Well, I am into my second week with this target version of the Mini 14. As it came out of the box with the muzzle weight set it shot standard Winchester grey box 55gn CXP 1 varmint ammo into .5 to.7 @ 100yrds. I thought " yea, Ruger finally got it right ". Then I started moving the harmonic stabilizer around trying to get some Black Hills 69 gn Match to shoot. Thats when the wheels came off the wagon.

I haven't beenable to get it back under an inch since. Turn it all the way out, all the way in, I just cannot find that sweet spot for the 69 gn load.

Next I am going to try some 40 gn loads. The gun wants to shoot, but it takes patience and ammo. Whew, its a chore. I'm not sure how many guys will be willing to put up with all the searching required to find their sweet spot. Ruger may have mis-calculated on this one.........................JJ

I am not sure what the twist rate is on the target version of the mini 14, but you will want a tighter than 1-10" for the 69 gr stuff. Most of the mini 14s I know seem to like the American Eagle 50gr hollow points, and at $4 a box, you can't complain.

John

I would be surprised if it shot anything heavier that 60gr. very well. Try a Sierra 52gr. FLAT BASE for best accuracy. That bullet shoots in most anything. Its a great bullet to benchmark a rifles potential. gduffey

Hello,
Believe the twist on your Ruger Target Mini 14 is 1/9 and should stabilize and deliver fine accuracy w/ the 69 Sierra MK's. The 9 twist is considered the "compromise..." twist in that it shoot most weights fine, and none superbly. Ideal twist for the heavier weights would be in the 7-8 twist range, light weights 12 twist, but your 9 should give at least 1 moa performance all other things being equal. If not, then as you say, Ruger has some more work to do on the rifle. I handled one for the first time some couple weeks ago and was somewhat amazed at the oveall mass of the rifle. Have shot the AR15/16 in matches for years w/ 7 twist and always wanted to use the Mini for lesser cost, like the action system, no gas tube/carrier key, cleaner all around, but no accuracy worth a damn and did hope this new version was a good one. Hope it works out for you.

Is the harmonic stabilizer the main change? Has anyone tried a moveable weight on a regular Mini 14? My impression is that there were a lot of other factors affecting the accuracy of the original Mini 14's (I have one) than just the barrels.
Peter.

Well I finally found my " sweet spot " with Winchester 55gn CXP 3 varmit ammo. I got to .53 at 100 yrds.

But that was through a hot bbl, tomorrow mornimg I'll go up and shoot 2 cold bore shots. This might be it.................JJ

Peter, acording to Ruger they re-worked the barrel, gas block, added the harmonic stabilizer, stock and trigger. As I posted I'll find out thru a cold bore tomorrow.......................JJ

The late Ed Harris wrote up some good stuff on improving the accuracy of the original Mini 14's. The gas block was one of the things he mentioned.
Peter.

Peter, I must confess my ignorance, I have never read Harris. For whom did he write ? I would like to find it and read up on his work...............JJ

Nope, cold bore shot was 5 inches away from my last POI with a hot bore yesterday. I wasn't able to get the group under 1.5 today........I guess I'll call Ruger...........................JJ