Mini 14 Questions

[BigBoxaJunk]

I recently bought a new Ruger Mini 14 and finally got it out to the range to shoot this past weekend. I was using the stock 5 round mags that came with the gun and the first two mags were loaded with .223 and the gun functioned fine with those first ten shots. Then, I switched to American Eagle 5.56 ammo and the gun fed the round but failed to return to battery with several rounds out of the next ten or so. Then I switched back to .223 but had the same thing happen. I kept shooting, racking the slide each time it did that and it did seem to run better as I shot, and I think the last 25 or so shots went off without a problem. I've had new guns have a hiccup the first time I shot them, but never to this extent. I've shot older Mini 14s and didn't have any problems at all (except when using cheap mags). I'm hoping that it's just because the gun is new, but I guess I'll just have to keep shooting it and see if it improves. Has anyone else had this problem with a Mini 14?

Also, I noticed that almost every empty case has a dent in it at about the mid point of the case, but I'm pretty sure the older Mini that I shot did the same thing. Is it normal for this gun to ding the cases when it ejects them?

 

[red_zr24x4]

Did you clean it before you shot it? It could have some gunk from the factory in it.
As to the dented cases, the mini 14 is basically a scaled down M14 / M1a / M1 Garand. It is common on these weapons for the ejected brass to hit the op-rod handle, which kicks the brass forward.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

I did clean it when I got it home, stripped it down, ran a couple of patches down the barrel, and put a light coating of oil before re-assembly.

I didn't brush out the chamber, though, so maybe there was some junk that I pushed out of the bore that ended up in the chamber. The gun had sat in a store display case for over a year and there was a good bit of dust in the bore. I plan to do a more complete cleaning on it before shooting it again.

I have done some research and it does seem that the dinged brass is normal for the gun, and may be more so in newer models, since Ruger re-designed the ejector to throw the case more sideways to avoid beating up a scope (so I've read).

 

[tradertator]

The brass might also be hitting the charging handle. Regardless, I wouldn't worry about it. Are you sure you put it back together right? Sounds to me as the piston / gas system isn't back in there correctly. I've made the same mistake with similar results.

 

[Hopper]

I'm trying to remember, it's been awhile, but that long recoil spring has a slightly curved black plastic piece on the end... maybe that could have been installed upside-down? IIRC, that curved piece goes towards the bottom when you install it (as you're looking at the rifle from the top-down). Just a guess, though, hopefully others can chime in.

 

[straight-shooter]

I'm trying to remember, it's been awhile, but that long recoil spring has a slightly curved black plastic piece on the end... maybe that could have been installed upside-down? IIRC, that curved piece goes towards the bottom when you install it (as you're looking at the rifle from the top-down). Just a guess, though, hopefully others can chime in.

I made the same mistake you just described and had the same results the OP is having.... sounds like it could likely be the problem.

 

[Hopper]

I made the same mistake you just described and had the same results the OP is having.... sounds like it could likely be the problem.

Exactly. It's a really easy thing to do, especially because it fits either direction, there's nothing that would indicate the "tab" needs to be on installed on the bottom instead of the top. I almost made this mistake with my own, and re-watched a YouTube video to catch it before I had it all back together.

 

[tradertator]

^ I was trying to remember what it was that caused mine to malfunction and that's exactly what I had done when I had trouble with mine.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

I stripped it down again this evening and cleaned it, using a .45 cal brush to scrub out the chamber good. Got some gunk out, but not a lot. After I cleaned it, I brushed on a thin coat of moly grease in the critical areas.

One thing I noticed was that the charging handle was rubbing on the inside of the plastic hand guard. I was more careful when I put that back on to make sure it wasn't pressing on the charging handle. Another thing I saw was that there was really a lot of wood fuzz around the milled edges inside the stock. I used a sharp blade and trimmed that all off to make sure none of that was getting into the action.

Also, you guys might have been right about the spring guide rod. I didn't look at it when I took it apart, but when I put it back together, looking at the diagram in the manual, it may be that I had the tab facing the wrong way.

Anyway, after the cleaning, lubrication (enough but not too much), and re-assembling the spring guide rod correctly, the action is noticeably smoother. Going to shoot it again on Wednesday, so hopefully all goes well. I really want to love this gun.

 

[Hopper]

Sounds like you took all the right pills, looking forward to an updated range report once you stretch it out Wednesday!

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

Sounds like you took all the right pills, looking forward to an updated range report once you stretch it out Wednesday!

Got out today and shot about 100 rounds without a hiccup. It must have been the guide rod, it ran smooth and fed every round today.

I think I do love this rifle.

Thanks for all the good advice.

 

[Hopper]

Outstanding, this is great news, glad it's running right for you! There's a lot to like about the Mini, it really is a neat looking rifle, hope you continue to have lots of smiles with it.

 

[RegularGuy24]

I had a preban that did the same thing...would fire fine till about 10 rounds or so and wouldn't go into battery....
..got tired of messing with it...sold it