[Paco]

Ben, aren't you 14 or 15?  If so, you've got a few years left until you can buy a Mini-14.

[Legs]

I've owned several of them.  The Mini 14 is one of Ruger's best offerings.  It is based on the tried and proven action of the M1 Garand rifles, and that's about all that should need to be said.  They feed and function excellently.  IN fact, the Mini 14 has only one downside, and that's the cost of the magazines.  Factory mags are ridiculously expensive, and precious few aftermarket mags function well enough to own them.  There is always someone who has yet to have any problems with his aftermarket mags, but I've gone through about 50-60 of them over the years and could easily count the number that worked right for me.

[Wolf]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Ben, aren't you 14 or 15? If so, you've got a few years left until you can buy a Mini-14.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
 Yes Paco, but you know how it is. My dad will purchase it, it will be owned by him, and he will be with me when I use it. Have you done that, or did you wait until you were 18? I might just stick with airsoft for now (likely), and wait until it can be owned by me, but I am just trying to gather information.

 Riggs, I read a thread on www.ar15.com about Mini-14's, and the guys on there seem to love bashing it. They said it had a $300 action and a $9 barrel (something like that). Is this true or is it another internet rumor? I have heard of the mag problem, but I could probably live with just a couple 5 rounders, I'm don't think I would need higher capacity mags.

[Pancho]

My dad has a Mini 14 that used to belong to my brother. Both of them like the rifle very much. Personally, I can't get past the looks of the thing. []

[Wolf]

With a Hogue stock and maybe a few other aftermarket parts that can be fixed [] And besides, you're not taking it to the prom []

[Paco]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Wolf</i>
<br />
 did you wait until you were 18?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Actually, I purchased my first firearm about 4 months ago.

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">
I read a thread on www.ar15.com about Mini-14's, and the guys on there seem to love bashing it. <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Are you really surprised that the guys on a forum called "AR15" are bashing a Mini-14?  Heh.

[Harley]

I had a Mini14 ranch rifle.  It worked great for me, but that was when you could buy a new one for under $300 and factory 30rd mags were less than $20 each.  The action is actually a copy of the tried and true M1 Carbine, not the Garand, but then they're all pretty much the same, Garand, M1 Carbine, M14.  If it's something you plan to use for hunting I suggest you get a Mini30 instead though.  You can take a deer easily with the 7.63x39 cartridge versus the 5.56.  They should be around the same price.

[Wolf]

Heh, that is what I was thinking, but alot of guys on there had owned them, and a few were actually standing up for them...until they were bashed to death by the AR15 fans [] I guess you're right about them bashing it because they like AR's. Anyway, I think I might wait until I am 18 (it's just easier that way).

Harley, I don't really plan on hunting with it, just plinking. So in that aspect the 5.56 round has the advantage in some ways (mainly price). But like I said, I think I am going to stick with airsoft for now, and buy real steel later in my life. Thanks for everybodies help []

[SHIFTY1944]

wolf,I own a pre-ban mini 14,folding stock,hi-caps and red dot scope.manufactured in the late 80's.barely any recoil and accurate as hell.I don't shoot it that much because I'd rather shoot my Vephr ak.paid way less than a new mini-14 goes for now(500+)and they have regular old rifle stocks,not the cool folding stock(which was factory feature on almost all mini-14s at that time)Buy a ak.some guys don't like them,but the Kalishnokov rifle is a battle proven weapon far superior to anything else!

[Harley]

Well for plinking you can't be a good .22.  Ammo is super cheap, a brick of 500 rounds for around $10 or less.  It would cost you $60 or so for the same amount in .223.

There's nothing wrong with you young guys getting your first gun at 15 or 16.  That's one of the things that made this country great.  Dads buying their sons their first gun and taking them hunting and teaching them respect for the gun and proper handling techniques.  I got my first gun, a 12ga shotgun for my 16th Christmas present.  My grandad use to take me hunting all the time and I used one of his guns before my mom bought me my first one.  I recommend to all you young guys wanting to get into real steel to take an NRA hunter safety class even if you don't ever intend to hunt.  Get your mom or dad to go with you.

[Legs]

There you go splitting hairs again, John!  :-) M1 Carbine, indeed!  They are all Garand designs!!  The Mini-14 is basically a shortened version of the M14 (M1A) so whether or not you like the looks of one will determine whether or not you like the looks of the other.  I've had Mini-14s is several configurations, from stock to the factory side folding metal stocks, and I like them in all cases.  The AR15.com crowd doesn't like ANYTHING but the AR, and it's ridiculous.  Compare the number of feed or ejection jams between the guns and there is zero contest, but don't tell an AR owner that he didn't buy the finest piece of metal on the planet.  Even SIG owners, who are supposed to be the same way about SIGs, love Glocks.  SIGForum is little more than Glocktalk "2" these days.  There is not a more closed-minded crowd than AR15 owners, followed closely by 1911 owners.  (I've owned 140 firearms, with about 95 of them being handguns...and about 15 of those being 1911s, and 6 being AR-15s..I've earned the right to bash as I will!!)  Do not ignore their thoughts, but take them with that in mind.  I'd take a Browning Hi-Power any day of the week over almost anything else out there in the same price range, but it doesn't make it "superior" to the SIG, etc.  Likewise, the Mini-14 has jumped in price, but it remains a better rifle than the AR15 for many reasons, reliability being reason #1.  They just don't jam, just like the AK.  If you don't mind the mag costs, you can't go wrong with the Mini-14, or the Mini-30 as John suggested.

[Paco]

I've put about 200 rounds through my 10/22 and an equal number through my AR-15 and had no jams in the Ar-15 (UMC ammo) and at least a dozen with the 10/22.  I use factory ruger mags in the 10/22 and tried two different makes of ammo with very little difference.  The 10/22 had more jams with the CCI ammo than the Federal HP ammo.  Go figure...  I was ready for the AR-15 to jam MUCH more than the 10/22.

[Pancho]

I have found that AR's are not too particular about what kind of ammo. I did try some reloads that would not chamber all the way. Talk about frustrating! But since, I have heard that as long as the entire case is resized (as opposed to just the neck), then reloads are good too. The only problem i EVER had w/ my old 10/22 was some Russian ammo that was heavily coverd w/ wax. Those would chamber, but had problems extracting. Once all the wax was gone, no problem.

[Legs]

No, .22 ammo is much more dirty than the big stuff because it isn't made to any high standards...it's made cheaply.  There is less powder/residue per round, yues, so the actions of those guns are much smaller as well.  .22s jam all the time.  I merely meant that the 10/22 is a king among .22 semi-auto rifles, but it still jams.
Give your AR some time...it'll jam for you!  
("Wink!")  It looks like a nice one.  Glad you're enjoying it.

[Harley]

History lesson Legs, the Mini14 action is copied off the M1 Carbine.  The receiver has more of an M14 look to it but the bolts will swap between the two with fitting, and the slide is almost identical.  []  And just what do you mean by "There is not a more closed-minded crowd than AR15 owners".  []  But in all seriousness, the only thing I don't like about the Mini14 is that it has a harder recoil to it versus an AR.  Just clean your .22 after each shooting session and you won't have any major problems with it.  Like Kyle said, .22's are inherintly dirty guns.  Remember it's a blow back design and you're going to get crud in your action and mags.