 50 or 100 yds- with no exit, and the only hole being the smallbore entry- finding them can be a challenge. At least with an exit- you have a ( bigger) hole for them to bleed from.
Reason 2- to reach vitals even through a shoulder. ( sure you have the option of passing on any shot, quartering etc- that involves the shoulder- but why would you?) using a bullet that will go through a shoulder, bone included, and still penetrate vitals and hopefully exit, ( on the biggest deer you might encounter) just makes sense. I do think bullets like the powerpoint, 65gr gameking, and partition ( where you get up to 40% fragmentation and expansion close to .5”) may have better odds of instant knockdown, but a monolithic like a Barnes, gmx, etc- is more likely to get an exit, even with shoulder involvement.

 

[montesa]

I remember reading an article by Bart Skelton, shilling for Ruger. The title was along the lines of "MOA rifle...". He managed to shoot a dozen 2-4MOA groups, and then put four of five shots (once) into 1"...but the 5th shot was out. Yet he had the nerve to declare it a MOA rifle.

They can be fun to shoot, nothing against an owner for enjoying a day plinking with one. However the design just doesn't lend itself to good consistency...so what...it doesn't have to.

Anyway, I have a Mini-14 target to share:
View attachment 331337

Does anyone know why it’s not accurate? What about the design? Is it the bolt?