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I think that last time they were that cheap by in large was during Bush Jr admin, pre Obama, so not that loooooong ago. I bought a used underfolder WASR at a local shop for $350 , 4 years ago. LUCKY.
AR-15 vs. Mini 14 Cost
- Thread starter billt460
- Start date
Mini 14's are still in the $1000 range at Palmetto State Armory. I looked at getting one years and years ago, and I thought they were around $800 then, so that price would seem to be around adjusted for inflation, where the AR's have dropped a lot.
I do not own a rifle. I own several firearms but not a rifle. I wanted to get one, still do. The Mini 14 seemed like a decent option for me - I prefer wood on my rifle, not that I have any issue with the tacti-cool look, its just not me. I have since thought about getting a AR15 and a wood furniture kit?
I do not own a rifle. I own several firearms but not a rifle. I wanted to get one, still do. The Mini 14 seemed like a decent option for me - I prefer wood on my rifle, not that I have any issue with the tacti-cool look, its just not me. I have since thought about getting a AR15 and a wood furniture kit?
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No and should be outlawed. HAHAHA. The handguard of the AR is not very robust in its original form, and making it out of wood is a bad idea for so many reasons, looks cool, but that is about it. I would not recommend this.
You will need to educate me on this. Are you feeling the handguard will fail? Realize I am not going to war with this. If I do, we all have real problems. Ha Ha.
I should have just bought a Marlin 336 before they went under.
I tend to agree, the look is interesting but the practicality is low…
An option is hydro wrapping. Cheap and not hard to do. Windham even offers a VEX model wrapped that way:
How many of you remember the Ruger XGI? (.308 version of the Mini 14). Fewer than 100 prototypes were ever produced, because the rifle never went into full production.
Also, how many of you remember, that when the Mini 14 was first introduced, it was only available to law enforcement. (No civilian sales)? There was so much customer demand for the rifle, company executives finally talked Bill Ruger Sr. into offering it to the general public.
But Bill Ruger insisted it only come with a 5 round magazine. Bill Ruger was a fantastic gun designer, but a lousy politician. 20 round Ruger Mini 14 magazines were not offered to the general public until after his death in 2002.
Back then, occasionally some of them would "leak" out of the factory. Probably "appropriated" by employees. I remember back in the early 90's seeing 2 of them new in the box at a local gun show for $125.00 each. (1990 dollars). About 10 minutes later I walked by the same table and both were gone.
https://www.blade-city.com/blogs/gun-knife-blog/tb-308-mini-14
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruger_XGI
Also, how many of you remember, that when the Mini 14 was first introduced, it was only available to law enforcement. (No civilian sales)? There was so much customer demand for the rifle, company executives finally talked Bill Ruger Sr. into offering it to the general public.
But Bill Ruger insisted it only come with a 5 round magazine. Bill Ruger was a fantastic gun designer, but a lousy politician. 20 round Ruger Mini 14 magazines were not offered to the general public until after his death in 2002.
Back then, occasionally some of them would "leak" out of the factory. Probably "appropriated" by employees. I remember back in the early 90's seeing 2 of them new in the box at a local gun show for $125.00 each. (1990 dollars). About 10 minutes later I walked by the same table and both were gone.
https://www.blade-city.com/blogs/gun-knife-blog/tb-308-mini-14
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruger_XGI
I'm pretty sure I saw them for $99 at one point.
I had a Norinco MAK90 that I sold for around $800 the early 2010’s… Probably could get $1,500 for it now.
You can still buy a Marlin 336 . Owned by Ruger now and getting good reviews .
Nothing more than supply and demand. There must be a 100 companies out there that make AR guns, uppers, lowers, and parts. Some are pure crap. Others are super nice guns. Ruger has decided that their AR offerings are closer to the lower middle. It appears that they are more interested on selling their AR offerings on a price point, instead of competing with the nice ones.
Meanwhile, they have kept the Mini 14 as a much nicer gun. Much lower demand, so they don't have to compete against everyone that wants a chunk of the market, like it is in the AR market.
Ruger and S&W are marketing those that want a solid AR and don't want to go through the hassle of purchasing separates. There are many thousands out there that want that. I know I did. Plus the low end with polymer lowers are garbage.
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All day. They are amongst the best you can buy, even compared to Arsenal milled versions.
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Might be so. Man if i only knew, that they would have been a 1500% increase........you know someone somewhere has crates of them in waiting.
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Dont get me wrong, they look cool, and I would say in the carbine length it might be OK, but in the rifle length, the handguard is too long. There is the issue of the wood swelling also. The fitment of the standard handguard is a compression fit. The delta ring has a strong spring that compresses the handguard forward toward the front handguard retainer. An unstable material like wood, would change in dimension and effect accuracy. Many polymer handguards fit a little loose as is. With no support between the delta ring and front handguard retainer, without any reinforcement, I can see some issues with durability.
Not trying to sway against it, but if it were me, I would not get a set due to the concerns above. For a wall hanger or convo piece sure.
Two things I want to do in the near future. Build and AR-15, then an AR-10.
I have an M1 Garand and that thing has never let me down, never malfunctioned, ever. I will never sell the M1.
Do it before your state becomes insane
I hear ya! Our governor has vetoed a lot of really bad bills put forth. He is in his last term now. Thanks for the prompt!
A mans rifle !
That is pretty.
I got my stainless ranch rifle new, back during the mid nineties at a local gun show (Dealer) for $400. Accuracy if you're lucky three to four inch groups at 100 yards. I hear if a Mini-14 is properly rebarreled and bedded you can get them down into the one MOA area. It is a fun little rifle to shoot otherwise. Anyone remember the gun of choice for the eighties TV show the A-team, it was the Mini-14. Again as many have pointed out the one downside of the Mini-14 is the outrageous cost of the magazines.
