Mini-14 relaibility with different lubes...

[AMC]

There actually wasn't that much dust in the area under the handguard. Most certainly not enough to cause the stoppages. The recoil spring and guide rod were dusty, but again not exceptionally so.

The areas that retained dust and caused the majority of the stoppages were the op rod track in the receiver and the camming area of the op rod. Dust infiltration in the extractor clearance in the bolt may have been causing the FTExtract.

BSW [/quote]

Interesting, The mini-14 does have open operating surfaces like that and I could see how that would jam things up. It seemed to me like the bolt operation was unusually slow, like the piston was jammed up and slowed down. Did you grease or oil the op rod track and bolt cam? It really makes me wonder if a dry lube like ezzox would have prevented the jamming. Normally dirt and grit on the outside of the mini's bolt just gets blown off during recoil. And again, the 18- series of mini's were so poorly machined.... Lots of variables there.

 

[another Todd]

How does one tell which series they have. I have a SS ranch model, about 20 years old. Has never once jammed or failed in any other way. Just a hoot to shoot.

 

[bsmithwins]

Originally Posted By: AMC
Interesting, The mini-14 does have open operating surfaces like that and I could see how that would jam things up. It seemed to me like the bolt operation was unusually slow, like the piston was jammed up and slowed down. Did you grease or oil the op rod track and bolt cam? It really makes me wonder if a dry lube like ezzox would have prevented the jamming. Normally dirt and grit on the outside of the mini's bolt just gets blown off during recoil. And again, the 18- series of mini's were so poorly machined.... Lots of variables there.


Both the op-rod track and camming hump were oiled and greased in thier respective tests. In the test that I ran w/o lube both surfaces were completly dry and clean as I scrubbed them out with a brush and removed the previous lube with brake cleaner.

BSW

 

[AMC]

Originally Posted By: another Todd
How does one tell which series they have. I have a SS ranch model, about 20 years old. Has never once jammed or failed in any other way. Just a hoot to shoot.


Just look at your serial number. If the gun starts with 18***** it is an older model. The new models will have a much thicker, tapered barrel and a serial number that starts with 58*****. For normal hunting/plinking and everyday use, the older mini's work well enough. However, the new minis will be even more accurate, reliable and durable. This is especially true of the accuracy. The new mini's are shooting about 1.5-2.5 inch groups at 100 yards with good ammo. That accuracy is on par with most similarly priced AR-15's these days.

 

[another Todd]

I guess I have the old style then, but it has been flawless.