mini-14/30 owners

[thezentree]

I've been thinkin about buying a new rifle lately, and the Ruger Mini-14 and Mini-30 are pretty much what I'm looking for (a Springfield M-14 is a little outta the budget). Anyway, I would be using it for mostly plinking and walking around in the woods and shooting whatever I felt like, but occasionally I'd use it for deer hunting, which is why I'm also looking at the Mini-30 and a Remington 700 in .308.

My questions are these: What kinda accuracy are ya'll getting with stock Mini's and decent ammo at 100-150 yards? I'm not expecting a short-barrelled auto to shoot sub-MOA, but if I could hit a paper plate consitently at 100yds I'd be happy. I haven't even taken a hunter's safety course yet, so the hunting part obviously isn't a huge concern, but I plan on taking that in the near future.

Oh, and how well do these things function after they've gone through 200-300rds without being cleaned?

 

[blasterD]

My Dad has a Mini 14 and my brother has a Bushmaster M4. I have shot both frequently. I think they are pretty comparable as far as accuracy, but the piston system in the Ruger is much cleaner. You could fire a few thousand rounds with the ruger before you HAD to clean it. You should have no problem shooting plates at 100 or even 200 yards.

 

[thezentree]

Good, cause I just bought one.

 

[tomseviltwin]

That's the same as mine. It's alot of fun to shoot

 

[mofugly13]

Is that the Mini-14, 'cause .223 isn't really a good deer cartridge. If it's the Mini-30, right on. I have wanted one of those for a while. No problem with shooting deer to 200 yards or beyond with that one.