Should i trade a decked out Mini14 for a M&P-15?

Mini14 or M&P AR15?

  • Mini

    Votes: 23 34.8%

  • M&P AR

    Votes: 43 65.2%
  • Total voters
    66
  • Poll closed .
LONESOMEDOVE you and a few more were the only ones to answer the mans question. The rest are just too vain to be of any help to anyone.
 
thank you very much to some of ya'll! (you know who you are) to have someone with both rifles comment means something. by the time i part out the mini and pay for a new stock i will lose alot of money. this guy is willing to even trade and i have a very nice red dot (actually a "T" dot) to put on the AR for now. i was looking at scopes for it last night. if i want, when i can afford to later, i can pick up a wooden stocked "ranch rifle" and have the best of both worlds. this particular AR has a 16" barrel. would a 4-12X44 scope be too much? after shooting the mini a bunch with no magnification at all i am looking forward to some longer distance shooting that i am told the M&P is better for. believe me i wish i could have them both and i have nothing against either platform(i think, never owned an AR) so the decision has been made, i am meeting the guy 45 minutes from my house to make the swap on saturday. he is giving me 2 S&W factory mags and it has an aftermarket rear sight on it. getting a new gun is ALWAYS fun, wish me luck!!
 
Good luck,

I think that you will have boat-loads of enjoyment out of your AR.

hkfan,
put your shooting expertise to work and take some veterans hunting or shooting. The Wounded Warrior Project takes injured vets out on coyote hunts here all of the time. I am not being sarcastic, but it seems that you may have skills and have the means to do so.
 
Justin, I just want to say I'm sorry. I've also run into a bunch of snobs on here as well. They think because of an initial post, they know you and because they're on the internet they can say whatever they want. That said, my friend has an M&P 15 and he said its the best purchase he's ever made. Sorry I can't compare it to a Mini 14. Never shot one. But the M&P 15 is pretty sweet gun.
 
hkfan,
put your shooting expertise to work and take some veterans hunting or shooting. The Wounded Warrior Project takes injured vets out on coyote hunts here all of the time. I am not being sarcastic, but it seems that you may have skills and have the means to do so.
Click to expand...

That sounds awesome, I will have to look into it with my buddies from work.

As for the OP... I think in the end... me and you finally see eye to eye. My intent was never to insult you or your rifle.. but I guess using the word "crap" in my first post came across wrong, and we all had at it from there.

I think you will be more than pleased with your rifle seeing as they are a solid built gun, and I have yet to see one completely fail. As for the mini.... getting a plain jane one after the AR and enjoying both I would highly recommend and what really all my bickering was about.

They really are TWO different platforms.. for two different things... and I would never fault a man for having and enjoying both like I have... It is just when you try to add to, shape... bend and mold one into the other.. I think is not needed.

The M&P are solid built guns.. initially they had a bad rap because S&W was out sourcing all their components and parts from different vendors and you heard all sorts of reports of bad fitting.. receiver wobble, and just poor function. S&W quickly revamped this and brought the rifle in house.. and since.. they have been a rock solid AR.

A few minor details I noticed you might want to watch out for however I noticed when working on a few for customers:
- The front gas block tapered pins are installed reverse to what the "mil-spec Standard is"... Which functionally means nothing.. but its good to know so you don't damage it trying to remove.
-From the factory... their barrel nuts from my experience.. are extremely over-torqued. I sheered off teeth on the barrel nut trying to remove one for a customer who wanted theirs free floated.
-The flash hiders also seem to be torqued down super tight.. but not nearly as bad as some of the barrel nuts I have came across.

Bad blood aside... I really enjoy helping people with AR's... so if you ever have any questions... feel free to PM me.
 
I really hope that with the votes the way they are this has been made a no brainer for you. Worst case scenario is you sell the M&P and get another Mini14. I'd guess you're the one on the winning end of the deal here.
 
Yea, those are the tapered pins I was talking about.. you can remove the front sight... which is the gas block.. and replace it with whatever gas block you like, just make sure you get one to meet the specs of the OD of your barrel.

OR

Some people just grind off the front sight.. but leave the parts for the gas tube... It works.. but I would just replace the entire gas block.
 
i want the top smooth for optics, a scope that i want or the reddot i already have. will the sights interfere? an ad for a rifle like the one i am getting says the rear is "fixed" will it come off too?
 
Is it a fixed carry handle or a flat top? What your looking for is a flat top.. fixed carry handles are pretty much being phased out.. besides the guys making the old school builds.
 
The rear sight is removable..

The front sight.. you would need to change the gas block out... basically just unscrew the flash hider.... use a punch to punch the 3 pins out of the front sight gas block... side off gas block.... replace with new gas block of your liking... then re-install pins and flash hider.

Here is Midways selection of gas blocks... you just need to make sure you match the inside diameter of the gas block to the outside diameter of the barrel.

http://www.midwayusa.com/find?&sortby=1&itemsperpage=20&newcategorydimensionid=9652


Or you can go the cheaper route and just take a cutting well and cut off the front sight post... people do it.. but personally I would just replace it.
 
No way, the mini is an awesome rifle, I know people disagree with me but I think its a better gun than an AR. In the real world, it can do anything the AR cn do and it does so in a lighter, less expensive, simpler, and more reliable package.

It will lose against an AR if you are shooting paper target hundreds of yards away, but for self defense, hunting, plinking, and SHTF scenarios I really do think its a better rifle.
 
boltomatic said:
I think its a better gun than an AR.
[...]
for self defense, hunting, plinking, and SHTF scenarios I really do think its a better rifle.
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What makes it better? I'm honestly curious if you have any valid reasons for why you think it's a better rifle, because almost all of the reasons you listed in this post and in this thread are either misconceptions or just flat-out incorrect.

boltomatic said:
lighter
Click to expand...
The Mini-14 only weighs a few ounces less than a standard-configuration AR like the Colt 6920. And a lightweight AR weighs less than a Mini-14.

boltomatic said:
less expensive
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You can get a good budget AR like the M&P-15 Sport for less than a Mini-14 in many places.

boltomatic said:
simpler
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What makes it simpler? The AR is quicker and easier to disassemble and isn't any more complicated to operate.

boltomatic said:
more reliable
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I haven't fired enough Mini-14s to get a good judge of their reliability, but I highly doubt they're more reliable than a good AR-15. The M16/AR-15 family of rifles has been the single most reliable type of firearm I've ever used. My ARs have been even more reliable than my Glocks over the years, and my Glocks have been my most reliable handguns.

It's fine if you prefer the Mini-14 over the AR-15; the Mini is a great rifle. But constantly posting incorrect information about the AR-15 isn't going to help your case. (Oh, and I just noticed this thread is almost three years old.)
 
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