Mini-14 or AR-15 or AK-47 or ...

C

cwalker3

New member
OK guys and gals, I need some help. I've decided that my next toy is going to be a semi-automatic rifle. It will be used primarily for target shooting. Maybe also some small game hunting, but I don't know yet. (Not a hunter but thinking of getting into it). I've read a good deal about the three guns mentioned, but still can't make up my mind.
Also, I haven't been able to find out much info on pricing of the AR and AK. The prices I've seen range anywhere from $300 to $1500. And I think I would definitely prefer something new as I don't know enough yet to be able to say what is or is not a good used piece.
Any help/advice you can give me will be appreciated.
 
Hey, from what little I know on this subject, I can tell you...a little. I know that the Mini-14/30 are more accurate than the AK. But, the AK is more reliable, especially with hi-cap mags. I do not know how the AR-15 fits into this though. Good luck!


Hueco
 
I have used the AR-15 for varmint(fox, coyote ,woodchuck, ect)and found it to be very accurate and reliable. The 223 round it fires is one of the best for small game, but in my opinion, a little small for deer. the AR-15 is the most expensive of the 3 you mentioned. The AK is as reliable if not more so, but not as accurate, still a better choice if you plan to hunt deer sized game. I have no experience with the mini-14/30, so I can't help you there.
 
Go with the AR in 223 and get yourself a 7.62x39 upper for it if you want to go deer hunting...although I personally took three deer with one shot each with an AR using 55 grain military ball over the Thanksgiving holiday. Not one of the three deer took a step after being hit either (two in the right shoulder, one gutshot).
 
I have no experience with the AK...but I owned a Mini-14 Ranch Rifle for a while and I currently have a Colt AR-15 (Match Target HBAR model).

If you want to target shoot and possibly hunt small game/varmints, the AR is the way to go.

The Mini-14 was barely accurate enough for large game sized targets up to 150 yards, :eek: definitely not accurate enough for small game and disappointing for any real level of target shooting. :(

The AR, on the other hand, is capable of accuracy nearly as good as a bolt action varmint gun! :D Of course, it only cost a lot more to go with the very best! ;)

Mikey
 
I would also recommend the AR. You say it will be mainly for target shooting and maybe some small game hunting later on. I don't know what kind of target shooting you are into, but if you get involved in NRA highpower or CMP matches, the AR is the only one of the 3 you mention that is allowed in the service rifle class. With the AR you can build a different upper receiver for each purpose and in effect have two guns. The AR is capable of outstand accuracy. They rule in NRA highpower service rifle class where shooting is done out to 600 yards. I have shot my AR service rifle (open sights, 20 inch barrel) in a few 1000 yard matches and they are pretty impressive. The AR lends itself to many modifications and there is almost no limit to the goodies you can get for one.

Go to Bushmaster's web page at bushmaster.com and you can look at a few different types that are available and get some ideas about options and pricing. DPMS also makes some really good guns along the varmint hunting line, they have a web page but I don't know the address.

The AK is a good battle rifle, but not great accuracy for serious target shooting. I have owned a couple of mini-14's and cannot say enough bad about them. Seriously, they would not hit a basketball consistently at 200 yards and both of mine had function problems. Nuff said about that. I will probably take a flaming from the mini fans. Sorry guys, but that is the way it was.
 
ARs are a great rifle, too bad they take such a bad political rap for their surly looks. The Bushmaster target (20") I shoot works great at the DCM matches, off the bench it shoots sub minute consistently - this with a stock (yuck) trigger. I'll agree that the mini 14 is not anywhere near an AR.
 
i went down this path last year
check out ar15.com
then look at mini14.com
wait there isn't a mini14.com...
;)
there are ~10 AR manufacturers
parts are very available
try geting a bolt for a mini 14
Ruger is the only source i have heard of

The chrome bore on the Bushmaster sold me

dZ
 
Get the AK. You can use it, abuse it, not clean it, and it will work. My Chinese AK has proven to be pretty accurate, especially considering its sights. I've double tapped rabbits at 100 yards and many more on the run from fairly close. For general purpose work, it's hard to beat.
 
I own all 3.
The Mini-14 is a nice,lightweight, rugged little carbine. It is reliable with the proper magazines. I have had good luck with Ruger factory mags (impossible to find and VERY expensive), PMI mags (Precision) and Ram Line mags. It is not at all accurate. The best I have been able to do is 3moa.

The AR is very accurate (DPMS makes 2 rifles that will do 1/4moa out of the box!!!) and pretty reliable. It must be properly cleaned and lubricated to maintain it's reliability which under the circumstances you descrbe should not be a problem. There are tons of parts and accessories and you can pretty much create whatver type of rifle you want. Mags (stick with USGI) are still plentiful but are getting expensive. ($20-30 each)

The AK is a wonderful little rifle. It is simple to use and maintain and is utterly reliable. An AK will work when all other rifles are sucking wind. The trade off for this reliablity is accuracy. Generally speaking they are a 4moa gun with iron sights. My Bulgarian SA93 (milled receiver) will shoot 2 moa when I am using a scope. Parts and accessories are plentiful and usually pretty cheap. Mags are still reasonable ($10-15) and ammo is dirt cheap (as low as $89 per 1000 rnds.) I'd suggest sticking with an AK in 7.62X39 rather than the 5.45X39. Ammo is cheaper and more plentiful. While the stamped receiver AKs are excellant guns I woud suggest buying a rifle with a milled receiver. (like the Bulgarian rifles) They are more expensive ($700-800) but they are worth it for the added durability and the extra accuracy potential.

If accuracy is your thing go with the AR.
If you want EXTREME reliability go with the AK.
If you don't have much $ buy a Mini.

Check out: www.ar15.com and www.ak-47.net for more info on these rifles.
 
If you're looking at AK's, have you also thought about an SKS? They are more accurate, with the same type of reliability, and shoot the same round while costing about half what an AK does. Stripper clips are cheap, and you can get 20- and 30-round fixed magazines for the SKS's. I own one (a Romanian manufactured variant), and have been very surprised with its accuracy out to 100 yards. It's much better than I am, for now. I'd add them to the "shopping list" if I were you.

Of the three that you listed, I would go with the AR, AK, and Mini-14, in that order.
 
Get the AK. I've owned the mini 14, it's fun for plinking but Ruger is a pain in the rear to contact and they only want to deal with the military and law enforcement anyway.

It a pain when gun manufacturers treat you like a second class citizen for buying their product. Rude people.

I used the M16 in the army and it was a royal nightmare. The problem with the AR + mini 14 has more to do with the round then the gun. In any wind you'll have to reposition. The 7.62x39 is a military round, not some souped up .22.

sorry AR owners if I've offended your religion. It's the caliber. If you have the bucks and are in love with the AR style, get one in .308.

If I ever one at "GREED," I'd go buy one.

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In my non-biased opinion, :) here's the bottom line. The ak-47 and ar-15 win hands down on the cool factor scale. In practicality, where we live they are considered assault weapons.

You can walk into the local walmart and by a mini 30 and a mini 14 for about what you would spend on one cool ak or ar. Then you go through the quick federal rifle approval process and walk out to your car and take it home. All kinds of really cool accessories are available (Bullpup stocks,muzzle brakes, etc.) Plenty of hi-cap magazines are available for not too much, and you've got both calibers covered. You're not on a federal hit list as an assault weapon owner. Which ones are more accurate? I don't know. I have yet to find a gun where I'm more accurate than the gun. Come to think of it, if we're all being honest here how many of us have?
 
"I have yet to find a gun where I'm more accurate than the gun."

I have - my one & only Mini-14 Ranch so I sold it. It truly did suck. Many factory & reloads through it - still sucked. Had one factory hi-cap & worked great. All the aftermarket hi-caps sucked as well. Bang, jam,bang, jam ...

"Come to think of it, if we're all being honest here how many of us have?"

Me, for one. Let's start a new topic. ;)
If I suck, you'll hear about it. If I don't you'll hear this ......


Too, the only people bitchin' about the ineffectiveness of the .223 are those that haven't been shot with one. ;) The rest aren't talkin'.

Get an AR15 - then you can be one of the elite. ;) Sucks to be able to shoot better than your rifle.
 
Sorry if somebody wasn't too happy with my opinion. Somehow I thought that's what this was all about. This was my first time on this web site. Thanks for the welcome. I didn't bother directing my responses directly at or attacking someone else because I didn't think that's what this was about and we're all in the same game....sort of. Firearms. Besides that, what's to be gained? Next time I'll keep it to myself. No point in wasting any precious time making what I believe to be valid points to assist someone in the decision making process. It'll be a lot easier and less time consuming to just read the boards without responding anyway. It's your money. You know how thick your wallet is. Spend it where you wish. I'm just gonna go have fun with my guns now. I guess I just haven't learned to get too serious about them yet. Imagine that, just going out to blow off a few rounds for fun and not making a ballistics study out of it. I'm just in it for the fun. Sorry guys.

By the way, the only time I've ever had any semi auto pistol or rifle misfire or misfeed on me it was not the fault of the gun. Either it hadn't been cleaned, lubed or maintained properly or it was cheap ammo. Bargain deals. By the way, none of mine have ever misfired or misfed. And no, they're not all rugers. They're all different types and brands. I happen to also think that the maintenance part is as much fun as shooting. Sort of like owning a boat. If you don't enjoy taking care of it, you're miserable. Anyway, I guess all us fools that bought mini 30's and mini 14's must just be a bunch of idiots. We were scammed in to buying junk. Good thing for the stores that they have a no return policy on firearms ,huh.
 
Ruger Guy,

Lighten up, please. You weren't being slammed & if you took it so, I appologize - wasn't the intent. Do notice the 3X smilies in my post.

The only "problem gun" I've ever had was my one & only Mini14 & aftermarket mags as pointed out. It was maintained (as all else) & it sucked. No opinion here. Even the guy I sold it to thought it sucked & sold it shortly thereafter. Not to say all Minis suck - just the one I had.

And as far as opinions in TFL go - we all got one - it's the blonde vs brunette/45 vs 9mm & on & on. One of the best things about this forum is that we (I) get to blather about our (my) opinions, pass on information & prejudices without taking too much offense ... we all still get to be studly ;) (note that the smilies let us make fools of ourselves as opposed to others much of the time)

Do stick around.
 
I've never played with the AR or AK...but had a Mini-14 Ranch since I was 16 (32 now)...I love it. Not a tack driver, but its done everything I ever asked...much to the sorrow of many jacks, squirrels, bunnies and coyotes. Accuracy goes to hell when the barrel heats up after some constant shooting; the barrel is too thin.

The Mini is a working gun...tolerant of less than optimal cleaning. Someday I'll get an AR, but won't get rid of the Mini


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"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes" RKBA!
 
I've got ARs, AKs, and I plan to get a Mini-14 at some time in the future (I bought magazines for it before they were banned here in California). I agree with most of the opinions that have been expressed here.

I think the AR will be the most accurate. I'd recommend getting a factory-built Bushmaster rifle. I've put together one kit (on a Bushmaster receiver), and I'm still trying to get it to work (after a lot of hassle, and one trip back to the kit supplier). I think I'm close, but unless you really want the experience of building it, I'd pay the extra hundred or so and get one the works out of the box (as my Bushmaster did). You can probably find one for around $750 or so. I'm sure Armalites and other quality brands are also fine.

I recently bought two Romanian AK clones (SAR-1s). They are not nearly as nicely finished or precision made as the ARs, but they both work great, seem reasonably accurate, and are a LOT of fun to shoot. And they cost $350-$400 each. I'm very happy with them. They are also cheap to shoot (I paid $102.13 for 1,000 rounds of Russian "Wolf" ammo, delivered to my door).

I'm sure the milled AKs (Bulgarians, etc.) are nicer, but they are still AKs (not really designed to be a precision rifle), so I can't get excited about paying $700-$800 for one.

I want the Mini-14 mostly because it won't have to be registered as an "assault weapon" here in California (no pistol grip). If not for these illogical legal definitions, I'd probably stick with the ARs and AKs. Or maybe another FAL - I have one of these and like it a lot as well. And if you really want to hunt big game with a military-style rifle, this would be the best choice - its a .308. Good luck.
 
I would love to have a folding stock AK... I have seen a few - and I have liked them.
I did own an AK-47 for a short time... It was Sporterized and thus had a huge nasty wood-thumbhole stock. I had to resell it before I even had the chance to fire it.
This was long ago when I really wasnt all that considerate of what I did with my money.
*sigh* The pre-marriage Kodiac...
I am pretty sure I would dump one of my ARs for an good short barreled AK. If the AK was in 1/2 decent shape... Oh Yeah.
My Brother has a very nice one - he was wise to get it when he did.

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"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity." - Sigmund Freud
 
Labgrade,

Thanks for the wake up call. Sorry for taking it so seriously. I have no exprience at all with bulletin boards. This is my first time using one. I guess I took it all wrong.

Thanks for writing back with a handshake and pat on the shoulder and opening the door. I appreciate it.

About the question of which to buy, I'd buy them all if I could. What's the deal with some of these real cheap ak47's I've seen lately. There was a brand new one for sale at the range last night for about three hundred bucks. Made by Maadi? Egyptian? The wood looked like crap, but that's subject to change. Are these things junk or are they o.k. Certainly doesn't seem to approach the quality or price of the ar's I've see around. But I obviously didn't use it.
 
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