Well, Mini 14s are as expensive as a lot of other things that I'd take over them -- but not necessarily bad. Dare I say, even as a vehement opponent of an AR, I'd take one over it simply for compatibility. Then there's always the SU16, which is nice because it takes AR mags, and is featherlight.
My instructor at Pine Tech said he's seen people take the lowest-end Savage rifles out of the factory box and shoot 1 MOA with them. Go for it.
Whatever you do, for SHTF, you're going to want a lot of ammo -- thousands of rifle rounds. Pistol, not as important, but have enough to fill all your mags twice is a rule I like. Speaking of mags, get lots of those, too!
