Jim Sullivan On Bill Ruger And The Mini-14
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- čas přidán 8. 09. 2024
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L. James "Jim" Sullivan was one of the designers of the AR-15 rifle and the Ultimax light machine gun, and also involved in several projects for Ruger.
One of these was the Mini-14 rifle, which Sullivan designed for Bill Ruger. We spoke to him about this project, and some of his more humorous interactions with Bill Ruger.
![Why Won't the Ruger Mini-14 Just Die? [Part 1]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EzyGl_w-IXg/mqdefault.jpg)
this is WONDERFUL that you get a younger generation to see these videos with some if the great minds behind our favorite guns before they are gone. A+
PartTimeJedi I'm 22 and I love the history behind classic firearms (I guess the Ruger mini14 would count as classic at this point)
I'm 18 years old and just bought my first rifle. It's a ruger mini 14 and seeing an interview with the designer is freaking awesome!!!
Mini-14 was also used by the Royal Ulster Constabulary during the troubles. They needed something with military firepower but that looked more traditionally 'police'.
yes
Come out you Black and Tans.
@@21Sig snipers promise
It was the AC556
This man is straight genus! I just want to hug him and bring him cookies. :)
Jim seems like the kind of old mechanic who have all the tricks that you can’t find in textbooks or shop manuals. I’m glad you got an interview with him lest this sort of knowledge be lost when he’s gone.
It's an absolute treat to see you interviewing Jim Sullivan like this. Thanks Ian.
I absolutely love listening to this man. What a wealth of knowledge. Thank you for doing work like this. He is a national treasure.
I think you've already surpassed the quality of the old History Channel guys! Keep it up! This is exactly the kind of thing I want to watch and learn more about! Well done!
Very, very interesting. Living history.
A-Team included.
This is a piece of history that is easily forgotten. We have the byproducts of men and women like these as artifacts, but historical accounts are significantly less common. What a cool interview.
Proof that shop antics are the same regardless of age. Great interview!
So Jim Sullivan designed Ultimax ? Sir thank you very much for that machine gun. Its served well in croatian indepence war.
6:40 as an apprentice engineer programmer (and all the other stuff I end up knowing) I can only imagine the pain in having a drawing get smudged because even tho we use CAD for Drawing now and CAM for machining solutions and can easily get a drawing from that. We still are taught the old ways as part of our course.
I love that this information is being shared and not forgotten
This man is part of history and he seems so nice. Great video.
What a great video, it is such a nice feeling to see this old timer tell stories. What a legend
I had to do some technical drawing as a freshman on the mechanical engineer school, just your plain training part with measurements... you ought to think that instruments make drawing easier, no they don't. They allow for a more precise line but in turn demand much more attention to detail as well as time and technique. Next semesters they made us draw actual machine parts and assemblies but as free hand drafts... still a nightmare. To the old schools people that did both together I have the utmost respect. One of my teachers was a real dinosaur, she was from the time people had to draw involute gear teeth using a string and trickery, she actually designed the jaws for the school's lathe as in Brazil they were prohibitively expensive to buy off the shelf... CAD is an invaluable tool, but some notion on doing stuff by hand, specially interpretation and drafting should be a must to any engineer or machinist. Jim probably has quite a lot of patience to not had murder Ruger after the hot-dog incident.
+Pedro .Persson I only drew thru high school. Soon no one will understand the work the went into the drawings to make anything.
makes you appreciate the little things design wise so much more when you take engineering classes its amazing. I only had a little bit of intro into engineering drawing and CAD solid works and it's really interesting
I loved technical drawing in college, but damn if I didn't get C-grades on every assignment! But you know what they say, C's get degrees.
Ruger has always been fanatical on durability and dependably. That's all that matters. As for accuracy, much more accurate that most shooters.
Great idea. Always nice to hear from engineers and designers. Wealth of knowledge there.
What a cool dude. These interviews with designers are awesome, it's the kind of thing you just don't see anywhere else. Keep up the awesome work.
As a non-native english speaker I have some trouble understanding everything he says. Some subtitles would be helpfull.
What I got is still fascinating.
+Wetcorps The automatic CC is pretty accurate.
bertram238
Thanks :)
Jim is my Grandfathers brother. Nice to see him here.
I like Mr Sullivan. He reminds me of an old friend, MCPO (Navy, retired) Nary, especially in the way he talks.
Thanks for the awesome interview.
Ian was so lucky to have gotten the opportunity to talk to this guy. He should've also talked to him about the Ruger M77 and its development, there is not that much information on it.
Fantastic video. Thanks James Sullivan!
Awesome work! Love this interview.
Colt Wesson Browning Ruger Stoner Sullivan Knight Barrett
Ah finally I know - hot dog grease! Great to hear these recollections.
Sounded like a rainy day! Time to catch up with some history from the old-timers!
Awesome. I would like to see more of that interview.
meanwhile the three million AR clone makers with their tats and tackle box full of face garbage believe they are breaking "new" ground....
He Was A Hard Man To Work For, But Man Did He Have A BRILLIANT Mind.
Bill Ruger seems like an interesting fellow.
"... and we just watched it" hilarious.
Just Like Ruger , This Video Is Good Stuff , *Thumbs Up*
My wife's family is from Germany and one of her cousins is a gun guy. He has a mini 14 in 222 since civilians cannotown a military round.
BS, they either are from somewhere else in Europe it you are just lying.
Sincerely, someone using military calibers in Germany
I have one....and I love it!!!!!
Great video
I wonder why Ruger at that time felt the need to design a new magazine
+eaglemasterdan Because proprietary is profitable, would be my guess? It's the same reason all the printer manufacturers have their own toner and ink cartridges. ~Karl
A wonderful rifle the mini 14.
Police Nationale here in France have loads of these things and the French prison service. Great piece of kit.
Who drives the challenger?
Awesome video Ian & Karl....will there be more like these to come?
Neat little rifles
Do a podcast! interviews like this, that interest you.
Ultimax as in the Ultimax 100? Cool
Fire Once an' it falls Apart. Classic
When the boss makes a gaffe, you silently die inside,and wait n see if he owns it😬 seen it, lived it!!
10-22 & Mk2 .22lr pistol owner
Frikkin Ian renting a challenger? Splurge!
Interesting. The Mini-14 is in my mind, much heavier than it should be. This is based on my comparing it to my M1 carbine, which is incredibly light. The issue of cast parts vs machined parts clarifies this to me. The strength to weight ratios are very different, it appears. A milled Mini-14 would weigh a pound less but be prohibitively expensive, I guess.
He is hilarious.
Bill Ruger was "Dumb like a fox"! Yep, he did address/propose that only a 10 round magazine was necessary. THIS, is what saved AR production and civilian ownership in the U.S.!
So, what happened next? The mag capacity bad was lifted or expired!
Very smart fellow even knowing a lot of folks would abandon or banish him!
Wonderful presentation!
Best to ya',,,,!
If Anyone Out There Knew Mr. Ruger And Would Like To Swap Stories; Let Me Know. I Worked Very Closely With Him In The Seventies.
Really?!, Do you know what inspired him and Sullivan to create the Ruger M77 by any chance? Other than it being based upon the Mauser 98 of course, lol.
I sent a 20 round mini mag. back to Ruger and they kept it and sent me two 10 rounders. I called them and they said it was Bill Rugers call. I never even looked at another Ruger product.
I just bought two twenty round mags off Shopruger.com
Ian seems really awkward in this interview. He breaks eye contact and just says "Ok, ok" when Jim says something interesting. Just an observation, Im very happy this interview happened.
WolfmanTV no he wasn’t awkward, he was just listening to the mans story, what did you want him to do? Lol
Watched a documentary which I can't find any longer. Apparently the French really appreciated this rifle in the info China war in Vietnam. People talk about how a man needs to be hit several times with the mini to stop him. In this documentary on the rifle the ballistic gel/clay shows MASSIVE damage when hit.
Does Jim ever change his shirt, or is this from the same talk session as the old ar video?
+Kevin Norris It was from the same session. ~Karl
+InRangeTV We know already that Ian never changes his shirt.
+BennettC He has been wearing that for 4 years straight. ~Karl
they should have went with several Barrel links from the 16 to the 18 to the 22 the 22 and 24 inch barrel and they should have put a side scope mount like you have on the AK and dragunov that way you can change your Optics out
Please please Ruger. Make a Mini 14 that accepts AR mags.
Juan Rosete understanding the way a mag locks and drops in an ar15. It’s impossible
Ram-Line mags?
@@cjm9860 one could just extend the magwell, no?
@@wobbenbuffet3286 I suppose that's possible. the difficulty would be with how the bolt catches, as well as the mag release. the entire action would need to be reworked. at that point its practically not an m14 platform. although I do see that as an improvement. it's going to be difficult and by the end not be true to the original design
first, make a mini-14 that doesnt suck
This interview is way too short lol
Mini-14 . Can that thing go through 2000 rds without becoming a jamomatic Karl?
+MrHemimechanic2 Actually, I've seen Mini-14s work well in general, with the obvious cavet of the user keeping debris out of the system (identical to the M1). ~Karl
InRangeTV just wondering because I remember the video with the M1 carbine and Karl saying he never seen one make it through a match. However the tactards always complain that a Mini-14 would never make it through 2500 rds carbine class but actually praise the M1 carbine.
The legend on "10 round Ruger" is that since a mini 14 was used by the criminals in the Miami shootout, Bill felt the need to repair his company's reputation by backing "sensible gun control".
What's easier to remanufacture after a ban has been put in place. Magazines or rifles. Probably a good idea on Bill Rugers part.
Interesting... I didn't know until this video that Bill Ruger was a supporter of magazine capacity legislation. Upon some more studying, it really seems like the guy was anti-2A (or one of the half-measure types who think compromises will satisfy those who aim to disarm civilians)... or he simply wanted to sell a lot of magazines.
I'm surprised he didn't incorporate a multi lug rotating bolt in the mini 14.
Only if the Mini took ar 15 stanag mags!
So who has a challenger?
Huh? ~Karl
+InRangeTV Jim Sullivan mentioned a truck and a challenger lol. Do you or Ian have a challenger?
If Ruger made a mini 14 that took a ar15 mag they would sell alot more of them. you guys going to mud test a mini14?
No need. It's the same action as an m1 garand. They already did one. It failed.
Looks like mr. Ruger could tell the future, only wanting 10 round magazine's for his Firearms . It seems like he knew mass shootings would become a problem in the future.
Ask him why the Mini-14 is SO inaccurate ?
The best place to use the Mini-14? While fishing so you can throw the darn thing in the water. A complete piece of junk as a weapon and I had to carry this thing overseas years back in some very horrible places.
Carried it?