I just caught myself being nostalgic for my Mini-14.
I have no idea why.
I have never been so frustrated by a rifle as I was with that thing.
I was happy to replace it with a Daewoo DR200 back in '95.
Why do I keep catching myself wanting one to play with now?
Especially since what I wanted, way back then, was a Galil?
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The quality supposedly has gotten much better, approaching or equaling a good AR-15.
ReplyDeleteBut, well, for the price of a mini-14, you could get a good AR-15, well, until the Covidiocracy and the Summer of UnLove, which has driven mini-14 prices up to the same costs as... a good AR-15.
Nostalgia demands that I get one like I had, not one of the new and improved ones.
DeleteHey Angus;
ReplyDeleteBecause the Mini-14 brings you the A-team flashback memories that you had before and you are watching it on netflix? or "MeTV"? and the action is similar to the M-14 and the Garand Perhaps? LOL
FuzzyGeff, SoftwareJanitor and I bought them because they were affordable and in 5.56 and we were dabbling in survivalism.
DeleteOnce we could afford better, we all abandoned the frustrating things.
It wasn't until years after I'd dropped Mini from my life that I realized that The A-Team was using stainless versions.
I still have my Mini-14, albeit it basically hasn't moved from the spot it is in during the 19 years since I moved into this house. At the time we bought them the Mini-14 was the poor man's alternative to the AR. Nowdays you can buy a pretty nice AR for less than even the most basic Mini-14 and even used ones sell for pretty ridiculous money.
ReplyDeleteThey've always been a beautiful *looking* rifle, as a carbine equal in looks to the M1 Carbine or the or the carbine-length Winchester 92's and 94's. They project an image of rugged utility and usefulness while still being an attractive little rifle. Myself, I always wanted one too, but with the ramped front sight of the earlier models.
ReplyDeleteInteresting you mention the M1 Carbine, because while many people say that the Mini-14 is a scaled down M14, the actual operation of it is actually in some ways closer to the M1 Carbine. Bill Ruger was obviously heavily influenced by it. In original form the early Mini-14s actually feel and handle a lot like a M1 Carbine. There is also no doubt that they are rugged and handy. It was only unfortunate that McThag's notes on accuracy are true. While I was able to get good enough for battle kind of accuracy out of mine, that was disappointing given it took handloading to do it. I never got anything decent with a lot of commercial ammo. What made that worse is that I could get similar results using the cheapest surplus ammo out of an AK which aren't particularly noted for accuracy and a much cheaper SKS, using the same cheap ammo was actually more consistent overall than the Mini-14. Pretty much any one of my ARs will outshoot my Mini-14 using any ammo I can cycle through them. You wouldn't like the looks of my Mini-14 either, it actually has more "banned features" than most ARs. And the original front sight was replaced by an M14 style flash hider with bayonet lug.
DeleteAnyway, from what I've read, changes to the barrel and gas system design of the newer Mini-14s finally corrected the wandering zero problems but the super high prices of them make them a lot less interesting. And I think if McThag wanted to scratch his nostalgia itch he'd probably need a 180 or 181 series model.