The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Hide > The Art of the Rifle: Semi-automatics

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old December 2, 2012, 09:09 PM   #1
jambrdly
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 31, 2010
Posts: 105
broken mini-14

I was at the range today blazing away with my beloved mini-14, when suddenly it refused to go bang. I cycled the action by hand but it still refused to fire. Moreover, if I pull the trigger on an empty chamber, there is no "click" - just a soft thud. I'm thinking, maybe a broken firing pin?

Christmas is just around the bend and I don't want to splash out the big bucks to have a gunsmith check this out, if there is any possibility of fixing it myself.

Does anyone know of a good site that might list step-by-step dis-assembly instructions for the mini-14? How hard is it to smith this weapon? What tools might I need?

Thanks

JCB
jambrdly is offline  
Old December 2, 2012, 11:01 PM   #2
nstoolman1
Member
 
Join Date: September 30, 2007
Location: BOISE, ID
Posts: 82
This is a nice site. It is the manual for the rifle. Look up your rifle. I think on the last page it says that the fireing pin needs to be fitted at the factory.

HTH

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...GL3m7v7tD1sSig

This from Midway

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/988...-ruger-mini-14

One more. A video I found that might help you.

http://www.greatwestgunsmithing.com/minibolt%20low.html

Last edited by nstoolman1; December 2, 2012 at 11:09 PM.
nstoolman1 is offline  
Old December 2, 2012, 11:08 PM   #3
jmortimer
Junior member
 
Join Date: January 24, 2010
Location: South West Riverside County California
Posts: 2,763
Why not send it back to Ruger? They don't let factory parts out but they have great customer service.
jmortimer is offline  
Old December 2, 2012, 11:12 PM   #4
Adamantium
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 6, 1999
Location: El Paso, TX
Posts: 1,021
If I were to guess I'd say your problem is in your trigger group. Can you pull that out and post a picture here?
__________________
New gun, same ol' shot.
Adamantium is offline  
Old December 2, 2012, 11:27 PM   #5
the rifleer
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 5, 2008
Location: Sunny California
Posts: 1,281
Don't pay a gunsmith anything, just call ruger and ship it back. The have superb customer service. They will fix it up and ship it back with no charge. just be advised that they will return it to original condition, so don't sent a scope mount or anything with it because they wont return it.
__________________
There is no such thing as a stupid question, only stupid people.
the rifleer is offline  
Old December 3, 2012, 11:00 AM   #6
stu925
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 20, 2010
Location: New York
Posts: 953
I'd check it over myself before sending it back to Ruger, might be something very simple to fix. If it ends up being something else send it back to Ruger. If it's a firing Pin you'll have to send it back anyway since Ruger will not sell firing pins to anyone and the only aftermarket option is the Glend Arms pin which has mixed reviews at best. Pull the trigger group and give it a good thorough cleaning as well as the bolt. Sounds like maybe you've got something in the trigger group, I'm thinking maybe a primer came out of a case and dropped in there. What kind of ammo were you using at the time?

Stu
stu925 is offline  
Old December 3, 2012, 01:47 PM   #7
rickyrick
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 15, 2010
Posts: 8,235
Something impeding the hammer?
__________________
Woohoo, I’m back In Texas!!!
rickyrick is offline  
Old December 3, 2012, 09:14 PM   #8
jambrdly
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 31, 2010
Posts: 105
I was using PMC ammo - maybe that was the problem

I took it to the smith today and he said the problem was that the trigger housing had come loose and that (its a safety feature) had caused the rifle not to fire. I hadn't noticed but when he showed me it was obvious that the trigger housing had backed out of the action (step one in dis-assembly, I believe). He charged me $5 to hit it with a rubber mallet and knock it back in. Problem solved.
jambrdly is offline  
Old December 4, 2012, 11:08 PM   #9
stu925
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 20, 2010
Location: New York
Posts: 953
Glad it was an easy fix, keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn't keep happening. Possibly the trigger guard wasn't completely latched last time you had it apart?

Stu
stu925 is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:55 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.07348 seconds with 10 queries