Favorite AR-15 Alternatives?

[wcd]

I will never understand the love of the mini14. They are and have always been the worst choice in semi auto 223.

Is there a better semi auto alternative to the ar15, no. I've tried most. There isn't a semi auto 223 that is better than what an ar can be built to.

If you just like variety a scar16 is a great gun. But id still take a knights sr15 over a scar.

Tavors are not great. They are neat but even after a long run with the Israeli military trying to keep sales alive with cool action pics they have gone back to stoner carbines. Augs are cool and fun but things lack with them like mounting a light or suppressor plugs being nonexistent. The best bull pup I've shot (I've ran all of the above) was the desert tech mdrx. That thing is nice. Great options for lights and optic mounting, super soft recoil, amazing accuracy, but it's heavy af.

Lots of other modern 223 that i would consider but haven't ran like the b&t apc223 etc...

end of the day it's fun to shoot them all but a good knights armament will make about every other automatic in your safe obsolete.

Ok I I’ll bite, they are and have always been the worst choice for a semi auto 223/556 is that kind of like saying that ******’s has to be the right choice for everyone?

I have Mini 14 Ranch with a synthetic stock, it is what I shoot the best. It is well suited for our needs and has dispatched more that a few predators prior to the acquisition of our LGDS.



Seriously I really do not care for the AR 15 and believe the M1A is a superior platform! Does that make it the best for everyone for every in every application? Not hardly.

 

[wcd]

Another vote for the Mini-14 ...........I have 3 (1 ,186 series and 2, 196 series ) pencil barrels .
Like yourself , I never got comfortable with the AR platform( even though I do own a few )
To me , the Mini`s are like the "AK" for the 223/5.56 round .........

I have one of the later series ones with the thicker barrel and have never had any issues with it. Mine has a sling and it shoulders for me far better than an AR 15. For me it’s better balanced sports a red dot and when I do my part it is solid poa poi.

 

[Ggreen]

Ok I I’ll bite, they are and have always been the worst choice for a semi auto 223/556 is that kind of like saying that ******’s has to be the right choice for everyone?

I have Mini 14 Ranch with a synthetic stock, it is what I shoot the best. It is well suited for our needs and has dispatched more that a few predators prior to the acquisition of our LGDS.



Seriously I really do not care for the AR 15 and believe the M1A is a superior platform! Does that make it the best for everyone for every in every application? Not hardly.

2 days with reveres riders and a decent ar15 and your mind will change. It's not a personal attack its a well documented function of reliability and accuracy issues that have always plagued the ruger minis. It is why they are no longer considered for duty carbines.

I won't discount familiarity as a reason to like a rifle, but the ar is infinitely better. I'll stand by saying the mini continues to be a bottom shelf quality choice at a top shelf premium.

 

[wcd]

2 days with reveres riders and a decent ar15 and your mind will change. It's not a personal attack its a well documented function of reliability and accuracy issues that have always plagued the ruger minis. It is why they are no longer considered for duty carbines.

I won't discount familiarity as a reason to like a rifle, but the ar is infinitely better. I'll stand by saying the mini continues to be a bottom shelf quality choice at a top shelf premium.

Well no it will not anymore than your opinion of the AR platform. I can only speak for my experience with my Mini 14. It has been flawless and if the need arose I would have no issue for duty use.

From my understanding the Mini 14 was designed to use American Brass Ammo not steel cased Tulamo or some other flavor. They are like any other firearm try using cheap ammo and it may well malfunction. From what I understand they were also designed to use Ruger Magazines as well. Not faulting them for that just saying there are a lot of reasons for malfunctions.


While for some AR may well be the best choice based on individual need and preferences. But that hardly makes it infinitely better.

 

[Ggreen]

Well no it will not anymore than your opinion of the AR platform. I can only speak for my experience with my Mini 14. It has been flawless and if the need arose I would have no issue for duty use.

From my understanding the Mini 14 was designed to use American Brass Ammo not steel cased Tulamo or some other flavor. They are like any other firearm try using cheap ammo and it may well malfunction. From what I understand they were also designed to use Ruger Magazines as well. Not faulting them for that just saying there are a lot of reasons for malfunctions.


While for some AR may well be the best choice based on individual need and preferences. But that hardly makes it infinitely better.

Ok. And like i said i won't discount your personal comfort with the platform, but that doesn't negate the fact that they have been removed from every major department and agency mostly for reliability and accuracy issues. Anecdotal evidence and nostalgia aside (nostalgia is a legit reason to want and use a firearm, but not a factor of overall useless) the minis have been obsolete for a long time and there are much better performing platforms at our under the cost of a mini.

Again nostalgia and general comfort with a platform are personal choices that can make you want to improve with and use that platform. To say a mini is better than an ar is scientifically wrong (proven by every agency that has swapped to the ar15 from the mini over the last 30 years).

To say that a mini is a better performing carbine than an mdrx, scar, apc, arx etc... is pretty easy to deny as well.

All that said if you like something that's great. Understanding that personally liking something doesn't make it a good or better product than the product's competitors is key to credibility. I like the heck out of my heritage barkeep and i use it all the time, but i know it's a heritage barkeep and likely a worse choice than most other 22lr revolvers. I recommend them, but i won't tell someone it's better than a wrangler or a smith.

 

[wcd]

Ok. And like i said i won't discount your personal comfort with the platform, but that doesn't negate the fact that they have been removed from every major department and agency mostly for reliability and accuracy issues. Anecdotal evidence and nostalgia aside (nostalgia is a legit reason to want and use a firearm, but not a factor of overall useless) the minis have been obsolete for a long time and there are much better performing platforms at our under the cost of a mini.

Again nostalgia and general comfort with a platform are personal choices that can make you want to improve with and use that platform. To say a mini is better than an ar is scientifically wrong (proven by every agency that has swapped to the ar15 from the mini over the last 30 years).

To say that a mini is a better performing carbine than an mdrx, scar, apc, arx etc... is pretty easy to deny as well.

All that said if you like something that's great. Understanding that personally liking something doesn't make it a good or better product than the product's competitors is key to credibility. I like the heck out of my heritage barkeep and i use it all the time, but i know it's a heritage barkeep and likely a worse choice than most other 22lr revolvers. I recommend them, but i won't tell someone it's better than a wrangler or a smith.

So which agencies have swapped it out for an AR? To say a Mini 14 is better than an AR 15 is scientifically wrong? As proven by every agency that has swapped them out for AR 15’s ?

I am not saying one is any better than the other except for myself personally. if they are so unreliable and substandard why have so many of them sold? Why are they still in Production?

I can tell you why because there is no one size fits all solution for every person and every application.

 

[nipprdog]

in the non-semi auto category, Remington 7615P

 

[knutty]

Nothing beats a good AR. Nothing comes close when you look at weight, accuracy, reliability, modularity and cost. I like some other designs, especially the AUG which I would consider the only other 5.56 rifle that can compete with the AR.

 

[Ggreen]

So which agencies have swapped it out for an AR? To say a Mini 14 is better than an AR 15 is scientifically wrong? As proven by every agency that has swapped them out for AR 15’s ?

I am not saying one is any better than the other except for myself personally. if they are so unreliable and substandard why have so many of them sold? Why are they still in Production?

I can tell you why because there is no one size fits all solution for every person and every application.

Most recently i believe it was ms st police those are the last batch of i can remember seeing in the last few years. It's been a long time since I've seen any mini as an issued duty carbine. It's been a solid decade since I've read an article from a leo competition where a department or agency was competing with them. The noted reliability and accuracy issues are literally on every gun forum and a lot of magazines/ blogs have articles on how to identify a "good one" or how to fix issues with "not good ones." Even the ruger forum goes deep on them and the issues involved.

There are definitely a lot of crummy ar15s out there too today. But people don't try to homebuild minis. So I'm speaking in that 1000 to 1600 range that minis ride in compared to other 223 options. A base wood mini coats more than an iwi zion that is a really capable carbine on the bench and in the field.

 

[KeeperoftheH]

So, I was actually trying to avoid the "better" debate. There's no question that the AR does some things better than other 5.56/.223 platforms. But, as several other people have mentioned, that doesn't make it the best platform for their wants or needs. And, I'd be willing to bet that so many departments switching to ARs has MUCH more to do with how much cheaper ARs are to buy, service, and supply mags for, than anything to do with a Mini being unreliable. Just my guess, though.

For those that mentioned the ARX, the "tactical tuna" has fascinated me since I figured out what it is, but I'm admittedly a sucker for gimmicks; it's why George Kellgren keeps getting my money, and why a SU16 is on my short list of guns to own.

 

[Ironhippie]

I really prefer my Mini over the AR's I've shot over the years, so much so that I dont even own an AR. The Mini is like driving a 60's - 70's bare bones muscle car compared to a rice runner with a big fart can hanging out the back. Seems like the AR's I always come across are more about how many rails they have and how much tacticool crap they have hanging off of em. I just dont get it.

 

[Ggreen]

So, I was actually trying to avoid the "better" debate. There's no question that the AR does some things better than other 5.56/.223 platforms. But, as several other people have mentioned, that doesn't make it the best platform for their wants or needs. And, I'd be willing to bet that so many departments switching to ARs has MUCH more to do with how much cheaper ARs are to buy, service, and supply mags for, than anything to do with a Mini being unreliable. Just my guess, though.

For those that mentioned the APX, the "tactical tuna" has fascinated me since I figured out what it is, but I'm admittedly a sucker for gimmicks; it's why George Kellgren keeps getting my money, and why a SU16 is on my short list of guns to own.

Now and more departments have suppressors and forward mounted weapon lights. Both things the mini does poorly. And again the duty options for ars are infinitely better performers.

The apx is cool but i don't think it's better than an ar. Different and fun yes. Do i want one yes.

 

[knutty]

So which agencies have swapped it out for an AR? To say a Mini 14 is better than an AR 15 is scientifically wrong? As proven by every agency that has swapped them out for AR 15’s ?

I am not saying one is any better than the other except for myself personally. if they are so unreliable and substandard why have so many of them sold? Why are they still in Production?

I can tell you why because there is no one size fits all solution for every person and every application.

The Mini 14 was always inferior to the AR15. A couple reasons it was popular with law enforcement:

1) Cost. AR15 was a very expensive rifle up until about 10 years ago. Mini 14 was half the price of a Colt AR15. Easy choice for the bean counters working with a tight budget.
2) Mini 14 was popular with men who trained on/used the M1, M14 and M1 carbine while in military service. During the 70s, 80s and up into the 90s this would have been a large percent of LEO. Not to mention the AR got a bad rap because of issues early in Vietnam that were remedied with the M16A1. Nevertheless, it took a long time for the old timers to come around and trust the AR.

 

[BigRed]

M1 Garand

 

[Indyhd]

Having owned several mini 14s and several ARs I will agree that the AR format is a better application. Thats not to say I wouldn't buy another mini to have as a truck gun. As someone pointed out, with the wood stock they are just less opposing to the uninformed and if I were going out onto a new farm to shoot ground hogs I would rather the farmers family see me first with a mini rather than one of the ARs. Not that I would rather shoot with the crappy trigger found on most minis. The cost on the mini is now higher that even mid price point ARs which will always give the nod to the purchase of the AR.

 

[KeeperoftheH]

Having owned several mini 14s and several ARs I will agree that the AR format is a better application. Thats not to say I wouldn't buy another mini to have as a truck gun. As someone pointed out, with the wood stock they are just less opposing to the uninformed and if I were going out onto a new farm to shoot ground hogs I would rather the farmers family see me first with a mini rather than one of the ARs. Not that I would rather shoot with the crappy trigger found on most minis. The cost on the mini is now higher that even mid price point ARs which will always give the nod to the purchase of the AR.

I'm still a little mystified at how Minis have doubled-to-tripled in price in the last 5 years. I'm really kicking myself for not snatching one up for $400-$500 when I had the chance; conversely, I can still remember the first time I saw a sub-$500 AR, and it wasn't all that long ago.

 

[breakingcontact]

I think a suppressed 300 blackout boltgun sounds fun.

 

[breakingcontact]

Sig 556 and 556R are pretty cool.

 

[DadSmith]

If I was to buy another mini it would be the Mini 30. However, the AR does everything a mini can do, and does it better.

 

[Indyhd]

I'm still a little mystified at how Minis have doubled-to-tripled in price in the last 5 years. I'm really kicking myself for not snatching one up for $400-$500 when I had the chance; conversely, I can still remember the first time I saw a sub-$500 AR, and it wasn't all that long ago.

I recently bought a mini 30 and now selling one of the Aks. Now wishing I had another 14 so I had a pair. The cost on both 14 and 30 has jumped tremendously.