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Mini-14 extractor

petratpetrat Member Posts: 20 ✭✭
edited February 2002 in Ask the Experts
I am needing a Mini-14 Series 180 extractor, Gun Parts are out of stock and Ruger doesn't have any. Any other places to look?
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Comments

  • k.stanonikk.stanonik Member Posts: 2,109 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    You might try brownells, just checked their catalog, they have them listed for a 181 for 6.49
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  • petratpetrat Member Posts: 20 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Thought about that, but can't find out for sure if the 181 will interchange with the 180. Anybody know for sure?
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  • gruntledgruntled Member Posts: 8,218 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    The question about 180 parts has been asked many times. The answers have all seemed to indicate that the parts that most need to be replaced cannot be interchanged or found.There have been some statements saying that Ruger will buy-back the guns. You might contact them to see if it is true.Their refusal to make parts for this gun is one of the things I intend to ask about in Reno.
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  • JudgeColtJudgeColt Member Posts: 1,790 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I have responded to this question many times. Ruger will not make replacement extractors for the 180-series rifles, which would be simple to do. Instead, I am told Ruger will buy back the rifle for $200. This indicates to me that there is something else seriously wrong with the rifles that Ruger is not telling us, perhaps brittle receivers or bolts or chambers, etc.. The combination of the fragile extractors and the unknown flaw in the rifles has caused me to quit shooting my very early Mini (10/22-style front sight, walnut stock, metal butt plate, M1-style rear sight, etc.).This situation, and the magazine-limit legislation that William Ruger started, come to mind whenever I hear praise for Ruger or Ruger firearms. Ruger and Ruger firearms do not deserve the praise many give them.I would try welding the broken piece back on and then grinding off the weld. (Such a small piece would be difficult to weld so someone with special welding skills and appropriate equipment would be required.) I would heat treat it after welding and before final finishing. While it would be quite a job, I think you could "carve" a new extractor out of some high grade steel if you have the patience and a good rotary tool and set of files. Again, I would heat treat near final finishing.The fact that no one, such as Gun Parts, has made replacement extractors for the 180-series Mini-14 rifles lends further support to theory that something else is seriously wrong with these rifles.
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  • 74cuda74cuda Member Posts: 417 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    So what is the beginning series that Ruger still supports for parts and service? The 181?
    "In God We Trust........All Others Go Thru NCIC"
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  • k.stanonikk.stanonik Member Posts: 2,109 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    that appears to be it, thats where brownells starts with replacement parts
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  • boeboeboeboe Member Posts: 3,331
    edited November -1
    I have been considering getting a local machine shop to machine out a couple hundred of these, and have them heat treated and finished to sell for replacements. I guess the question is, if something else is really wrong with the rifle and it were to cause an injury, would the maker/seller of the extractor assume any liability. I'm sure Ruger would try to say so if it ever got to court.
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  • k.stanonikk.stanonik Member Posts: 2,109 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Boe, i think befor i spent the money to have them made, have a smithy to see what else could be wrong
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  • JudgeColtJudgeColt Member Posts: 1,790 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Although this is not intended to be legal advice, I would sell them with a warning explaining the theory that it is possible something else is wrong with the 180-series Mini-14 rifles because of Ruger's unreasonable refusal to furnish a common part, and the fact Ruger instead buys the rifles back for $200 rather than repairing them. "Use and install at your own risk ONLY after having a competent gunsmith certify the rifle is safe to use." (How many gunsmiths would so certify? I certrainly would not!)Remember, this is just my paranoid mind wondering what else is wrong with the rifle so as to make Ruger buy it back rather than sell a $6 part to return it to shooting condition. If Ruger will put a transfer bar ignition in any Old Model at no charge, and has been doing so for nearly 30 years, it makes me wonder what is different with the 180-series Mini-14. (One obvious difference is the fact that years ago, Ruger lost a big law suit on an accidental discharge case on a dropped Old Model with a live round under the hammer.)After giving all sorts of warnings, then buy insurance! You could also sell them only upon receipt of a written acknowledgement of the risk, and send back a buck or two as "consideration" for receiving the waiver when shipping out the part. I would buy one or two for sure, assuming a reasonable price, which I would certainly expect to be a lot more than $6.[This message has been edited by JudgeColt (edited 02-11-2002).]
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