Discuss.

Dude you are just bored and are trying to relive the Pacers-Piston brawl.
Let me sum it up.

"I own a mini 14 and use it for home defense and shooting 1000 yards it is the best"

"all mini 14's suck and if you own one you suck and your holding it wrong anyway get a glock 19...sorry I mean a Colt 6920"

OK, I'll start.

The open (Garand-style) action on the Mini-14 is superior for reliability in a muddy or sandy environment. The Ruger Mini-14 and the AK-47 are the only modern semi-auto rifles that can feed a spent case from the magazine.

I like'm both but, if I can only have one make it an AR-15.

And the Mini-14 already has the gas piston system that AR folks wish their rifles had, thus cleaner chambers.

Me too. I haven't been without an AR platform carbine since the late 1970s. Its pros are that it's the US standard battle rifle, so there's lots of accessories and parts availability.

Here's a picture I snapped of my rifles in the late 1970s.

Do much catfishing?

Dude - you need to get that prostate checked...

Good thing I only feed my AR's cases with bullets in them...

Have you ever really tried to make a mini puke? It ain't hard to do.

According to Clint Smith at Thunder ranch, no mini-14 has ever made it through the urban rifle course without a fatal break.

End of story.

Mini-14s suck. ARS don't.

Significant if true.

Easy to find out, go run 1000 rounds with each and see which one you prefer.

can't be so, why the Mini is universally accepted and in use today in every single major military and LE program in the world!

Its is without peer as a military, LE and self defense firearm!

Why just look at the old A-team TV shows if you want more proof!

The Mini-14 was Bill Ruger attempt to give urban commandos something to waste their Wolfe ammo in on their weekends off, after working all week at Walmart's

This your source?

"Last year the smith at Gunsite told me that a mini-14 has never finished the carbine class without a mechanical failure. That's a LOT of mini-14s."

- CDC (August 1st, 2000, Snipercountry.com)

"As for Mini 14s, I been aroud a number of them and ... they have always functioned very well. What is breaking on all these guns in the tactical schools? The only one I ever actualy saw with something broken in my time in the gunsmith biz was a Ranch Rifle with a busted rear sight."

- Tom Simpson (August 1st, 2000, Snipercountry.com)

Source

I myself have no desire to own a 4th mini 14 however I do wonder how many crunches it takes to get to the chocolate core. Or would one of them actually go 1000 rounds in total?

I will just google mini 14 and get back with a knowledgeable answer so that I can appear to be knowledgeable.

Not true. The owners manual states not to shoot steel cased ammo in the rifle and if you do it will void the warranty. Plus, everyone knows, 9 out of 10 wannabe commados prefer the AR-15 to the Mini. Hell, almost every time I'm on the 600yd range and bullets start zinging over the berm from the 200yd range it turns to be some dumbass with a AR-15 M4 clone, a red dot sight and a serious look on his face.

It'll take more than Google

How about some Mini 14 porn?

Is that walnut on the bottom? Nice rifles.

They are nice, aren't they? All of them are custom walnut stocks. Unfortunately, none of those are mine.

The top two appear to have aftermarket steel butt plates. All of them appear to have aftermarket bayonet lugs.

My source is Clint in a face to face conversation.

Here's one I had built a few years ago. It's not as pretty but very accurate and a lot of fun to shoot. A 5.56 Wylde chamber 1 in 7" twist with a few other modifications. Just a fun range gun.

Hmm. Our local game warden would grab his mini snug enough that he would slow the op rod down... and jam the gun.

The empty case feeding is a 45 tuning deal, while I've never tried it with an AR, I'd be willing to be my guns would probably do it. But it proves nothing reliability wise.

Personally I'd take an AK47 if I just had to be sure it wo uld go bang, though I prefer the SKS over the AK by far.

But in the grand scheme of things, and nothign being specified as to specific use, its a no brainer. AR hands down.

And I LOVE the looks of the mini... its like a mini 14... LOL and I have 2 M1As in the safe for the wife and I that we'll never part with.

Yet I have no love at all for the mini14. I've never been impressed with em at all.

That should probably carry some weight.

Love me some mini 14, the ar-15.....stupid

Not that I care if you like the mini and not the AR, what are the downfalls of the AR that make it stupid?

Guess I'll have to take your word for it, then. What part is breaking on them?

Sweet!

His exact comment was in response to me on the phone asking if I should bring an ar or my mini.

I followed up at the class and he said every mini-14 that had come through had problems at or under 500 rounds, and virtually everyone who brought a mini to the class finished the class with a borrowed AR.

I don't recall the exact reason but recall extractors and op-rods in the discussion.

I don't own minis anymore.

I never really warmed up to the AR platform. I started looking at the Mini-14. I like the Garand type action. That said I can only go by reading several different sources and the Mini-14 seems to need Ruger magazines to be 100% reliable. Maybe so or maybe not but when I saw DPMS Oracles for $598+ tax out the door with a $50 rebate I bit.
The AR is like Chevy 350 engines, 1911s, and Remington 700s. There more after market goodies for less $$$ than anything else than their competition.

I've only been to one civie AR class and a Mini and an old M-1 carbine there both would not run. That was the first unreliable M-1 I'd ever seen.

The problem with that at least was, that you invest a LOT of money to make the mini as accurate as a stock AR typically is.

Can't argue, there.

It wasn't a problem at all. I've built a few AR's too, neither are cheap and the above rifle is very accurate. More so than most stock AR's. If you end up with a rifle that performs well it's money well spent. The picture wasn't posted to prove anything. The OP posted a few he liked and posted one that I enjoy shooting.

It's like I said in first post on this thread. If I could only have one it would be the AR-15. Fortunately in the real world I can have both. I guess I'm unusual in that I like both platforms and don't have to vilify one to enjoy the other.

Mini-14; been there and done that.
Magazine cost and magazine quality: yuck.
Pencil thin barrel needs to be replaced to get any decent accuracy. But while one figures that out he invariably spends hundreds of dollars on hopeful mods that don't improve anything.

If Ruger were to modify the mag well to accept AR15 magazines, and if they were to put a bull barrel on it with the right gas block for a bull barrel, at 16 to 18".... and if it were priced in the range of 400 dollars to maybe 500...

I might buy one.

But then mounting an optic and getting good cheek weld is mo harder than an AR...

So the AR wins hands down. Without a doubt on every count.

BUT hope springs eternal!:
http://www.perfectunion.com/vb/ruger-mini-14-mini-30/

it is a nice looking rifle in wood stock form, and I have always wanted to like it. I had one of the first ones back when they were $139.00 and killed a lot of Jack Rabbits with it. They just were not very accurate whenever I had one so after the 3rd try I gave up on them. People say the firing pin breaks easily don't know about this myself, the gas port can rust to the op rod, I know this for a fact. If you live in a humid climate its a good idea to clean and oil the gas port nozzle and op rod.

A lot of your complaints have been addressed by Ruger. The barrel is now heavier (typical MOA is now between 2" and 3" right from the factory), and they come ready for Ruger's proprietary scope rings. Also, Ruger has been selling their high quality twenty and thirty round mags to the general public for a while now, i.e., they are no longer "police only," so you don't have to use cheap, aftermarket, high cap mags.

too bad they wont take a pMag.

I've owned at least a half-dozen Mini's and personally, never had a problem with one. They weren't very accurate. However, I've never owned one of the upgraded models they are currently selling. I would not be afraid of one at all.

The problem for me comes down to dollars. As somebody else said, I'd rather have a DPMS Sportical or the like for less money than I can buy a new Mini for. The AR is probably the most tweaked platform of any gun in the USA. Ruger finally got around to addressing problems that should have been addressed upon the Mini's release, about five years ago. That plus the fact that AR mags are very easy to obtain and while the Mini's usually aren't hard to, they are much more so than AR's. To wit, the Sandy Hook sellout. Try finding a Mini magazine after that debacle, whereas AR's were available. Maybe not Magpul's, but ones that were completely reliable and serviceable were available.

I had a Mini-14 with the 180- prefix. kinda wish I still had it, but I wouldn't trade my Noveske for it.

But Mini-14s have a retro cool factor the AR doesn't.

So would a Chauchat, but I wouldn't want to depend upon one of those either.

I actually like the looks of the Mini-14 and wish they would shoot as accurate as the AR-15. The Mini-14 are just to inaccurate to spent the money they want for one. Rifles that won't group well have no place in my home. I guess the Mini's have their purpose with MIN OF HUMAN ACCURACY . The only time i have ever heard of a Mini working well was in the Famous FBI Miami Shootout, but it was up against short barrel 38's and the 9mm's which are no match for any rifle. One other thing about the Mini is , they are the loudest rifles i have ever fired , right up there with the Ruger 30 carbine Blackhawk Pistol

The problem with the Mini 14 was the narrow barrel. They'd heat up fast and start stringing the groups. They've resolved that. They now come with a hammer-forged heavy barrel.

Look! My Minis done went and growed up!!




Now, the only platform I have for 5.56 is a mid-length.

I had a 180 prefix mini-14 for 30 or 40 years. It always worked and would function with whatever I put through it. Accuracy was never anything to write home about, but okay for practical gunfighting purposes. I never could warm to it and when an old fellow at church mentioned he'd like to have one I put it in his car with a couple mags and some Lake City green tips one Sunday. I like my AR's better.

Yeah, the Mini 14, M1 Carbine, M1 Garand, M14, type open action is apparently prone to being put out of commission by mud and gunk. I've seen torture tests where the AR is put through this kind of thing and keeps churning them out.

Those are Maxi Ones.

There is good info on both
I have both (I really like Mini 30s)
That being said If they took Pmags great idea(Minis)......
Minis sure are not sniper rifles but to take kids out and get them into shooting and teach safety not bad. The are just for fun no question
Equating the AR to a 350 is so true You can really make it yours
Being able to have a lower and a 15 in upper and 20in heavy barrel must be worth something

Had to pick one AR without a doubt

Hank

They get compared all the time I dont see them being the same to me they are quite different

if the mini barrels were just crummy barrels then pencil away, however two pencil barreled black guns sub MOA with handloads tells me pencil in the barrel was not the main reason.

I like and have owned both, but a well built AR wins hands down. If I could only have one that is.

While I'm sure there are exceptions, my experience with Ruger Mini 14's is "dinner plate accuracy" at best, at 100 yards. I would pick the AR-15 platform hands down.

However, if you happen to be "behind enemy lines" (ie: in NY State), the rational (insert sarcasm here) politicians have deemed Mini14's ok to own without registering, yet the EVIL (sarcasm again) AR-15s have to be registered. The logic of Liberal politicians is mind boggling. -TomT

interesting read.

I will go with "he intentionally falsified the results to make the Mini14 look better"

The error net is full of folks with axes to grind and plenty of time to grind them.

even a cheap Colt chromed pencil barrel will shoot SMA with bullets it likes.

His results pretty much mirror mine in accuracy with the new 580 series rifles. maybe a little tighter but not much. I know this flies in the face of what many want to believe though.

ARs

It took me a while to warm up but

I'm all in now

Snake

I'm not a mini hater, I actually like the guns and have owned 6 at least. I have not owned or shot a newer version but the past mini's I've owned have never shot close to MOA, well one shot just over.

Are they fragile? Not a chance. They are fairly reliable but I've yet to see a test showing the AC556 run with an M4 or M16. I have run a mini to its limits and have seen one with problems. Same as AR's.

My problem with the above article is he doesn't say who's barrel the home built AR is using. And his limited testing of just 2 types of ammo, neither which are known for accuracy. Irons at 50 does not show me anything for accuracy. One gun of each does not disspell the experiences I've had either. And lastly, shooting off bags like he showed can be easily manipulated to show the AR as inaccurate.

Just buy whichever one you like and be happy, who cares if anyone disagrees with your choice.

I would certainly take the word of the author over some of the comments I've read on this thread.

and who is the author again? at least he got this part right

"This is not a scientific study and proves nothing."

good gawd. one parts AR 15 vs. one modified mini 14, 5 shot groups, by an admittedly mediocre shot, irons and 50 yards...

I like the Mini 14 too, but it is what it is...

Interesting. Thanks.

Mini-14 or AR platform 5.56 NATO carbine: You can only have one: Which?

I'll stick with both.....and an AKM thrown in for good measure.

I have two of each. I have one wood stocked mini that has been scoped for most of it's life and is actually one of the miracles if you believe internet hype. The other is a folding stocked gun that I've never put on paper, but it holds minute of clay pigeon at 50+ yards with irons. I've had no troubles with any of my mini's. (had another one that was reliable but shot poorly)
My AR's have never had a scope on either. One is irons & one has an Eotech. I have had a couple issues but nothing to get riled up at and pretty easy to correct so far.

I personally would take an AR just because of parts availability.

The Mini-14 is a military-esque sporting rifle. It is NOT a military grade rifle, and one shouldn't consider it any sort of a battle rifle. Can it pull double duty as a defensive rifle, hell yes; and it can do it well. But it's not going to put up with heavy abuse. If you like the Mini platform and want an actual military grade rifle, then go with the M1 Carbine, or perhaps an SKS.

The AR is the true fighting rifle, but honestly very few actually NEED that.

The benefits of the Mini is how light and compact they are. OMG I wish someone made a copy of the original factory folder stock, because when folded up, the Mini could be tucked away quite handily. Another nice thing about the Mini-14 are Ruger factory magazines...it's everything the 30 AR magazine always wanted to be, but never was (straight, then curved; bad idea...they learned that with the M2 Carbine, but went ahead and did it again anyhow).

I like the Mini with the 20 rounder, it just kinda works.

But if you fancy yourself a fighting rifleman, you'll be much happier with the AR.

I personally just have too much faith in my M1 Carbine, it has been the more reliable firearm I've ever owned. The Carbine is a fantastic urban defense rifle. It will typically out-penetrate the 5.56 and if you use JHP ammo, it will put bad guys down with much more authority than a 5.56 FMJ. It's a damn effective little rifle. The US Military was giving very serious consideration to making the M1 Carbine our standard weapon just before the M16 was "suggested". In fact, I believe the Air Force actually did make it their official rifle a year or two before the M16 was adopted. They were trying to figure out if they would keep it in .30 Carbine or convert them to 5.7 Johnson.

Our enemies in WWII positively hated the M1 Carbine.

I had one of those original Mini-14 folding stocks back in the 1970s and 1980s. Sure wish I had kept it.

I had one of the folders and I sold it quite a few years ago
I was picking up an all weather Mini yesterday and an old fart was standing at Duncans outdoors and said to me "I have two folders new in box that I have never mounted"

I said they are worth a bit these days he smiled and said that he knew that.I said why not sell me one he said oh one day I will get around to using them. He must have liked me I was in the store for quite a while and he was waiting in the parking lot to show me pics of custom German pistols he brought back from the war and two loose leaf pages of Case knifes he collected

It was me in 30 years

Hank

Those old factory folders are nice. I ran across a great deal on one a few years back and put it on my other Min-14, a 16" 580 Tactical. It only took minimal inletting.

Mini 14. Folks tend to like them or hate them. Most of the haters have never held one, or fired one, but still they hate.

I don't believe that from Clint Smith either. This one shoots pretty good. Lots of Wolf steel cased ammo. No problems.

Bought a Mini years ago that with 50 grain Speer bullets would shoot MOA or better, kinda whished I woulda kept it.

The AR is just to much easier to build or to work on, change barrels etc. with a few simple and very reasonably priced tools, and unlike many Mini's, most will shoot great right out of the box.

Big Brother has a couple Mini-14s I've had the pleasure to shoot.

Spont an afternoon in Dogtown with one of them, which is why I own two AR-15's.

Had the pleasure to shoot probably 10 plus different minis years ago, had a ruger freak that loved minis. And then my BIL bought a couple.

I decided they sucked so bad, I just bought an M1A and was much happier. And then 1 or 2 ARs which totally beat the minis I'd shot hands down.

I admit I hate Ruger to this day for political reasons. I admit I like how the mini looks like an M1A. I'll never own one though. No need to when you have ARs available.

It does cost a good bit to bring a Mini up to AR accuracy standards. But, the trip is worth the effort. I just like the way a custom Mini handles.

This one was a Ranch Rifle that my ranch hands kept in a pickup to shoot coyotes. After years of use, it was about toast.

I got it back from them and had this gun built. Because I didn't consider the cost of the stock gun, the enhancement package wasn't that terrible. I altered the factory stock to the shape I wanted then painted it with crinkle paint from Brownells.

Accuracy Systems http://www.accuracysystemsinc.com/index.php# did the work, including a 9 twist SS match barrel, brake, trigger job, bedding, a full house treatment. They know their stuff.

If one bought a new Ranch Rifle and started with the enhancement process, it could add up.

DF

I've had 3 Minis - 1 that I bought and 2 that I inherited. Lucked out and traded mine off for an AK. Still have the other 2, but I don't have much use for them. I love the way they handle, but they shoot like schitt. So they never get used.

If the Mini 14 had been as accurate as an AR generally speaking, and the mags had been about as cheap and easy to find as an AR the AR platform would be vastly less popular today.

Agreed. I always thought had as much R&D been put into the mini, they would be more popular then they are.

I have had 2 different AR's in the past, nothing special. I had an early Ranch rifle that I had a love hate relationship with. It had the worst accuracy I have ever seen, but it was light and handy and ammo was dirt cheap.

I now have a 580 Ranch and a 581 tatical, i think their is a huge difference in accuracy compared to the old models.

Ruger just seems to have a hard time building an accurate semi auto rife. Buy a 10/22 or Mini 14 then spend almost as much or more than you paid for the gun before it will shoot, is so often read.

Get a $500 DPMS AR or a Marlin 60 and go shooting.