Ruger Mini 14 Ambidextral Gunfighter One Year Later Review

Be sure to check out the AmbGun Mini 14 page for the Mini 14 series in shorts and more.
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What I learned after a year with the Mini 14

April 2024, I picked up a Ruger Mini 14 to create the 10 episode series in shorts. My intention was to do the series and then sell the rifle. It didn’t exactly work out as planned…the rifle found a home above the fireplace.

But it did not start out with such favor. For starters, the front sling attachment point was too wide to install a 1 ¼” sling swivel. In episode one, I fixed the sling situation.

I also found the rear peep sight was too far from my eye to get the clarifying effect of the aperture. This was improved in episode two by cutting down the stock, switching to a thin butt plate, and installing Tech-Sights. Creating a 12 ⅝” length of pull…about the same as an M1 Garand…but the butt to peep length was still an inch longer than an AR set to an equivalent trigger length of pull.

The front sight is kind of thick and it has to be filed down to make elevation changes to the point of impact…as long as you need raise that point of impact. I wish Tech Sights offered a Mini 14 front sight similar to their offering for the 10/22.

About 1 pound heavier than our lightweight, iron sight Ambi AR. The Mini is a bit heavier than a typical AR, but overall height is about half.

Line of sight is less than an inch above the bore compared to 2.5” on the AR. Beneficial if you’re dealing with intervening barriers at short range.

Mini 14 fans champion the forward piston driven action. I really have no preference compared to the AR’s “direct impingement” BCG internal piston. But I found that the Mini 14’s handguard tended to get overly hot, too hot to handle without gloves, so I tried the Choate Machine Ventilated Handguard to vent that heat. I also went with an Accuracy Systems Adjustable Gas Block to reduce the amount of hot gas being dumped beneath the handguard…after getting the gas dialed in brass was no longer launched into the next county, recoil was reduced, and the handguard ran much cooler even with long strings of rapid fire. But I did find that with the op rod being exposed by the Chaote handguard, I could accidentally generate a malfunction if my support hand gripped too hard…especially when shooting left handed. For this reason, I restored the stock Ruger handguard to keep my hand off the op rod. Even more important when running softer shooting 223.

With no buttstock buffer tube, you can use the buttstock as a club and be confident that things will keep cycling. Or install a Samson folder stock. Folding stock? Pass, if I want a folding, backpack carbine, I’ll go with the SU16c…the Mini’s supreme advantage is social acceptibility…don’t fuck it up with a folding stock and pistol grip…or a big assed optic awkwardly mounted high above the Ruger’s action.

I prefer a bare muzzle 18.5 barrel over a 16.5” fitted with a flash hider. Long 22 ¾” sight radius, Two more inches for velocity, and a more complete burn…i.e., some flash reduction.

The old 180 series Mini 14 gave Ruger’s rifle a reputation for poor accuracy. The 580 series is much better. In my 5.56 Benchrest test (link in description) the Mini 14 shot almost exactly the same group size as my iron sighted AR…in fact 16/1,000 MOA better than the AR. And while I generally shoot the Mini offhand better than the AR, I usually shoot the AR better prone and squatting.

No pistol grip and Smooth stock means Less drag coming out of scabbard. And less social drag if you’re surrounded by bedwetters.

Magazine operation.I have no preference between inserting AR mags vs rock in Mini14 mags. The Mini14 Mags do drop free if the rifle is held horizontal. Rock in helps seat a full mag under a closed bolt and reduces the need for a tap tug to check that it’s seated.

But Mini 14 mags weigh nearly twice STANAGs. This means that for every 4-5 mags in your AR loadout you get one free, weight wise, compared to the Mini.

That Ruger mags cost more than twice as much as AR mags which means you can buy 10 AR mags and the ammo to fill them twice for the price of just 10 empty Ruger mags.

The trigger is pretty good, better than an AR mil spec, but not quite as good as a Giselle. I also appreciate the robust safety that captures both the sear and the hammer.

While I am semi-ambivalent on Mini14 vs AR debate, the excessively long buttstock, peep too far forward, the unconventional front sling mount, and the pinchy mag release makes it kind of hard to recommend for the new shooter.