Best Mini 14 loads

I tried quite a few loads in the Mini 14 when I first got it and was disappointed. Seemed it was just a 2 - 4 MOA gun no matter what I fed it.
frown.gif
I just use it as a beater gun with open peep sights when I know shots will be fairly close.
 
My brother inlaw has not had very good luck with his. Tried factory and handloads plus differnt scopes still 3" or bigger groups. One thing I can say is its reliable,never has jammed.
 
Originally Posted By: who meOne thing I can say is its reliable,never has jammed. Very true. The sloppy action that allow it to shoot everything reliably and never even think of jamming is what has to stand in the way of accuracy. A great ranch rifle that can take a beating and always fire when you need it, but a bench rifle it's not.
 
What they all said. Don't waste money on expensive ammo. I have had the best luck with Remington 55gr UMC ammo which is $7.49 in my area. Still no better than 3 inches.........but at least it's a fairly consistant 3".
 
I laughed when i seen the ad for the target version. It said they beat the black rifles in competition. It must of not been enough to catch on.
 
26.5gr.varget,cci400,sierra 69gr.match bullets (oal 2.26) put my scoped 195 series pencil barrel 1/9 twist grouping under an inch at 100yds.
 
Last edited:
I've got a 196 series Mini 14. I've been trying different weight bullets and powder types. Just loaded up some 69 grain Sierra BTHP. I use once fired Federal American Eagle brass with CCI 400 primers trimmed to 1.750 inch.. With 25.3 grain Varget, I have a compressed load. I stopped there with that powder. Still waiting for better weather to shoot.
I'd like to try your load of 26.5 grain of Varget but wondering how much I can compress that powder without a problem.
Thanks
Al
 
Varget is slow burning, and fills cases fast. Work up slowly, youll probably be durprised how much you can stuff in and not have high pressure.

Id keep that one DANNY-L. Few shoot that great.
 
64gr winchester power points, cci400, 25gr varget. 70gr speer semi pointed, cci400, 25gr varget. 69gr hpbt, cci400, 25gr varget. 55gr sierra spbt, cci400, 25gr varget. You might see a trend. All shoot good in my 186 series mini 14 with 4x40 scope. My prefered load is the 70gr speer.
 
Wow - A lot of very good information.
This Mini -14 is not for the bench or even varmits except the 2 legged kind so 3" at a 100 is some thing I can live with.
My main concern is that it cycles with out stove pipeing or other issues.
 
With My Mini, I could pick off ground squirrels at over 100 yds no problem with a cold barrel. But as soon as the little pencil barrel warmed up, it was hard to tell where you were going to hit. But it never jammed or failed to fire.


ETA I shot commercial ammo, Wolf 55 SP's and reloads through it. I mostly used 40 gr Vmax with H335 for the squirrels.
 
Last edited:
I bought a new Mini 14 a couple of years ago for hogs and coyotes. What a mistake. I have found the gun to be so inaccurate, I'm not comfortable shooting anything more than 75 yards away. Even though I haven't tried reloads, I have run the gamut on factory loads and 3-4 moa is the best I could get, but it wasn't consistent. The only attribute the gun has is it's reliability. It will cycle anything you run through it. For this reason, it has been relegated to home defense use.
 
My cousin had a mini 141 when we were kids you could not hit the broadside of a barn with it standing inside the barn. But some people love them but I have never shot one that would group at 100 yards. its more of a spray and pray kind of gun to me
 
Back
Top