M14 Forum

Young guns

Ok so i was going to the gun store to buy ammo and i walked to the back of the store and there was this a rifle in a box next to the counter. So i went over just to see what it was and to my supprise it was a dissasembled mini 14 so i walked away as it didn't call to me at first. I walked back over to it and the guy behind the counter asked me if i needed any help and i asked him what is this he said some guy brought that in saying that i was an old mini that some one could build if they wanted. The guy that brought it in wanted $500 for it all dissasembled and painted the way it was, but the counter guy wouldn't pay him a dime so the guy left it there. The guy behind the counter told me i could have it for $50 bucks and said it would be a great project. He was about to through it away before i came along.








It apperes to be a 183 series mini made in 1983, the barrel cheeked out good and has a great chamber, the reacever seams to be good too. All the parts are there except the rear sight and the stock, and it even hade an ultimak barrle mount which i know is about $100 new so all in all i thought it was a great find. My only issue is the crappy camo paint that was on pieces of it and it looked like they hade used sand paper to strip the rest of the paint off, but a little beed blasting should fix that. I dont know if i want to dura coat it or to try and blue the metal. I plan on fixing it up and would like any suggestions you guys might have for me.
Good Shooting.

MemphisMachinists

Sweet. You can't go wrong for 50 bucks. I would have jumped on it too. Stocks are not hard to come by, try Ebay.

Chilly

I'd parkerize it.

Young guns

Its stainless steel, it will not except the parkerizing agent. However blueing it will work and i know how to do that but duracoat is so much easier. I still dont know what i want to do but i did dissasemble the trigger and bolt and it seems that all the parts are working corectlly. I also have the parts sitting i a solution to dissolve some of the paint that was on it.
Good Shooting.

1KPerDay

cool. $50 is a steal. Parts are worth more.

m14forme

I would first take it to the local police department and ask them to run the serial number. Be a shame to spend time working on it to find out you can't keep it.

Young guns

Thanks for mentioning that, I took it to the sherieffs office today to have it cheaked out and it was fine they said there was no reports that it hade behn stollen and that i could own it. So all seems to be good next thing to do is to figure out if i want to blue it or paint it im going towards dura coating it flat black like my 10/22 that i have dura coated black. Would like any hints on things to do with it i also dont know if i want to scope it or go iron sights, i would hate to waste the barrle rail that came with it.
Good Shooting.

johnreilly

One thing worth noting is that this is a "GB" model Mini. It has the mid-barrel mounted front sight with bayo lug and the ruger flash hider.

Young guns

Thanks for that tip, i also found out that it is one of the models that hade the Factory wooden folding stock which is good but i wounder where the stock is.
Good Shooting.

m14forme

Good Deal. I was thinking that it was too good to be true. You are fortunate. I have had a Mini-14 for several years and its one of my favorite rifles. It won't win any accuracy competitions, but its a good, sturdy, dependable, short distance shooter. Easy to handle and use.

pjomalley

sent the parts here and get it fixed http://www.accuracysystemsinc.com

Young guns

I would but i would rather fix it my self i like the challenge of building things so thanks but no thanks. Also i dont need a sub moa rifle i figured im only going to use the iron sights and maybe even a scout scope at the most so i dont really nead any thing more than 3-4 moa.
Good Shooting and thanks for the input you guys its really helpful and if you have any more i would like to hear what you guys think.

jim-analog

Greetings,

Congrats on your find! Depending on what you would like it to end up as you have many options. I wanted to mention this as I've owned a 183 series mini since the 80s. The barrel is relatively thin and tends to move as it heats up adversely affecting accuracy (that really drove me crazy trying to figure out why till someone tipped me off). So, being as how you don't have much $ into it now you may want to consider a heavier barrel (if accuracy would be a + to you). Far as I'm concerned, not having the factory rear sight isn't a bad thing; I think the type used on this series was pretty awful. I'm sure there are some better versions available now or as you have the rail, that opens up a lot of optic choices for you. Well, best of luck whatever way you build it up; please let us know how it turns out.

Regards, Jim