Mini Medicine

Has anyone tried installing an accurizing strut to their Mini-14 or Ranch Rifle?
I have an early 580 series Ranch Rifle with the pencil barrel. It has never interested me because I couldn't say where it was going to shoot. Just sprayed em everywhere. I couldnt get rid of the gun because it is the only gun my son ever bought for me.
Several of these struts are available, and they range from $59 ppd, to over $200, but all are basically the same design, some may be steel, I chose an aluminum model.
I can't say my ranch rifle is a tack driver, but it is a solid little carbine now that groups well, and does string as the barrel heats up.
When I took it out to a public shooting range to try it out, I was embarassed that my hot brass was attacking shooters several benches away.
A Shok Buff (from Wilson Combat, and actually meant for the old 1911 pistol) installed at the gas block, and at the exposed end of the operating spring seems to limit how far the brass is thrown.
All in all, I am thrilled with my cheap fixes, and I really enjoy my little Mini now.

I have always enjoyed the platform and have had a couple. Never saw one that shot worth a darn. Always wondered how a company like Ruger could just keep on cranking them out without a fix. I don't know how the command the price that they do, when for $300 or so less, a bottom line AR will kick its butt.

I sent my mini-30 to a guy in the mid-west and it came back a new gun. I'm not sure what kind of magic he worked on that thing but it's a whole lot better. He has since retired unfortunately.

This has mystified me as well. Simple aftermarket fixes for the Mini-14 and Ruger #1 have been around for decades - but does Ruger go ahead and fix the well-known problems at the factory with one of the well-known fixes? - Nope.

This is why I am leery of buying anything from Ruger. - The impression I get is that they just don't give a hoot, on a long-term basis.

A company run by folks with self-respect (and business savvy) would have taken steps on these decades ago.

Just reread my post...it does NOT string shots as the barrel heats up. Better lookin' too, IMHO.

I did indeed see one some years ago that would shoot MOA. No I wasn't smart enough to keep it.

Dad left me one of the old 180 series. I will probably work with it some, to see what it will do. Ruger took teh step of bringing barrel production in-house in the early 90's, which was a big investment and in general, it seems to have paid off.

They can be accurized with simple tricks. The Accu-Strut addition looks nice and is functional.
Make sure the gas block screws are properly torqued.
Maintain the rifle. Proper lube is important. Watching where the rifle gets dirty can tip you off on loose or worn parts.
Keep the forearm liner in there. The one in the pic (Mini 30) was bought off a member of this forum. It was missing the liner and that makes the whole action/barrel assembly run around loose.
Cushioning both ends of the operating rod will help. One can also put a different gas port plug in there.
Trigger jobs are onoe of the best upgrades you can do.
Accuracy is a subjective term for each manufacturer. The owner of Daniel Defense says their $1500 rifles have a "fist sized group at 100 yds" accuracy guarantee. My minis will do much better.

That's a good looking rig right there Bush...

What accustrut did you end up with?

Trueshot Technologies is the brand name...not that it is any better than the others, but since they are all pretty much the same thing, and this one seemed like a good deal, I went with it. It works for me.

Now, I am in a quandry about shipping off my trigger assembly for a trigger job. I kinda like the trigger the way it is, but I keep hearing how much it will be improved.

This has been my experience as well. I wanted one for years and finally bought one and was appalled at how poorly it shot. Sold it for basically what I paid and bought a much cheaper rifle that shot much better. They're grossly overpriced IMHO for the lack of accuracy.

I can't speak for everyone but for me it was nostalgia. I'm in my mid 40s and my first rifle was a 10/22. When I was 18, I bought a mini 14 and I loved it. It looked like the Garand I saw in all those old WW2 movies as a kid. It was a blast to shoot. It never occurred to me that it wasn't accurate. Back then a mini 14 was about $300 and an AR was $1000. 30 years later, a mini is $800 and and AR is $500. I agree they are overpriced. I can't see how Ruger sells them at their current price.

I also bought mine for nostalgic reasons. In can make fist sized groups at 50 yards shooting semi rapid. It works well for a ranch gun.

Flip,

That is a real collector, B.A. Baracus style.

I pity the fool!

Utilizing my strut enhanced Ranch Rifle set on my redneck shooting bench this morning, which consists of my pickup's tailgate and two cinder blocks arranged to fit the front and back of my MTM plastic rest, I shot an honest one inch 5 shot group at 50 yds, with 4 out of the five shots being 1/2 inch center to center. This was some 55 grain PSP reloads I purchased from Freedom Munitions. May have to order some more!