Now I wish someone would make a conversion or something, that would allow us Mini fan's to use ar 15 mags. Cheap, plentiful........
After tooling around on some other forums I see alot of the ar guys complaining that mags are (one of) the biggest issues with their (alleged) reliability problems. Add that to the fact that in NY I have to pay a premium for any high cap preban, it almost makes mags a non-issue with me. The ar stuff if still cheaper than factory min mags and alot less than pre-ban stuff but if the reliabilty's not there what good does it do me.
Bear in mind, I picked this up on the internet. I don't have much experience with the ar platform as of yet. Have a build going now that should be ready sometime this month, depending on fundage.
Chris
I love mini's, just never was fond of the AR platform. I have 3 mini's and have not had one fail on me because of the gun or craftmanship. My brother has an AR and it only likes 69 gr bullets, my mini likes 50-65 gr.
__________________
" If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would send an entertainer..... our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent a Savior."
I keep hearing about Savage making a 5.56 carbine that looks much like the M-14. I sure hope it is true.
With Savages quality and good stock barrels it would be one heck of a weapon, especially if priced right.
If they do in fact come out with one, I'll be first in line. I've been told they are in the planning stage with a couple other new models ahead of the real R&D, time will tell if it's true of another rumor.
I like the simplicity and robust construction of the Mini; that's why I went with it. Nothing wrong with the AR...just not for me. I also like the fact that I have a firearm that is all stainless steel; another plus for me. It also doesn't scream tactical/military like the AR does.
I would love to try this out, but im skeered too But i would think both would fire just fine, Now if i left them in the mud for a day....?
I know there is some controversy over this show some times but I think this is a valid test. I know it's an ak vs an ar but that doesn't change the fact the ar jams up from the mud.
I was in the mini 14 camp for a while put I defected to the ak side. That said the mini 14 is a serviceable rifle and I have kept the rifle. The 223. is just a very common round where I live and I would trust the mini-14 to shoot the .223 more reliably then the AR(yes I did clean the rifle, personal experience). The ruger mags which seem to be they only ones that work good in all mini's is $30. It is very hard to get rplacement parts for the rifle. I voted yes on the poll.
e
I feel that the ak-47 works better for me because I shoot it better(maybe I'm a reincarnated commie). The 7.62x39 is a good round. It's a cheap round that can go though barriers and still be lethal on the other side. I like the 30. cal bullet it just works for me. This bullet does not get blown around in the western kansas wind like the .223. The magazine cost under $10. Parts you can get off then internet no problem.
I still think the mini would would work just fine but the ak is my first choice.
I knew this was going to turn into a p!ssing match
if the S hit the F, I'd want an AR and a 9mm glock and a blonde with a fake rack and a ford 4x4 with a 7.3 liter diesel and live in Texas.
why? because each thing is superior to all others in their classes.
if you dont believe me, I'm sure I can find proof somewhere on the interwebs....
oooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
that's what I want and have developed my own reasons after researching and testing my options.
Replacement firing pins and even entire bolt assemblies aren't drop-in parts for AKs either ... order them off the internet and they may or may not fit.
I wouldn't use either for a main battle rifle as the round just isn't up to it. It's a varmint round. As a survival tool, I'd take either, but if I'm using an AR, I'd upgrade to steel mags or PMAGs, not the cheap aluminum disposable ones. Part of why the Mini mags cost more is they're made of steel. I had three aluminum milsurp AR mags, and I'm not even using them anymore. I swapped them out for PMAGs. My 6.8 SPC mags are all steel. They cost more, but they're worth it.
Get both and don't worry about it. No one tool will do everything. My Mini is a light and handy carbine that is accurate enough for what it was intended for and goes bang every time. My stock AR is a more accurate than some of my hunting rifles and for it's intended purpose, it goes bang every time. If I'm on the run, the Mini is coming with me. If I'm hunting or taking long shots, the AR is my gun of choice.
The .223 is a marginal deer round and definite none starter with anything bigger. Get the better round. It may cost more, but it's worth it unless you're doing mag-dumps twice a week.
The .223 is a marginal deer round and definite none starter with anything bigger. Get the better round. It may cost more, but it's worth it unless you're doing mag-dumps twice a week.
Jim
can you get high capacity 6.8 mags for the mini14?
have spent a lot of time on M16s, less with the mini, very little on other semi-auto platforms. I'm like the mini's.
That said, I would go with a two rifle setup, a good semi if things get bad, and a .30 cal bolt for standoff/hunting, both chambered in common military calibers. My thinking is that the less common rounds will quickly disappear, but .357, 9mm, 7.62x39 & x54, 5.56x45, etc. will be around for awhile.
We have a mini in 5.56, a 10/22, a M-N 30-59, and a post '64 Winchester M98 .30/30 (ok, not a military round, but a good, very common round).
That said, I would go with a two rifle setup, a good semi if things get bad, and a .30 cal bolt for standoff/hunting, both chambered in common military calibers. My thinking is that the less common rounds will quickly disappear, but .357, 9mm, 7.62x39 & x54, 5.56x45, etc. will be around for awhile.
How soon we forget the lessons of last year . Remember when the current administration was voted in and there was a big rush on ammo and reloading components? Remember trying to find anything from the common calibers last year? .357, 9mm, 7.62x39 & x54, 5.56x45, etc. were like hen's teeth. If you could find them, the prices were seriously jacked up. While a lot of the above list was not available, I could find 7mm-08, 6.8 SPC, 10mm, and 40 S&W because much fewer people had them so they were what was left on the shelf.
Just curious if anyone has any actual data, but I was wondering which calibers are actually the most available? I don't mean you can buy a spam can of 440 rounds off the Internet for like $15 so you can plink all day long, I'm talking about, you can walk into just about any sporting goods store, gunstore, Walmart, small town general store, backwoods bait, tackle, and ammo shop and pick up a box of shells?
I'm guessing, in the USA, that 30-06 and 30-30 would be the most available rifle calibers, while 9mm and .45 would be the lost available handgun calibers. (well, .22LR as well, but that's sort of a given) .38spl might be available, but personally I tend to see less of it since revolvers are out of vogue.
I have an aversion to Promag, due to bad mag experiences in the past.
and where's ruger on this? they wont even support their own product.
which highlights an issue with the mini in 6.8 and really, all mini's little to no product support
everyone soiled themselves recently when the apostle ruger decided to grant us new factory high capacity mags. 20s and 30s in abundance and decent prices to boot. and all praise ruger when they actually addressed their horrible (pencil) barrel design in the new series of rifles after years of people "making due". now we're seeing quality control issues in the integral scope mounts. its always something.
imagine ruger's market share with the mini14 platform if they would have put out the tapered barreled, flash hider wearin, reliable high capacitied magged, great QC'ed gun in the 80's.
oh wait, his highness bill ruger didnt want you to have those things....
and now we've got companies like SAGE and Troy thinking outside the box for the mini owner (thankfully - options). not to mention really forward thinkers like magpul, FN and etc really twisting the outer limits of the AR platform, while we're kinda stuck with the same old, same old, and trying to play catchup to the rest of the market.
while traditionalists are happy with what we've got, market share and profits are what keeps a company in business. or keeps certain lines open and running within a larger, multi-lined company (like ruger). like it or not, the mini14 is a bottom dweller in the mag-fed 223/556 caliber community. much of that has to do with "perception" built on truths from the mini years ago (inaccurate, stringing barrels, no hi cap mags, etc). so while a lot of shooters may like wood on their mini, some people liked wood on their vehicle too, and we see how they played out....
/rant off
for those of you that might call me a mini hater, please understand I'm very heavily invested in the mini14 platform. probably moreso than the AR platform. just callin it the way I see it.
I have an aversion to Promag, due to bad mag experiences in the past.
and where's ruger on this? they wont even support their own product.
which highlights an issue with the mini in 6.8 and really, all mini's little to no product support
everyone soiled themselves recently when the apostle ruger decided to grant us new factory high capacity mags. 20s and 30s in abundance and decent prices to boot. and all praise ruger when they actually addressed their horrible (pencil) barrel design in the new series of rifles after years of people "making due". now we're seeing quality control issues in the integral scope mounts. its always something.
imagine ruger's market share with the mini14 platform if they would have put out the tapered barreled, flash hider wearin, reliable high capacitied magged, great QC'ed gun in the 80's.
oh wait, his highness bill ruger didnt want you to have those things....
and now we've got companies like SAGE and Troy thinking outside the box for the mini owner (thankfully - options). not to mention really forward thinkers like magpul, FN and etc really twisting the outer limits of the AR platform, while we're kinda stuck with the same old, same old, and trying to play catchup to the rest of the market.
while traditionalists are happy with what we've got, market share and profits are what keeps a company in business. or keeps certain lines open and running within a larger, multi-lined company (like ruger). like it or not, the mini14 is a bottom dweller in the mag-fed 223/556 caliber community. much of that has to do with "perception" built on truths from the mini years ago (inaccurate, stringing barrels, no hi cap mags, etc). so while a lot of shooters may like wood on their mini, some people liked wood on their vehicle too, and we see how they played out....
/rant off
for those of you that might call me a mini hater, please understand I'm very heavily invested in the mini14 platform. probably moreso than the AR platform. just callin it the way I see it.
I sure would not call you a mini hater. I have a couple and feel much the same as you. My new one is back at Ruger so they could make it shoot. It didn't coming out of the box, wonder how it was test fired ?
You can like a product, hope that a company would want to improve it (an they still blew it on the new one's, they are better, but just a few more changes such as a regular barrel without 15 different diameters it it would have made for a better rifle)
I think their QC is going way down also.
It's nice to see someone with the stones to express how they really feel and not worry about people on the site going crazy.
I gave my opinion and the real truth over at Rugerforum.net and got banned for speaking the truth. Even though I was polite and had pics and facts to back up what I wrote.
Rugers are great guns, but they are far from the only brand out there.
I keep hearing a rumor that Savage is going to make a 5.56 carbine similar to the M-14, I've actually heard a couple of things to beleive it in the future after a couple of projects they are working on now.
If true and Savage puts out that type of carbine, Ruger may just be a little sad they ignored the Mini crowd for so long. I know I'll be one of the first in line to buy one and will sell at least one of my mini's and just keep one.
I will add that once you have fixed the problems and worked on it to get better accuracy, it's still my choice for my MBW, at least for now. Come on Savage !!!
I know the way I go and how I build some of my weapons are definetely NOT for everyone. not everyone wants a mini14 sidefolder SBR, not everyone wants a SCAR, not everyone wants to shoot suppressed, not everyone wants a ciener kit or two, whatever.
but in our differences, sometimes we find answers to problems in unlikely sources.
I think the regulars here know I'm no mini hater but the op stated he wanted one main battle rifle for the long haul. I'm afraid the mini doesn't apply.
The lack a spare partsis a major problem. One I didn't think about when I bought mine. I've had zero problems with thousands of rounds down range but wish I had spare parts.
But i would think both would fire just fine, Now if i left them in the mud for a day....?
. Remember when the current administration was voted in and there was a big rush on ammo and reloading components? Remember trying to find anything from the common calibers last year? .357, 9mm, 7.62x39 & x54, 5.56x45, etc. were like hen's teeth. If you could find them, the prices were seriously jacked up. While a lot of the above list was not available, I could find 7mm-08, 6.8 SPC, 10mm, and 40 S&W because much fewer people had them so they were what was left on the shelf. 
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