G-MAN

My Mini-14 Tactical arrived today. I just got through field stripping and cleaning it. Man was this thing dirty. If they only fire one proof round through it that is some dirty propellant they are using. It breaks down just like my M1 Garand, just a lot less little doo-dads because of the box magazine. But getting the recoil spring back in is a real PITA. Didn't the receiver on the Mini-14 used to have "Ruger Mini-14" stamped on the back hump? Mine has "Ruger Ranch Rifle." Off to the range tomorrow to see how it does with the iron sights. Still got to find a decent, inexpensive scope for it.

Maybe I need to reconsider this. I thought trap and skeet was done with a normal shotgun. I didn't know I would have to buy a "special" trap or skeet gun.

Click here.

CDNN has the Remington/Baikal SPR 310 O/U for $359.00. Here's a review.

So pumps are okay for trap? I thought O/U was the gun of choice?

I'm thinking about joining the local gun club which is real big into shotgun sports: Trap, Skeet, 5-Stand, and Sporting Clays. I sold all my shotguns years ago. What would be a good, relatively inexpensive shotgun to get for use in these sports?

I've got an old Spanish '93 Mauser that I've only shot a few times. Ammo is extremely hard to find for it around here and the few places that do have it want like $40 a box. Anyone know where I can get decent, inexpensive, non-corrosive 7x57 ammo?

I ordered a can of this stuff and used it last night to clean and lube my Hi-Power and P95. So far I'm impressed. Since this is a plant based ester I figured it would have good polar qualities and it does. That's why I think it also works as a good solvent and removes metal fouling from the bore.

I enjoy watching this guy's videos on YouTube. He shows that for the most part, the accuracy of a handgun is a product of the shooter, not the gun. Watch how easy he makes it look to hit targets out to 75 and 80 yards with this Glock 26. "> " type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"> In this video he shoots a Glock 23 out to 230 yards. "> " type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"> And here he attempts the near impossible: shooting a sub-compact Glock 27 at 230 yards. But he does connect a few times. "> " type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350">

Not really. JayPee knows more about Hi-Powers than I do. He answered in a PM. Here are the clues, the "tells," that show this is an early P9M: The designation PJK-9HP for the FEG Hi-Power only applied to the guns that were imported into the U.S. by Kassanar (K.B.I.). In Europe, the gun that is true to the original 1935 Hi-Power design was designated the P9. The later "improved" version with the different slide release (and later, the S&W barrel cam design) was called the P9M (P9 Módosított - Hungarian for "modified"). The confusion between these two pistols happens in the U.S. because both the P9 and P9M were labeled "PJK-9HP" for import to the U.S. To know if your PJK-9HP is a P9 or P9M you have to look at the slide release and the barrel cam design. If you can see the barrel cam lug where it is sliver-soldered into the frame, you either have a P9 or an early P9M with the original Browning cam unlocking system. If the slide has the small cut out for the slide stop, and the new style slide stop liver, you have an early P9M. If you have the normal Hi-Power slide stop lever, you have a P9. And if you have the new style lever and no sign of the barrel cam lug on the frame, you've got a later P9M that uses the S&W style cam unlocking system. I suspect that when FEG made the decision to "modify" the P9 they first modified the slide and slide release lever and used up the remaining frames and barrels before switching to the new S&W style barrels and frame internals. And as JayPee pointed out in his PM, there were actually other U.S. companies that imported the P9 and P9M and marketed it under their unique model numbers. So those importers, too, would have had P9s and P9Ms sold under their model numbers.

Good informative post, JP. Thanks. The gun in your pictures is an import version of the FEG P9M, and it's an early P9M. Both the P9 and P9M were marketed in the US by KBI as the PJK-HP9. A FEG trivia quiz: First, tell me how I know this is a P9M, and then tell me how I know it's an early vs late P9M.

Welcome, JayPee. I'm glad you decided to join us. This is a relatively new shooting forum with a bunch of good guys--with the exception of Wayne. He can get a bit rowdy sometimes. <snicker>

Not yet. It's on my list.

The 75th Anniversary edition of the Browning Hi-Power features a tastefully done engraving and a blue job that looks like what used to come on Colt Pythons.

With some decent sights I'm confident I could cut this group size in half. The sights on this gun are the old G.I. type.

I gave my FEG a "tune up" last week by installing a new Wolff 17# recoil spring and a new firing pin spring. Took it to the range this morning. It was almost too cold to shoot. I finally had to stop because my fingers got so numb I could not feel the trigger. Shoots noticeably better now. Groups are tightening up. No stovepipes, but still had a fail to eject on the last round one time. I've got a new ejector spring coming so we'll see if that is the problem.

Right. Chambering the Mini-14 for the 7.62x39 Russian was easy because the cartridges are roughly the same length and the 7.62x39 is a relative light load .30 cal. To go .308/7.62 NATO required a new gun. There's no way the Mini-14 could handle the pounding of full-house 7.62 NATO rounds even if the receiver opening was long enough to accept it. The gun would come all to pieces in a few hundred rounds.

It's a Ruger XGI, which was a .308 version of the Mini-14. Everything about the Mini-14 was "upsized" for the larger round. The gun was set for introduction in 1985 and even appeared in Ruger's 1985 catalog. In 2007, Ruger auctioned off one of the pre-production models (which is where those pictures above are from). Here was the text for that auction: "Model: Ruger XGI Rifle Serial Number: 800-01250 Caliber: .308 Win. Rollmark Date: December 12, 1984 This is a very rare Ruger XGI rifle, serial number 800-01250, chambered in .308 Winchester. Less than 100 were fully assembled. It was rollmarked on December 12, 1984 and has a 5-round magazine. Announced in 1984, Ruger never commercially sold any XGI rifles. Bill Ruger put the project on hold indefinitely in 1985 when he decided not to expend additional engineering efforts to improve the rifle’s accuracy. This rifle will be shipped with a Ruger XGI instruction manual, scope rings, and in a white Ruger box of current manufacture. The Ruger XGI was an autoloading centerfire rifle based on the design of the Ruger Mini-14 rifle, scaled up for larger cartridges. While the Mini-14 was chambered for the .223 Remington cartridge, the XGI was designed for both the .308 Winchester and .243 Winchester cartridges. The XGI was slightly longer and heavier than the Mini-14, but retained the essentials of both the Ruger Mini-14 and the proven M1 Garand/M-14 designs used by the military. Its red recoil pad was to be standard, and like the Mini-14 Ranch Rifles, it had Ruger scope bases machined integrally into the receiver, side ejection, a fold-down auxiliary adjustable aperture sight, and a blade front sight." There are rumors floating around that Ruger still has thousands of XGI receivers in mothballs and plans to bring the gun to production utilizing the same changes they did to the Mini-14 a few years ago to take care of the accuracy issues that caused Bill Ruger to kill it.

You need to read up on the improvements that were made to the Mini-14 a few years ago that significantly improved accuracy. 1.5 MOA at 100 yds is doable now. The scope mounts are not different on the Tactical versus the Ranch. All Mini-14s use the same receiver that has Ruger's patented integral scope mounts machined in.

For basically the same reason I decided to get my CWP and start carrying, I wanted to get a WTSHTF weapon for home defense. I toyed with the idea of getting a SKS, a Saiga AK, or one of the cheaper AR variants (like the Olympic). In the end, I settled on the tried and true Ruger Mini-14 in the Tactical version. I looked at a few retailers around here, including the gun shop where I normally do business. Most didn't have the model I wanted, or their prices were out of line. Yesterday, the four MecGar mags I ordered for my Hi Power from CDNN came and they'd put their newest catalog in the box. I was flipping through it and on page 8 they had a full page Ruger Mini-14 "Blowout" sale. They had the Tactical model with the 20 round mag listed for $589.00 with free shipping. This gun retails in the Ruger catalog for $921.00. I called this morning to verify the price and that they had it in stock and placed my order. Any suggestions for a decent scope that will be adequate out to 75 yards? I've heard that hunters around here use shotgun scopes on their Mini-14s.

Yep, it's Russian. I just pulled the trigger on one in .223 this morning. $238.00 with shipping.

I suspect Ruger knows that the Glock 19 is Glock's best selling pistol and they were anxious to get a smaller SR9 on the market to compete head to head with it.

Here is a video of a guy sighting his in. It's not a tack driver, but it's not bad, either. "> " type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350">

Yep. My dad gave me a Remington 1100 for Christmas when I was 16, but he taught me to hunt when I was ten with a single shot 12 gauge. His philosophy was that if you know you've only got one shot you'll make it count. I've always been a fan of single shot rifles, especially of the Farquharson-style like the Ruger No. 1. The SPR18 is not a falling block Farquharson, but it's got the same lines and no exposed hammer like the H&R (NEF) single shots. Plus the wood and finish is supposed to be a lot nicer than the NEFs, and for roughly the same price.