If you decide to go with the Mini-14, you may be interested in my experience with one. I purchased a Stainless Steel Ranch Rifle with black plastic stock about four months ago.
1. It's fun to shoot. The caliber is mild and the semi-auto action further softens felt recoil. As another poster said, accurate follow-up shots are easy. (Well, see below.)
2, It's weight and length make it very handy and easy to carry.
3. It has a terrible trigger. My trigger pull gauge won't go high enough to read it, but it must be over 6 pounds. The pull is long and gritty, too.
4. The thin barrel gets very hot very fast. I think they call it the Ranch Rifle because it comes in mighty handy during branding season. Be careful slinging it over your shoulder afer a few shots if you are wearing a short sleeve shirt. This leads in to...
5. Poor to mediocre accuracy. Mine will shoot 2 moa, 5 shot groups. Once. From a cold barrel. All subsequent groups open quickly; 4-5 moa from a warm to hot barrel. You can see that this could be a problem with multiple attackers/sustained fire scenarios. This is definitely a "light use‹not a battle rifle"-type weapon. Other posters in other threads have had similar accuracy problems.
6. Length of pull is short. About like a Daisy Red Ryder. There are after-market stock extensions and butt pads made specifically to address this problem. Don't know if they make them for the plastic stock, though.
7. Brass goes. And goes. And goes. Mine ejects spent brass a measured 33 feet. This is a real problem at the range, and can make retrieval a real pain in the brush. However, it may be effective against multiple assailants approaching your 4 o'clock as you fire from your 12.
Otherwise, it's a great rifle. Seriously, I'd buy it again. For the price, it's a good buy. I considered AR-15-type rifles, and would've gotten one in a heartbeat (a Bushmaster), but for the prices. With the Ranch Rifle I got a weapon that *I'm* comfortable with out to 150 yards if I don't have to pull the trigger more than 5 or 10 times, AND I got 500 extra rounds of ammo (practice more!), AND I got a Kimber SS Classic‹‹all for the price of a good AR-15 clone.
If you go the Ranch Rifle route, check out a number of sources for mags. Prices vary greatly. As mentioned elsewhere, Precision Mags are good. My three 30-rounders are flawless. I have 8 other mags, 20 and 30 rnds, from various suppliers. Half the time nobody knows or is willing to tell you exactly who made them. Midway, Cheaper Than Dirt, and Cabela's are just a few to look at, who also offer a guarantee on function. I have three 20s from CTD that work without any failures. Two others were picked up at a gun show and work so poorly that they are reserved for range use only. By the way the 20s are a little handier, but may be harder to find. The 30s are too long when shooting from the bench or prone.
Check out Georgia Arms (georgia-arms.com) for .223 ammo. Very inexpensive and really first rate quality. I've put over 500 rounds, chosen randomly from 3,000 rounds, through the Ruger without any problems. The stuff is accurate too.
By the way, Clark, Volquartsen, and others can tune Mini-14s for superior accuracy, looks, and function. Don't bother. For that money you could get a really nice accurate AR-15 type, or go the route I did and get more guns and ammo.
My apologies for the length here, but I hope it will help you out. Good luck.