Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles Mini-14 or AR-15?

another vote for the ar-15.

i think it's a better rifle overall, for all the above mentioned reasons.

-tom

I had a Mini-14 in the late '90s; it was functionally accurate and worked flawlessly with the factory magazine. I liked it a lot. But then I bought a half dozen aftermarket magazines, and none of them worked. Not one. So I traded the rifle off, due to magazine unavailability.
I've had two ARs and many, many different magazines; some did not function flawlessly but all function at least most of the time. Most of them function all of the time. I don't think I have ever given over $13 for an AR magazine, and most have been under $10. OTOH, while there are cheap Mini-14 mags available now, I just don't trust them; and factory mags are expensive.

The other thing is, aside from cheap, functional mags and super accuracy, ARs are modular and almost unlimited in what you can do to them. Also, they are a "commodity" item since the patent expired. That's why everybody makes them. That's also why you can get an AR just as cheap as a Mini now, if not cheaper.

When Minis were 1/3 the price of an AR, they were a great alternative. Now, not so much.

The movie you're talking about is In the Line of Duty: The F.B.I. Murders . It starred "Hutch" (David Soul), not "Starsky" (Paul-Michael Glaser). It was about the infamous Miami Shootout and the crime spree which led to it. That was the incident that led the FBI to drop the .38 Spec. ammo it had issued for many years and convert to the 10mm. I don't think people venerated the Mini as much as they were simply shocked that it could be such an effective combat weapon.

I'll go with the majority and recommend the AR platform. I've owned nearly a dozen examples of both the Mini and the AR and currently we have both in the house. The Mini is okay but like the other poster said, it was a lot okayer when it was $400 and the AR was probably twice that. One thing people here seem to like about the Mini is its handling characteristics. I like the AR way over the Mini in that respect. The new Mini seems to be much improved, from what I've read, but I've not owned one so cannot comment directly there. I still think even if all the good things being said about the improved one are true, the AR has too many areas where it outshines Ruger's effort.

As to Ruger being anti-gun, it is under completely different ownership now and as was said, is an American company.

Not to complicate matters, but if the choices are Mini-14 and AR-15 you might want consider the Saiga in .223. A Russian made AK with a chrome lined bore and a sporter stock for about $300? What is not to like?

They can be modified to accept German Weiger magazines very easily, or there are now American made hi-caps made just for the Saiga for less than $20 a pop. Accuracy is as good as the Mini and the reliability is better than any of them. And for half the cost of a Mini and a third the cost of an AR? That is a heck of a deal.

I have an AR so I don't have one, but I've shot them and they handle very nicely. I'm probaly going to get in on a 7.62x 39 pretty soon and I may get a .223 or .308 for the heck of it. Shoot, I may get one of each.

interesting, I don't forget very well, but are you saying Ruger is no longer owned by the Ruger family? But still US owned? Would be nice to know.... I had to avoid SW for a time period there too...

Maybe a red label can come back on the list.

The mini and the AR are, well like all the others said, two different worlds of guns. But I wouldn't want to stand in front of either. I have both and like them for their intended purpose.

I don't know of anything the mini can do that the AR15 can't do better. Except if laws restrict one but not the other.

I believe they are still owned by Ruger's son, but Bill is dead, and their longtime legal council is a VP now, so it's a different co.

At least they are not owned by a holding company like Remington, Bushmaster, etc. I truly believe Cerberus has bought up a lot of these gun cos. to either turn a profit (which is fine), or put them out of business. Too early to tell which.

You would love a Red Label, I have one and it's great.

Derek rumor has it some people at the top of Cerberus bought up the gun companies partly because they thought it would be fun to own their own set of gat factories.

I wouldn't worry about Cerberus putting them out of business on purpose.

Thanks for the tip...I was working for a Dodge dealer when they came on the scene and bought Chrysler back from Daimler. Then they started buying gun companies. I don't know much about them but as long as they are interested in gun manufacturing they can't be all bad.

I was just kind of wondering if they were some kind of Soros-type organization.

Think about that for an anti-gun campaign -- if someone had enough money to buy out a lot of these firearms manufacturers, many of whom are struggling, they could basically shut them down and cripple the US firearms market.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerberus_Capital_Management

It's hard to find information on Cerberus, but I once saw a list of their board. Drawn mostly from Reagan and Bush administration appointees or employees, to include Dan Quayle.

Interesting stuff, thanks! That actually makes me feel better about them being behind the buyouts.

Oh, as a side note, I put a small down payment on a Colt 6920 LE Carbine tonight, on layaway until I can pick it up around election day.

No Mini for me, I suppose.

Excellent choice in an AR!

The Mini-14 is a nice handling, inaccurate and expensive plinker. The AR is a very accurate combat proven platform.

Maybe the newer Mini-14's are shooting better now but they'd have to go a long way to match an AR. If they are now shooting better I might see a spot where they might be more "politically acceptable" than an black AR but I'd rather just piss the anti's off and carry a better rifle...........................DJ

I think you made a very wise choice Derek.

That's a damn nice rifle.


Travis

Thanks. I read all the stuff online, about how the Colt meets all the military specs, etc., so it didn't seem too bad to spend a couple of extra $$$ on it. I also had a Romanian SAR-1 AK lying around that never shot right which I was able to get $300 in trade for.

I've had Bushmasters, Rock Rivers, but never a Colt.

Hope it's as nice as I think it will be.

I wouldn't totally dismiss the Mini-14, if the price is right.
I bought one years ago for half the price of an AR-15, with 500 rounds of GI ammo.

It is small, fits in a vehicle, light, reliable, my wife and children could shoot it well. If you are not an iron sight shooter, the side mount holds a 4x or slim red dot optical sight.

I was just at the Colt factory a few weeks ago in West Hartford, CT.

Last year I spent two weeks at the Fabrique Nationale (FN) plant in SC, and another week at Reed Knights factory (Knights Armament)
in Fla.


I can recommend without reservation, any M4/M16 series rifle produced by these manufacturers. They all are building top notch firearms.

Your Colt should give you years of trouble free service.

There is one I really like on consignment down at the gun shop...It's one of the older ones with the wood front handguard, looks pretty sharp. It's $499 and I don't have that kind of money esp. after my layaway of the AR, so it'll have to wait. But they do come around cheap used so I may someday get one again.

Thanks, I think it was a good choice. Having owned the rest, I guess I'll own the best, LOL.

All part of my maturing process. Years ago my focus was on quantity, not quality -- five thumbhole AKs were better than one expensive pre-ban.

Now as I get older I'm looking at buying guns that I can hand down to my kids, etc., which are a good investment rather than just a dime a dozen.