My mini-g report

Ok, so I got my mini-g back from Tim about a month ago and have been putting the rifle through its paces. The rifle started as a field grade H&R M1 Garand and is now a 'Shuff's Mini-G'. I kept my original barrel and had Tim reparkerize all the metal. I also installed an SEI muzzle break and a Fulton armory M1 Garand scout rail (took a little work on the barrel straps for the op rod to clear). When I took the rifle out of the box, I was very impressed how everything looked. Shuff had everything oiled and greased appropriately so I was pretty much ready to take it out to the range. I loaded up some Greek surplus M2 ball ammo and headed out. After tuning the Schuster gas plug with no problems, I did an initial zero at 25 yards then at 100. I was able to achieve a 2.5" inch pattern of impacts at 100 yards. With the muzzle brake, I was experiencing nearly no muzzle rise and a negligible recoil. Less than my full up Garand. I was having a lot of fun shooting he rifle an started doing some CQC snap fire drills with quick reloads. Thi rifle has great handling for rapid fire and, since it is clip fed (not magazine), I could care less where the ejected clip ended up when it was empty. No empty magazine to deal with. This rifle is the more fun to shoot than any othe rifle I hav fired. Before I knew it, I had shot through all 160 rounds I had taken to the range. I will certainly need to develop some self control or I will Spend a lo o money on ammo for this rile! Thanks, Tim. You did a great job!
Steve

Steve, the thanks is all mine Sir. Glad you're having some fun.

Nice report Sk0011. I'm currently awaiting from CMP a H&R Field Grade to send to Tim. Like your rifle I do plan to have it completely parkerized. The option of a muzzle break or scope rail is still up in the air for me to ponder more. Did you use your original Field Grade stock for your new Mini-G?

Sounds great,and preforms as it should....excellent!On a side note,I actually cringed when you said "you could care less about where the clip fell",I have nightmares about losing mine ;)

Your Grace

You do not have 2 or 3 hundred like some of us do!

Steve enjoy her as much as I do mine!

Mike

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Originally Posted by Prince Humperdink

Sounds great,and preforms as it should....excellent!On a side note,I actually cringed when you said "you could care less about where the clip fell",I have nightmares about losing mine ;)

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Originally Posted by wags

Nice report Sk0011. I'm currently awaiting from CMP a H&R Field Grade to send to Tim. Like your rifle I do plan to have it completely parkerized. The option of a muzzle break or scope rail is still up in the air for me to ponder more. Did you use your original Field Grade stock for your new Mini-G?

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Same here, waiting on a H&R Field Grade to send to Tim, Nice report Sk011.

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Originally Posted by wags

Nice report Sk0011. I'm currently awaiting from CMP a H&R Field Grade to send to Tim. Like your rifle I do plan to have it completely parkerized. The option of a muzzle break or scope rail is still up in the air for me to ponder more. Did you use your original Field Grade stock for your new Mini-G?

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Wags, I originally intended to get a new stock for the mini-g. But I put a little work into the original stock and 'refinished' it with Tom's 1/3 mix (linseed oil, beeswax and turpentine). That stock now looks great and is structurally solid! So I think I'll keep the original FG stock on the mini-g. The muzzle brake (SEI) is a little pricey but it does make a difference in muzzle rise and reduced recoil. I also added a John Madsen M-1 Garand butt pad and I will say I have had several of my friends comment that they feel no recoil from the rifle. That add on may be overkill, though. My normal policy is that there is no such thing as overkill but in this case I may make an exception. I put the rail on in place of the upper hand guard but have not yet installed any optics or CQC sights yet. I haven't decided what I want on the rifle yet. If you go that way, make sure you put some work into grinding down the forward most barrel bands about halfway before you install it then ensure the op rod cycles past the bands with no contact. That would be a bad place for friction!
Enjoy your mini-g when you get it. It will be well worth the wait. It is now my favorite rifle.

The fulton (amega) rail can be installed by only modifying the straps and maybe not the oprod but it is a high profile rail.

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Originally Posted by Sk0011

Wags, I originally intended to get a new stock for the mini-g. But I put a little work into the original stock and 'refinished' it with Tom's 1/3 mix (linseed oil, beeswax and turpentine). That stock now looks great and is structurally solid! So I think I'll keep the original FG stock on the mini-g. The muzzle brake (SEI) is a little pricey but it does make a difference in muzzle rise and reduced recoil. I also added a John Madsen M-1 Garand butt pad and I will say I have had several of my friends comment that they feel no recoil from the rifle. That add on may be overkill, though. My normal policy is that there is no such thing as overkill but in this case I may make an exception. I put the rail on in place of the upper hand guard but have not yet installed any optics or CQC sights yet. I haven't decided what I want on the rifle yet. If you go that way, make sure you put some work into grinding down the forward most barrel bands about halfway before you install it then ensure the op rod cycles past the bands with no contact. That would be a bad place for friction!
Enjoy your mini-g when you get it. It will be well worth the wait. It is now my favorite rifle.

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I appreciate you answering my questions Steve. I like Tom's 1/3 refinish concoction brew. Is this something you do or is it already mixed when purchased? Still learning here. I'm holding off purchasing a new Dupage stock until my new Field Grade arrives and I evaluate it's condition. I highly doubt I'll EVER add any type of optics, but a SEI muzzle brake is probably a go. I'm going on 2 1/2 months after ordering my CMP HRA Field Grade. Hopefully I'll be notified soon it's on it's way. Thanks again.

Attachment 1050

For the comment in response to 'I don't really care where the clip goes"....I do reload so I DO care where the clip AND the brass go. But as the Axemurderer said, I do have more than I can count. I meant to say that in a situation where speed is important, I would care less about an $0.80 clip hitting the ground (and maybe being stepped on) than a $20 magazine. Plus, I don't have to pull the clip out making practiced reloading quicker....though a little more often than a 20 or 30 round clip would require.
And, Tim. That is correct...of course since you are the expert! The fulton rail only required me to modify the barrel straps that came with the rail. I made no modification to the mini-g. I took the added step of putting a little grease along the reduced barrel straps for added protection of the op rod.

Wags, I hope you get your rifle soon. It took them a little over 2 months to get one to me earlier this year so maybe your wait won't bee too much longer. The Tom's 1/3 mix can be found at http://www.thegunstockdoctor.com . It comes pre-mixed in a 'paste' that you apply liberally (sorry for the use of that word, Tim!) to the wood, let sit for 30-40 minutes, wipe off the excess, then let dry for 8 hours or so before applying another coat. 2-4 coats will do and the naked walnut will take on a rich color. See the picture I included in a previous post.
Another note on the fulton rail....it is high profile but has a channel through the middle so the iron sights can still be used.
I may go the way you are thinking and NOT add optics. I am still undecided, though and went ahead and installed the rail. There went the money I saved by not buying a new stock!

What about spraying the eclips with a little lite alum. paint, for easy to re-locate??

best way to catch your brass for reloading without gettin it beat as bad and trying to find them in a messy range sand pit with other spent casings is to run a garand without the gas plug in. makes the rifle effectively a single shot hand operated bolt action. neat old trick a vet metioned to me. kinda reminds me of the trick where you can open the trigger guard after a missfire to recock the hammer while still staying loaded for a second shot at the primer with that round.