I'm thinking about a Mini 14

[FHBrumb]

Along with a few others...

But I'm leaning heavily towards a black rifle. I had a Mini 14 a long time ago, and simply cannot remember any bad about it. Yes, the AR was lighter, and the AK hit harder, but the Mini shot well, and cycled 100%...

Anything different about the new ones? Why don't I see many posts about the Mini?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[P95Carry]

I still like my Mini but - for the cal it just doesn't group tight - by all accounts they never (rarely) do.

That said - it's still a very nice handling and light gun to tote and for shorter ranges still well capable of doing business! I never would expect 300- 400 yard accuracy but for 100 to 200 far from useless!! Just love the Garand action.

Mine is for sale - gotta clear the decks a bit.

[rocky]

Hi cap mags are more expensive and a bit rare. Also the accuracy isn't as good as a AR rifle. They are not a bad gun at all though. My buddy owned a few and they worked 100% .

[retsupt99]

Had one...sold it...my Ruger Single-Six has tighter groups...

[BlackJack]

Unfortunately two issues caused it to get a bad name. First is the lack of accuracy and second is the lack of reliable hi-capacity magazines.

Ruger has done a lot for the accuracy with the retooling they did a couple years ago and the newer ones are supposed to be pretty good, although still not as accurate as most AR’s.

As for the hi-capacity magazines… Ruger is now selling them to the civilian market, but they are still rather pricy. Third party magazines are also available and, from what I understand, some are good and some are not.

Personally I like the Mini. I have an older one that I like a lot. It handles well and has proven to be very reliable and it just “feels” good in my hands. I finally sent it off to be re-barreled and accurized, when it returns it will have a sub-MOA guarantee. Of course the work I am having done to it is costing me more that the rifle did when I bought it (but still less than an AR would cost me).

I think it is just a matter of putting it in perspective and accepting it for what it is, a good, reliable rifle that handles well with the accuracy to allow it to be used out to about 200 yards. If you are looking for an accurate rifle for 500 yards then you will be disappointed.

[sgtD]

Except for the lack of accuracy, I really like mine. It's an old 185 series and has never given me any trouble as far as funtioning. It'll easily shoot minute of Zombie out to 200 yds, so that's good enough I reckon, but it's definately far from a tackdriver. Newer ones are better. The thin barrels on the old ones negatively affected accuracy and they heated up real fast under rapid fire. Newer ones have heavier barrels.

Factory mags are expensive, and aftermarket mags can be unrealiable. I have several aftermarket 30 rounders and I had to do a little fitting work to some of them, but they work reliably now after a little feed lip bending, tweaking, filing or whatever. Not hard ot do if you're mechanically inclined. Simple stuff really.

[Sarge45]

I am a fan of the newer Mini-14 with the tapered barrels. Ruger has fixed much of the accuracy issue that plagued the little rifle. It still isn't bolt action accurate but I have seen a dramatic improvement.

Ruger now sells the 20 round as well as the Ruger 30 round mags. Pricey yes, but as people buy these the prices will begin to come down. I purchased (10) extra 20 rounders at $29.95 each when they were on sale. I can live with that price.

Pick you up a tapered barrel model and enjoy. You won't be sorry.

[FHBrumb]

The one I was looking at is a brand new Tactical version. It has the short barrel and a small flash hider. I'm not sure if it has a heavy barrel or not. I've seen mags aroind for $30.

I might just go snag it this morning.

It looks like this one...

[Reborn]

Good looking tactical rifle........if its for close encounters I say go for it. I would love to have one in my armament.

[Rexster]

Yes, that is one of the newer ones, with the heavy barrel, in post #8.

I like the ergonomics of the Mini-14, over the AR15, by far, and yes, I have both. The Mini does not have its sights mounted so far above the bore, which is an ASSET at extreme close range. Also, for me, a lefty with long guns, the Mini-14's Garand-style safety is truly wonderful.

As for accuracy, when I had a 16"-barreled AR15, I tended to shoot 8" groups at 100 yards, because that is as well as I could see, anyway, with iron sights, the front sight being too close to my eye for me to focus on it. The rifle was capable of 1.5" groups, but my eyes were not. A Mini's front sight is out on the END of the barrel, where the Almighty intended, and far enough away for me to focus on it. (I can focus on the front sight of a 20" AR15, but then, I have a quite l-o-n-g weapon.)

The AR15 has its place, in my arsenal, and that is for longer-range stuff. Which is why I built up a 20" HBAR after selling my 16" AR15.

Of course, what I find ergonomic, and what/how my eyes see things, may vary from all of y'all; this is just my $0.02.

[Rexster]

I was just re-reading some of John Farnam's book, and saw his recommendation of the Mini-14 as a suitable, reliable rifle. His only criticism was that the handguard tended to get really hot during extended strings of fire in training classes. (John Farnam is well-konown for not pulling any punches when he critiques a weapon.)

I can live with heat during long strings of fire, because that is something that will only arise during a training class, or warfare. I am too old to fight wars, and I can take both of my Minis, plus my AR15, to a training class; if one gets hot, I will use the other for a while. On the street, if I have a rifle with me, I don't carry hundreds of rounds of ammo.

[FHBrumb]

Did it!

Ruger mini 14 in the configuration shown, including rings and one 20 round mag.
100 rounds of FMJ
Two 30 round mags

Just a click less than $900 all said and done.

[roy d mercer]

Ditto.

I bought the same rifle and it included scope rings. Added 500 rounds of fmj and two 20 round mags for under a $1000. Oh yeah, he threw in a couple of t-shirts too.

Now it's time for a scope and sling. Any suggestions?

[FHBrumb]

I got a new hat with mine...

I put a generic sling on mine, nothing special. Just something to hold it on my shoulder and pull it tight if I shoot standing.

For the scope, I am adding a 1 inch no magnification dot. I'm not looking to shoot all that far.

[thebigdl86]

I want a mini bad! Just cause i like to go outside the norm. Everyone has an AR, i like to be different. Thats why i bought my sks.