Ruger MINI-14 manual

I N S T R U C T I O N M A N U A L F O R R U G E R ® M I N I - 1 4 ® R I F L E A U T O L O A D I N G R I F L E N O T F O R U S E W I T H M I N I T H I R T Y R I F L E S ( c a l . 7 . 6 2 x 3 9 m m ) For Product Service on This Model Please Call: (603) 865-2442 (See p. 33) S T U R M , R UG E R & C o m p a n y , I n c . S o u t h p o r t , C o n[...]

3 W ARNING “Children are attracted to and c an op er ate f ir e a r ms th at can cause sever e injuries or death. Pr event child access by always keeping guns locked away and unloaded when not in use. If you keep a loaded firearm where a child obtains and improperly uses it, you can be fined or sent to prison.” ADVERTENCIA State-By-State W arni[...]

Maine: “ENDANGERING THE WELF ARE OF A CHILD IS A CRIME. IF YOU LEA VE A FIREARM AND AMMUNITION WITHIN EASY ACCESS OF A CHILD, YOU MA Y BE SUBJECT T O FINE, IMPRISONMENT OR BOTH. KEEP FIREARMS AND AMMUNITION SEP ARA TE. KEEP FIREARMS AND AMMUNITION LOCKED UP . USE TRIGGER LOCKS.” Maryland: “W ARNING: Children can operate firearms which may cau[...]

New Jersey: “IT IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE T O LEA VE A LOADED FIREARM WITHIN EASY ACCESS OF A MINOR.” New Y ork City: “THE USE OF A LOCKING DEVICE OR SAFETY LOCK IS ONL Y ONE ASPECT OF RESPONSIBLE WEAPONS STORAGE. ALL WEAPONS SHOULD BE ST ORED UNLOADED AND LOCKED IN A LOCA TION THA T IS BOTH SEP ARA TE FROM THEIR AMMUNITION AND INACCESSIBLE T O C[...]

This firearm was originally sold with a key-operated locking device. While it can help provide secur e storage for your unloaded firear m, any locking device can fail. All guns ar e designed to fir e if they are loaded and the trigger is pulled. Ther efore, never install the locking device inside the trigger guard or in any way that it can possibly[...]

FIREARMS SAFETY -YOUR RESPONSIBILITY SAFETY MUST BE THE FIRST AND CONST ANT CONSIDERA TION OF EVER Y PERSON WHO HANDLES FIREARMS AND AMMUNITION. This Instruction Manual is designed to assist you in learning how to use and car e for your RUGER ® MINI-14 ® RIFLE properly . Please contact us if you have any questions about it. Only when you are cert[...]

8 FIREARMS ARE DANGEROUS WEAPONS– READ THE INSTRUCTIONS AND W ARNINGS IN THIS MANUAL THOROUGHL Y AND CAREFULL Y BEFORE USING. GENERAL INFORMA TION AND MECHANICAL CHARACTERISTICS The RUGER ® MINI-14 ® RIFLE is a gas operated, box magazine fed, autoloading rifle. It is simple, reliable, and consists of a r elatively few rugged components. The mec[...]

9 F i g u r e 1 . In this illus tration the fr equently use d o perating compo nents are identified. No te t hat the safety is r e a rw a r d of the trigger guard and is ther e f o r e in its “ON” (sa fe) positio n. NOMENCLA TURE OPERA TION OF SAFETY The manual safety mechanism is located for ward of the trigger for convenient operation and is [...]

W ARNIN G – MANUAL SAFETY THE BOL T LOCK The Mini-14 Rifle is designed so that the bolt remains open after the last shot has been fired, provided there is a magazine in the rifle. When the magazine is empty , the magazine follower actuates the bolt lock which is designed to retain the bolt and slide in their rearwar d position. W ARNING: The bolt[...]

1 1 W ARNIN G – AMMUNITION T o release the slide (which allows the bolt to go forward) keep safety “ON ” and either: 1. Remove the magazine, draw the slide handle to the rear and release, or; 2. W ith an empty magazine in place, draw the slide handle fully to the r ear and hold it ther e. Then, while holding the slide handle, depress the maga[...]

W A R N I N G – L E A D E X P O S U R E Dischar ging firearms in poorly ventilated areas, cleaning fir earms, or handling ammunition may r esult in exposure to lead and other substances known to the state of Califor nia to cause bir th defects, r eproductive harm, and other serious physical injur y . Have adequate ventilation at all times. W ash [...]

13 LOADING THE MAGAZINE Use only clean ammunition of the proper caliber manufactured to U. S. Industr y specifications, in good condition. (See Notice and W arnings in other sections of this manual pertaining to Ammunition). T o load the magazine, align each cartridge with the bullet forward (pointing toward the hole in the front of the magazine bo[...]

TO LOAD AND FIRE (WITH MAGAZINE) Practice this important aspect of gun handling (with an unloaded rifle) until you can per for m each of the steps - described below - with skill and confidence. But before you do anything with the rifle, please first read completely thr ough this manual. This procedure begins with an empty rifle with its magazine ou[...]

15 9. Immediately following the firing of a shot, and if a subsequent shot is not to be fired at once, put the safety “ON” while the rifle is still pointing in a safe direction down range. The safety should be moved to the “ON” position as soon as firing is completed, and it should be “ON” at all times except when the rifle is on target[...]

W A R N I N G – S U S T A I N E D F I R I N G 16 TO LOAD AND FIRE (WITHOUT MAGAZINE) The rifle can be used as a single shot rifle in the absence of a magazine or for safety or training purposes. T o do so, follow step 1, p. 14. Then, manually load a cartridge into the chamber , and follow steps 5 and 6 p. 14, disregar ding the magazine. Note that[...]

17 2. Remove the magazine. REMEMBER that even though the magazine has been r emoved, a cartridge remaining in the chamber can still be fired! 3. Pull the slide handle all the way to the rear , extracting and ejecting the cartridge in the chamber . When the bolt is fully r etracted, push down on the bolt lock plunger and then allow the slide to move[...]

TO RELOAD THE RIFLE 1. Firing all cartridges in the magazine and the chamber will cause the bolt to automatically lock open. Keep the rifle pointed in a safe dir ection. Put the safety “ON”. Reloading can be accomplished by pressing forwar d on the magazine latch with the thumb or forefinger . The magazine will fall free of the rifle of its own[...]

19 W A R N I N G – B O R E O B S TR U C T I O N S humid conditions which could cause condensation, or to rain or snow which might have entered the bore, open the bolt and clean out the bar r el. Inspect the bore visually to be sure that it is perfectly clear (See “Ammunition Warning” p. 11 and “Care and Cleaning” section p. 29) A gun user[...]

c) Retract the slide handle and lock it in the open position by pr essing in the bolt lock plunger in the top of the r eceiver . Retracting the slide handle should remove the cartridge case. Be certain the safety is in the “ON” position. d) Check the chamber to be certain there is no cartridge case in it -- if ther e is, extract it befor e proc[...]

21 2. When attempting to free a jammed cartridge, do not use any type of tool that is likely to act as a “firing pin” and discharge the cartridge should the tool impact on the primer . Never use a car tridge as a “tool”. 3. After clearing a jam, inspect the gun mechanism to determine if dirt or debris might be the cause of the problem. Exce[...]

22 W ARNIN G – MALFUNCTIONS 3. If the mechanism shows signs of not functioning cor rectly , or if a part is damaged or broken -- don’ t use the gun. Have it inspected, and repaired. (See “Malfunction W arning” below) 4. Use only genuine Ruger ® Mini-14 magazines and car efully load the magazine. Do not exceed the stated magazine capacity .[...]

23 W ARNIN G – DISASSEMBL Y DISASSEMBL Y Be Sure Rifle Is Unloaded! Although The Mini-14 Rifle can be disassembled, r eassembled, and cleaned in almost any sur r ounding, it is prefer rable to car r y out these procedures on a workbench or table which has a covered top. A piece of shallow nap r ug or an old blanket is an ideal covering. Such a co[...]

Figure 8 Figure 9 3. Use a 1/4” diameter steel rod, punch, screwdriver shank, or other suitable instrument inser ted into the hole in the r ear of the trigger guar d as a lever to spring open the trigger guar d fr om its latched position (See Fig. 8). W ARNING: Do not use a car tridge to unlatch the trigger guard because of the danger of loosenin[...]

25 Figure 13 NOTE: The Mini-14 is like the M1 Garand and many other types of autoloading rifles in that the hammer can fall if the trigger is pulled when the bolt is partially retracted. It is important for the shooter to realize that the firing pin cannot contact the cartridge until the bolt is safely locked, r egardless of the position of the sli[...]

26 Removal of the gas block assembly is not necessar y and is not advisable. The gas block assembly is factory fitted using special fixtures and torque tools. Attempting to fit the gas block assembly without the r equir ed special equipment can result in damage to the components and malfunctioning of the rifle. Further disassembly of the RUGER ® M[...]

3. Final r eassembly of rifle: a. Replace stock by inserting its front end into the gas block at a slight angle. When the stock is cor r ectly seated into the gas block, the stock can be swung down into full contact with the receiver . b. Insert the opened trigger housing assembly , safety “ON”, into the stock (the hammer must be cocked prior t[...]

screwdriver to push the magazine bottom r earward as you push down on the spring-loaded bottom retainer . After the magazine bottom has been slid r earwar d off the magazine shell, carefully raise the r ear end of the bottom r etainer so that its two small lugs can be slid out the rear of the magazine and carefully r emove the bottom retainer . CAU[...]

29 CARE AND CLEANING BEFORE CLEANING, BE CERT AIN THE RIFLE AND ITS MAGAZINE CONT AIN NO CARTRIDGES. At regular intervals, or whenever the rifle has been exposed to sand, dust, extreme humidity , condensation, immersion in water , or other adverse conditions, disassemble, clean and oil it. Proper periodic maintenance is essential to the reliable fu[...]

STORAGE GUNS SHOULD NOT BE STORED LOADED! Do not stor e the rifle in a leather case or scabbar d. Leather attracts moisture, even though it may appear to be dr y . TO RENDER THE RIFLE INOPERA TIVE FOR SAFE STORAGE W ith the muzzle pointed in a safe direction, remove the magazine, retract the slide handle, and retract the bolt fully to the rear . Lo[...]

MAINTENANCE OF ST AINLESS STEEL RIFLES Firearms and components made of stainless steel ar e relatively more r esistant to cor r osion than those of blued steel. However , in the interest of proper operation and long life of a stainless steel fir earm, inspect it frequently and clean, lubricate and apply an appropriate rust pr eventative. Sometimes [...]

32 The rear sight is adjustable for both windage and elevation. A small punch, the head of a finishing nail, or other similar instr ument can be used to depress the plunger to allow the adjustment to be moved one quar ter turn in either dir ection. One quarter turn will move the point of impact 1 inch at 100 yar ds. The sight adjustments have been [...]

33 SER VICE AND P ARTS POLICY If you have any question with regar d to the performance of your RUGER ® MINI-14 ® rifle please write or call (603-865-2442) our Product Service Department in Newport, New Hampshire 03773, fully describing all circumstances and conditions involved. If you should r eturn your rifle to the factory for r epair , or orde[...]

34 W A R N I N G – P A R T S P U R C H A S E R S It i s the pu r c h a s e r ’ s r espo nsibi lity to be abso lutel y certa in th at an y pa rts or d e r ed f r o m the f a ctory are c orre ctl y fi tte d and i ns tal led. F i re a r ms are compl ic ated mecha nism s and IMP ROPE R FITT ING OF P A R TS MA Y RES UL T IN A DA NG ER O US MALF UN C[...]

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41 RUGER ® MINI-14 ® RIFLE EXPLODED VIEW SYNTHETIC STOCK MODEL[...]

42 T H E B A SI C R U L E S O F S A F E F IR E A R M S H A N D LI N G W e b el ie v e th a t A me r ic an s h av e a r ig ht t o p ur ch as e an d u se fi r e a r m s f or l aw f u l p u r po se s. T he p ri v at e o wn er sh i p of fi r e a r ms i n A me ri c a i s t r ad i t io n al , bu t th a t o w ne r s h ip im po s e s th e r es p on s ib il[...]

43 A safe direction must take into account the fact that a bullet may penetrate a wall, ceiling, floor , window , etc., and strike a person or damage proper ty . Make it a habit to know exactly wher e the muzzle of your gun is pointing whenever you handle it, and be sur e that you ar e always in control of the dir ection in which the muzzle is poin[...]

44 5. BE SURE OF YOUR T ARGET BEFORE YOU SHOOT . D o n ’ t shoo t unless you kno w ex actl y w here your bul l e t is go ing to stri ke. Be sure of the bul let sto p behi nd your target, e ven wh en dry-f i ring with a n unl oaded gun . If you a re in the f iel d hunt ing , do not f ire at a m ove m ent or noi se. T ake the ti me to be abso lu te[...]

45 8. DO N’ T SHO OT A T A H AR D SUR F A CE, O R A T W A T E R . Bullets can glance off many surfaces like r ocks or the surface of water and travel in unpredictable directions with considerable velocity . 9. NEVER TRANSPORT A LOADE D FIREAR M . Firearms should always be unloaded before being placed in a vehicle. A suitable car r ying case or sc[...]

A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF AN EXTRAORDINAR Y ACHIEVEMENT : RUGER FIREARMS One of the few American fir earms manufacturers whose management has r emained in the same family since starting in business, Stur m, Ruger & Company , Inc., had its beginning in a small machine shop occupying a r ented frame building in Southport, Connecticut. In Januar y , 1949[...]

W H Y N O W A R R A N T Y C A R D H A S B EE N P A C K ED W I T H T H I S N E W R U G E R F I R E AR M The Magnuson-Moss Act (Public Law 93-637) does not require any seller or manufacturer of a consumer pr oduct to give a written warranty . It does provide that if a written warranty is given, it must be designated as “limited” or as “full” [...]