Mini 14 vs. AK-47

The Mattel thing was a myth, but a GOOD myth. As far as the aliens, they moved them out of that hangar at Wright-Patterson AFB several years ago. I do not know where they are now. Could be Area 51......................

Which one is a better combat weapon?

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Only one of them is a combat weapon.

Thread fail.

Name one military that used the Mini 14...thats what I thought.

This thread is like comparing a Honda Civic against a Ferrari 333SP on the track.

Name one military that used the Mini 14...thats what I thought.

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Only the most elite combat units were issued the Mini-14...which is to say, only the A-Team!

I pitty the fool!

Only the most elite combat units were issued the Mini-14...which is to say, only the A-Team!

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Name one military that used the Mini 14...thats what I thought.

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One?

"In 1983, The Bermuda Regiment replaced its British made L1A1 SLR's (7.62 mm) with the wooded stocked Ruger Mini-14 20GB, a semi-automatic only variant."

http://www.gunnersden.com/index.htm.mini-14.html

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Bermuda_Regiment_-_Recruit_Camp_1993.jpg

quote One?

"In 1983, The Bermuda Regiment replaced its British made L1A1 SLR's (7.62 mm) with the wooded stocked Ruger Mini-14 20GB, a semi-automatic only variant." quote


I knew i thought I saw some country using a mini-14.

You know in all truthfulness, the Mini-14 especially the newer ones, make a fine defense carbine for the individual. They have a proper military style aperture sight, a sturdy synthetic/ or wood stock. A fair trigger. Simple to maintain. They are reliable with factory magazines, I prefer the 20 over the 30, as firing in the semi automatic mode does not require a 30 round magazine, and the 20 round version improves the handiness of the weapon. I can hit silhouette targets, aperture sight, with no problem out to 200 meters with mine, synthetic stock ranch rifle 18 inch barrel. No recoil to speak of, I shoot the plain 55 grain FMJs but the rifle does have a 1-8 twist if I wanted to use the heavier weights. I do not like the fact that some spare parts are hard to come by factory special order, that is a drawback, however, not a serious one as you can obtain them.

Name one military that used the Mini 14...thats what I thought.

This thread is like comparing a Honda Civic against a Ferrari 333SP on the track.

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I would rethink your Euphemism , where not comparing a Berreta to a Howa here after all

" A Skoda , the Russians crown jewel .... "
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" ..... To a Dodge , the American ba$**** child of autos "

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I would take My Mini .... Even over my AR for a self defense situation

That Skoda sure looks like one sexy sedan.

I'd prefer a decent AK. Mini-14's don't seem to do well in high round count classes. I'd take a good AR with a nice red dot over both.

stinger 327 said:

No scope in combat use? Why?
Is it because of faster acquisition of target with open sights vs. scope sights?

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Because a scope is useless in most urban situations where the fighting is much closer in. A red-dot "scope" would be preferable in such a situation. It you're in the field, you may want a scope for extended range encounters, but at the same time, if you can see your target with the naked eye, iron sights or red-dots should be adequate.

You can build a AR-15 from scratch for less than you can buy a Mini-14. Heck, you can even buy a S&W M&P-15 right now on CDNN for less than the cost of a Min-14.

I'd go AR-15. When you buy an AK, you have to spend big bucks to get one that won't melt-down on you during heavy use.

As to the choice of .308 vs .223, .223 wins hands down because it's a lot cheaper to buy, and you can therefore get more practice with it.

You can build a AR-15 from scratch for less than you can buy a Mini-14.

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Doesn't matter if you prefer a Mini over the AR. When I bought my first Mini 14 (a SS ranch rifle) AR-15s were going for around $1000. I bought my ranch rifle,4-30round mags (aftermarket of course) 1000 rounds of WUSA 55 gr.fmj ammo a Butler Creek folding stock and a 4x32 scope. It ALL cost me just over $800 for everything NEW. My first AR was a USED Bushmaster ES-15 with ONE 30 round mag. Cost? $860 plus tax. The price equality of today is a recent thing. So is all the component availibility to "built" your own.

Only speaking to the home defense role, I saw a study a year or two ago involving university students in a mock trial situation. The case was the same each of two times it was presented: the first time the weapon was an AR15, the second time it was the mini14. The issue was self defense. Oddly enough the mini14 defendant was acquitted, the AR15 defendant was not, or perhaps the mini14 guy got fewer years, I don't remember. I do remember that the student "jurors" were polled and there were several who felt that the appearance of the AR15 with its pronounced pistol grip and military bearing led them to think that the AR15 defendant was more culpable.

I don't know how representative this study was/is, but it is something that has lain in the recesses of my mind. Now when I pick a HD type weapon, the less intimidating, more traditional, design of say a mini14 or perhaps a lever actioned carbine, is something that factors into the equation.

FWIW

"In 1983, The Bermuda Regiment replaced its British made L1A1 SLR's (7.62 mm) with the wooded stocked Ruger Mini-14 20GB, a semi-automatic only variant."

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Functionally, they play more of a law enforcement rather than a combat role, IIRC.

When you buy an AK, you have to spend big bucks to get one that won't melt-down on you during heavy use.

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Please explain. Even the cheapest Romanian AK is as heat-tolerant as an AKM (heck, the Romanians are the closest thing to a civilian AKM on the civilian market).

You'll never melt anything on a cheap AK with semiauto fire. You *might* be able to get the barrel hot enough to set the wood forward handguards on fire, but the rifle will still work.

Here's a Title 2 restricted full auto AKM firing 300-ish rounds out of RPK drums, starting with the handguards already on fire. If you look closely at the ground, there are six of the 75-round drums already on the ground when the video starts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNAohtjG14c

It is not physically possible to get a semiauto AK that hot by shooting it, and the semiauto parts aren't any more prone to melting...

Only speaking to the home defense role, I saw a study a year or two ago involving university students in a mock trial situation. The case was the same each of two times it was presented: the first time the weapon was an AR15, the second time it was the mini14. The issue was self defense. Oddly enough the mini14 defendant was acquitted, the AR15 defendant was not, or perhaps the mini14 guy got fewer years, I don't remember. I do remember that the student "jurors" were polled and there were several who felt that the appearance of the AR15 with its pronounced pistol grip and military bearing led them to think that the AR15 defendant was more culpable.

I don't know how representative this study was/is, but it is something that has lain in the recesses of my mind. Now when I pick a HD type weapon, the less intimidating, more traditional, design of say a mini14 or perhaps a lever actioned carbine, is something that factors into the equation.

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Stubbicatt, you may be thinking of this one?

http://www.astcweb.org/public/publi...es-and-the-Fears-of-the-Legally-Armed-Citizen

That study involved a scenario that was intentionally ambiguous (shooting an apparently unarmed guy who is trying to walk out of your house with your VCR, who makes verbal threats but no aggressive moves). There was no statistically significant affect on the innocent-or-guilty decision between the mini-14 and the AR-15. There was a statistically significant affect on sentence length for those defendants who where found guilty murder, with slightly longer sentences going to the AR-15 users who were convicted than mini-14 users who were convicted, although the gender of the shooter played a larger role than the weapon choice.

I think that now, with the "assault weapon" fraud going away and the AR-15 dominating both the centerfire target shooting and home-defense carbine markets, the small dichotomy that existed in that study will become even less significant.

Didn't those badguys in the Miami/FBI shooting incident use Mini-14's? They seemed to function well...............

Several PDs and SWAT teams chose the Mini-14 over other systems. Many prisons use Mini-14s as the rifle of choice for tower guards as well.

My understanding of the Avtomat Kalashnikova 1947 follows that of Ocean in post #49:

The AK-47 and its variants, AKM,AK74 etc. were designed around the Soviet combined arms battle doctrine: to pack men into an APC, get them as close as possible to the front line, unload them, have them rush the enemy's position firing full automatic from their assault rifles toward the enemy creating a firestorm. The weapon was designed to be simple to operate, robust, and fire reliably under all battlefield conditions with various grades of ammunition quality...

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To that I'd only add: and to be used by illiterate peasant soldiers with little or no training and no cleaning supplies.

The Chinese-made AK47 I fired at a range some years back was 1) heavy, 2) not accurate, and 3) difficult to control. I finally got in touch with my inner Commie infantryman and stopped trying to aim the thing at a target; then it worked... OK. So point-and-squirt seems to be what those things are built for.

Now, for around the house? I have a new all-weather Mini-14 and expect it to be all the rifle I'll need. It just joined the Colt 1911 and Mossberg Persuader shotgun already in my cabinet (and nightstand.) I'm not expecting full-on infantry combat here in urban Ohio; if there is any, I'll already be gone.

I would assume a closer comparison would be:

Mini-30 vs. AKM in 7.62x39 or
Mini-14 vs. AR-15 in .223

Ruger = no nonsense, low bling, high reliability, anti-black rifle friendly

AKM and AR = battle proven

AR's have their fair share of issues but are lego-like if thats your schtick. AK's are rock solid tools with lower price point. Just need to figure out what's your caliber preference and personality type.

jimmyraythomason said:

Yes and if given the choice among those three with price being equal, the Mini goes home with me. (I have owned all three) I wouldn't even have to think about it.

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I can't even begin to think why one would take a mini-14 over an AR if they're both going for the same price (which, for these next few weeks they will be. CDNN is selling those S&W M&P15s at a net loss).

The AR-15 has a chrome-lined barrel
The AR-15 has a simple button to press to release a magazine
The vast majority of Ar-15s have picatinny rails already machined into their recievers
The AR-15 is almost infinitely modular
The AR-15 has a pistol Grip

The Mini-14 by contrast does not have a chrome-lined barrel
The mini-14 requires one to rock a magazine into place
The Mini-14 does NOT have a picatinny rail
The Mini-14 is not nearly as modular as the AR-15

My 580series .223/5.56 Minis have done well enough. I have never owned an AK.

The Mini chambered in 6.8 SPC certainly DOES have my attention. I would like to hear/read a few reliable range reports before buying.

Now, what does the OP mean by "combat" weapon? I am in civilian Law enforcement, and have thus far done well enough in "combat" with revolvers, so I reckon a Mini would suffice for my purposes. I have (luckily) not been under direct fire, nor fired shots, since going to autopistols in 1997. I won't fantasize about Iraqistan.

To be clear, I am not anti-AK, and have come close to buying one a time or two.