tips on purchasing a mini 14

You are in the right year group. Right now supplies are short and prices are high. 5.56x45/223 ammo is even hard to find. CDNN had some very good prices before things went nuts but dont have any available now. 5 round mags are cheap but hicaps are not. After market mags have not been reliable for the most part.

 

I saw a new mini 30 at a local shop for $1059. That's still too high but no one has any either. It has sold now but no new ones have been on the shelf since. I even spoke to a counter guy at Academy Sports and he can't keep any on shelf, they don't come in very often. Gun broker or have some buddies check the closest deal for 100 miles. It be conversation at a coffee shop that will network better.

 

Here's a tip, don't buy one. They suck. Get a real M1A or an AR 15

 

Your obviously military. Why not get a weapon your familiar with. AR-15
I'd assume you already mags for it

 

Guy already decided he wants a mini 14. He wasn't looking for some doorknob to tell him it's a dumb idea !

 

Here's a tip, shut your mouth. They're great guns

 

Great in what way? Proprietary mags? Desperate need of a trigger job? Inaccurate? Expensive when they are investment cast? Every one in an even more desperate need of proper bedding? Terrible sights?

 

Or, you could watch this and draw your own conclusions. This guy generally gives good product reviews: [ame]http://youtu.be/ej39umHaB08[/ame]

As video shows these are 'fun guns'. If you are too serious to have fun don't bother with them

 

If by good you mean he is thumbs-up about every gun he owns or borrows to shoot in his many videos, that's true. If yo mean objective I certainly don't agree.

The guy has fun, and shares it, but he is NOT very knowledgeable about guns and ammo at all and couldn't really "review" a gun if his hillbilly life depended on it. He is very superficial. Kinda the typical thinks-he-knows-it-all teacher-and-pretends-when-realizes-he-doesn't, which he is (a good ol' overpaid and underworked gubment worka in the backwater) having fun with his class while his barefoot wife videos him.

The first minute of the video alone is pretty embarassing... When the rear sight is literally so loose it's sliding around he keeps going. And then he claims it's popular with benchrest shooters? Pleeeeze!

 

Your opinion if the mini 14 is noted (and ignored lol)

 

i have an AR-15. and i still like my mini better....what now?

and an M1A costs at least twice as much as a mini 14. not everyone has 2 grand lying around.

and what model of mini 14 did you own? what bad experiences did you have?

 

fair enough. but do you think this is the ONLY favorable review of a mini 14?
do you want me to pull up a few dozen more?

have you ever owned the mini 14?

the only reason the sight come loose is that the set screw as not tightened enough. this is simply an operator error. you literally just tighten it some more. would you judge an AR-15 in a negative manner for having a scope ring or vertical grip come loose? hopefully you are just judging the review itself.

and he was still hitting with a loose sight!!!! talk about accuracy!

 

well, as much as i like the mini 14, i would wait for things to calm down. its hard to come across decent deals on any auto-loading carbine right now. and even if you don't get "bent over" on the price, then you'll be scavenging for ammo like the rest of us.

i wouldn't ever pay more more than $800-850 for any mini myself. i would set the normal, pre-panic prices between $650-750. and imo, that was even start to look a bit pricey.

i tend to favor the ranch model for the longer barrel, wood stock, and peace of mind. the peace of mind part comes from having a gun that you don't have to worry about being in most state or federal bans.

if looking in the used market, seek one with a tapered, thicker barrel. they are better shooters right out of the box. of course a strut will have the thinner barrels shooting right next to them.

stick with factory mags only. they cost a bit more, but perform perfectly. as stated, they will be hard to find and pricey right now.

as for any who chime in with "the mini sucks," i will say it simply isn't so. i can't say why some hate the mini 14 like it stole their girlfriend, but it is so funny when you find at least 50% of the posters making these statements never owned a mini, or haven't owned an updated 580 model. its just strange. IF i hated the AK-47, i don't think i'd spend my time in the AK-47 forum trying to talk people out of a gun they like....but to each their own...

i own both mini and AR, and i like my mini 14 better. of course , like most things,this is just my opinion. but at least my opinion stems off experience of owning both firearms. my mini has been a good, dependable gun in the entire time i have owned it.

good luck finding your mini. don't overpay because of this panic. it would be smarter to wait.

 

sheesh! the guy says he likes and wants a mini 14, and the response is "get an AR-15." if he was interested in an AR-15, he would be in that forum.

how about answering the original question? this starting to have the feel of some AR-15 super fans trolling.....

 

Sounds like an educated answer :/ if they suck so much, why have they been produced and sold like hotcakes since the 70's?

 

Why do people buy those junk ass mosins? Or lorcin pistols, or Phoenix arms? Or hi points? All junk yet millions of the things are bought. There are good products and bad products and there is going to be people that buy bad products for any number of reasons. I've worked on and shot enough of all the guns I've mentioned that I know without a doubt that none of them will ever be owned by me. The poster asked for advice on a mini, I voiced my educated opinion. Just because you didn't like it does not make my opinion wrong or invalid.

 

I own a mini Ranch Rifle SS purchased in 1995 for $420- I was disappointed by it accuracy (outside of 50 yds), lack of reliability w aftermarket mags etc. not to mention trying to get the bolt out w scope attached - a true joy.

I have talked to Ruger techs as there are more after market fixes (many of which may actually make things worse.) & Ruger will not comment on them. I got the feeling they regard it as a WIP. Early models were scope nightmares - they corrected that. Accuracy issues - they have learned a lot in 10 years and you can trace the developments. Ruger Engineers are still trying and they offered to take mine back to buy a new one @ discounted price.

However, if you are going to go the Mini 14 route, I w go w detachable scope rings and Tech aftermarket manual sights for back up.

 

Yeah the older mini-14 had problems. i had a ranch rifle. My biggest problem was cheep aftermarket magazines ( thanks to the 94 AWB ) I ended up trading it in for a Ar-15. But I've heard good things about the new ones. the barrel is thicker and they fixed the problems.

 

Correction: in this the mini 14 forum, he was looking for purchase advise - not some know it all barging in and literally telling him the guns suck

YOU had some bad experiences. So what. I think Glocks suck but I'm not going into the Glock forum and saying that. In other words you are kind of being a jagoff here dude.