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Range report with Ruger mini-14

6940 Views 23 Replies 14 Participants Last post by dasu, Jan 4, 2009

jng

Discussion Starter · Jun 14, 2008

Thursday, I loaded up 40 rounds of 6.8spc. I used Remington brass, Winchester WLR primers, Remington 115 Grain bullets, over 27.2 of H322.
The rifle was new. At fifty yards using a 2x7 scope off my wife's .22, I shot 10 groups of 4.
The first 20 were used to sight the scope and break-in the rifle. The next 12 for groups and the last 8 were used with open sights.
The most impressive group I had was the last with the scope. Deadnuts, with a quarter covering the hole of three rounds and 4th was 3/4" up but inline with the bull. I was not unhappy.
With open sights at 50 yards I had 2 half moon groups.
The gun worked great and I am very impressed with both gun and the 6.8spc.

1 - 20 of 24 Posts

missouriman

· #2 · Jun 17, 2008

That sound cool .i bought one less than a week ago and i have reload some to try it out .
I have rem brass and win primers with the h335 powder and 110 vmax bullets.
I loaded 5 with 27grains and 5 all the way up to 29.5 grains , so i should find the best reload this way .Saturday i should know what load makes the best group

billclo

· #3 · Jun 18, 2008

When you get a chance, would you do a 10-shot group and report the results back?

Test_User

· #4 · Jun 19, 2008

That is very good and much better then the norm. With the new ones after a good break in I have been hearing from 1.5-2.5 moa accuracy whihc is very good for a rifle like this. If you find a load that gives regular 1 moa you have found the ideal.

missouriman

· #5 · Jun 19, 2008

Hello guys, Im planning to shoot 3 rounds of the 27gain and then clean the gun and then shoot the 27.5 gr and so on .with enough time in between each group for the barel to cool down.I think this way I should get a better tell tell result

gdonley308

· #6 · Jun 19, 2008

What chamber and twist rate is Ruger using? I almost bought one of these, still might, but the lack of high cap mags kept me from going for it then. I have heard that the newer Mini's are much more accurate than the older ones. My old .223 Mini use to be horrible for grouping 4"-5" 5 shots with match ammo at 100yrds especially after the barrel heated up. Pleasae post some pics of your range work.

billclo

· #7 · Jun 19, 2008

missouriman said:
Hello guys, Im planning to shoot 3 rounds of the 27gain and then clean the gun and then shoot the 27.5 gr and so on .with enough time in between each group for the barel to cool down.I think this way I should get a better tell tell result

While that approach will work okay for pressure testing most likely, you'll see a more representative grouping if you use 10-rd groups. If you haven't seen it, read this discussion of 10-rd groups over at AR15.com:

http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b ... 218&page=1

missouriman

· #8 · Jun 19, 2008

gdonley308 said:
What chamber and twist rate is Ruger using? I almost bought one of these, still might, but the lack of high cap mags kept me from going for it then. I have heard that the newer Mini's are much more accurate than the older ones. My old .223 Mini use to be horrible for grouping 4"-5" 5 shots with match ammo at 100yrds especially after the barrel heated up. Pleasae post some pics of your range work.

Hello The mini 14 6.8 is 1-10 twist. I know what u mean by the mini 14 223 barrel heating up.I have one that was made in 84 and after 10 shoots in a role the thing is so hot u dont want to toughch it.I have found adding that bar under the mini 14 223 barrel helps on the grouping.

here is my mini 223

and heres what my mini 14 6.8 looks like

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2

missouriman

· #9 · Jun 19, 2008

I did it lol i found out how to post pic lol

paulosantos

· #10 · Jun 19, 2008

missouriman said:
I did it lol i found out how to post pic lol

:lol: :lol: :lol:

jng

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jun 20, 2008

Next week, I will be doing more shooting with the mini. (Honey do list kept me home this week). I will do some 10 round groups with different powder loads. I have also ordered some 90 grain stuff from Midway. I will keep all posted.

Joe

Test_User

· #12 · Jun 20, 2008

I think you will find the 90 gr bullet the best in terms of accuracy and is the perfect round for the role the mini was made for. It makes the perfect round to dispatch animals that are a issue on a farm or ranch. If they would add a BT it would make it even better. I have not seen a gun that wouldn't shoot under 1moa or better with a hand load of either the 90 TNT or HP.

missouriman

· #13 · Jun 20, 2008

well i just got back from the range. The h335 just did not do it for me . the 28.5grain was the only ones that was workable with 3 shot at 100 yards the size of a silver dollar. I should have listen to what every one said

so now ill try the h322

Test_User

· #14 · Jun 21, 2008

try rel 7 as well. If you got a silver dollar with v-max that is actaully quite good with a jump. You need to seat them load so they are into the lands. I know this is not what you here to do with a semi but its the only way to get good accuracy fro those bullets. I really suggest you try the PH or the TNT. With the vmax you want it to be jsut into the lands. Not only touching but actaully into the lands jsut a bit. That way it is perfectly centered with the bore. Yes you have to drop the powder charge sown but you do get a bit back from the increased pressure it causes. Once you have figured the OAL now star nice a low with H322 and work up until you see the first sign of pressure and back off .5 that is your max not to go over with a reg load. Now do your development. With loading you always have to find you max IMHO as every rifle is dif and jsut finding a great load without knowing how close you are is not good. When looking for the max it only takes two rounds per charge. Move up in .3 gr steps with H322 and .2 with faster powders like rel 7

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world t

· #15 · Nov 21, 2008

Hey guys. I just bought a new Ruger mini 14 in 6.8 SPC. I took it to the range today shooting Hornady 6.8MM SPC 110 GR BTHP/WC. I put a NEW Bushnell Elite 3200 series scope on the gun. I was shooting 100 yards over a bench. I would shoot one round and it hit pretty much where I expected. The next round would hit 6" low. The next would be 6" somewhere else.. BTW the wind was calm. Any ideas? I shoot all the time just in case someone asks. I have a Bushmaster in 450 Busmaster caliber that I can shoot three rounds that touch at 100 yards and I shoot a Remington 700 Alaskan TI in 270 WSM that makes one three shot hole at 100 yards. So, I need some help with this Ruger.

missouriman

· #16 · Nov 21, 2008

world t said:
Hey guys. I just bought a new Ruger mini 14 in 6.8 SPC. I took it to the range today shooting Hornady 6.8MM SPC 110 GR BTHP/WC. I put a NEW Bushnell Elite 3200 series scope on the gun. I was shooting 100 yards over a bench. I would shoot one round and it hit pretty much where I expected. The next round would hit 6" low. The next would be 6" somewhere else.. BTW the wind was calm. Any ideas? I shoot all the time just in case someone asks. I have a Bushmaster in 450 Busmaster caliber that I can shoot three rounds that touch at 100 yards and I shoot a Remington 700 Alaskan TI in 270 WSM that makes one three shot hole at 100 yards. So, I need some help with this Ruger.

Its those bullets , reload u some with sierra 90 grain bullets and h322 powder, my mini 6.8 loves them , and they work great for deer also ,I had the chance to use them last week end and it will leave a great hole

marinesg1012

· #17 · Nov 21, 2008

did you check your rings and bases and everything to make sure your scope wasnt moving around.

missouriman

· #18 · Nov 21, 2008

Those minis seem to like the 90grain bullets over the heavier bullets,
but the scope mounts are bad to loosen up on those minis , or at lease mine is anyway

JerBear

· #19 · Nov 21, 2008

world t said:
Hey guys. I just bought a new Ruger mini 14 in 6.8 SPC. I took it to the range today shooting Hornady 6.8MM SPC 110 GR BTHP/WC. I put a NEW Bushnell Elite 3200 series scope on the gun. I was shooting 100 yards over a bench. I would shoot one round and it hit pretty much where I expected. The next round would hit 6" low. The next would be 6" somewhere else.. BTW the wind was calm. Any ideas? I shoot all the time just in case someone asks. I have a Bushmaster in 450 Busmaster caliber that I can shoot three rounds that touch at 100 yards and I shoot a Remington 700 Alaskan TI in 270 WSM that makes one three shot hole at 100 yards. So, I need some help with this Ruger.

1. Are you using the factory rings? When I first mounted my scope on my 6.8 mini I had a similiar experience. I found the front base kept loosening. I had to tighten the base screws a lot more than expected to keep it solid.

2. How many rounds did you fire? It took about 80 to 100 rounds before mine started grouping well.

3. Try some Silver State Ammo. My mini doesn't care for the Hornady factory loads (3+ MOA). I've never shot the Remington (don't want the large primer brass), however most folks here don't like it. The Silver State 110 gr. ProHunters and 115 gr. OTM shoot about 1.5 to 2 MOA for me.

4. Reloads are what work for me; both the 90 gr. Speer TNT's and the 110 gr. Hornady V-Max loaded to 2.290" will shoot 1 to 1.5 MOA.

5. I've found that to get good groups with my mini, I have to wait about 1 minute between shots and 5 minutes between groups.

Don't give up on it--I've got about 1,100 rounds through mine and it's shooting better than ever.

Here's the latest 100 yard 10 shot group:

http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/medium/90gr-10_Small_.jpg

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twd

· #20 · Jan 1, 2009

I'll second most of what JerBear said. My rear scope mount shook loose while at the range for the first time with my new Mini, so you have to keep an eye on them. Also, it took 60-80 rounds for mine to settle in and start getting consistent groups. Try out several types of ammo. I found that mine liked SSA 115 OTM the best and would consistently get 1 1/2 inch groups. My Mini hates the lighter bullets, but others seem to have success.

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