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Originally Posted by socuban
So far it sounds like the mini 14 is a mechanically reliable gun (from the lack of negative operational performance issues), but lacks accuracy and the mags are expensive.
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Don't be as quick to jump to that conclusion; like you said, salt water is a horrid environment for equipment, especially mechanical equipment. Many big name shooters and former shooters (Rogers, Vickers, those folks) have flat said they rarely, or haven't at all, seen a Mini 14 make it through a weekend carbine course. Take what you will from that, but I'd trust an AR over a Mini any day (ARs aren't near as fragile as folks make them out to be).
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If you were building an AR rifle from scratch, knowing that the unit would spend time in a harsh environment in terms of humidity, salinity and sand, what would you build price equivalent to a stainless steel mini 14?
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Garn is exactly right. Cavalry Arms is a fine company to work with and their polymer is a great base to start from to make a good "maritime" rifle (White Oaks is an excellent barrel maker). Couple Garn's suggestions with Pmags and you're good to go.
ETA: Actually, building of Garn's template above, you'd get a pretty nice rifle for just about $800, plus shipping: mid-length gas system, basic mid-length handguards, 16" stainless steel barrel, A1 fixed stock, A2 sights with standard front sight post, and a standard A2 flash hider. Add four PMags (arbitrary number) for another $60, and you still end up with a better rifle with three more mags, all mags having higher capacity, than a NIB stainless Mini 14.
socuban, if you want I'll PM you the list of that build (or just email you the Excel spreadsheet I drafted it in).
-B