Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles Opinions wanted: AR vs. Ruger Mini-14

Best thing I did was trade my Mini for an AR..accuracy wise..AR hands down.Like the way the Mini handled...but really inaccurate.

Just my .02

They really are doing this. They leave them behind after a raid with a picture of the A-Team taped to the stock. . . .

No, really . . .

Never know bout them special forces, they're special!

I've had 3 Mini's, and I still have one. It's a factory folder, and I bought it with 5 factory 20 rd mags in 1983. It will shoot 4" groups at 100 yards, and 10" at 200 with factory sights and 55 gr M193 ball ammo. It is handy in a helicopter, or in a confined space, with the stock folded.

The other two were a Ranch 30 and a Ranch 14. Neither were any more accurate, and when I bought them, only had factory 5 rd magazines available, except for aftermarket, which other than PMI were complete junk. The Mini 30 was much less accurate and less reliable due to magazines, than my $79 Norinco SKS-which I still have. I sold both Mini's with no regrets.

If I wanted a carbine/rifle in either 5.56 or 7.62x39, I would go with the AR in 5.56, and a good AK or SKS in 7.62x39.

My go to rifle is still my LRB M14 or SA M1A in .308. Either are better than any AR, Mini 14/30, AK or SKS. If I were to have only one, it would be the M1A platform, and I wouldn't waste my money and time with the others. JMO.

Thanks for the honest opinions there.

It still seems the main critique of the Mini platform is its accuracy, which sounds like a crap shoot. Too bad they couldn't do an accuracy guarantee.

I guess I've been spoiled by good bolt action acccuracy, as I couldn't tollerate a rifle at it's best is shooting 2-3 moa. I can tollerate that in a revolver, but not a rifle.

With the AR's, most of them out of the box and going to be capable of 1 moa. If you get one set up with a match grade barrel, then you'll have a platform that will give a good bolt gun a run for the money accuracy wise. If you want to use the capabilities of the 223, i.e. a very capable varmint round out to 300 yards, then the AR platform has the accuracy to use the potentional of the round. The mini-14 does not have the acccuracy, and you'd be hard pressed to find anyone that can build one to that level of accuracy.

I can learn the ergos of a weapon that is capable of accuate shooting and shoot it accurately. I don't see what the benefits of something that feels like a rifle is, when it doesn't shoot like one.

First of all, their are two match grade Mimi's out there for those that want or need them courtesy of Ruger.
Second, the Mini can be tweaked from the factory standard of 4 MOA down to about 2 MOA w/o alot work or money.
Third, the Mini has been for many years a runaway best seller. As practical ranch and truck rifle for odd shooting chores, they work quite well. You don't have to have some sort of MOA accuracy to hit a coyote at 50-75 yds.
They are designed to go 500 rds. w/o cleaning. The only other rifle with that level performance are the various AK's. I have yet to see one that was any more accurate. E

Eremicus said "They are designed to go 500 rds. w/o cleaning. The only other rifle with that level performance are the various AK's."

I've had a few AR's well over that mark without incident. More times than once!

I just stated on another thread that I'd choose the AK47 over the AR, and that's true; however, the AR is far and away better than the Mini 14. As police chief, one of the first things I did when arriving at a new department was to see what rifles the troops were carrying. If they had Mini 14s, I immediately traded them for ARs and got to get rid of any Mini 14s and replaced them with ARs. Of course the troops would receive the necessary training; however, most of my officers were prior service and were familiar with the weapon. Lou

I looked at a new mini today it had a folding stock similar to an AR. Cost was $749, a long ways from where they used to be and not too far from a decent AR. I know what I'd do.

If you look around the new Mini's with the heavier barrel (not the target Mini) are going for around $625 and it will come with a 20 round magazine. The stainless are $650. I understand they are better shooters than the old skinny barrel Mini's but are not as good as the AR's. Magazines are starting to get plentiful. Ruger is selling factory 20 and 30 round mags and Pro Mag has some good 20 round mags for about 30% less than Ruger factory mags. kwg

Why would anybody buy a Mini for $650 when they could get a generic AR for $100 more?

Both are fun but if you want the toughest out there get an AK!

I have 6 Garands, 1 M-1 carbine and 3 Mini's. I guess I like the action. I also have 2 unfinished AR lower receivers. Future projects. kwg