Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Ruger mini-14... Poor man's AR?

if youve owned one or shot one id liek to hear your experiences with it.... considering adding one to my arsenal or an AR

I've never had good luck with them. Either being accurate or standing up to high round counts. But it's been almost 20 years since I've used one. With today's ARs and prices, I'd get one of those instead.

Considering how inexpensive a good AR is now, there's just no fiscal reason to buy a mini.

If you want to roll up in a cheesy van and jump out and shoot a hundred rounds without hitting anything, then a Mini-14 is for you.

This.

You'll spend far more trying to make a mini something it isn't than you would in buying what you want in the first place.

ahhahahahaa well then.....

ok

Agree that with low cost AR's, they're more performance for the buck than the Mini.

But, the Mini can shine, just takes a few bucks.

DF

Don't bother.

Get an AR.



Travis

And Ive had great luck with them...soon as I figured out to shoot heavy bullets....the 55s threw basketball sized groups. 68s threw mini-groups

Im sure I'll catch hell for this but i found the reliability of functioning better too...


I never put a high round count through one, so i can't speak for that, and the AR has the advantage of being modular if you wear something important out....

I had a pretty decent one 25 years ago, that was MOA with handloads. I was wasn't smart enough to keep it.

I now have the one Dad owned, which is an original 180 series. I'll do a little work to it, and post the results, per the AR Challenge thread.

A Mini or an AR? Unless there are compelling reasons to take the Mini, go AR for the most gun for your money.

Automotive equivalent of a tricked out Mini-14:

Sweeeeeeeeeeeet........

Sorta...

DF

A good AR is the most reliable and most flexible in use rifle I have ever owned. My experience has been consistant since 1966.

mike r

Not as classy as yours, but OK.

DF

I have 2 and an AR, If the mini's where 300-350 bucks go for it. But now days they are just as or more. Go with the AR.

When I got mine they where relatively cheap.

I had one of the original (180 prefix) Mini-14's for years. It was flat out reliable and functional with anything I ever put in it. Accuracy was about on a par with my M-1 Carbine. Prefer my AR's.

Mini 14, the rich mans AR. They now cost more than most AR's do.

I like the mini better than the AR for lots of things, but even a budget AR beats it in accuracy and (unfortunately) reliability. Both of mine had to be sent back to Ruger for function issues.

Life is short, if you think you want one you should buy and try. You can always sell it for a loss if it doesn't work. They are fun and I like the handling better than an AR but you have to live with the quirks. When I bought my second one I told a friend I was doubling down on stupid.

All that being said, I use a mini far more often than an AR. Go figure.

A FEW bucks? LOL.

I"ve often bet that if you got a good stock for it, bedded, tightened everything up, and put a Krieger on it, it could do very well, much like the PITA it takes to get adn keep a top line M1A running.

AR smacks the mini in so many different ways its not even funny.

Bad part is I love the look of an M1a and have some, but at least I saw the nightmare the mini was and never bought one of them.

Haters are gonna hate.

It is always amusing to hear the guys with many thousands of dollars tied up in a tricked out AR, saying it is stupid to spend a couple of bucks on a Mini.

I like my old 188 Series Mini Ranch Rifle a lot. It has proved through the years to be very reliable, reasonably accurate, and fun to shoot.