I recently purchased a copy of Field and Stream, a magazine I had not read in decades. I was traveling, the selection of good reading material at airport newsstands is limited, and it was the only thing that looked even remotely capable of occupying my interest on a 3-hour flight. In scanning the cover, I saw that the magazine included an article on long-distance shooting, so Field and Stream it was for that flight.
The Ruger Mini 14
Back on topic, the Ruger Mini 14 is a rifle not known for its accuracy, and I was frustrated with mine. It was (I thought) barely okay as far as accuracy goes. I like shooting it, but the Mini 14 wasn’t great in the accuracy department and great was what I wanted.
The Field and Stream piece on long-distance shooting was partly focused on hunting at extreme distances (something in which I have zero interest), and partly focused on rifle marksmanship (something in which I have a keen interest). There was nothing new in the article (I’d been exposed to all the topics it covered at one time or another), but seeing them all in one place was a good refresher that made me realize I was getting sloppy in my old age. As I read the article, I realized that I wasn’t doing a lot of the things that are important for shooting tiny groups and I had been relying too much on the rifle and the load to make it all happen. This somehow seemed particularly relevant to the Mini 14 and it made me want to get to the range with it and focus on the techniques mentioned in the story. I realized there was more to this accuracy business than just the gear and the ammo. The nut behind the trigger plays a significant role, and this particular nut had not been focused on the basics.
I resolved to concentrate on the fundamentals mentioned in the Field and Stream article (things I learned 50 years ago in the Army) during my next trip to the range. As soon as I returned to California, that’s exactly what I did. And you know what? I shot better. A lot better.
The load (a 62-grain bullet over 23.2 grains of ARComp) is one I had previously found to be a decent one in my Mini 14, but it had never given me groups like I shot that morning. That morning my groups were consistently tight and significantly smaller than what I had seen in the past. It was extremely satisfying, and I proved to myself once again that it’s the fundamentals that make a difference. Bear with me; I’ll get to those in a moment.
First, a comment or two on my Mini 14. Whenever I show a photo of it or take it to the range, folks ask about the stock. My rifle is a special run 580-series Mini 14 offered by Davidson’s (a Ruger distributor) about 10 years ago. It has a Circassian walnut stock (folks often ask if it’s a custom stock, but it’s not). I looked at a lot of Mini 14s online from that special run before I bought the one you see above. I wanted exceptional walnut and I think I found it in this rifle.
As configured from the factory, my Mini 14 didn’t meet the laws here in the Peoples Republik of Kalifornia. I had to remove the flash suppressor and replace it with a muzzle brake to bring it into the Golden State. I also replaced the Ruger rear aperture sight with one from Tech Sites (it’s a better design, in my opinion). Other than that, the rifle is completely original. I’ve put tens of thousands of rounds through my Mini 14, it’s my favorite rifle, and it’s absolutely reliable. But it’s never been terribly accurate (or so I thought) until I read that Field and Stream article and got back to the basics.
Marksmanship Fundamentals
You might be wondering about what the fundamentals of sound rifle marksmanship are. Or maybe you already know what they are, but you would like a few reminders. That’s kind of where I was. Here’s what I took away from that Field and Stream article.
1. The first fundamental is to get into a good position. I shoot from the bench, and most folks might think that the rest, the rifle, and the bench make everything work. There’s a lot more to it than that. You need to get square to the rifle and sit directly behind the stock, and you need to adjust your position to achieve a natural aim. What that means is that after you think you are in the right position, you sit up away from the rifle, close your eyes, and then position yourself behind the rifle again. Open your eyes, and when you look through the sights, the sights should naturally align on the target. If they are not on the target, you’re not there yet. Move around and try it again. Keep doing this until you can shut your eyes, get in position, look through the sights, and find the target right where you want it to be. Trust me on this: It makes a difference.
2. The next fundamental is to focus on the front sight only. The Field and Stream article was about a rifle with a telescopic sight, but it mentioned front sight focus for iron sights and I knew I had a hard time doing it right when shooting the Mini 14. I guess I needed to be reminded. This is a tough thing to do for most people. I do it superbly well with a handgun, but I have a tough time doing it when shooting a rifle equipped with a rear aperture sight. I find myself wanting to look at the target, wanting to get the front sight post perfectly aligned in the rear aperture, and generally not doing this the way it’s supposed to happen. Focusing on the front sight only is almost zen-like in the concentration it demands. When I do it right, though, I actually don’t see the rear sight or the target and that’s tough for me to accept mentally. When I do it right, the only thing I see is the front sight and the muzzle flash when the hammer drops. Seeing that flash outlining the front sight lets me know I’m in the zone and I’m doing it the way it should be done. It’s a weirdly satisfying feeling. When it happens, I know the bullet will go where I want it to go.
3. The third important factor is breath control. None of us can hold a rifle steady while breathing, so I had to find a natural point to hold my breath. According to the Field and Stream article (and my old drill instructors) we can only do that for a couple of seconds before the sight starts to blur. In the Army, we were taught to take a breath and let it half out. The Field and Stream article pointed out that the “let it half out” thing may not be the best approach. The article said to find your natural point for holding your breath, so I tried that and sure enough, I seem to have a spot about two-thirds of the way down that feels like a natural stopping point. The article also mentioned that if the front sight starts to blur, don’t try to force the shot. Take another breath and start over. Not doing all of these things, I realized, were bad habits I had picked up.
4. The fourth important factor is trigger squeeze. Easy, steady, straight back, using the tip of my finger only. I have a tendency to get my finger too far around the trigger. On this outing, I forced myself to use only my finger tip, and wow, it really worked.
5. The last thing the Field and Stream article mentioned was holding the rifle properly with your trigger hand. Some of this stuff I knew, and some of it I didn’t. Shooting from the bench involves barely touching the rifle. That part I knew, and I think I did okay there. What I do is to just barely have my cheek on the stock without bearing down on it (you can impart torque into the rifle if you hold it too securely, and that works against accuracy). The other thing was how to hold the rifle with your trigger hand. This was something I hadn’t been doing correctly. The correct technique is to use my lower three fingers to lightly pull the rifle straight back into my shoulder, use my trigger finger tip to squeeze straight back on the trigger, and position my thumb off the rifle above my other fingers (I had to relearn not to wrap my thumb around the stock). That last part felt unnatural to me, but boy oh boy, it sure worked. I could see the difference on the target.
So there you have it. I focused on the fundamentals described above, and what do you know, I shot my Mini 14 better than I ever did before. My Mini 14 is suddenly far more interesting and way more fun to shoot, and I have a new respect for it. And the group sizes show it. Back to the basics. Good times.
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Excellent article……good list of fundamentals
Thanks, Gonzo!
Put a a rat strut on it.at 100 yards you will hit 1 in target.
Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? Great article. It reinforces what gun control means: Proper sight alignment and trigger squeeze.
Thanks, Mike. I was surprised and pleased by how much of a difference going back to the basics can make.
I’ve heard negative things about the Mini 14 over the years too. Glad you weighted in with this one. I have been thinking about maybe getting one but wasn’t too serious about it because there was so much negative chatter out there but you’ve done a good job dispelling it. How do you feel about the Mini 30 in 7.62×39??
Bob, one of the dangers of the Internet is you get folks posting stuff who really don’t know what they are talking about. I’ve read folks who post about this rifle or that one not being very accurate, and I get a feel for their shooting skills just by reading what they post. I’m sure it drives the rifle companies crazy.
I’ve never owned anything in 7.62×39, although I think the cartridge has a lot going for it. If I came across a Mini in 7.62×39 at a decent price, I’d be in. But I think the market has taken the price of these rifles beyond a reasonable level at this time. With the recent talk about additional gun laws, I think prices will continue to climb for a while.
If the question is .223 versus 7.62×39, I’ll always go for the .223. I think it’s a better, flatter-shooting round, and ammo is plentiful (and cheap). 7.62 x 39 is roughly equivalent ballistically to the 30 30, and between those two, I’d rather have the 30 30 in a Marlin lever gun.
I have a Mini 30. It is accurate with decent ammunition. Mine doesn’t like the heavy 154 grain bullets, but the standard 123 grain bullets are accurate enough. Tiny quarter inch groups are probably not going to happen, but 1.5 to 2 inch groups with ammo that the rifle likes are possible. The cheapest ammo you can get is most likely to be 6 to 9 inch groupings at 100 yards. Wolf Gold is OK in mine, but handloads give me groups as small as I can see to get at 100 yards.
Joe, great article that reminds me I’ve drifted away from the basics a bit.
Regarding your Mini, I also have a Davidson edition with a nice Circassian stock (though not as nice as yours). Did you take the Ruger satin clear coat off of yours? I’ve been thinking about doing that to mine and oiling the stock to bring out more grain. I think the satin clear coat mutes the beauty of the wood.
My Circassian Mini 14 has the original finish, Rod. If I ever get it scuffed up enough, I’ll do an oil finish, but for now it’s staying as is.
Good stuff, Joe.
I went to the rifle range a few days ago, after an embarrassingly long absence. Was afraid that my skills had completely perished from lack of practice and that I was a brand-new shooter, again.
Set up an eight-inch steel gong at 200 yards. Thought that might be ambitious for the day, but that missing completely at 100 yards would be too humiliating.
Got behind the rifle, in the prone position, with a backpack as a front rest. Spent a few moments adjusting my entire body to find the natural point of aim. When the crosshairs stayed on target after I opened my eyes I figured things were as good as they were gonna get that day.
Pressed off the shot and was surprised to hear the steel ring. Figured it was just luck until I rang it three more times.
At the fifth shot one of the chains holding up the gong failed and it started swinging wildly side to side. I managed to hit it again while it was moving.
After three more hits I decided I didn’t want to hold the other shooters up while I repaired my target setup. So I packed up my gear and headed for home.
First time I’ve ever shot 100 percent at 200 yards.
If I was a deer and I followed the ExhaustNotes blog, I’d be mighty nervous right about now.