Handy plinking carbine poll (M1 Carbine v. Mini-14)

M1 Carbine or Mini-14 for all-around plinker

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Hard choice,both are fun,ammo is easy to find,both typically in the same price range.Although being that the M1 carbine is typically milsurp condition will vary widely so that is something to consider.Past 50yds I think the Mini has a edge is accuracy.

At my range one of the range officers let me try his Beretta storm in 9mm a while back.That would fit your criteria listed above.50 rounds of 9mm will be about the best bargain priced centerfire plinking ammo out there.It was a comfortable gun also.AR in 9mm would be great to have also,but they suffer from the "panic" craze lately.
 
I would have to say neither. Neither one is low price or have a ton of aftermarket support. A leveraction would be good especially if you reload. I really like my 357. You can reload an SKS with a stripper clip pretty quick. But if I had to pick one I would say the mini 14. A 30 carbine isn't much good for anything other than plinking. At least a 223 has more punch, longer range and is cheaper and easier to find. The pistol caliber carbines are also an option. If you want cheap there is always the highpoint or the kel tec carbines.
 
surplus ammo more plentiful

Where? There used to be about 30 years ago but not now.

Based on ammo availability and prices I picked the Mini-14.
 
Don't forget that I live behind enemy lines in California... so I don't have the same aftermarket support for SKS and Mini and even 10/22 parts and AK is totally out of the question for me unless I want a fixed mag neutered version.

The two choices are pretty much the only ones I can get at a reasonable price unless I want to pay for a $1,800 SoCom II or beg the Chief for dispensation for a LE RRA DEA carbine.
 
Are you the sentimental type? I have one of each. The Mini is probably a more practical choice: More powerful, far more common ammo, much easier to red-dot or scope. But I have a lot more affection for my (CMP) Carbine. You never know where those things have been. Anzio? Corregidor? Bastogne? Less recoil too, and blast.

A 30 carbine isn't much good for anything other than plinking.
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Audie Murphy and Jim Cirillo say: That's ridiculous.
 
That's the good thing, maybe the M1 Carbine will stop me from bubba'ing my carbine too much because the Mini-14 will prompt me to get a scope at the minimum and who knows what else.
 
Notorious: Does the carbine choice refer to a real carbine, or an AO carbine?

My brand-new AO "Imitation Carbine" suffered a major malfunction after two months, and the gun had been treated gingerly and lubricated.
The bolt got stuck, having come a bit upwards, out of the track.:confused:
And the magazine misfed each second or third round, until it was repaired.

The factory performed the free repair, it then worked fine, although I no longer wanted an AO product and sold it upon return.
Can't believe that I paid $700 for that gun. My wife could not believe that a gun store won't refund your money for a piece of junk.
AOs might be less than popular-it sat in a gun store (with a range where you can test it) for at least six months.

My used Mini 14 was built in '80, which I bought last spring. It has never had a malfunction, except for about two misfeeds in a Ruger factory (20-rd.) mag. My Mini 30 using only Wolf or Monarch ammo has had about five ftf (none on second primer strikes).
Over 500 rounds in each.
My choice is as clear as a blue December sky. Good luck with your decision.
 
Mini-14 has more range, power and is more easily scoped for that 'all around' utility rifle.

The carbine has history.

You can get buckets of dress up parts for a Mini 14, not so much for a Carbine.
 
If I were to get a Carbine, it would be either CMP or a good pick from the local Big 5. I wouldn't get a new manufacture because it would lose the point of having history behind it. I am on a major milsurp trip lately.
 
Even the most poorly cared for $140 Chinese SKS will be lightyears ahead of either of the other choices you list to meet your criteria. Add a $40 tech sight and rock/n/roll
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Furthermore, I've never felt that my sks was "handy". It feels like it weighs twice as much as an m1 carbine.
 
Does Ruger sell parts to civilians yet?

If not, that alone would push me towards the M1 Carbine.

I guess high cap mags don't really do anything for you being in California.
 
Audie Murphy and Jim Cirillo say: That's ridiculous.
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I don't think either one of them is saying much of anything at the moment. If they were so great then why did they bounce off Koreans during the Korean war. You have to look at what they were ment to replace. A pistol, sure I would take one over a pistol but that would be about it. Sure they are fun for plinking if you reload and maybe a little pest control. I would rather have some kind of 9mm or .40 carbine like the old Rugers or Marlins, even those little Kel Tecs that take Glock mags. There is also the Beretta carbine.
 
Are those KelTec and Beretta carbines even CA legal? Don't recall ever seeing them anywhere.

I would get either one if I could just for the magazine compatibility.
 
"If they were so great then why did they bounce off Koreans during the Korean war." This is WRONG! The M2 in .30 carbine killed North Koreans and Chinese VERY efficiently. Their heavy winter clothing was NOT a hinderance. My father-in-law spent most of '51,'52 and '53 in Korea has nothing but PRAISE for the little carbine.
 
I don't think either one of them is saying much of anything at the moment. If they were so great then why did they bounce off Koreans during the Korean war. You have to look at what they were ment to replace. A pistol, sure I would take one over a pistol but that would be about it. Sure they are fun for plinking if you reload and maybe a little pest control. I would rather have some kind of 9mm or .40 carbine like the old Rugers or Marlins, even those little Kel Tecs that take Glock mags. There is also the Beretta carbine.
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http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot36.htm

The .30 carbine has quite a bit more energy than 9mm or .40, even out of a longer barrel. I do think the round would be more popular if they had designed the cartridge to shoot a 9mm diameter projectile rather than a .308" diameter projectile, just because there would be a greater variety of ammo.

I've handled an M1 carbine (actually it was an M2) and it seems really great. I'd love to own one, it's just that the ammo is a bit more expensive and hard to find than .223.
 
I picked the Mini-14. I bought my first one last April. It is a 580 series with the skinny barrel. I liked it so much I bought a second one in September with the new tapered barrel.

Both are far more accurate than I would have believed after all the negetive things I read about them. If you get a Mini get the newer ones. At a hundred yards I am getting around 3" to 5" groups with open sights and 51 year old eyes. Thats with the cheap Monarch ammo from Academy also.

If you just want something to shoot cans and dirt clods with, a 22 will be much cheaper to shoot. So will a 9mm. I have a Hi-point and a Marlin Camp Carbine and enjoy both of them.

If it doesn't have to be a semi-auto then try one of the lever action carbines in 357. I reload and cast my own bullets and these can be shot really cheap since they don't chunk away your brass.
 
I don't think either one of them is saying much of anything at the moment. If they were so great then why did they bounce off Koreans during the Korean war. You have to look at what they were ment to replace. A pistol, sure I would take one over a pistol but that would be about it. Sure they are fun for plinking if you reload and maybe a little pest control. I would rather have some kind of 9mm or .40 carbine like the old Rugers or Marlins, even those little Kel Tecs that take Glock mags. There is also the Beretta carbine.
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If you honestly believe a M1 Carbine round will bounce off a frozen Korean jacket then you have never fired a M1 Carbine and thusly should not pretend to know what you are talking about!!! The M1 Carbine will blast through several frozen jackets no problem. When will people stop repeating this B.S.!!! I have fired a M1 Carbine FMJ round at a 14 inch diameter pine stump and the round blasted all the way through it with no problem. :scrutiny:
CMPROCKAA.gif
 
Both are far more accurate than I would have believed after all the negative things I read about them.
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I think most of the negative things said about the rifle itself (including my own complaints about dismal accuracy) concerned the older, pre-580-series rifles. My own accuracy lemon was a 188-series Ranch Rifle.

The 580-series rifles are widely regarded as much better, and if I were in the market for one, then I'd definitely buy one of those. I'm quite satisfied with my AK, though.
 
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