Yes, I have heard of a Mini-14 blowing up! Mine! It blew the mag out of the bottom, collapsed the extractor spring, fractured the receiver, etc. I had powder burns all over my face except for where my glasses were.
However, there are two things to note.
First, I contacted Ruger about it, explained the reason it blew up and they shipped me a new one for 1/2 price. I thought that was pretty decent considering that mine was well over ten years old.
And second: It was human error that caused it to blow up. I was shooting reloads from a local reloader. He forgot to remove the ridge around the inside of the neck rim after trimming it and crammed the bullet in. Then he crimped it in place but of course, since he forgot to remove the ridge on the outside of the case too, the bullet ended up being REALLY tight in the case. Like permanent tight! I had someone else conduct a "forensics" exam on the other reloads from the same guy. Yes, all of that ammo was disassembled and deactivated.
It was my first shot of the day. It exploded like a mini hand grenade and ruined my whole day. Fortunately, no one was hurt bad. Keep yer powder dry, Mac
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