I don't know why someone would pay $1200 for a Mini, but they might have had their reasons. Likely panic, but who knows.
There was a time though, that the Mini had an edge over the AR as it wasn't on a lot of some of the ban list. That's likely to have all changed now, or has it?
If that guy had been shooting one of the old A2HBs I doubt that it would have been much of a contest. The A2HB that I had was very accurate.
So only none guy watched it.
To be fair Bristoe, they were both older models. An A2HB would have to pitted against the newer Mini 14 or that target model they made a few years ago.
I watched it.......
He makes dry vids, however they are mostly good vids.
I don't know why someone would pay $1200 for a Mini, but they might have had their reasons. Likely panic, but who knows.
There was a time though, that the Mini had an edge over the AR as it wasn't on a lot of some of the ban list. That's likely to have all changed now, or has it?
I think you can buy them unaltered in California, while you cannot buy unaltered AR platform rifles there.
The stone cold rifleman here think they are going to sling up, settle in and concentrate on breathing when chit hits the fan. Oh yeah right before they fill their 7 day pill organizer and adjust their suspenders.😂. Honyockers.
Back in the 90's a buddies Dad got a Mini-14 on trade for something. It had a wire folder stock. We could not believe how incredibly inaccurate that gun was. It was EXTREMELY hard to consistently hit a paper plate at 100 yards with it.
Back in the 90's a buddies Dad got a Mini-14 on trade for something. It had a wire folder stock. We could not believe how incredibly inaccurate that gun was. It was EXTREMELY hard to consistently hit a paper plate at 100 yards with it.
I had a stainless Mini-14 back in the late 1970s that was about as accurate as a good AK platform carbine. In other words, it's good enough for typical combat ranges. I've had the newer model for a few years now, and it's quite a bit more accurate than the one I had from the late 1970s through the middle 1980s.
Back in the 90's a buddies Dad got a Mini-14 on trade for something. It had a wire folder stock. We could not believe how incredibly inaccurate that gun was. It was EXTREMELY hard to consistently hit a paper plate at 100 yards with it.
I had a stainless Mini-14 back in the late 1970s that was about as accurate as a good AK platform carbine. In other words, it's good enough for typical combat ranges. I've had the newer model for a few years now, and it's quite a bit more accurate than the one I had from the late 1970s through the middle 1980s.
I shot one from the mid 80s’
Hit what I put my sights on.
I didn’t critique group sizes..... hit soda cans out to 200 yards......off hand
Hitting soda cans at 200 yards off hand consistently is good shooting. For me going 5 for 5 on a 6" plate at 200 yards off hand is a good day w/ any rifle.
mike r
Don't wish it were easier Wish you were better
Stab them in the taint, you can't put a tourniquet on that. Craig Douglas ECQC
I don't know why someone would pay $1200 for a Mini, but they might have had their reasons. Likely panic, but who knows.
There was a time though, that the Mini had an edge over the AR as it wasn't on a lot of some of the ban list. That's likely to have all changed now, or has it?
In some States the AR15 is either emasculated or unlawful. The Mini fills the gap. I wish I had a truck load of Mini's to sell to the folks in Massachusetts and California.
kwg
Last edited by kwg020; 09/21/20.
For liberals and anarchists, power and control is opium, selling envy is the fastest and easiest way to get it. TRR. American conservative. Never trust a white liberal. Malcom X Current NRA member.
Maybe ^^^^^^^ ... Worst firearm purchase I ever made. 1992. Three little kids. Money was tight. Purchased a Mini 14 in lieu of a LH Rem BDL .243 because the Ruger was about $40 cheaper. And then spent 2x the price difference on ammo trying to find something that would group in that rifle. NADA... Tripped it a year later...
Bill Ruger laid a major egg when he didn't design the mini-14 to accept AR magazines.
Actually, the AR-15 wasn't all that popular at the time Ruger designed the Mini-14. The M-16 had only recently become standard military issue and hadn't really received wide acceptance in that venue. It hadn't become the refined, versatile and ubiquitous platform it is today.
Bill Ruger laid a major egg when he didn't design the mini-14 to accept AR magazines.
Actually, the AR-15 wasn't all that popular at the time Ruger designed the Mini-14. The M-16 had only recently become standard military issue and hadn't really received wide acceptance in that venue. It hadn't become the refined, versatile and ubiquitous platform it is today.
My Mini-14 was a 180 prefix gun from the early '70's. I believe that was the first generation. When I bought it the stock had been cut down and worked into a wire-frame telescoping buttstock. Actually a pretty good job, but the rifle was not very accurate. I believe I paid $179 for it. Years later, I found an original (180 prefix) wooden stock. They'd changed it slightly after the 180's and a newer stock wouldn't fit. Anyway, with the new stock it shot pretty well with good handloads, under 2" without trying really hard. About 6 or 7 years ago an older guy at our church was talking, he mentioned he'd always wanted a Mini-14 so I gave it to him.
I've owned a half-dozen of them at minimum. Owned a couple of Mini 30's also. They're okay but not as good as an AR. They made a lot of sense when they were $400 and an AR was $600 and gas was 99 cents.
The iron sighted Mini-14 with factory five round mag is without peer.
Move away from that and its value declines rapidly.
There is truth to this, although adding a 20 round mag doesn’t detract much. If you grew up on a 10/22 (or really any sporting rifle) the mini comes to the shoulder and sights far more naturally than an AR. It is considerably more svelte than an AR, especially with the flush mag and iron sights. Like Winchester M94 svelte. They are also available in stainless for those that like that configuration, and they tend to be reliable.
No doubt the last 50+ years of government funded tweaks devoted to making a DIGS gun run well have helped the AR become much better than it once was. That, along with the ‘cool’ factor And tinker toy nature has made it very popular indeed.
Regarding accuracy, the old minis were not that great, but they weren’t as bad as most folks imply. Especially when compared to a pencil barreled A1 of the same vintage. The new minis are quite a bit better, but still not as good as most quality modern AR’s. I do think minis tend to be rated by their worst groups while AR’s tend to be rated by their best. Probably not fair to the mini but there it is. My guess is the majority of folks who utterly trash the mini at every turn haven’t owned or spent much time with one (not that they would admit it if they did).
The bottom line is the mini is a functional 5.56 that produces acceptable groups and reliability, especially for iron sight shooting. They aren’t a match rifle, but they don’t need to be. They fill a niche for shooters in rights restricted states, those that like the form of a traditional stock over the AR, or those that just want to keep a low profile.
Why do dudes pay $1200 for a mini? They probably didn’t. Like bull sale a partner will bid up the critter to make the average go up and visa versa. No money every really changed hands.
