Ak vs Mini-14

In My Humble Opinion
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So I’m looking to replace my mini-14 my brother sold a few years ago for drug money(taught me to never leave anything at my mother’s house for storage). Anyway, I am amazed at the prices for new mini-14’s. $800 for a stainless steel ranch?? Being a price conscious consumer, I’m factoring price into the final gun purchase. I bought a copy of Shotgun News and have started looking at the AK-47s.

I’m not looking for something to hit a target at 600 yards or anything. I want a fun gun to shoot that is reliable. I’ll probably put a scope on whatever I buy and try to get some good distance shots in but nothing for the record book, definitely not spray and pray. Mainly it’s going to be shooting a lot of surplus ammo at the target range and in the backwoods. A .223 variant is also being considered since a friend has an AR-15 and bulk ammo purchases would make it more economical. My first thought is the mini-14 (has to be used because of price) but several websites I’ve read have recommended an AK due to price and the fact that the mini-14 isn’t all that accurate and the AK is just as reliable.

So, gun owners, I’m interested in your honest opinions of comparing the AK-47 to the Mini-14, general thoughts on the AK including a .223 version and any experiences on versions from different nations such as Romania would also be helpful.

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      • I owned a stainless Ranch mini-14 a number of years ago. It worked fine but never shot any ammo accurately. I spent about $450 for it, and there were lots of $110 Chinese SKS’s that shot about as accurate.

  • IN THE PAST, Mini-14 accuracy was pretty crappy. The reason was that the outside of the barrels was turned down too fast during manufacturing at Ruger. I remember reading some time in the last couple years that Ruger was going to re-do all the Mini tooling (it was original and had worn out) and then introduce “improved” models–so current models may not have quite this problem.

  • There are websites that say if you trim down the Mini barrel you can tune it to shoot better. The way I have seen/heard it, this was quite a bit of bother for a fairly-minor gain in accuracy, and the accuracy often wasn’t consistent across multiple brands and loads of ammo. The only way to really fix a Mini is to get an aftermarket match-grade barrel and gas block for it–the thicker barrels come with their own special gas blocks. The barrel is about 90% of the accuracy problem and a match-grade bull barrel will shoot MANY brands and loads of ammo well. That modification will cost you $400 or more to do, and the basic aftermarket barrels often don’t include any provisions for iron sights at all.

  • Minis tended not to be real popular for a couple related reasons: they weren’t exactly cheap, especially considering their (lack of) accuracy. …-and if you bought a Mini and then paid to get a good barrel put on it, you were up to the price of a Colt rifle anyway that shot about as well out of the box, and had much more accessories available. This is still largely true today–and most of the people asking online about Minis are people who live in states that have banned “military”-style guns like the “M16-types” completely.
    ~

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I know that you said price is a consideration, but if you were to heed the excellent advice given, instead of spending for the rifle and then the barrel upgrade, you could skip the Ruger version altogether and pick yourself up the gold standard from the fine people at Springfield Armory. I’m not an owner yet, but I have had the chance to fire these rifles and they are a joy to shoot and accurate beyond my abilities :smiley: .

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I shot (and still own) a Mini-14 (SS Ranch with SS folding stock, the discontinued one) for years and years, and I have amazingly poor accuracy with it. I also shot (and still own) two AKs, an AR-15, and numerous other long guns, all of which I had more luck with than the Mini. I’ve tried a lot of different techniques, ammunitions, and scope arrangements, and never been as accurate with the Mini as any other gun. I do not know why, but it just is the case. I think that DougC has the answer, however.

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Great post DougC and it matched many things I’ve read on the web.

Cluricaun, I wish price was no option but I just can’t do that sort of price. Having a kid on the way while being in the process of redoing my house, dropping $1k plus on a rifle would make my wife’s head split open and some form of lower demon emerge. Not to mention I couldn’t bring myself to spend all that on a weekend target shooter instead of a big screen TV.

Una, what type of AKs?

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Whoops, hit submit too soon.

I’m looking at an AK made in Romania. Running $329. I’ve not read anything bad about the Romanian AKs beyond finish issues. Any opinions?

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I have a ‘pre-ban’ Mini-14. Before the AWB banned such things I was able to get an almost-identical copy of the Ruger folding stock. (The only difference I see is the hinge block on mine is beefier than the factory’s. See photo here, second from the right.) I like my Mini-14 with a 20-rd. magazine, but I haven’t decided which stock I like better. The folding stock is wicked. The fixed stock is classic. Maybe I need another one, so I could have both versions? :smiley:

I have not experienced any accuracy problems with my Mini-14. But then, I’m not a marksman; I’m a ‘plinker’. Still, it seems accurate enough to me. Perhaps not as accurate as the AR-15s or the AR-180, but I think it shoots well. I prefer the AR-15s because they just ‘feel’ better to shoot; but I agree with my friends that the Mini-14 is also very fun.

I never got round to shooting my Maadi AKM, which I sold back in the '80s. I did get a chance to shoot a new AK-47 (black plastic furniture, don’t know the maker). It belonged to some guy at the gun range, and I wasn’t shooting for accuracy but just to feel it. It felt pretty much like the Mini-14 to me.

DougC said Mini-14s tended not to be popular. I disagree. I remember reading in a survivalist magazine back in the '80s that it was ‘The Freedom Fighter’s Gun’. The author liked the accuracy, ease of use, that it uses .223 ammunition, and that it was fairly cheap compared to an AR-15. He also mentioned that since it is not a military rifle it was less likely to be banned. (Which, as we have seen, was the case.)

I haven’t checked prices on Mini-14s, since I already bought mine so many years ago. IIRC they were in the $300 range when I bought it. (I have kept all of my receipts over the years, but I don’t know where they are right now. They’re in a notebook in a box somewhere.) At the time there were only a couple brands of AKM/AK-47 available in the states, and they cost about the same. My Maadi was a lot better looking than the AKs I’ve seen in the last 10-15 years. It seems like the flood of AKs and the poorer quality (of many, not all of them) have kept prices reasonable, while the Mini-14 prices have risen with the times.

There’s not going to be a socio-economic breakdown. If there were to be one I’d carry an AR-15 because I suspect that there would be more parts and accessories available for it. (If the feces collides with the rotating oscillator I’m guessing that M-16s would be pretty much available.) But as I said, it ain’t gonna happen. So I’ll be happy shooting paper with what I have, and I’ll pick up an AK when I find one I really like.

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      • Well one thing you should look into first is if you are going to any public shooting range, you should ask if steel-core ammo is allowed (specifically the SKS/AK Chinese Russian 7.62x39 stuff). Many ranges don’t permit using it because of its increased risk of shrapnel. And lead-core ammo for these guns is quite a bit more expensive than the steel-core mil surp you usually see, destroying much of the economics of the purchase. The typical 223 mil-once-fired reload ammo that one finds being sold is all lead-core 55gr FMJ anyway, so ranges have no problems with it.

  • For a while European American Armory was selling AK-type guns chambered in 223, in their “Saiga hunter” line of rifles. They have since stopped and only have their Witness pistols now, but someone else may have picked up importing the 223-AK guns, you might ask around on gun boards or look for a used one. They weren’t expensive, EAA was pricing them around $240–when a new Mini-14 cost $500+, and shot about as accurately and reliably. …I bought my Mini in the early-90’s, and at 50 yards, it isn’t unusual for an “old” Mini-14 to spread ten shots over a 5" or 6" circle. A match-grade barrel will drop that to 1/2" or so, with half-decent ammo.

  • I would say: if you want an accurate semiauto 223 and the Colt-type rifles are a legal option, just go with them. I bought the Mini specifically because I didn’t want a “military-style” gun at the time, and I would not buy a Mini today. If a Mini is the only option, then you’ll need a match barrel on it; a match trigger helps also but you can swap that out yourself at home. The barrel is an expensive upgrade, but it is most of the accuracy problem.
    ~

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I’ve seen the EAA Saiga’s selling in “Very good” used condition for $300-$350 at gun shows. Norinco also makes a .223 AK variant, but these, IMHO are cheap chinese garbage. The only Chinese made firearm I’ve ever liked and owned is the SKS model training air rifle

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The quality of the Norinco might be cheap but the price sure isn’t. $700 to $1200? I’d go buy a AR-15 at those prices.