Mini-14 modifications?

D

DW Altom

Inactive
Does anyone have a good Mini-14/rifle gunsmith in mind? I want have some work done on mine and rather than reinvent the wheel by trying to explain what I want to the locals here, I'd like to send it off to someone who knows what the heck I want.

All I'm looking right now is to shorten the barrel to 16.25 inches, add a Vortex flash suppressor and relocate the front site.

Also, any suggestions about the front site? I get along fine with the original, but what about adding a military-style one with protective wings. Anyone suggest a decent manufacturer of such an animal?
 
1) The main reason I'm sending this rifle to the 'smith is to install the Vortex flash hider and re-install the front sight. The flash hider is going to add another couple of inches to the overall length, which I just don't want ... a shorter barrel would make it handier to use in closed environments (i.e., house, vehicle, etc.).

2) It's been shown that a shorter barrel doesn't hurt (and often helps!) accuracy by cutting down on vibration.

3) I've got this fetish for short rifles (M1A Bush rifle, Remington 600, Enfield Jungle Carbine, etc.) ... looks aren't everything, but they are part of the equation.

And, since I'm going to have the barrel muzzle cut on anyway, why not?
 
Check the Brownells catalog. They offer several replacement front sight/ flash hider combos. My mini-30 has one from Eagle Idustries. It is short, looks good and features a circle/post front sight like H&K uses. I'm very happy with it.

BTW: Replacing the front sight on the Mini's only requires a hammer and small punch. Drive out the roll pin and tap the sight off the end of the barrel. It's a tight fit, so be patient, use light taps and slowly work it off. Hitting too hard could damage the sight. The new sight/flash hider goes on in it's place.
 
Thanks, Gray Fox ...

My original question still stands, though. What gunsmith do the folks on this forum recommend to do a shortening, crowning and flash hider/sight installation?

Thanks for any info.
 
No help from me (my mini remains stock).

Be sure the gunsmith you select knows Minis. When you shorten the barrel, gas pressure drops quicker and there may not be enough energy to cycle the action reliably.

On the normal 18 1/2" barrel, the gas port should be .062" but may be anywhere from .060 - .064". For the 15" bbl, Ruger has it from .062 - .066" and on the the 13" bbl, .069 - .073".

There's an outfit in Odessa, Texas which modifies (with new barrel) the Mini to sub MOA. Do a search on the Mini14 in this forum and the thread should show up.

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The name of the company is Accuracy Rifle Systems. I don't know if they have a web site. If I can find their brochure I'll post the address and phone number.
 
Accuracy Rifle Systems
P.O. Box 13772
Odessa, Texas 79768-3772
915-362-6840

These are good folks to do business with and there conversions give a level of accuracy on par with any semi-auto rifle...........
 
Thanks Jaeger & Tallison for helping out where I was lazy.

Accuracy Rifle Systems has their ad on Page 64 of the July 1999 edition of Rifle magazine. It's the same ad which they have been running for years. I like that unique left handed Mini14 which they've been featuring. Now, if I can get them to sell me that one of a kind rifle which somehow slipped by the factory inspectors...

Seriously, their workmanship is better than their marketing executives who erred. Ruger had one done by them and examined it to see if they could duplicate some of the measures at a cost effective price for production target guns. Sadly, they couldn't.

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