# accuracy of the mini 14



## Norm70 (Aug 26, 2005)

Is a mini 14 a good coyote gun? is a good out to 2-300 yds? would i better off with a bolt action. i have never shot one so i am pretty new to the gun. i am wondering if it would be a good fit for a new coyote hunter.


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## Fallguy (Jan 23, 2004)

I think they used to say the old mini-14 were bad accuracy wise, but I have heard the new ones are better. My preference is a bolt action. I think they are more accurate, more reliable, and easy to care for.

With that said, I think a semi auto mini-14 would have some plusses. Maybe one day I will get one.

Norm if you are looking for a cheap 223 bolt action consider the Stevens 200 or Weatherby Vanguard. I have the Weatherby.


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## Norm70 (Aug 26, 2005)

what do you think about a howa 1500??


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## Fallguy (Jan 23, 2004)

Howa 1500 is basically the same as the Weatherby Vanguard. Same action I believe. Actually Howa makes the Vanguard for Weatherby if I am not mistaken. If you handled a Howa 1500 and you like it, and the price is right, I wouldn't hesitate to get it!


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## People (Jan 17, 2005)

The mini-14 are not all that great. The new target model does shoot well if you tune it with the dampener they have on it. If you are set on a semi I would suggest a AR-15 with a flat top. In all honesty a bolt will probably be all you would ever need.

The speed of a semi will give you a chance of taking multiple dogs fast as long as you can remember to aim and not just send rounds down range. I know that can be hard sometimes.

Accuracy in each can be hit and miss from the factory. With that being said a 15 or a bolt both should be able to hit dogs at 300 if you do your part.

A big plus for going with the bolt is the gov will probably not go after your sniper rifle for a long time but the 15 will be on the chopping block very soon.

Chuck Norris once bet NASA he could survive re-entry without a spacesuit. On July 19th, 1999, a naked Chuck Norris re-entered the earth's atmosphere, streaking over 14 states and reaching a temperature of 3000 degrees. An embarrassed NASA publically claimed it was a meteor, and still owes him a beer.


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## Norm70 (Aug 26, 2005)

huh didn't know that howa and weatherby were that same. kinda like stoeger ad bennelli. Ya i just saw a mini 14 online and tought i would ask about it. I also am looking at a savage. I know what some guys think about them, but i have always had good luck.


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## Fallguy (Jan 23, 2004)

I have always heard good about Savage as well.


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## giwoyna5 (Mar 5, 2008)

I had a mini 14 ranch rifle quite a few years back. Actually it was the first rifle I ever bought on my own. As much as I liked shooting it, out past 100 yards it was worthless. They are a very fun little gun to have as long as you have other rifles in your collection. After selling all my rifles to pay my lawyer (custody battle) a few years back I now shoot a Savage .243 for everything. The price was right, I hit well with it and it has never failed me. I will have to put a better scope on it eventually, but it does it's job for now. Good all around gun for deer and predators.


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## Sasha and Abby (May 11, 2004)

The mini 14 are "minute of 5 gallon bucket" rifles. I would never own another one.


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## bryan_huber (Aug 3, 2008)

sasha an abby- my mini would shoot sub half moa what do you say to that


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## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

Norm70 said:


> what do you think about a howa 1500??


I am looking at a brand new Howa 1500 in .243 for $450 with a 3X10 scope. Is that a fair deal?


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## bryan_huber (Aug 3, 2008)

for the same money you can get a savage that will have an adjustable trigger. ive felt howas and didnt like how they felt so i dont have much experience with them. you can pick up a savage for 420 or 400 w/ a scope on it.


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## striped1 (Aug 17, 2005)

The mini is totally junk for accuracy. Mags are expensive, you can't repair / change easily, scope mounts are crap.

For the money you cannot beat a savage with the accu-trigger.

If you don't have an AR 15 you should. with the right config they are extremely accurate, higly configurable, mags and spare parts are plentiful and they are very easy to maintain and repair.


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## barebackjack (Sep 5, 2006)

bryan_huber said:


> for the same money you can get a savage that will have an adjustable trigger. ive felt howas and didnt like how they felt so i dont have much experience with them. you can pick up a savage for 420 or 400 w/ a scope on it.


Ive never liked the "feel" of a howa, savage, or weatherby. They seem cheap. Alot of guys love em though, I think because of the price.

Remington 700! :beer:

As for the Mini-14.......fun to shoot if you just want to make noise and burn powder. For any serious shooting past 100 yards, look elsewhere.

As for the AR platform.....can be accurate, not as accurate as a bolt, not as reliable, and you have to mortgage the house for a good rifle and scope. Oh yeah, and NOBODY CHAMBERS ONE IN .22-250!

You dont NEED a semi-auto. A bolt is more accurate, and if you make your first shot count, you wont need "19 quick follow-ups" as my buddy likes to say about his AR. (I might add, 19 quick INACCURATE follow-ups in his case) :lol:


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## tigerdog (Jan 24, 2008)

I've never owned a Mini-14. I am happy with my Savages. I would not shy away from one. If you are set on semi-auto, I'd go with an AR. I've picked a few up in the past 8-9 months. I've only used one so far (and very little at that), but I think I'll like them, and I've heard many good reports about them.


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## wmmichael20 (Dec 19, 2007)

from what I have noticed the new mini 14 made since the re tooling at ruger shoot moa groups as long as you do your part they have came along ways and are verry comfortable to handle from what I have felt and the scope mounts are great the same intigral ones used on all ruger rifles and they are included in the box when you purchase the rifle. howa rifles are real nice I personally own 2 one thumbhole varment supreme and one howa hogue ranchland edd. and there triggers are adjustable and crisp verry comfortable to shoot and barrels are free floated on both if not all of howa rifles and they use remington 700 bases and rings...


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## People (Jan 17, 2005)

There is nuthing wrong with Semi-auto rifles. Many of them shoot as well as a rack grade rifle. Savage throws a wrench into the grears with that one.

If you want a custom semi or bolt they can both shoot very well.

Lets face it no one will take a Bench Rest rifle out hunting.

Just because you have a Semi does not mean you can just spray out every round you have. Look at them as a bolt you do not have to work the action on. There is a old saying "If you take care of your rifle it will take care of you." The only time I have ever had a jam with my 15 it was mag issues or not having enought neck tension. I tried to see how little neck tension I could have and still have a rifle that works. Well I found I can have very little and still shoot them. The only limitation was I could only have 15rds in a 20rd mag.

It was brought up you do not need a semi well the sad fact is we do not need guns. The gov can take care of the critters. The only reason we need firearms is because of the second amendment.

Someone once tried to tell Chuck Norris that roundhouse kicks aren't the best way to kick someone. This has been recorded by historians as the worst mistake anyone has ever made.


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## Bore.224 (Mar 23, 2005)

People said:


> It was brought up you do not need a semi well the sad fact is we do not need guns. The gov can take care of the critters. The only reason we need firearms is because of the second amendment..
> 
> .


Sorry you feel that way, but please speak for yourself and do not state your opinions as fact.

I love the second amendment , but I sure don't need some 200 year old paper to justify my freedom


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## People (Jan 17, 2005)

224 if it was not for that 200+ year old paper I can guarantee none of us would have any firearms. I am stating that so we (all gun owners) stand together and not let them take an inch. BHO and his cronies WILL take our guns. They do not care what they can get right away but they also want your sniper rifles (bolt actions). If you think for a second they do not you are very mistaken.

When I was in the USMC I was one of the few lucky ones that got to help reduce the population of deer on base. I was able to fly around in helicopters shooting M-249 SAW at deer. I was able to kill hundreds of deer. They had stupid rules for hunting on base. Once you were in a stand you do not come out for anything. It takes roughly $10,000 per flight hr to keep one in the air. Yeah that is not the most cost effective but it worked in limiting the numbers. I see no reason why those tactics would not work across the country. Sure it would cost us hundred of millions in lost revenue due to no hunting and hundreds of millions more in limiting the numbers of as the Gov has proved many times they do not have any problem wasting billions of bucks

No matter how you cut it hunting is not reason to have firearms. That little piece of parchment you do not need to justify your firearm ownership is in-fact the only thing guaranteeing your right to have any firearms. I am not trying to knock you beliefs but the Dems (Anti-guns) WANT ALL OF YOUR FIREARMS. That includes what they call assault rifles to your sniper rifles.

Faster than a speeding bullet ... more powerful than a locomotive ... able to leap tall buildings in a single bound... yes, these are some of Chuck Norris's warm-up exercises.


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## Bore.224 (Mar 23, 2005)

WHAAATT! In an earlier post you stated the sad fact is we don't need guns/firearms. I disagree with that statement and do not see how you figure this a fact. You then pointed out the goverment could take care of animal overpopulation. Fine, but if that goverment program works twice as good as other goverment programs it is domed to fail. I also never stated hunting as a reason to have firearms.

Lets not get in a huff I am on your side. In my opinion I think we lean to much on the second admendment, sure I agree with it and do think its importance is paramount, however with without it is not the reason we have firearm's but it is the reason we are not at civil war! Hunting has nothing to do with the second admendmant. The constitution is toilet paper to modern politicians, and their is no longer the reason for us to belive that is why are right is intact. I think the statement "from my cold dead hands" has more pull than the second admendmant in 2009.


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## People (Jan 17, 2005)

224 I sure hope it does not come down to the from my cold dead hands. The gov will surly kill anyone who stands in their way or send them to jail after shooting them.

At any rate I am sure we are cut from the same fabric. I just got more of the Chuck Norris fan side.

With that being said can anyone say anything good about the mini 14?

In the Bible, Jesus turned water into wine. But then Chuck Norris turned that wine into beer.

Chuck Norris can hit you so hard that he can actually alter your DNA. Decades from now your descendants will occasionally clutch their heads and yell "What The Hell was That?"


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## Norm70 (Aug 26, 2005)

don't have to worry about i traded my triple duce i had for a savage 223 with a nikon monarch scope on it. Now if i can find a place to sight it in with all the snow around!!


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## Fallguy (Jan 23, 2004)

Norm

Get that 223 sighted in and lets see a pic of a southern ND coyote!


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## striped1 (Aug 17, 2005)

Norm70 said:


> don't have to worry about i traded my triple duce i had for a savage 223 with a nikon monarch scope on it. Now if i can find a place to sight it in with all the snow around!!


You didn't say it was a .222 aren't those kind of rare in a Mini 14?


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## Norm70 (Aug 26, 2005)

oh it wasn't a mini 14 just a bolt action.


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## Norm70 (Aug 26, 2005)

you, i was out sunday on my way to sight in the rifle, guess what runs across the road? I shot 2 times and was off.

wow is it hard to find a place to sight in a gun this time of year.


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## Fallguy (Jan 23, 2004)

Norm

Just get in a secluded area and get that sucker sighted in. Make sure you have a good backdrop. I didn't know you had a 222. You could have saved some cash by just using that for now until you decide if this is a sport you are going to stick with or not. Regardless, enjoy your new gun. What bullet are you shooting in your 223? I shoot 50 Grain V Maxes.


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## Norm70 (Aug 26, 2005)

222 shells are next to impossible to find in the oakes area and ordering bulk off the internet gets too expensive. I traded the triple duce for the 223. don't worry i have been coyote hunting since i was young, just it has usually been when i hunting for deer.

for now i am shooting shooting rem core lok 55's b/c of the price. i have shot others but have always like the shell and i dont handload my own.

yes i tried to get to my spot at mom and dads farm. have a few barrels set up at a 100 and 200 , but haven't made it there yet.

one of these days between basketball and teaching i will get the chance to really breakdown and put 50 or so shells through it.


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## Fallguy (Jan 23, 2004)

Yeah I know how the days can get long with the teaching and coaching. If you want some cheap factory ammo look at the Ultramax and Black Hills. I have been shooting the black hills until I use up the next 70 rounds I have...then I am going to start handloading Hornady 50 grain V max!


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## Norm70 (Aug 26, 2005)

thanks for the tips!!!

Here is a pic of the new coyote killer(potentially)


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## Fallguy (Jan 23, 2004)

Nice looking gun. I would get some white vetwrap and wrap that shiny barrel. On sunny days it may spook some coyotes!


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## Norm70 (Aug 26, 2005)

already got some on the way in snow camo from ebay!


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