AR Platform or Mini-14

[cka]

I am looking at either an AR Platform or a Mini-14.
What are your thoughts? Pros and Cons?

[johnlives4christ]

both are good guns, the ruger is not as accurate, BUT you can shoot all you can afford before you deside to clean it. keep a good squirt of oil on it once in a while and you probably could go the rest of your life without cleaning it and it still function.

[gdmoody]

I think that I might prefer the AR platform. I do believe that it is more accurate (at least tis true of the older mini's). If you want to "accessorize" your rifle, you have more choice with the AR. I am not one who wants or even like all the extra junk you can get - but you can get more for the AR if you wanted. You also have many more choices of manufacturers with the AR, even Ruger is making one now.

[Big ugly]

I have to go with the Mini. Mine has been a beast ever since day 1. As long as you dont go rappid firing it all the time she will hold her accuracy. The only time mine ever give me accuracy problems was when rapid firing. Mine is one of the early Mini's so. I have uset it in the rain, I dropped it in the snow, it has never been in the shop or had any work done to it.

[Big ugly]

Lets see if I can make that bigger

Guess not.

[GunHugger]

Not even in the same league.

The Mini costs just a little less than most entry AR's. That is all it has over the AR.

The Mini is very limited as to what you can do with it, extras, accessories and options. The AR is unlimited, you can set them up for anything or any use.

The accuracy of the Mini isn't very good at all. I owned two of them and it was difficult to even sight them in when you could never really tell where they were shooting. Targets at 100 yards had holes all over them.

Even finding good reliable magazines for the Mini is hard and when you find good ones they are expensive. Yes, you can find the junkers for less but they don't work for long if at all.

The Mini is a decent semi for what it was designed to do (a semi auto plinker) but it does not compair to a AR except that they can shoot the same ammo.

[Big ugly]

I agree with you to a point. I got to shoot Ugly Sr's new Mini Target and that is a whole new animal compared to the old ranch special. If you get a chace go to Ruger's web page and check em out, then go shoot one. Much more refined over the old ones.

[gdmoody]

I have heard a lot of good things about the newer mini 14 rifles. I was saying in another thread a few days ago about my neighbor trying to sight in a scope on an older one, and like GunHugger said, the holes were everywhere. Don't get me wrong, I like the looks of the mini (I have owned and mini 14 and a mini 30), but I still prefer the AR15.