The year 2006 has proven to be one of the wettest years in several decades in southern New Mexico, and my desert shooting range has been a muddy mess. My normal 100-yard shooting post was one thick, mosquito-infested mud bog during the days I shot the Mini-14. To hit dry ground, I was forced to move my benchrest outfit to a spot 115 yards from the target.

The basic design and features of the Mini-14 Ranch Rifle have not changed. A Garand-style safety at the front of the triggerguard is fast and reliable.

I fired a number of rounds of Black Hills 55-grain softpoint ammunition to get a feel for the rifle. I had tested the Mini's trigger pull at a smooth 53?4 pounds using an RCBS scale--not too bad for a factory trigger job, but I needed to shoot a box of ammunition through the rifle to get a feel for the trigger.

After zeroing the scope, I set up a target and began shooting five-shot groups off a sandbag rest. My first few strings weren't anything to get excited about, but they gradually got better. The best group fired that afternoon was using the Black Hills 68-grain FMJ, which shot a decent 2 1/4-inch group.

I took the Mini home and swabbed the bore with J-B bore cleaner. While scrubbing the barrel, I lamented not taking more time to break in the bore. Shooting a few rounds, then scrubbing the bore with J-B for at least 50 rounds or so might have been the right thing to do to properly break in the barrel and quickly improve accuracy.

Factory loads from Black Hills, Hornady, Federal and Winchester achieved excellent results in the new Mini-14.

My next session with the Mini-14 improved. I shot several groups that were just over two inches, still at 115 yards. Using the Hornady 75-grain BTHP stuff, I shot what I considered a great group. Though it must be counted as a 17?8-inch group, four shots could be covered with a quarter, the fifth just an inch away. This string drove home the fact that the out-of-the-box Ruger really had gone through some serious changes. It's quite likely that that fifth shot was due to me worrying more about the mosquito on my neck than squeezing off the shot. Regardless, the group was notable.

My test gun's barrel is fitted with a 1:9-inch twist. Some of the loads I fired through the rifle fooled me a bit. The loads I figured would really perform sometimes didn't, and some of the loads I figured would bomb shot pretty well. Regardless, the tweaking of the manufacturing process at the Ruger factory has clearly made a significant difference in the accuracy of this rifle.

115-YARD BENCHREST RESULTS
LOAD	INCHES
Hornady 75-gr. BTHP (four shot sub-minute of angle, one flyer	1 7/8
Hornady 53-gr. HP W/C	3 1/4
Black Hills 52-gr. Match Hollow Point	2 1/8
Black Hills 55-gr. Soft Point	3 7/8
Black Hills 68-gr. Heavy Match HP	2 1/8
Black Hills 60-gr. V-Max	2 1/4
Winchester 51-gr. Ballistic Silvertip	3 1/2
Winchester 55-gr. FMJ	4
Winchester 62-gr. FMJ	1 7/8
Federal 69-gr. Sierra MatchKing BTHP	3 7/8
Federal 77-gr. Sierra Matchking BTHP	3

After the benchrest sessions, I took the Mini out to the desert mountains near my home and attempted to call in a coyote or two, without any luck. My disappointment in the lack of cooperation from the local coyotes was alleviated somewhat after plinking with the Mini-14 at distant targets on the side of one of our rugged mountains. Popping various targets at long distances offhand was a cinch. The only criticism whatsoever I had while having fun with the Mini-14 in the desert was the five-round magazine, which empties way too quickly. A 10-round mag would be much more appropriate, if not a 20 rounder. I fired more than 200 rounds through the Mini and experienced only one malfunction--a stovepipe. Though I'd swabbed the barrel with J-B, I never cleaned the action.

If you're looking for a handy, lightweight sporting rifle chambered in .223, I would look no further than the new 580-series Mini-14. The little Ruger is rock solid, reliable and accurate. I'm convinced that with more shooting, my test Mini-14 may yet "shoot in" even better. I'm impressed enough with the new and improved Mini-14 that I'm planning to cut a check for it to Ruger and add it to my gunsafe. If so, I'll try to provide a post 500-round report regarding its accuracy.

Ruger has proven that "new and improved" sometimes really is.