Category: Ruger

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.223 5.56 Ruger Springfield Armory

I’ve Been Conducting Research on the Ruger Mini-14

I’m trying to refine the list of guns that I’m considering purchasing in 2026.

I’m currently considering the Springfield Armory Kuna. Also on my list is either a Springfield Armory Prodigy 5″ Comp or a Ruger Mini-14.

I immediately focused on the Mini-14 Tactical 5.56 Stainless. That gun looks nice! It’s the gun that Hannibal uses in the A-Team TV series of the 1980s.

Although I love the looks of the gun, it does look somewhat gaudy. Sadly, Ruger doesn’t sell a blued version of this gun with the folding stock, and if I’m going to get the Mini-14, I want a folding stock. I did look to see if they sell blued stocks separately – they do, but they’ve been out of stock for a long while. The folding stocks are also far from cheap, at $300+.

There are blued folding stocks being sold by 3rd parties, so that’s an option (prices are similar to Ruger’s pricing, though). For example, Samson Manufacturing has a blued version of the folding stock for $347 – the stainless one is $320. If I buy a blued non-folding stock version, I can find them for approximately $980. That’s $1300 for both, which is around the same price as a folding stock stainless Mini-14, which is good, because I can customize a blued Mini-14 for the same price as an upper-class stainless Mini-14.

Also, the magazines are $45 each! I do not think aftermarket mags are an option, because research tells me that anything other than Ruger-sourced magazines will cause malfunctions. It appears that Ruger mags are pretty much mandatory.

One thing I’m wary of is accuracy. Lucky Gunner stated and showed that his Mini-14 is isn’t really accurate. He said that the gun has a habit of throwing flyers at range. That’s something I do not want to deal with, and that’s a serious downer. All of my guns have to be accurate. I’d hate to spend the money (they aren’t exactly cheap) on a Mini-14 only to have accuracy issues.

This post is just me thinking out loud. I also wanted to share my thoughts in case others are considering the Mini-14.

UPDATE (11/2/2025): I checked themagshack.com and saw factory 20-rnd mags for $29 (and 30 round mags for $39).

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380 Beretta Bersa Grand Power grip tape Handall Handall Jr. Hogue P11 PX4 PX4 Storm Ruger SR9C Talon Grips

Hogue Rubber Slip-on Grips for Grand Power P11

I was checking my handguns (I do this monthly to ensure there’s no rust and that they’ve a coating of oil) and came across my P11.  The Grand Power P11 is a beautiful handgun, but one of the things I hate about it is that the grip is soooo damned slippery.

I’ve often thought of buying Talon Grips or grip tape that is rubberized, just so I could use it on this handgun’s grip.  I’m not sure if Talon Grips would properly seal onto the grip, though, and grip tape can sometimes be a pain in the ass to get right.  Grip tape was my last resort.

I’ve a Hogue slip-on grip on my Beretta PX4 Compact that I installed maybe 8 months ago (I talk about it here).  It was also a pain in the ass to mount on that handgun but it’s solid and feels great in the hand.  The rubberized texture feels natural and grippy.

I decided to try a set for the P11, but I searched to see if anyone else had documented online that they’d tried Hogue slip-ons on this handgun.  I couldn’t find any data via Google that showed anyone trying this, so I didn’t know which set of slip-ons to try.

I went to Hogue’s website and looked at what they had.  Each slip-on had documentation showing which gun they’d fit.  I perused the Handall Jr. product’s documentation and saw that it would fit such guns as the Bersa Thunder .380 and the Ruger SR9C.  Both of those have rather thin/slim girthed grips, so I thought that this one would best fit my P11.  The plan was to order one and if it didn’t fit, to reorder the next size up.

The slip-on arrived today.  At first I thought that it was too small.  I had to fight to get it onto the grip, but, as with my PX4’s slip-on, I warmed it up a bit (with a hair dryer), which made the rubber a bit more pliable.  I suppose I could’ve used water to “lube” the grip to the point that the slip-on would slide onto the grip.  Regardless, it eventually fit onto the grip!

The grip feels MUCH better now.  I feel much more confident with it in my hand now.  Prior to that, it always felt like the handgun might slip from my hands.  It also looks rather nice on the handgun…looks different and not so much out of place.

I plan to take it to the range to see if it enhances shooting.

I should’ve done this a LONG time ago.

Categories
base plate magazine Ruger Sig Sig Pro Sig Sauer SP2022 SR9C

Considering the Sig Sauer SP2022 for Everyday Carry

I’m considering trying my SP2022 for everyday carry.  I need to find magazine base plates that are less prominent, though.  There’s one video on YouTube that states CZ P-07 magazine bast plates will fit, but I can’t find any place that sells them, so I tried the base plates of all the current guns in my safe and found one that fits!  Which is it?  The Ruger SR9C’s base plates fit almost perfectly.  Glock base plates will also fit but the hole is in the wrong spot.

I now need to find a place that sells SR9C mag base plates, then I need to order a holster shell from Alien Gear so I can give carrying a try.

This gun is about as big as I’m willing to carry.  It has a 3.9″ barrel, but is rather thick.  The only way to determine how well it’ll carry is to try to carry it.

UPDATE:  I can’t find ANY SR9 mag base plates on sale.  My fall-back plan is the Glock base plates…I’ve found a pack of 6 for $40.  Yes, this is rather expensive but I don’t think they’re cheap knock-off Chinese manufactured parts, either.  I’d have to drill new holes into them, as well, which I don’t have a problem doing.

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5.56mm ammo AR-556 FDE magazine Magpul RDS red dot Ruger

The Ruger Has Arrived!

Ruger AR-556 in FDE

420 rounds of 5.56 x 45

I picked up the Ruger today on my lunch break.

My immediate impressions:  I’m actually surprised at the fit and finish of the Ruger AR-556.  It looks and feels great.  The pieces fit together without issue, with no large gaps between pieces or segments.  Looks GOOD in FDE, too!  That grip feels great – it has a rubber coating…very tactile.  The trigger is good.  The take-down pins are way too stiff (should loosen up with oil and use, hopefully).  They got rid of the D-ring, too…you twist to get the barrel covers off.  Oh, and there’s like 10 Ruger badges and logos on the rifle…like you’re going to forget that you own a Ruger.

Needed three forms of ID just to pick it up (not two as with handguns in VA).  Still, it only took 5 min to get the background check results back.  I have no background…LOL.

For now, 3 mags are enough (at 30 rounds capacity, each, that’s 90 rounds right there).  I also have a Bushnell First Strike Red Dot Sight, but I plan to use the non-aid sights for a bit, while getting used to the rifle.

I’ll post more as I become more accustomed to the firearm.

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AR-15 AR-556 long gun M&P rifle Ruger S&W Sport II

Ruger AR-556 Inbound!

I’ve my first long gun on the way, a Ruger AR-556 cerakoted in FDE and with a Davidson’s lifetime warranty.  It was this or the S&W M&P 15 Sport II, but I’ve heard that this one is the more refined of the two.

I also have a rail riser and a cheap RDS (red dot sight) inbound, not that either are needed, as the rifle comes with front and rear sights already.

Time to find a rifle safe now, and stock up on 5.56/.223 ammo.

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15 2075 380 AR-556 Bersa Canik CZ Glock M&P Plus RAMI BD Ruger S&W Shark Shark C T-100 T100 Thunder Tristar

New Wishlist

I’m probably not going to get any new guns any time soon…I’m still OK with what I currently have.

I do wonder if I should try to sell a couple since I’m no longer going to California and no longer have the need to be able to bring non-attainable guns with me to that state.  I currently have two Canik TP9SAs, for example…I only really need one.  The plan was to bring two and possibly sell one of them to a CA resident since those are not on the CA DOJ roster.  As well, I’ve two Rock Island Armory 1911s that shoot 9mm ammo…I really only need one, although I can keep one of them to modify/paint.  I’ve even thought about selling my Sig Sauer SP2022 and even my P220…of the two, the P220 has more ‘keep’ potential, although it won’t hurt to keep both of the (I’ve the space).

Some guns I’m thinking about buying next are:

CZ 2075 RAMI BD in 9mm

UPDATE (7/20/2014):  I’m adding the Tristar T-100 to the list.  It is a CZ75 clone and resembles a Baby Desert Eagle (itself a CZ clone).  They are 9mm DA/SA hammer-fired handguns.  There’s also the Canik Shark C, which is identical to the Tristar T-100.  The two colors I’m interested in are the platinum and black, but I only want one of the two:

sootch00 has a good review of the T-100 here:

UPDATE (1/22/2016):  I changed my mind about the Bersa Thunder Pro Ultra Compact.  I have also changed my mind about the RIA rifle and the S&W E-Series 1911…I no longer want any of them.  I do want a Bersa Thunder 380 Plus (or Combat model).  A Glock 22 Gen 3 (used) is also desirable, as well as a Grand Power P1 (mk7 is preferable, to cut costs).  Oh, and a long gun is pretty much mandatory:  I’ll considering either a Ruger AR-556 or a S&W M&P 15 Sport (the Ruger would be the better buy for the same amount of money, though).

To be honest, not a lot is jumping out at me and I should really start thinking about taking a few self defense courses and focus on trying to sharpen my shooting skills.