Perhaps all but one.......
Ruger have served the UK gun scene very well, particularly after the handgun ban. I reckon just about every ex-pistol shooter who carried on shooting, used some of the 30 pieces of silver paid by the government for the confiscation of our property, to buy a Ruger Old Army B/P revolver and a Ruger 10/22 rimfire semi!
Since then, Ruger have even given us a long barrelled revolver in the shape of the Super Redhawk and even a straight pull..... the Mini 14 BAO (Bolt Action Only)
Anyway I digress....... I had an SGC straight pull AR15 a few years ago and let it go. Ovenpaa's thread got me thinking, I fancied another one, but didn't want to drop the inevitable 1500 to 2 grand that would come with an AR build.
As luck would have it, I wandered into my local shop a couple of days later and they showed me a straight pull they had taken in part-ex. They were not very confident they'd sell it, so I offered them what they'd paid for it. So, I'd just bought myself a Mini 14!
I shout's up on the forum what I'd done, to much merth and meriment from some and utter derrision from others..... This ended up with a wager. Mike357 reckoned I'd never get it to shoot less than 5 inches at 100 yards. I picked up his gauntlet and told him I'd get it to shoot less than three inches. He took the wager of a fiver for Help for Heroes. Ovenpaa takes the wager as well.
Right then, time for research....... oh bugger! US forums reckon they are really hard pressed to get the 5 inch groups. A lot of people regard the gun as a great "truck gun", but tack driver it's not. But, I'm getting ahead of myself.
I had taken pictures when I first got the rifle and during the subsequent "build" but somehow, they've disappeared. Anyway, when it came home from the shop, it looked like this, except for an extension of the cocking lever on the operating rod, which was basically a black plastic ball, the size of a golf ball.
I was curious to see how the extension "felt". So, I took a ccase from the bench, locked the bolt back and dropped the empty case into the chamber. I noticed it stuck half way out of the chamber as I let the bolt go...... "$hit! It's not resized!" Bolt slams shut! Tried to open the action. Not a hope. Lay the thing on the table and used the edge to try and force it open. Not a hope, but I did see that the factory stock was flexing, (note to self). So, I reverted to squaddie Mk1, IA drill. Butt on the floor and got me boot on the golf ball. Case comes out of the chamber but golf ball splits in two and wangs off in different directions! This reveals a thread on which the ball was screwed onto.
Make a number of notes and ship it off to the 'smith. He turns down the thread and cuts another, onto which he fixes his own version of the Badger bolt knob. Meanwhile, I get onto the Brownells site. An ATI stock, Warne rail, Wolf extra power recoil spring and a Choat muzzle brake are ordered. In my reading on "accurising" the Mini 14, amny people mention the "Mo-Rod". This turns out to be a barrel stabaliser that seems to work. They are made in Arizona, but they won't ship out of the US. After telling a friend of my dilema, a Mo-Rod heads to Old Blighty as well! (I love those sort unexpected gifts!)
All the bits duly arrive and the new bolt knob is fitted. I dig out a spare Harris bi-pod and a Bushnell 4200 Elite, 6-24 x 50 Mil Dot, which has a set of Warne Tactical rings on it. It all goes together and I end up with this....
Loads wise, I decide to stay away from my favourite .223 receipe of N140 and 69gn SMK's. The Ruger does have a 1 in 9" twist, but only an 18 inch barrel. N140 is medium burning and I've had fantastic results out of a 26" barrel Savage, banging V-Bulls at 800m, but with such a short relative barrel on the Ruger, I don't want any powder still burning after the bullet has gone. I may be thinking bollox, but that's my rational. Fast powder and so give it a chance to all burn whilst the bullet is still in the barrel will hopefully aid accuracy. Possibly.
Powder wise, I had some H335 and Benchmark in the cupboard, as well as some IMR4198. Perfect! I load up some 52gn Hornady HPBTM and some 69gn SMK's. The three pics are representative of a mornings testing, with a wagon load of different combinations. The patches on the target are 20mm in diameter.....
Well, by my reckoning, I've won!!!! :shakeshout:
Some of the loads showed real promise and will be tinkered with. Likewise, I'm waiting for some bullets from dodgyrog and give cast a go with pistol powder. The 69gn would give some lovely tight clusters for three or four rounds, but then chuck a flier out to 2.5 to 3 inches. However, the 69's really didn't like the fastest powder, 4198.
I was a little dispondant through out the shooting of the groups. I thought I may get better results. Pe4king was actually R/O that day and it wasn't until he pointed out that what was coming from a very cheap, known to be inaccurate, Frankenstein straight pull, I should be very happy about! Not that long ago, an inch and a half from a quality hunting rifle would have been regarded as excellent performance. Perhaps we're all spolied with what rifles are capable of today?
Oh, and it didn't help that the scope went completely t*ts up!!! Thank God for lifetime warranty's!
And the really nice bit....... taking away the scope, rings and bi-pod, the rifle as it now is, stands me just over 350 quid!!!! :mrgreen:
Anyhow, what ever way you cut it......
mike357 and ovenpaa!! Get your hands in your pockets and get a fiver shoved in the H4H tin!!! LLLoooooossssseeeeeerrrrrsssssssss!!!!
:cheers: :cheers: :55: :55: :55: :55: :55: :55: :55: :55: :55: :55: :55: :55: :55:
