Author Topic: How Does the Mini-14 Compare to Other Semi-Auto Carbines (Read 1997 times)

Bart Solo · « **on:** January 19, 2012, 06:44:23 AM »

Yesterday when we were all on strike, I read a thread on another gun related site about the Mini-14. Readers like me on that site whose experience with the Mini-14 goes back decades have little good to say about the Mini-14s accuracy. Others with more recent experience say their accuracy is comparable to other similar rifles in the home defense role. I don't have any recent experience with the Mini-14, but if memory serves the darn thing wouldn't hit the broad side of a barn consistently. Are the newer Ruger Mini-14s really comparable to other similar firearms in the home defense role?

KAYR1 · « **Reply #1 on:** January 19, 2012, 08:44:17 AM »

The Ruger Mini-14 is a fine rifle/carbine, but new or old, they are not known for top-notch accuracy. They are tough, reliable and fun to shoot. For home defense they should provide all that you need. I have several and they hae filled this role for many years. In terms of accuracy, my ARs all shoot rings around my minis. I will go out on a limb and say that others will agree with me if they have shot them side by side.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #2 on:** January 19, 2012, 08:52:05 AM »

I have to agree to a point. I would add in a fight a jam in a Mini 14 is alot easier to clear in many cases. If you really want good protection think M1-A , the SOCOM is very handy ! The SCOUT is a nice gun and the Full size gun has a cult following. The funny thing is most of the guys I know that say the M1-A is two expensive own several AR's or Rugers incase one breaks

cjclemens · « **Reply #3 on:** January 19, 2012, 05:30:34 PM »

The new Mini's are just like the old ones. That is, unless, you get one of the "accurized" models. Trouble is that they weigh twice as much as the standard Mini and cost as much as a good AR.

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The funny thing is most of the guys I know that say the M1-A is two expensive own several AR's or Rugers incase one breaks.

AR's are a little more complicated, so I could understand user error leading to a few malfunctions - but if you can get a Mini to quit, you gotta be doing something very wrong.

Bart Solo · « **Reply #4 on:** January 19, 2012, 06:05:07 PM »

I ask my question because my AR is set up as a varmint rifle with a heavy barrel and a scope, but a light 16 inch barreled upper with standard iron sights for home defense would probably cost about the same or less than a mini-14. Keep in mind my lower has an upgraded 2 stage trigger. It would move from upper to upper. Which would be the preferable purchase, a mini-14 or a new upper? As to uppers what do you all think of the Adams piston system?

mcwoodduck · « **Reply #5 on:** January 19, 2012, 06:24:00 PM »

Having shot all of the semi carbines and rifles.
The Mini is good but not great. As an open sight rifle it suffers from the huge front sight. The thick blade does not give you a great picture for target shooting.
With that said the Mini is a ranch rifle. Able to hit preditors and pests at 100 yards. The ranch rifle with the Scope mounts is a little better once you mount the scope or red dot.
It is not a Micro M1A, different system. Looks similar but not the same.
The M1A and the M1 Garand are capable of great accuracy. The sights are easy to adjust and are easy to see.
The SKS an AK 47 are about the same and very similar to the Mini 14 or 30 with open sights.
I used to shoot a military shoot once a month and shot my Garand, the AK, M1 Carbine, and a mini before getting an AR.
On average my scores were.
M1 Carbine 340
SKS 325 (too short)
AK 47 Long barrel 350+
M1 Garand 375+
AR 15 400+
And the few times I had the Mini I was around 360.
I have always wanted an M1A since my first time shooting one in College in 88 and some how have spent twice as much on the Garand, AK, M1 Carbine, and the AK. Shooting the M1A I piled round on top of round at 100 yards from the prone. Amazing my self and my friends.
But in my defence I bought my M1 for 350 and a lot of ammo rather than spending the 900 for an M1A.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #6 on:** January 20, 2012, 02:07:48 AM »

Sell all the others and get that M1-A you won't look back

cjclemens · « **Reply #7 on:** January 20, 2012, 05:06:52 AM »

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Which would be the preferable purchase, a mini-14 or a new upper? As to uppers what do you all think of the Adams piston system?

For in-home self-defense, either one would work just as well. I might even go with the mini for it's no-BS simplicity and ruggedness. If you expect you might want to try hitting things at 100 yards or more, the AR is your best bet. If you do go with an AR - you might look into a 16 inch carbine with a mid-length or rifle length gas system and handguard, like Del-Ton's "Dissipator" carbine or something similar. The extra area to grip the rifle makes them easier to handle and mount accessories (such as a light or laser) later on if you so desire.

I've heard good things about the gas-piston uppers. I don't have any first-hand experience with them, so I couldn't tell you much about them. However, I don't think you'll see any benefit from it unless you do some seriously high-volume shooting.

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Sell all the others and get that M1-A you won't look back

Seriously, Springfield should hire you as a sales rep.

mcwoodduck · « **Reply #8 on:** January 20, 2012, 05:18:55 AM »

Quote from: SHOOTALL on January 20, 2012, 02:07:48 AM

Sell all the others and get that M1-A you won't look back

I live in CA and the AR and Ak are registered Assault rifles and I can not sell them here. I could make some $ on the Carbine.
Besides everytime I sell something or trade in something for another I get the "should never have gotten rid of that"
I have had my Eye on a M1A National Match for some time and I think June this year.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #9 on:** January 20, 2012, 05:30:33 AM »

do ya think they would furnish demo guns ?

I tried hunting with a Mini 30 and an AR in 6.SPC. They work but both lack the knock power of the 308. In really cold weather the 308 has the power to work the action and its steel on steel parts slide with out galling. I like the Rugers and AR's but the M1-A is a better gun and the Socom 16 is as handi as either of the other two.

For the OP buy a Ruger its a nice set up . Adding another upper will only make you buy another lower as to keep switching only wears the parts faster. One thing most don't consider is concealment a Ruger with a short mag. is easier to conc. than an AR with pistol grip and thick top to botton recivers. The M1A is also easier to conc. A concern at times.

MSP Ret · « **Reply #10 on:** January 20, 2012, 05:37:32 AM »

Quote from: Bart Solo on January 19, 2012, 06:05:07 PM

I ask my question because my AR is set up as a varmint rifle with a heavy barrel and a scope, but a light 16 inch barreled upper with standard iron sights for home defense would probably cost about the same or less than a mini-14. Keep in mind my lower has an upgraded 2 stage trigger. It would move from upper to upper. Which would be the preferable purchase, a mini-14 or a new upper? As to uppers what do you all think of the Adams piston system?

You could build yourself a nice lightweight upper for HD or just fun shooting for about $350 with a BCG or about $250 without a BCG. If you went to ar15.com and watched the WTS section for used uppers you in could in not too long a time pick up a decent used upper for about $350 - $400. Use your existing BCG and you would be GTG....<><....

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #11 on:** January 20, 2012, 05:45:22 AM »

Watch R-guns for deals also

mannyrock · « **Reply #12 on:** January 26, 2012, 08:59:36 AM »

I don't own a semi-auto rifle, but I do know that the following is a lists of things you WON'T hear from a Mini-14 owner:

1. "My gun is down again."

2. "Anybody got an extra O-ring?"

3. "Where's my bottle of CRP? I need to run it wet."

4. "I'm gonna sit down and spend an hour or more cleaning my rifle tonight, so it won't jam."

5. "Why did they design this bolt with all of these hidden nooks and crannies. I can never get all of the powder residue out."

6. "The patches just keep coming out black."

7. "These are suppose to be G.I. spec mags, but they just keep jamming my rifle."

Mannyrock

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #13 on:** January 26, 2012, 09:09:11 AM »

What you will hear is nice pattern !

ratdog · « **Reply #14 on:** January 29, 2012, 10:29:52 PM »

if like real accuracy get an ar the mini 14 is not a target gun.

timothy · « **Reply #15 on:** January 30, 2012, 01:07:53 AM »

I have an old mini14 and the best ive done is 5 shots, 2 1/2'' at 50 yards with handloads which is terrible. I heard the new ones are better, does anyone know why?

Lloyd Smale · « **Reply #16 on:** January 31, 2012, 01:35:08 AM »

what ive seen from the newer ones is differnt then some. Ive still yet to find a good shooter. I had a buddy that even bought one of those target models with the thumbhole stock and the adjustable compensator and the best it would do with the best handload he found was about 1.5 inch at a 100 yards and about any out of the box ar will do that. Ive got them that will do that with bulk ball ammo. Not that there not a good gun. Ill argue that there more reliable then an ar. Ive owned many of both and just havent seen it. But ill say there both equally reliable. Personaly right now i dont own a single mine and have 9 differnt ars. Ive owned many minis through the years. I just like the retro look of them. Ive allways been an m1a/m14 fan since my days in the service. If ruger would ever put there engineers to work figuring out what the design defect is in them and making one that would shoot along side an ar or at least close id be first in line for one. Until then though i wont spend any more of my money on them dreaming of finding that one good apple. I can buy an ar for the same money and about know it will be reliable and accurate, good high capasity mags are all over the place and cheap and theres a whole idustry dedicated to producing parts and accessories for them. If one breaks on you you can go over to the neighbors and rob parts off of his till you replace them. try buying parts for your ruger. they will insist you send it in for about any real repair. Looking at how many ars have sold in the last 5 years another thing to look at and i know eyes will roll up in heads over this, is a shtf senerio. You will be alot more likely to find parts to fix your ar or magazines to feed it then you ever will with a mini and believe one thing. Ive put 10s of thousands of rounds through both designs and eventually both will need parts. I keep extra bolt/carrier groups and lower parts kits for .223s 762x39s and 308s. try finding of buying an extra bolt for your mini. even if you did i doubt it would fit without some gunsmithing.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #17 on:** January 31, 2012, 01:45:41 AM »

I tried several or 5 in both 7.62X39 and 223 then got a M1-A Socom and have never looked back.

cjclemens · « **Reply #18 on:** January 31, 2012, 05:53:00 PM »

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I have an old mini14 and the best ive done is 5 shots, 2 1/2'' at 50 yards with handloads which is terrible. I heard the new ones are better, does anyone know why?

That sounds about average for a mini 14. That's about what mine does as well. It seems to be indifferent as to what ammo I feed it as well. There are several reasons for this. The Mini 14 is built to be rugged, durable, and inexpensive. First and foremost is the gas system - it features a heavy self cleaning piston system, which adds a fair amount of weight in moving parts. Also, the gas system is ported to allow the use of a generous amount of gas. This keeps the rifle operating even when its cold or dirty, but it jarrs the rifle pretty good when it slaps the bolt back and forth. The barrel profile is fairly light to aid in heat disspation also good for heavy use, and bad for accuracy. Finally the trigger is fairly heavy and requires a concerted effort to pull without moving you off target. That being said, (regardless of varying opinion) mini-14's are extremely reliable.

In order to fix the accuracy issue, ruger made some changes to the new model. The barrel is a heavier profile, and the rifle is made with tighter tolerances overall. I think they claim it will shoot 2 MOA now. The new target model can supposedly shoot under 1 MOA. To do this, they went all out - bull barrel, tuneable gas system, heavy muzzle brake, etc. Unfortunately the darn thing weighs half a metric ton.

Anyway it all boils down to what you want. If accuracy, you may want to consider another option like an AR, or as SHOOTALL loves to suggest, an M1A (even though theyre part korean and part brazillian). Any of these pattern rifles are good rifles if you know their strengths and weaknesses, and I certainly wouldnt worry about part replacement - unless you're a high volume shooter and burn 10k+ rounds every year.

KAYR1 · « **Reply #19 on:** February 02, 2012, 01:36:27 PM »

I like and own both platforms. If Ruger could make a mini that was as accurate as even an off-the shelf AR of any make I'd buy aother. Until they do, I'll stick with my ARs. It's been a long time since AR reliability was an issue too..

mechanic · « **Reply #20 on:** February 02, 2012, 02:35:33 PM »

I once took a mini, and shot a crow off the top of a tree at over 300 yds. on the first shot. Unfortunately for the crow, I was not shooting AT him, he just got in the way. I was shooting a racoon that was just over a 100 yds. away. My Dad always gave me grief over that one.

The truth is, the mini is as good as it gets for what it was designed to do. Cycle ammo without hiccups. It is not and never has been a target gun. It will give you enough accuracy for self defense out to any reasonable distance. It will not shoot 1/2 " groups.

The SKS I just gave my grandson was the same way. Dependable and seemingly unstoppable, but not all that accurate.

Ben

Dixie Dude · « **Reply #21 on:** February 02, 2012, 02:44:38 PM »

I've seen the new Mini's and they do have a thicker barrel on the standard model. It is supposed to improve accuracy. I read several years ago where a guy cut off about 1-1/2" off the barrel, tightened the screws were the gas port is. He went from abou 2-1/2" to about 1.25". He said the barrel was too thin and long and made for bad accuracy. I had one but sold it. Reliable it is. Mine was stainless so it didn't require a whole lot of cleaning.