Perfect Union banner

Advantages/Disadvantages of the SKS & Mini-14

36K views 56 replies 30 participants last post by  alaj70 
#1 · (Edited)
I thought I'd like to add my thoughts into the talk. I will soon, God-willing, buy myself an SKS because no other rifle offers more.

God bless!


SKS and Mini-14

H.& H. = Hand to Hand

SKS Pos
1. Battle Rifle
a. Durable
b. Ideal; made for H.& H. Combat
c. Ability to accept Bayonette
d. Easy Disassembly
e. Reliable
f. Proven in the Battlefield
g. Simple to use and Operate.

2. Bayonette fixed to Barrel
a. Always there & ready to unfold when needed

3. Stripper clip (10rd clip fed into Internal Mag)
a. Avoidance mag. spring wearout
b. Daily Loading and unloading avoided
c. Stripper Clip MUCH more Cheaper than Magazines
d. Loading very easy.

4. Length of Rifle. ideal for H to H Combat

5. Affordable to Buy

6. Easy to clean

7. Heavier Bullet (7.62x39mm) =
a. Sure Man-stopping ability
b. Assured Painful Injury/Lethality
c. Made for harsh envoirnment

8. Sporter and other Stocks available (ex. Stock featuring Picatinny Rails)

9. Intimidating.

SKS Neg
1. Maybe less accurate (but more accurate than AK due to length of Barrel)

2. Some may not feature Bayonette

3. Slower to load clip (placing, pushing 10rnds in, pulling clip out)

4. Heavier

5. Too Long for easy room clearing and exits w/out being spotted first.

6. Bullet caliber unsafe for neighbors (easy penetration through walls).

7. Crude Sights hinders accuracy

8. Heavier Bullet = Heavy Recoil, Muzzle Jump, aimed rapid firing difficult

9. Expensive Quality Rounds (20rds for approx. $20)

SKS Rebutt
1. Inaccuracy can be helped by:
a. Synthetic Stock
b. Muzzle compensater may help accuracy
c. Firefights often occur at 30-200m

2. Order Bayonette

3. More Ammunition ready for use than 4 mags that's needed to reload after emnty

4. Possible light Synthetic Stock available

5. NC (No Contest)

6. NC

7. Peep sight available

8. Easy Rapid fire can be possible by
a. Muzzle Compensator
b. Synthetic Stock

9. W/ Iraq Economy Improving, quality Rounds cheaper.

Mini-14 Pos.
1. Accurate

2. Shorter, smaller
a. Suitable CQB
b. Easier to carry
c. Lighter

3. Cheaper Round (5.56mm)

4. Faster Reloading (Magazine fed)

5. Lighter bullet =
a. less recoil
b. reduced, muzzle jump,
c. easy rapid firing
d. Quicker Target sighting
e. very accurate Bullet
f. Safer for Neighbors (reduced Penetration through walls)
g. Wounding effect, extremely great (Hydro-shock effect).

6. Adjustable Windage

7. Based on the M-14 battle Rifle

Mini-14 Neg
1. Daily Loading/Unloading Bullets to/from Magazines

2. Smaller length ill-suited for H to H combat

3. No Bayonette

4. Stocks w/ Picatinny rails may not be available

5. Some Mini' does not have Scope rails for Picatinny installment

6. Magazines costly ($30-50 each opp. to $2-4 stripper clip)

7. 5.56mm not a perfect man-stopper.

8. May not be as reliable or easy to maintain as M-14 or SKS

9. Not Long enough for H. to H. Combat or may not be suitable.

10. Expensive

Mini-14 Rebutt
1. NC

2. Rare for H. to H. Combat

3. Same as #2

4. Rails available for scope mount or Red-dot e-sight

5. Newer Mini' does

6. NC

7. Wounding Effect sufficient, combat proven round

8. If Based on M-14, it may be just as reliable

9. Same as #3

10. Good investment if you value shorter, lighter rifle in 5.56mm

 
See less See more
#3 ·
You are doing an apple and orange comparison. You should be comparing the SKS to the Mini-30. At least the have equal calibers. Oh, and you are wrong about accuracy. The Minis are no better than the SKS. In fact the inaccuracy of the Minis is generally the biggest complaint about them. How do I know this, because I own a Mini-30 and have owned numerous SKS, everything from Russian Armory rebuilds to the Norinco Paratrooper which used AK mags.
 
#4 ·
Perhaps my experience differed from yours because I both shot using the Mini-14 and the SKS. IMHO I find that the Mini to be more accurate than the SKS but then again I have not shot Mini-30 as you do. Mind you, the 5.56mm is generally a more accurate round than a 7.62x39.

I do not claim anything of an expert, I should have said that from the beginning but these are my thoughts observations.

Respectfully
 
G
#7 ·
Neither rifle is great outside 300 yards when it comes to stopping power but there are tens of thousands of Viet Nam veterans on both sides that won't argue the stopping power of either.

Both are tough as toenails but I'd hesitate to break down a door with a Mini-14. The Mini-14 uses NATO ammunition so it would be available from US forces. You could lift 7.62X39 off expired UN Troops.

The open sights of the SKS leave me wanting more, the peep of the Mini is superior in that department. The SKS carries an internal cleaning kit and that's a plus.

The 7.62X39 zeroed at 250 yards rises to +7.5" at 150 yards and drops to -9.5" in the next 50. The 223 zeroed at 250 yards rises to +3.8" and drops to -4.8" so the .223 looks better there.

The SKS weighs 8.8 lbs, 200 rounds of 7.62X39 weighs 8.75 lbs. The Mini-14 weighs 6.6 lbs and 200 rounds in magazines weighs 8.75 lbs!!! Advantage Ruger!!

All told, both rifles have their pluses and adherents. Both have minuses and detractors. Both are eminently capable of performing their assigned functions. The bottom line is always dance with the one you brung and be "well regulated" with it because no zombie shot solidly with either will complain for long.

By the way; I own both a 1950 matching Tula and two model 186 Mini-14s. The SKS is stock and the Minis have both been modified to improve their accuracy. I paid $175.00 for the SKS 29 years ago and almost $800 for the Minis. The Minis are built for the use of my wife and our (female) best friend, both of whom find the SKS too heavy for extended carrying. My chosen battle weapon is a loaded M1A Springfield. If the SHTF, the SKS would stay in the safe and the rifles that shoot NATO ammo would go with us. I suppose I'd have to be counted in the Mini-14 camp for that reason alone.

FL
 
#8 ·
Why would anyone in their right mind try shooting anyone a 300 yards with either round. If I was gonna try it, the bigger bullet is gonna do more damage, if and it is a big if, you hit the target. The ballistics difference between the two rounds are just numbers. You wanna shoot 300 yards get a 308.

If you don't have your own ammo supply stashed then you deserve to die.

Like wise the weight of the two rifles is irrelevant as is the ammo issue, you will be defending your chosen fort, hideout, home, whatever. Not chasing BGs all over hill and dale.

If the price of your SHTF weapon determines what you get, the you didn't plan far enough ahead to get what you need.
 
#9 ·
The Mini-14 can be improved with a flash suppressor and good magazines. I scrapped a number of aftermarket magazines which were junk or crapped out. If Ruger would sell more hi cap magazines at a reasonable price then most of the reliability problems would go away. The only aftermarket magazines that work right for me are the polymer Pro Mag 30 rounders which feed flawlessly and drop when released.

I have a Yugo SKS which is reliable and has a good bore, an important factor with used milsurp rifles. I had a Russian SKS which had a bore in bad shape and it couldn't hit a target consistently at 50 yards which I got rid of. With the SKS you need stripper clips for fast reloads.

The SKS has a price advantage over the Mini-14 but as the supply dries up this is also changing. When I got my Mini-14 in 1978 I paid $179 for it. AR-15s were sellling for $400 at the time and those were the A1 configuration with the triangular hand guard before the A2 rifles came out.

Both the Mini-14 and SKS rifles in good condition will work well in areas under 200 yards for anything farther you need a .308 or more powerful caliber.
 
#10 ·
Get a Mini-30.
I have one and it's just as accurate as a Mini-14, plus the 7.62x39 has quite a bit more punch, just doesn't shoot as flat as the 5.56.
Load up on a bunch of Promag steel 10 rounders and you're set.

People talk about the 7.62x39 like it's horribly innaccurate, in reality inaccuracy is caused by cheap commie ammo and cheap commie guns which make up the bulk of the 7.62x39 world.

Ask anyone who handloads that round (or drops a lot of cash for the Cor-Bon stuff) and runs it through a quality rifle what they think of it's accuracy.
 
G
#11 ·
At 300 yards the 7.62X39 still has 624 ft/lbs of energy and the 223 still has 511 ft/lbs of energy. By comparison a .22 long rifle has about 140 ft/lbs of energy at 50 yards and I don't know many people that would ignore a .22 at 50 yards!!

While both the .223 or the 7.62 will indeed bounce off Superman at 300 yards, they will both leave a serious dent in your noggin and will punch a hole in your chest if you don't have on body armor. A wounded person on the battlefield requires 6 people in the rear to take care of him and until you can get him off the field he's gonna lay there screaming to his mother and demoralize everyone who happens to be hiding in the brush nearby hoping to keep from getting the next BB.

I don't want to shoot anybody at 300 yards. I want to shoot them at 500 and that is why I DO have a .308. If you can't hit a person at 500 yards (the Marine Quarter Mile) then you need to get back in the kitchen!! My girls can hold 2.5" groups at 100 yards with their Minis. That works out to 7.5" at 300 yards. Even accounting for the trajectory that's still a head shot anywhere from the muzzle out to 300!

The object of the thread was to compare the relative positives and negatives of the SKS vs the Mini-14. Neither are long range rifles but I'd rather have either if the alternative was nothing no matter what the range. The biggest factor in winning a gunfight is to have a gun!

FL
 
#14 ·
they claim it was a 24" target, but it really seem to be A LOT bigger than that. (either that or the distance is actually not that far, just up the hill).

Not impressed :)

the mini30 is all cool until the firing pin breaks (and it will if you shoot mil ammo).....
 
#15 ·
own both an norc SKS and a mini 30. Norc is a little more comfortable to shoot, but other than that, they both perform the same. Same accuracy (3-4 inches offhand at 100 yards), both wearing tapco stocks. The real difference is the price of the SKS and the trade offs you make for a lower price. My mini has a truly detachable magazine, my SKS does not. My mini came in stainless which I prefer my SKS does not. My mini has a much nicer trigger and no problems with slam fires or the hammer following down, doubling, etc., which can be quite common on the SKS. My mini cost me $700, my SKS cost me $100. Now that you can't seem to touch an SKS for under $400 here in CT and the SKS-D and others designed to use the AK mag are approaching AR-15 prices here in CT ($900-$1500), I don't see much advantage in buying further SKS rifles. For the money the advantages of the Mini seem to outweigh the meager savings in buying an SKS, if there are any savings. Now if the SKS ever drops below $200 again, I'd probably buy 10 of them. But right now they are just to expensive to put up with the trade offs, in my opinion.
 
#33 ·
Gotta agree with you Louie. The sks is not the bargain it once was. I have a couple of each (SKS & Mini) If i had to bug out I would grab the stainless ranch rifle. The 2 to 3 lb. weight advantage of the mini is significant, as is being stainless and commonality of the 5.56 nato ammo. Get a few spare op-rod springs, and a new bolt assy. from ruger and your all set. That and the fully detach mags and the flatter shooting ammo tips my choice to the mini.

That said, an sks is an ideal knockabout truck gun or close-in home defense and cheap high power plinking rifle.
 
#17 ·
As someone has already said, this is an apples-and-oranges comparison. I have a Romanian SKS and a 196-series Mini that I bought about six years ago. I know Minis aren't supposed to be very accurate, but at least out to 200 yards (the limit of my range), mine is dead on. Iron sights only.

That said, if the S really did HTF in a major way, neither gun would be my primary weapon. I'd pick either my AR-15 or my Springfield M1A, depending upon the circumstances. I'd give my wife the Mini, because of its light weight and easy handling.

If you don't have your own ammo supply stashed then you deserve to die.
This was uncalled for. The poster who talked about scavenging ammo from fallen foes in a really apocalyptic scenario neither said nor implied anything about not having stored ammo already.
 
#22 ·
I just want to point out that you can get mini 14 mags for 20-25 bucks a piece. Also, why would you unload every night? Do you mean removing the mag(still why) or unloading the mag? Keeping a spring compressed doesn't degrade it's servicability. Loading/unloading is what kills springs.

I'll take a mini over an sks any day. Mine gets 2moa with cheap surplus and has only a few mods, tritium front sight, choate handguard, no accuracy mods.

That being said I'd like to get an sks as a cheap beater that I can get spare parts for. And if you can get one that shoots under 4 moa there is nothing wrong with the weapon for defending your home.

Btw, the bayonet sweetens the pot :) but I'm just stupid grunt who likes destroying hay bails.
 
#25 ·
My 580 series mini-14 has an accustrut, trigger job, retorqued gas block, 1911 style recoil buffers, and a tapco stock. My best group with handloads was 1.1''. There is no more shot stringing when the barrel heats up. Very inexpensive mods and she's an moa shooter. I bought 4 20rd. mags a couple months back for $23 apiece. Given the reliability, accuracy, and overall ease in function I would go with a mini-14 all day long. Not to say the sks isnt a good rifle cause it is. The mini is just better.
 
#26 ·
I don't dislike the mini series, I have a mini 30 myself. That said, the mini was never designed as an actual combat weapon, it's design is based on a combat weapon, but that is not the same thing. The sks was by design a combat weapon.

The sks, depending on the country of manufacture and the exact model (screw or pinned barrel, etc), can be a fairly accurate to a very accurate weapon. In all cases it will outshoot an ak. The only "mods" really called for on an sks are the bolt mod to facilitate mag changes, and a better sight system to improve accuracy potential. If you do go to detachable mags, you are going to need to "legalize" you sks, for a chicom a tapco stock and mags is enough to do that. Tapco mags are usually under 20 dollars. As long as you stay away from yugo models, you get a chromed bore as well.

For the price of a modded mini 14 one can buy a chicom sks and a couple thousand rounds of steel case ammo....and the sks will eat up that ammo. To me that makes an sks better. I can also use the lower price of an sks to justify the higher price of an AR for a 5.56 weapon. If I want to have both major military small arms calibers represented in my gun safe I prefer an sks and an AR to having a mini 14 and a mini 30. The mini's are nice guns, the sks, ak, and AR are nice weapons. I would never turn down an ak either.
 
#28 ·
I dont shoot steel cased ammo in anything, and never will. I dont have a problem with sks rifles. I have owned a couple of them and they were accurate. I just think the mini is a better rifle. I have run my mini just as hard as any gun I have ever owned. I know for a fact I can depend on it. There is a reason sks's only cost $100 and the mini $600. Actually, the first sks I ever bought cost me $75. The only reason they are higher now is becouse the supply is running out. My opinion is you get what you pay for. I will say it again. I dont have a problem with any sks. I like them. I just dont think its a better rifle than a mini.
 
#29 ·
4-6 moa with an SKS sure isn't trying. AK's can shoot that well, better when you replace the trigger with a 30 dollar tapco unit. The SKS is more accurate than an AK any day. And they are shooting cheapo ammo. The reason SKS are cheap is that they are milsurps...and designed to be in real life battles. They have actually been carried on battlefields. Many militaries still use then for ceremonial purposes since they look nicer than an ak in that regard. The mini 14/30 have a garand style action but they aren't garands. If you are comfortable using a mini when the chips are down, go for it. I don't think any of the branches of our military made any field publications related to it though.....
 
#30 ·
beardenbc: Thanks for the link to his "420 yards" videos.
He also makes excellent shots with his iron-sight German Mauser at about 800-900 yards.

You might have seen nice videos by "Hickok45"?
Being almost computer illiterate, is it a complex process to create a link to a Youtube video?

As for my SKS or Mini 30, if the ammo is fairly cheap and the floating target is destroyed from 100' and sinks, that's good enough.
 
#31 ·
sks vs mini

I've seen a few minis that were great shooters as is no mods. both 14's and 30's. quite ammo sensitive it seems.
sks will digest any ammo it seems. mini30 pukes on the cheap stuff.
an sks can be made to be a shooter it seems as can minis. the mini trigger (as bad as it is) is better than the sks.
some years back I had a choice of 2 sks's for part payment on some welding work I'd done on an out-of-work house painter's ladder trailer (when the real estate mkt busted) he had 2 sks's a Norinco that while mechanically ok was beat around a bit. (later I wished I'd bought the other one he had for myself and took this one to sell to my nephew) the other an early chinese made in the russki plant which looked good and bright bore - I took it.
sold it to a nephew just getting into guns/shtf realization. he stripped it down useing an online guide (sksboards maybe?) and I got the trigger group here and worked it over according to an online guide (same board IIRC) and got a decent trigger out of it just some creep but when took up a good let-off. w/my guidance he tightened everything in sequence when reassemble after a crown and bore polish. fitted a 4X scope (NC Star I think) useing the reciever cover mount - not the best but we took pains w/it and used locktite and it came out OK.
lo and behold - at the range after we (I mostly) fired a couple 100 through it getting zeroed @100 it began to print silver bear fairly well. a good bore cleaning later we switched to some Sako and man that thing knocks on M.O.A. off our crude rests on the bench. I actually got 3 shots near atop each other then blew the group w/2 called flyers. we ran out of time after takeing a break to print my 30 and his 336 awhile.
I'm fairly sure it would do M.O.A. with good rests and ammo. that means with a 200yd sight in a man @300 is in deep kim-shuueey. that's as good as my hand-tweaked M30 so I ain't gonna be negative of the good sks's. have seen some that flung the cheap wolf blackbox at pie plate groups though. same as the early M30's.
C.E. Harris of American Rifleman fame also did noteably with the same model of SKS - he wrote about it years back. my nephew's sks would do good service as a 'designated marksman' rifle if called upon to do so in shtf situ.
he opted for a Marlin 336 30-30 that I worked over some and 3X9 Burris that shoots M.O.A. w/my good handloads so now that's his go-to after his AK 'bullet hose' he seems to prefer, but his sks is ready as a 'loaner' for kith and kin if/when it's needed.
a '03 Springfield or Finnish X54 it ain't but nonetheless a good shooter in South-Eastern woodland bush, he got a dozen or so strippers for it ready to go.
 
#34 ·
I like and enjoy both I just wish the SKS and the Mini 30 had cheaper better mags. The SKS prices are stupid now and the mini's are not any better. I know that Ruger will take care of their stuff and $400ish for a SKS now is ridiculous, but thats what happens the things go to SHTF!
 
#36 ·
I dislike the .223 cartridge which is only a middling varmint round, preferring the 7.62X39 cartridge which I consider to be superior for most purposes.

I'm not a huge fan of the SKS but don't think the sun rises and sets in the AR 15 either.

I like the M1 and M1A much better than either of the above.

I really do like the notion of the 7.62X39 for some reason and the SKS is dead reliable, if short stocked for my 6'3" frame and 36-inch sleeves.

I've got all the above rifles and have had them for many years.
 
#37 ·
This is an old thread, but I figured I'd chime in with some real thoughts this time after having owned a mini-14 for two years and multiple SKS's for one. I'll compare the mini to my current favorite SKS, a romanian with tech sights.

Price:
My mini 14 set up was about $1,100 by the time all was said and done. My SKS was $375 plus the tech sights, it comes to maybe $425, and for $20 you can get more stripper clips than you'll ever need. SKS wins.

Reliability:
SKS shoots all brands of ammo, never ever ever ever fails. The internal mag might seem archaic to the tacticool crowd, but it has a prone friendly profile, reloads fast with strippers, and never fails. The mini-14 was picky on ammo, and my super expensive pre-ban mags would have failures about 1 out of every 60 rounds. SKS wins.

Hand to hand:
The mini was a solid bat, the SKS is a solid bat with a pike on the end. SKS wins.

Weight:
Since I don't consider the SKS to be heavy by any means (I have man arms), it is sort of like patching a tire that had no hole... But fine, mini-14 wins.

Accuracy:
With wolf, M67 yugo, or Tula, my SKS can shoot 2"-3" groups at 100 yards with regularity, and can even throw down some 1"-2" groups on a good day if I really take it slow. My mini-14 could do about the same, but that was with a 3-9x scope and expensive ammo. Sorry to say it homies, but in my experience, the SKS is more accurate than the mini-14.

Looks:
Both are damn handsome rifles, it's a toss up.

History:
The SKS hung tough with both the M16 and the AK47 in various conflicts. While the mini-14 has not, it has proven to be an effective police carbine in several departments. I personally think the SKS is the winner, but a solid argument can be had for the mini-14.

Handling:
Mini-14 wins this over the front heavy SKS, but like with weight, I feel like the difference is hardly more than nominal.

Care and maintenance:
Both are very easy to maintain, I can't make a call without having done a "fire till dead" test.

Aftermarket:
Original style parts for the SKS are readily available and dirt cheap, and there is a strong market of tacticool gear... But since most of that tapco stuff is garbage, I think I'll have to give this one to the mini-14 on aftermarket goods.

YMMV, but what I learned over the last two years is: My mini-14 was a waste of money I could have spent on more ammo for the SKS.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top