[dogwalk]

Being from the old school and was issued the M-1 Garand in 1955 with the USMC; I thought cleaning the mini-14 would be much the same. I followed the instructions and disassembled it for cleaning. Now to re-assemble this was another story. It took me nearly a half hour to get the bolt back in the reciever. Of course, having a scope mounted didn't help my situation either. Needless to say, I was talking to myself, but did finally get the job done. Next time I'll just leave the bolt in and scub with gunscrubber. dogwalk

[Snakedriver]

I've had my Mini-14 since 1983 and have fired countless thousands of rounds through that gun without ever having removed the bolt assembly for cleaning. The thing still runs flawlessly and has never, ever jammed on me. I use an old toothbrush, some cotton swabs & canned air to blow it out after shooting, but that's about it. I do keep it oiled lightly with Rem. Oil on the internal parts. I also clean the bore with a brush and patches after shooting it.

I don't think the deisgn of that thing was intended to be stripped down for cleaning. As you say, taking the bolt out and re-inserting it is a major ordeal. Just keep the bolt face / extractor area and the receiver face clean of powder residue and you should be good to go. The toothbrush, swabs and canned air is good for this.

Good shooting to you, enjoy that Mini.

[pioneer461]

There are several videos on Youtube for cleaning the Mini-14. Here is one of them.

Ruger Mini-14 Cleaning - YouTube

Ruger Mini-14 Cleaning - YouTube

Being old school, I clean my firearms every time I shoot them. I've seen claims that the Mini-14 is "self cleaning," but I'm not so sure I buy into that. I do however, believe they are very rugged, easy maintenance firearms, designed for rough, military treatment in the field. Not a tack driver, I can keep consistent off-hand center of mass hits at 100 yds. with iron sights.

I own an AR (M4), but adhering to my philosophy of keep it simple, the Mini-14 is very much less complicated and would be my go-to SHTF rifle.

"Designed by L. James Sullivan and Willilam B. Ruger, the rifle employs an investment cast, heat-treated receiver and a version of the M1 rifle locking mechanism with a self-cleaning, fixed-piston gas system."
Ruger Mini-14 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[hawkguy]

the bolt is tricky at first.

be sure you ALWAYS remove the bolt lock cover, and the bolt stop before you try to remove the bolt. then, just pay very careful attention to the way the bolt can clear the area. i can get it out in a few seconds now, used to be a real pain when i first got it.

[OzarkRecluse]

Once you've done the bolt a few times you'll get the knack of it. It's not that bad.