Ruger mini ranch or mini 30

JD · Post by JD » Thu Jan 11, 2007 3:00 pm

Wondering if anyone here has any experiance with these rifles.

It looks like the mini ranch would be a fun plinker and short range varmint rifle.

For thick bush I was thinking the mini thirty would be a good deer rifle, nice and short, easy to swing , and good for quick shots .

They both look like reliable rifles as the actions are similar to the M1 garand and M14 but I've heard people say different.(Probably ruger haters)

Anyway, if anyone has any info or opinions on these it would really help me out. THX

glenn asher · Post by **glenn asher** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 3:32 pm

Mini-14s are reliable, very much so. They are pretty awful shooters, though. I've had four, the first one shot pretty good, to tell the truth. I sold it to buy something else(HK91). When I decided I wanted another, well, that one was better suited to a door prop or something, but it was reliable. I sold it, and then won one in a raffle, it was even worse than the second one, a 4" gun at best, scoped. The last one was my brother's, I got it when he passed away. I sold it without shooting it, knowing the odds were against it. Mini-30s aren't much better, if any.
Frankly, for the money, I'd rather have a CZ boltgun in either chambering. If I wanted an auto, I'd just bite the bullet and get an AR, they are available in many chamberings these days, too. It's not hard to get an AR to shoot, Mini's usually require a boatload of money(custom work) just to get to where an AR starts from.

acloco · Post by **acloco** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 6:09 pm

Echo 2 fold with Glen posted.

Look neat, function great, and should come with a shooter's prayer book to hit something!!!

JD · Post by JD » Fri Jan 12, 2007 4:01 pm

I realize that the accuracy wouldn't be great with either of these rifles so i might skip on the mini ranch, however as far as the mini 30 is concerned the bush where i go deer hunting is thick enough that the farthest shot i might have to make is about 60yds.

I was actually looking at a few M4s and even some later model AK type rifles in the 5.56 chambering which i liked but unfortunatly here in Canada they are a little on the rare side and worse yet people get really nervous (even other hunters) when they see anybody walking around with anykind of "assault rifle' type looking firearm.

Just outta curiousity how much do ARs cost in the US, the prices I've seen (in CDN funds) here range from $850 for an M16, $1350 for M4s, and $300-$1000 for AKS.

THX for the replys guys.

MrPillow · Post by **MrPillow** » Fri Jan 12, 2007 4:39 pm

You can get a decent "M4" at around $800 USD.

LilCal · Post by **LilCal** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 11:00 pm

JD,
You may be interested in reading the write up on the NEW & IMPROVED Ranch Rifle in the Jan./Feb. issue of Peterson's Rifle Shooter. The caption reads MOA .223 Mini-14 and the title of the article is ACCURATE AT LAST.
???????

LilCal

JD · Post by JD » Tue Jan 16, 2007 7:58 pm

Thanks for the heads up, im gonna check that out.

Rugerdogdog · Post by **Rugerdogdog** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 10:54 am

JD,
You can get an AR at any price between $700-$2500 depending on how fancy you want it. I paid just short of $1200USD for mine.

Its a DPMS Panther Arms LR-204. It has a 24" fluted bull barrel, two stage trigger, 6-24X50 BSA Target scope. It comes with two 30rnd mags, sling and cleaning kit. Its a lot heavy for what you want. All ARs are heavy for their size but the short barrel/tactical types are not TOO heavy. Just to shop around you could check out Gunbroker.com, thats where I got mine. I'm not sure about what it takes to ship firearms to Canada but that site can help you with that too.

WHISTLEPIG · Post by **WHISTLEPIG** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 11:10 am

Rugerdogdog, That is a nice looking rig.

JD · Post by JD » Wed Jan 17, 2007 6:08 pm

Wow, I agree that is one sweet rig Rugerdogdog.

Thx for the info as i was kinda wondering who exactly made hunting ARs and where i could look to order them from.

Thx for all the help and info guys.

Rugerdogdog · Post by **Rugerdogdog** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 9:13 am

Thanks guys! I love it. It is almost exactly what I wanted (DPMS couldnt tell me how long to wait for a left-hander but they did say it would be at LEAST 5-6 mos.) but when I saw the picture I just HAD to have it.
JD I did forget to mention, when I when to my local FFL to pick it up, he told me that he could have built the same thing for $250 less. If you want to save some $$$ then buying the upper/barrel/lower, and other parts seperately is much cheaper. Plus once you buy the lower (about $175- $250USD) you can buy all kinds of different parts to make any varation you want.

JD · Post by JD » Thu Jan 18, 2007 3:59 pm

Now I don't excatly know much about ARs but thinking about what u said Rugerdogdog, do u think that if i bought one of the ARs here which i believe are military issue with a few modifications to make them a none-restricted firearm here in Canada (ie.: semi-auto only and five round clip limit), that i could then buy a barral or any other products from DPMS and then fit them to one of these rifles(universal)?

The only reason I'am wondering is i don't know how much of a hassel getting one of these rifles over the border would be or how long it would take to clear?

Rugerdogdog · Post by **Rugerdogdog** » Sat Jan 20, 2007 9:50 am

JD,
Ya kinda got me with that one. Heres where I confess, I'm no AR expert either. But I believe the major components will interchange. If its already semi-auto only then there is the biggest difference. I know the AR is designed so that it cannot be easily converted to full-auto. As I said, IF it can be done, the folks over at http://gunbroker.com/ will be able to help you out. There is a Forum there too, filled with people much more knowledgable than me on such things. Also, any and all questions you may have on the AR15/M16 can be answered on http://ar15.com/ That is a bunch of true GUN-NUTS over there.