Custom Mini-14 vs Piston AR15?

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@Kame B. That's a sweet Mini, but one would be in the $1,000 - 1,200 range to get there it seems. Really like what you've done with it though. What does it weigh?
 
For the price of an accurized Mini, you come close to a DI AR-15 AND a AR piston upper.
I like the design of the Mini and they are reliable but for accuracy that matches an AR out of the box, you have to spend some money. One reason might be that you live in states that are increasingly horrible on gun laws.
 
@Kame B. That's a sweet Mini, but one would be in the $1,000 - 1,200 range to get there it seems. Really like what you've done with it though. What does it weigh?

I agree 100%. I’d buy that in a heartbeat just to have something different, but the value i would put it at in my brain would be $500-$600. At double that it’s a definite no for me. It’s a shame ruger didn’t make them that way.
 
@Kame B. That's a sweet Mini, but one would be in the $1,000 - 1,200 range to get there it seems. Really like what you've done with it though. What does it weigh?

Only cost me $350 total for barrel and install, the rest of the stuff I did myself. And she is 11lbs. with scope, bi-pod, ammo pouch and a full mag, 8lbs without all that crap.
 
I like the Mini in a way Ive never warmed up to the AR. I have one AR now, and it goes to the range pretty often, but If i build another it will have a more traditional style stock.
I traded my mini for a Rossi 92 and some cash a few years ago, and while I honestly dont miss it, Id be lying if I said I dont plan on having another one when I can afford to, probably a mini-30.

SO were it my choice, I would probably go with the Mini. Not because of any advantage, but because I simply LIKE the rifle better. The better accuracy of the AR dosent mater to me If i never use it, and im much happier carrying a stock mini with a 1-4 or 2-7 scope than I am even my 2lb lighter AR.

If your looking for performance/dollar tho, or even top end performance, the Mini losses out pretty much every time.
 
Here's another thing to consider in your decision. Go to any LGS and ask if they will take an AR in trade for another firearm? Then ask if they would take a Mini, especially a 30, in trade.

Anyone care to guess what the answer will be?
 
I have a (direct Impingement) AR and a (Accuracy Systems) Mini-30 (3/4" dia., 24" barrel). The AR is easier to break down for cleaning, but the Mini is more accurate.
 
Here's another thing to consider in your decision. Go to any LGS and ask if they will take an AR in trade for another firearm? Then ask if they would take a Mini, especially a 30, in trade.

Anyone care to guess what the answer will be?
Out here the answer will be NOPE! (they dont don gun trades)...but they will put it on consignment and it will be gone in a week.
My mini lasted about a week and a half on armslist, and I was asking list price, but had a scope, leupy rings, and work done. My AR got traded for an SKS because no one wanted it at 450.

It really depends on your local, and what people are interested in. Everyone OWNS and AR here, but besides taking them to the range thats all I really see them used for.
Ive seen enough Minis ridding around in trucks to know they actually get used for hunting and grunt work. Honestly i think its mostly just because they have a more traditional stock/handling than the ar.
 
I helped a buddy build a piston-driven AR a couple of years ago. The rifle ended up being pretty nice, reliable, once the teething issues were dealt with, and more accurate than expected.

That said, he spent an inordinate amount of up front time researching what components he could use to construct that upper since there's no common spec for piston-driven uppers. The upshot on this is that his build, while acceptably accurate, could only utilize a small number of components available.

I've been running DI guns for the better part of 20 years now, including at high-round count practical shooting competitions, and have yet to run into the supposed reliability issues that piston fans insist are an inherent part of the DI system.
 
How often do you actually clean your ARs? I shoot all mine silenced, which get them dirty FAST. I rarely clean them. I run AR's like I would a beater car, just keep adding oil.;) When they have black ooze pumping from every orifice, it just means its working.
ahhh a man after my own heart!
 
You and I evidently come from the same school of thought when it comes to cleaning 'em.

Back when I shot competitively a lot, I'd basically clean my rifle before a big match and that's about it.

Now I clean them at the end of the local season.
 
See if you can find a good-condition used Daewoo K-2. The Koreans took the best features of the AR, the AK, and the FAL and came up with a rifle that is piston-driven and uses standard magazines.

I'm waiting for someone to make the Daewoo domestically, since further importation seems to be prohibited.

ETA: Early Daewoo imports had a 1:12 barrel, whereas later ones had a 1:7 barrel. Barrels (along with their permanently-attached barrel extensions) are easy to replace. They're held on by a press-fit pin that comes up through the bottom of the upper receiver. This press-fit pin is hollow and is internally threaded. You can thread in a common Allen set screw and the pin will back right out. The trick is to find a suitable replacement barrel.

Thanks for bringing up the Daewoo. I was unfamiliar with that interesting rifle. I have zero interest in the 5.56/223 cartridge, but that is a novel firearm to me.
 
I like mini's, but I can say for certain it is not easier to clear or maintain. Cleaning an impingment AR takes me about 2.5 minutes without doing the barrel -which I rarely do. Pull the cotter pin, take out the firing pin, cam pin, bolt, wipe them down with an oily rag, wipe the upper inside, put some oil on the steel parts, done. The mini requires you to pry off the trigger guard, take off the stock, remove the door on the side, fuss out the bolt, then clean. Takes about three times as much effort, plus you have to clean the gas parts. Its not really bad, but its more work. As far as maintenance, Ruger is not known for its part friendliness, and while you can have it fixed by sending it in, your without it a while, and Ruger openly blows off all service on discontinued models. I would expect a piston AR is not any easier to clean, since its been pretty well proven the majority of soot in the action is from ejection, not the gas system.
 
Thanks for bringing up the Daewoo. I was unfamiliar with that interesting rifle. I have zero interest in the 5.56/223 cartridge, but that is a novel firearm to me.
got to try one once. Fantastic. Weighed about 5LB.
 
I'm wondering what the big deal is with sub-MOA AR's these days. People spend a lot of money for sub-MOA AR's. I'll bet if you pulled a dozen M4's from a military rack not a single one would shoot sub-MOA. 2 MOA more than likely. It's a rifle designed for a military application (suppressive fire), not civilian benchrest shooting which is where I see most AR's. Semi autos are really poor platforms for sub-MOA. Just about any serious benchrest shooter will tell you that.

Being a benchrest shooter that has built a sub-MOA bolt rifle for that application all of this this seems very odd to me.

AR roadkill.

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Nowadays "Sub MOA" means it can shoot beer cans at 30 yards at the gravel pit, or the X ring at the 25 yard indoor range. People legitimately thing that "Sub MOA" means practical accuracy. Its strange.
 
Thanks for bringing up the Daewoo. I was unfamiliar with that interesting rifle.
Back in the mid-80's, I bought one as a novelty. Big mistake. I should have bought a dozen at the then-reasonable prices. I notice that right now, there are two of the original ones (with the folding stock) on GunBroker, in the range of $2,000. (There are several of the later emasculated ones, with the thumbhole stock, for about half that much.)
For some reason these guns were overlooked when they were easily available. Perhaps the importers priced them too low, and that created the impression that they were of poor quality. Nothing could have been further from the truth.
Why doesn't this allegedly pro-gun Administration reverse the import ban? It could be done with a stroke of the pen.
 
After a couple years of shooting AR’s and having built a half dozen. I have no idea what the appeal of a piston AR is. The DI is just not a problem. No matter where you put the gas system it gets dirty. On a piston AR it’s under the handguard so you don’t have access to it. On a DI AR you pull the bolt carrier out and the whole gas system is sitting in your hand. It comes apart with no tools and there are very few parts.

On the same note people always say the AR15 is complex. I have no idea what they are talking about. They are as simple as a semi auto rifle can be built. They are simpiler, have fewer parts, and are easier to take apart and assemble than any semi auto firearm I’ve ever encountered.

I’m not a big fan of semi autos to begin with, but I just don’t think you can do any better than an AR15 at any price if your looking for an accurate and reliable semi auto rifle, period.
This reminds me of the "self cleaning" thing Colt threw around. So the gas collects in a condenser, in a nice easy to collect area, and nothing else requires any attention. But the say Colt lied about the rifle being self cleaning. Makes me wonder if people get mad the self cleaning oven feature works exactly the same way. Your right, other than a true direct impingement system, its as simple as you can get. People hear CNC milled, and think complicated.
 
Back in the mid-80's, I bought one as a novelty. Big mistake. I should have bought a dozen at the then-reasonable prices. I notice that right now, there are two of the original ones (with the folding stock) on GunBroker, in the range of $2,000. (There are several of the later emasculated ones, with the thumbhole stock, for about half that much.)
For some reason these guns were overlooked when they were easily available. Perhaps the importers priced them too low, and that created the impression that they were of poor quality. Nothing could have been further from the truth.
Why doesn't this allegedly pro-gun Administration reverse the import ban? It could be done with a stroke of the pen.
Back in the 80's Daewoo was that company that made awful electronics, and awful cars. Can't blame people for not buying. That said, its one of the most well designed rifles I have ever seen.
 
How often do you actually clean your ARs? I shoot all mine silenced, which get them dirty FAST. I rarely clean them. I run AR's like I would a beater car, just keep adding oil.;) When they have black ooze pumping from every orifice, it just means its working.
you remind me of my "a tuned 1911 runs as reliably as a Glock, or revolver demo" that usually means char, and ash flying out every opening and making you look like you cleaned a chimney after a few hundred rounds of dirty ammo.
 
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