|
Cleaning and breaking down an ar-15 is just as easy as an mini 14 if you are at home or somewhere where you don’t have to rush. If you are in a hostile environment taking down an ar-15 is not something to look forward to for these two reasons.
1) The hand guard is tight and has to be stood up vertically and requires considerable force to remove.
2) There are many more very small moving parts in an ar-15.
The mini 14 is very simple to breakdown and the smallest part you have to deal with is the gas bushing, which is roughly the size of a penny.
When I was in the Army we had two qualify with M16A2. We were given 40 rounds and had to shoot 40 pop up silhouette targets 2 at a time. I qualified as a sharpshooter instead of a expert because I had a jam during my qualification. As a result of the malfunction I had to eject 1 round that I could never get back and missed two targets due to the time it took to perform S.P.O.R.T.S. on the rifle.
Everyone knows the factory Ar-15 shoots tighter groups than the factory Mini 14 because of the thin crap barrel Ruger uses. If you spend about $450.00 on a Mini 14 and spend another $350.00 on a really good bull barrel you have spent 800.00. If you spend another $100.00 on a nice pistol grip synthetic stock you have spent $900.00. If you spend another $100.00 on a recoil buffer and other minor accessories you have spent $1000.00 which is the average going price for a new Ar-15 M4. So you see if you modify the Mini-14 to equal the price of the Ar-15 you have a weapon that shoot as good as if not better than Ar-15. Not to mention it will be more reliable do to its loose action and self cleaning bolt. Imagine if Ruger sold there rifles in the configuration that I just mentioned from the start. Don't you think it would have received more attention in the Law Enforcement and Military circles? I kind of think people like Ar-15 because they are the rifles everyone sees when they watch movies and play video games, ect... If the Mini 14 had been manufactured in the way I mentioned before I think that the ar-15 would have had a run for there money when being chosen by different governments as a service rifle. Especial since it took so much convincing on the part of the US Government to change from the proven Garand style rifles to the ar-15 type rifles.
Just a side note the AR-15 is the only service weapon in the world that comes standard with a forward assist. What’s that saying?
I think the Ar-15 is a great weapon and would serve law enforcement agency’s better than the mini 14 since they aren’t getting their rifles as dirty. But when it comes to the battle field I don’t want to be stuck with a rifle that has such a tight chamber a small amount of dirt will render it useless. Not to mention the gas that recycled into firing chamber that gets it dirty fast.
The Ak47 has a similar style action as the Mini 14 and variations of that weapon have been around since 1947, and is still the most produced service rifle in the world. Sometimes newer doesn’t mean better. Sometimes the cooler looking or more menacing looking weapon doesn’t mean more deadly.
Basically I prefer a Modified Mini-14 for the same price as a factory Ar-15 because it will shoot the same if not better. Once you have eliminated accuracy problems from the equation it comes down to reliability, which almost everyone agrees the Mini -14 is superior in that aspect for the reasons I have stated above. There is no modification for the AR-15 that I know of that will increase the reliablity of the action.
Also who ever as trouble finding Mini-14 accessories isn’t looking very hard. The only accessory I can’t find for the Mini 14 that the Ar-15 has is a forward vertical grip. And yes you can get a telescoping stock for the Mini 14 you can find a link to it in this forum, all you need is the adapter.
Just because the military uses the ar-15 doesn’t mean there are more accessories. If you have been in the military you know the only accessories you get with your M16 is a bayonet, mags, and ammo.
Last edited by DeadReckoning; 03-14-2006 at 11:28.
|