Is the Ruger Mini-14 Obsolete?

[WoodsCraft]

Or, they just like classic styling without a lot of tacticool BS.

It has nothing to do with tacticool BS and everything to do with function over form, its a *******ized variant of the M1 and M14(both of which are obsolesecent) . You can like what you like but that doesn't mean its a great gun, they are reliable and not all that accurate, none the less its still a poorly designed gun from a lot of engineering standpoints. Frank Berto once said of Campagnolo's Nuvo Record drive train that is was a poor design that was built so well that it would continue doing what it was designed to do poorly forever.

The same applies for the Mini 14 , The one thing statistically it might do better than an AR according to James Reeves of TFB TV is keep you out of jail as juries seem to think its less evil than an AR .

 

[OK Corgi Rancher]

I've never seen an episode of the "A-Team" and I like them. Not because they're the best gun on the market but because I like the way they look. A Mini-14 was the first gun I ever bought for myself so there's a bit of nostalgia mixed in. I don't give a rat's ass if people want to think it's obsolete or obsolescent or whatever they want to say about it. Don't like it? Fine. Don't spend your money on one.

I like all sorts of guns that might be considered obsolete or obsolescent. I like cars and trucks that might be considered that way as well. So what?

Not everything has to be quantified. In my opinion the Mini-14 is an iconic American rifle that's been enjoyed, and bi**hed about, for over 50 years. And it's still being made so there are enough people out there who like them, obsolete or obsolescent or not, to keep the production of them going.

 

[WoodsCraft]

I've never seen an episode of the "A-Team" and I like them. Not because they're the best gun on the market but because I like the way they look. A Mini-14 was the first gun I ever bought for myself so there's a bit of nostalgia mixed in. I don't give a rat's ass if people want to think it's obsolete or obsolescent or whatever they want to say about it. Don't like it? Fine. Don't spend your money on one.

I like all sorts of guns that might be considered obsolete or obsolescent. I like cars and trucks that might be considered that way as well. So what?

Not everything has to be quantified. In my opinion the Mini-14 is an iconic American rifle that's been enjoyed, and bi**hed about, for over 50 years. And it's still being made so there are enough people out there who like them, obsolete or obsolescent or not, to keep the production of them going.

And yet the thread title "Is the Ruger Mini-14 Obsolete?" Your personal like of the gun doesn't make it less obsolescent . I was posting based on the actually OP questions and not what I like or hate , but I am honest enough to call it the way it is. If you like it then you like it and great for you doing so. I like lots of things that aren't state of the art or the best functioning but it doesn't withstand the fact they're not obsolete .

 

[OK Corgi Rancher]

And yet the thread title "Is the Ruger Mini-14 Obsolete?" Your personal like of the gun doesn't make it less obsolescent . I was posting based on the actually OP questions and not what I like or hate , but I am honest enough to call it the way it is. If you like it then you like it and great for you doing so. I like lots of things that aren't state of the art or the best functioning but it doesn't withstand the fact they're not obsolete .

Yeah its obsolescent not specifically obsolete and its not a great fun for for accuracy or optics mounting options . The newer ones are better than the old ones from an accuracy perspective but to be fair I wouldn't probably own another one and I've owned more than a handful of them over the years . People though usually have some irrational emotional investment in the who A Team aesthetic or if you're actually a life long resident of Oklahoma I would suppose you could have that wanna be OHP or OSP Guard fantasy going on also . As a younger man I remember some troopers had them mounted with stock folded on the driver door so they could be retrieved quickly .

So saying the "usual" owner who acquires a Mini-14 is engaged in fantasy and/or has an irrational emotional investment in the gun based on a TV show or the fact a particular LE agency was issued the gun is calling it like you see it.

Yeah. OK.

 

[WoodsCraft]

I’m surprised magpul hasn’t made a polymer copy of rugers 20 round magazine.

The style of lockup using a tab doesn't lend itself well to polymer magazine designs , its one of the reasons that polymer magazines for the FAL , M14 and HK series guns have always fared poorly and are prone to break. Pmags work ok for an AR or similar guns because they are inserted into a magwell with a catch hole , versus the system used by the FAL (rock and lock ) or an M14( insert and rock and lock)

 

[KurtM]

I am in no shape nor thought, a fan of the Mini-14, but this whole thread cracks me up!!!! The same folks that are debating whether the Mini is obsolete are the exact same folks that are jumping on the new "tactical" lever gun craze......talk about obsolete!!

 

[WoodsCraft]

So saying the "usual" owner who acquires a Mini-14 is engaged in fantasy and/or has an irrational emotional investment in the gun based on a TV show or the fact a particular LE agency was issued the gun is calling it like you see it.

Yeah. OK.

You're proving my point about the emotional investment as we speak . To Paraphrase I like it cause I like it and its the first gun I ever purchased .

 

[OK Corgi Rancher]

You're proving my point about the emotional investment as we speak . To Paraphrase I like it cause I like it and its the first gun I ever purchased .

Apparently you forgot the rest of what you said about the emotional investment. Let me remind you. You said it was irrational and based on the A-Team aesthetic of the gun.

My nostalgic/emotional like of the gun was based on the fact it was the first gun I bought for myself...which also happened to be at a difficult point in my life. Not because of a silly Hollywood TV program.

 

[OK Corgi Rancher]

I am in no shape nor thought, a fan of the Mini-14, but this whole thread cracks me up!!!! The same folks that are debating whether the Mini is obsolete are the exact same folks that are jumping on the new "tactical" lever gun craze......talk about obsolete!!

I love lever guns, myself. But I don't get the appeal of the tactical lever gun craze. But I also think if that's what you like, knock yourself out. Even if it's an irrational, emotional attachment or fantasy.

 

[KurtM]

I took like levers, a big fan of the 86 Winchester, got one in 45-90 made in 1887 and a 50-110 made in 1895. And a nice 30-30 Rifle, not carbine. Don't own a mini though, nor do I miss the one I had.