r/Mini14 • u/boboelmonkey • 2d ago
Gas bushing question
I recently acquired a Mini 14 series 180 with one of the only missing parts being the Gas port bushing, I'm wondering if any bushing from any series will work or if I should look for a specific one or if its even necessary to have one at all.
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u/Tsuki_Man 2d ago edited 2d ago
The bushing is absolutely necessary. Without it your gas port piston will not stay in place and will fall out when you fire it which will then cause the slide to ram into it, failing to seat the next round and rendering the gun unable to complete the action. I had this issue like two weeks ago because I improperly aligned the bushing with the piston which caused them both to fall out and the bushing got mashed to bits, just got the new one yesterday and properly put it back together. From the factory the mini 14 is "overgassed" so if youre going to order a new bushing it might be worthwhile to order a smaller diameter port size to not send your brass into whoever is next to you.
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u/Due_Guitar8964 2d ago
Without a gas bushing in place the amount of gas coming through would be excessive, to say the least. I have a 585 series and the stock bushing is .083. The hole the bushing goes into is around .250, huge difference. You can get replacement bushings for the 180 series from ASI in Byers, CO. I'm running .045 which drops spent shells at my feet without a suppressor while with a suppressor there's enough back pressure that spent shells travel maybe six feet.
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u/Cool_Accountant_9145 2d ago
Get a AI bushing kit for it and cut back on some of the overgassing it had from the factory