cracked butt
Member
I love my SKS!
Wait... this is a Miniwhatever thread?? Nevermind.
Wait... this is a Miniwhatever thread?? Nevermind.
mini 14 fans?
- Thread starter peteyru
- Start date
- Status
KarbineKrazy
Member
HKmp5sd,
Is that a falcon folder? That looks like a G3 grip.
I like it!
I want an AC556 KF in a bad way(select fire, folding stock, stainless steel!)
Is that a falcon folder? That looks like a G3 grip.
I like it!
I want an AC556 KF in a bad way(select fire, folding stock, stainless steel!)
California Dept. of Corrections has been using Mini's for more than 20 years, with some of the training guns at their Galt facility reaching over 500,000 rounds with no problems. The criticism of Mini's usually come from GI Joe types who don't like it's friendly look.
Last edited:
jobu07
Contributing Member
Hkmp5sd
Member
Yep.
Way back in the 80s, I passed on a stainless AC556 for $500. Not one of my brightest decisions.
Just a couple weeks ago I had a second mini fail on me. Fail to fire.
This is a gun I gave to a friend some years back. No dimple on the primer. I brought it home. I dunno, I'll figure it out.
Now with that said, I do like the mini. It's just that for what you get I think they are a bit high priced. But they sure will do when you want light and politically correct. They also make good truck guns, better than AR's IMO, unless you get into exotic AR's that are chopped SBR's or pistols or something. If I was in Kali the Mini-14 would be the gun I would take, second would be the Garand. (Not necessarily in that order, .223 for urban, 30-06 for rural).
The gun I stole back from my friend will be getting accurized, and a scout rail thrown on. There are plenty of cheap accuracy tricks to be found at Perfect Union. Bed it, fix the gas block, and chop the barrel and it should be shooting around 1.5-2MOA.
I am a bit surprised Mace Windu hasn't chimed in by now. He's a fanboy (Just teasing you Mace
). He's got a very nice Mini that shoots .5MOA all day long. Heck if I'm honest I've only got 1.25MOA out of my RRA CAR-4, with Black Hills ammo...maybe if I didn't have a chromed lined barrel I could get a bit more out of it.
This is a gun I gave to a friend some years back. No dimple on the primer. I brought it home. I dunno, I'll figure it out.
Now with that said, I do like the mini. It's just that for what you get I think they are a bit high priced. But they sure will do when you want light and politically correct. They also make good truck guns, better than AR's IMO, unless you get into exotic AR's that are chopped SBR's or pistols or something. If I was in Kali the Mini-14 would be the gun I would take, second would be the Garand. (Not necessarily in that order, .223 for urban, 30-06 for rural).
The gun I stole back from my friend will be getting accurized, and a scout rail thrown on. There are plenty of cheap accuracy tricks to be found at Perfect Union. Bed it, fix the gas block, and chop the barrel and it should be shooting around 1.5-2MOA.
I am a bit surprised Mace Windu hasn't chimed in by now. He's a fanboy (Just teasing you Mace
). He's got a very nice Mini that shoots .5MOA all day long. Heck if I'm honest I've only got 1.25MOA out of my RRA CAR-4, with Black Hills ammo...maybe if I didn't have a chromed lined barrel I could get a bit more out of it.
rbernie
Contributing Member
Ah, yes - the return of the five-figure Mini-14. 
I was wondering how long it would take to get here. Longer than usual, this time around....
I was wondering how long it would take to get here. Longer than usual, this time around....
jobu07
Contributing Member
Ah I always love looking at that rifle. A beautiful site for sure!
Me too...I like your rifles.
Mace,
Pay no attention to rbernie, he's just jealous...
BTW: Have you tried any of the scout mounts on them Mace? I know some people like LER, some hate 'em. Just curious as I want to put one on.
There is an old American Indian named Chief AJ who's turned one into his third arm. He likes the Mini and the 10/22. Okay, likes may be an understatement. Last I knew he still held a record for most consecutive thrown clay pigeons, (with a Ruger )
I believe his record was over 40k broken clays.
That's right up there with Jelly Bryce fame in my book.
I agree with rbernie.
For as much coin as you have sunk in that Mini-14, it had BETTER hit what it's aimed at, and cook you dinner, take the dog out, and look mighty good in a lace teddy/G-string ensemble come bedtime.
Then again, for as much coin as you have sunk in that Mini-14, I could build a sub-MOA Mini-14, or buy a couple AR-15's that group as tightly, with change left over for ammo.
It's kinda poor form to hold that hot-rodded Mini-14 up as an example of the breed, considering it hardly resembles what the Ruger factory sends out the door in a cardboard box. That's like comparing a soccer mommy van to a top-fuel dragster.
For as much coin as you have sunk in that Mini-14, it had BETTER hit what it's aimed at, and cook you dinner, take the dog out, and look mighty good in a lace teddy/G-string ensemble come bedtime.
Then again, for as much coin as you have sunk in that Mini-14, I could build a sub-MOA Mini-14, or buy a couple AR-15's that group as tightly, with change left over for ammo.
It's kinda poor form to hold that hot-rodded Mini-14 up as an example of the breed, considering it hardly resembles what the Ruger factory sends out the door in a cardboard box. That's like comparing a soccer mommy van to a top-fuel dragster.
Gewehr98,
Now, now...be nice..
No one knows exactly how much "I" spent Since the guy who built them gave me a sweeter deal because I established a good relationship with him....
Yeah, you could. But mine is built like a TANK, can't say the same for an AR (I am a fan also of the AR platform too)...
Hey now!!! I was called to this thread!!
MaceWindu
Now, now...be nice..
No one knows exactly how much "I" spent
Since the guy who built them gave me a sweeter deal because I established a good relationship with him....Yeah, you could. But mine is built like a TANK, can't say the same for an AR (I am a fan also of the AR platform too)...
Hey now!!! I was called to this thread!!
MaceWindu
cracked butt
Member
Mace's tricked out Mini is the only saving grace in all of the mini threads
Oh come on guy...
I think your scathing opinion of what Mace does with his money is hardly fair.
Frankly I am glad he was willing to spend his hard earned dollars on the Mini platform, just to see what it could do. He may have spent a bundle, but someone blazing a trail into places nobody has ever gone before does the exact same thing. Leading the charge is expensive, and many a time lonely. When you get to your destination often you find yourself standing alone. But despite all that there is something gratifying, and a self satisfaction of accomplishment. And since he's done that others have figured how to do the same thing with theirs much cheaper.
That's the problem with Amerika now. Too much conformism, not enough risk takers. Not enough people who could care less what the next guy thinks. We're all full of pride, full of stomach, idle and lazy, and we care nothing for others less fortunate than us.
Good thing fellows like Roosevelt (the real one), Hughes, the Brother Wright, Nickolay Tesla, Isaac Newton, all decided to ignore what their peers thought of them blowing time, money and sacrificing resources I'm sure we'll never know about. Many of these men, and others died poor, broke or in debt. Just Tesla alone, if he hadn't been around Edison wouldn't have "invented" hardly anything. Some of these guys were downright crazy, but they sure furthered society and technology as we know it today.
I think your scathing opinion of what Mace does with his money is hardly fair.
Frankly I am glad he was willing to spend his hard earned dollars on the Mini platform, just to see what it could do. He may have spent a bundle, but someone blazing a trail into places nobody has ever gone before does the exact same thing. Leading the charge is expensive, and many a time lonely. When you get to your destination often you find yourself standing alone. But despite all that there is something gratifying, and a self satisfaction of accomplishment. And since he's done that others have figured how to do the same thing with theirs much cheaper.
That's the problem with Amerika now. Too much conformism, not enough risk takers. Not enough people who could care less what the next guy thinks. We're all full of pride, full of stomach, idle and lazy, and we care nothing for others less fortunate than us.
Good thing fellows like Roosevelt (the real one), Hughes, the Brother Wright, Nickolay Tesla, Isaac Newton, all decided to ignore what their peers thought of them blowing time, money and sacrificing resources I'm sure we'll never know about. Many of these men, and others died poor, broke or in debt. Just Tesla alone, if he hadn't been around Edison wouldn't have "invented" hardly anything. Some of these guys were downright crazy, but they sure furthered society and technology as we know it today.
And now I know. Tweaked out Mini-14's looks SO MUCH COOLER than tweaked out AR-15's. I do like Mini's with stainless. It makes me want to go out and buy one to tweak it out. Unfortunately that there wallet type thing is a little thin right now. My question to the AR-15 lovers is where can I find an AR-15 that would be in the same price range as a Mini? Mini's around here go for about $400 and the AR-15's I've seen are about $800. If I want a 223 autoloader, Mini's seem to be the more viable option for me. How much do those bull barrels cost? That would probably be my first improvement if I got one. And thinking along the lines of price, I could buy a mini-14 for $400, tweak it a bit, and have spent about as much the price of an AR-15 I believe.
rbernie
Contributing Member
Risasi
Do you think that Mace's Mini-14 somehow represents some trailblazing accomplishment of note on his part? Geez, shows me what I know. Here I thought that the trailblazing was being done by the gunsmiths who put the actual engineering time into figuring out how to make the Mini14 better and whos services Mace purchased. If I'd only known that my being a consumer of somebody else's packaged efforts coulda marked me as a trailblazer, well heck - I'da done a bunch more of that there trailblazin' stuff a long time ago.
Look - anyone can spend five figures building a tricked-out Mini14. There are a number of shops who have package deals for building tricked-out Mini14s, and I suspect that Mace isn't personally responsible for having funded their collective R&D efforts. His buying their services hardly rates as trailblazing - it only demonstrates that he's willing to drop a lot of money to overcome the inherent shortcomings of the original item.
But this all misses the point - again. Mini threads always seem to head into the tulies, and not just because the Mini14 bashers come out. Oftimes its because the same old folks feel compelled to drag their F1-inspired five-figure Mini14 out of the safe and try to hold it up as an example of the breed. And, to further Gewehr98s analogy, that's kinda like suggesting that the Taurus that you drive to work every day is just like the ones they run in on the banking at Daytone. :banghead:
I've said it before and I'll say it again - I LIKE THE MINI. I may buy one here Real Soon Now <tm>, just to have one. But I can't stomach it when folks stand up and try to proclaim how wonderful the platform is when their only example is one that would cost me a house payment (or two) to duplicate.
Do you think that Mace's Mini-14 somehow represents some trailblazing accomplishment of note on his part? Geez, shows me what I know. Here I thought that the trailblazing was being done by the gunsmiths who put the actual engineering time into figuring out how to make the Mini14 better and whos services Mace purchased. If I'd only known that my being a consumer of somebody else's packaged efforts coulda marked me as a trailblazer, well heck - I'da done a bunch more of that there trailblazin' stuff a long time ago.
Look - anyone can spend five figures building a tricked-out Mini14. There are a number of shops who have package deals for building tricked-out Mini14s, and I suspect that Mace isn't personally responsible for having funded their collective R&D efforts. His buying their services hardly rates as trailblazing - it only demonstrates that he's willing to drop a lot of money to overcome the inherent shortcomings of the original item.
But this all misses the point - again. Mini threads always seem to head into the tulies, and not just because the Mini14 bashers come out. Oftimes its because the same old folks feel compelled to drag their F1-inspired five-figure Mini14 out of the safe and try to hold it up as an example of the breed. And, to further Gewehr98s analogy, that's kinda like suggesting that the Taurus that you drive to work every day is just like the ones they run in on the banking at Daytone. :banghead:
I've said it before and I'll say it again - I LIKE THE MINI. I may buy one here Real Soon Now <tm>, just to have one. But I can't stomach it when folks stand up and try to proclaim how wonderful the platform is when their only example is one that would cost me a house payment (or two) to duplicate.
Risasi, there are all sorts of trailbreakers in the business.
It's entirely fair. There are very few real new trailbreaking concepts in gunsmithing or wrenching on custom guns. Throw enough money at a problem, fire up the mill and lathe, and things miraculously get fixed or work better than original. Case in point - I've spent close to $1,500 building an ancient 1916 vintage 98 Mauser action into a 1/4 MOA 1000-yard wildcat tackdriver. The barrel alone was over $500.00. But I'm under no illusions that the product of my labors here:
should be compared to an as-issued Gew98 or Kar98K Mauser, as seen here:
Nor do I tout that my FrankenMauser is indicative of the entire 98 Mauser breed. I may be a silly old goose, but not that silly. Our poster child for tricked-out Mini-14's, however, rushes to the defense of the Mini-14 any time it's described as inaccurate, and those magic photos appear.
Did MaceWindu spend a metric buttload of money to make his Mini-14 shoot tight little groups? Sure, and probably more than I'd care to spend altering the donor gun. How much he spent seems to be a big military secret since he first started posting pics of it, but we all know where the work can be done and get our own quote. And before MaceWindu accuses me of drinking "Hatorade", I owned two of the breed before I sold them. They were intriguing to me, but their inaccuracy and lack of anything to set them apart from an AR-15 and AK, along with the non-availability of suitable full-capacity magazines, caused me to drop them like a bad habit. The fact that our poster child spent what he did to get the hot-rodded Mini-14 to shoot MOA says he wasn't particularly keen on the gun's out-of-box performance, either. But let's be truthful in advertising, ok?
It's entirely fair. There are very few real new trailbreaking concepts in gunsmithing or wrenching on custom guns. Throw enough money at a problem, fire up the mill and lathe, and things miraculously get fixed or work better than original. Case in point - I've spent close to $1,500 building an ancient 1916 vintage 98 Mauser action into a 1/4 MOA 1000-yard wildcat tackdriver. The barrel alone was over $500.00. But I'm under no illusions that the product of my labors here:
should be compared to an as-issued Gew98 or Kar98K Mauser, as seen here:
Nor do I tout that my FrankenMauser is indicative of the entire 98 Mauser breed. I may be a silly old goose, but not that silly. Our poster child for tricked-out Mini-14's, however, rushes to the defense of the Mini-14 any time it's described as inaccurate, and those magic photos appear.
Did MaceWindu spend a metric buttload of money to make his Mini-14 shoot tight little groups? Sure, and probably more than I'd care to spend altering the donor gun. How much he spent seems to be a big military secret since he first started posting pics of it, but we all know where the work can be done and get our own quote. And before MaceWindu accuses me of drinking "Hatorade", I owned two of the breed before I sold them. They were intriguing to me, but their inaccuracy and lack of anything to set them apart from an AR-15 and AK, along with the non-availability of suitable full-capacity magazines, caused me to drop them like a bad habit. The fact that our poster child spent what he did to get the hot-rodded Mini-14 to shoot MOA says he wasn't particularly keen on the gun's out-of-box performance, either. But let's be truthful in advertising, ok?
Bwana John
Member
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2004
- Messages
- 2,960
As I have been reminded, one man's "lipstick on a pig" is another man's prom date.
Okay, okay...
I've been taken to task.
I was being obstinate, why are you guys making me defend a gun that I prefer less than a bunch of others?
rbernie,
Yes perhaps it is unfair to call Mace the trailblazer. That was a bad analogy. Really he is the sponser, and direct beneficiary of the person he employed. But he still took the risk spending his dough. Sort of like Queen Isabella was the sponsor for Christopher Columbus. She put up the funding.
My point really is you guys are rather harsh in your view of what Mace has done. Rather than just go; "That's cool, but I'd never do that".
By the way, five digit firearm? I seriously doubt Mace has spent more than $9,999,99 your post would lead us to believe. Number one, he has two units. That's means combined he's spent $20k or more? No, I am guessing more like $1200-$2000 ballpark. I know a bunch of the guys are getting close to Mace's gun for right around $1200 now. Frankly I've spent well over $1500 on my Rock River with my customizing. That's a lot of Mini that can be had now.
--------------------
Gewehr,
I understand what you are saying. Where's the ROI for such a beast? And as I have said previously in this thread I myself have had nothing but problems with the Mini's I've touched, yet I still like them some, but still don't think they are worth the money that could be invested into an AR or AK. But likewise if I could pickup $300 Mini's all day...
By the way have you checked out what those guys are Perfect Union have done with the Mini? They are getting >1MOA platforms for around $1000.
Likewise, I also think you are saying when you start customizing anything when does the finished product no longer start out as the initial product? At least I gather that from your post with the Mauser. Is your Mauser still a Mauser? I dunno.
----------------------------
thebucket,
Again, check out Perfect Union. That Accuracy systems barrel is close to $500 I think, but there are other options. Much cheaper options.
Dog gone it, that does it. I'm building a cheap accurate Mini just for spite now...
----------------
[EDIT]
Bwana John,
That's just funny.
Kwaheri.
I've been taken to task.
I was being obstinate, why are you guys making me defend a gun that I prefer less than a bunch of others?
rbernie,
Yes perhaps it is unfair to call Mace the trailblazer. That was a bad analogy. Really he is the sponser, and direct beneficiary of the person he employed. But he still took the risk spending his dough. Sort of like Queen Isabella was the sponsor for Christopher Columbus. She put up the funding.
My point really is you guys are rather harsh in your view of what Mace has done. Rather than just go; "That's cool, but I'd never do that".
By the way, five digit firearm? I seriously doubt Mace has spent more than $9,999,99 your post would lead us to believe. Number one, he has two units. That's means combined he's spent $20k or more? No, I am guessing more like $1200-$2000 ballpark. I know a bunch of the guys are getting close to Mace's gun for right around $1200 now. Frankly I've spent well over $1500 on my Rock River with my customizing. That's a lot of Mini that can be had now.
--------------------
Gewehr,
I understand what you are saying. Where's the ROI for such a beast? And as I have said previously in this thread I myself have had nothing but problems with the Mini's I've touched, yet I still like them some, but still don't think they are worth the money that could be invested into an AR or AK. But likewise if I could pickup $300 Mini's all day...
By the way have you checked out what those guys are Perfect Union have done with the Mini? They are getting >1MOA platforms for around $1000.
Likewise, I also think you are saying when you start customizing anything when does the finished product no longer start out as the initial product? At least I gather that from your post with the Mauser. Is your Mauser still a Mauser? I dunno.
----------------------------
thebucket,
Again, check out Perfect Union. That Accuracy systems barrel is close to $500 I think, but there are other options. Much cheaper options.
Dog gone it, that does it. I'm building a cheap accurate Mini just for spite now...
----------------
[EDIT]
Bwana John,
That's just funny.
Kwaheri.
Sure you can spend a lot ot make it a tackdriver.
You can also spend very little, and make it a soldily reliable and accurate enough plinker/battle rifle.
Cutting the barrel, adding a muzzle break, trigger job, and bedding. Not a lot of work or all that expensive. And it makes it at least as good as an out-of-the-box AR.
You can also spend very little, and make it a soldily reliable and accurate enough plinker/battle rifle.
Cutting the barrel, adding a muzzle break, trigger job, and bedding. Not a lot of work or all that expensive. And it makes it at least as good as an out-of-the-box AR.
All I know is that Barbara Boxer thinks my Mini-14 shoots friendly bullets while the evil, black AR15s shoot mean, nasty bullets.
Everytime I take my Mini out, it reminds me what a complete idiot she is. Because there is absolutely no difference between the two.
Everytime I take my Mini out, it reminds me what a complete idiot she is. Because there is absolutely no difference between the two.
- Status
