AMEGA Mini-Scout-Mount III + Tactical Light Mount Kit for Ruger Mini-14
With the current political and social situation, consumers are buying firearms for survival/bug out/home defense scenarios. The AR-15 is a popular choice, but many are looking at alternatives due to the media’s misconceptions about the AR and the planned ‘buy back’ of the ARs by politicians (“Hell yeah, we’re going to take your AR-15. If it’s a weapon that was designed to kill people on the battlefield, we’re going to buy it back.” — Beto O’Rourke). The Mini-14 offers a good alternative, as it tends to fly under the radar due to not looking like a ‘scary black rifle.’ It comes in the same calibers as many ARs (.223, 5.56, 300 Blackout and 7.62×39 (Mini-30)) and is capable of standard AR capacity. In stock form though, the Mini-14 is lacking when it comes to mounting optics and weapon lights.
There are a few options to remedy this — picatinny rails that mount to the half moon indents that are machined into the upper receiver (ex. #1 | ex. #2 | ex. #3) or contraptions that bolt to the side of the receiver (ex. #1 | ex. #2 | ex. #3). Most of these either place the rail relatively high to the bore and/or block the use on the iron sights. In some cases, you would need to remove your optic then the rail/mount to use the iron sights in the event of an optic failure. There are also after market stocks that have provisions for picatinny rails, but these stocks move them into ‘scary black rifle’ territory (examples). In looking at all of the options for adding a picatinny rail and light to the Mini-14, the AMEGA MINI-SCOUT-MOUNT III + TACTICAL LIGHT MOUNT KIT looked like the best solution.
After exchanging a few emails with the folks at AMEGA RANGES, I soon had a MINI-SCOUT-MOUNT III + TACTICAL LIGHT MOUNT KIT on their way to me for testing and evaluation. Here are some unboxing photos:
as well as some photos of the rifle we are working with.
MY OBSERVATIONS
After installing the AMEGA MINI-SCOUT-MOUNT III + TACTICAL LIGHT MOUNT KIT and putting a few rounds down range, here are my observations:
- Fit and finish is awesome. It appears to be a high quality product that will last years.
- Quick, easy installation
- Easily mount any optic or accessory that utilizes a picatinny rail
- Rail height – most products utilize the receiver in one way or another mount the rail. As a result, the rail sits quite high, which may prevent shooters from attaining a decent cheek weld.
- Rail position – other products place the rail directly above the receiver — not a great spot to mount a light
- Rail length – the rail is twice as long as some of the other solutions
- Optics failure – With this setup you can quickly remove an optic in the event of a failure, if you use a QD mount. With most of the other options on the market, you’d need to remove the optic and the rail before using your iron sights.
- You can easily mount a sling to the rail using Amega’s optional TACTICAL SLING MOUNT ADAPTER (TSMA). Since the rail allows you to place a sling mount on the side of the barrel, it is easy to attach a sling in a manner that works well for low-carry/ready, which is my preferred method.
- You must use optics with a long or unlimited eye relief. If you want to use a magnified optic, the options are somewhat limited (see scout scopes).
- Price – this is the most expensive solution I have tested — quality and functionality comes at a cost.
BOTTOM LINE
- I recommend AMEGA’s line of products. Over the years, I have seen and/or tested multiple solutions ranging from rails that utilize the half moon indents in upper receiver, to mounts that attach to the side of the receiver, to completely different stocks — the AMEGA MINI-SCOUT-MOUNT III is the best solution I have tested for adding a scout scope, red dot sight or tactical light to the Ruger Mini-14.
POSSIBLE IMPROVEMENTS
When possible, I like to recommend some possible improvements for gear I review. Here are some things that could broaden the appeal of the AMEGA MINI-SCOUT-MOUNT III:
- Co-Witness
- While the use of this mounting system allows you to quickly remove an optic in the event of a failure, it would be an improvement if the optic could co-witness with the iron sights. This could be achieved by lowering the height of the rail, or maybe machining a T-1 or RMR mounting surface into one end of the rail.
