Which is easier to Maintain, a Mini-14 or an AR15

[Crash]

Thinking about buying either a Ruger Mini-14 or some AR15 clone for home protection ("up close and personal" out to about 300 yds).
In general, which is easier to maintain, including disassembly and reassembly?
Also, I understand that, because of twist rate of the Mini-14 (1 in 9), it probably won't shoot the heaviest bullets (anything above 75 gr) as accurately as the AR15. Is that correct?

All input appreciated,

Crash

[Paladin]

There are a lot of reasons why the AR-15 is really popular right now.

I've seen a Delta Force combat veteran say that if he had a choice between any pistol, shotgun, or rifle in the world for self defense he would choose an AR-15.

I know people that like the Mini-14, but in the end the AR-15 is more accurate, more modular, and as long as you keep the bolt carrier group lubricated, more reliable.

[Crash]

There are a lot of reasons why the AR-15 is really popular right now.

I've seen a Delta Force combat veteran say that if he had a choice between any pistol, shotgun, or rifle in the world for self defense he would choose an AR-15.

I know people that like the Mini-14, but in the end the AR-15 is more accurate, more modular, and as long as you keep the bolt carrier group lubricated, more reliable.

Paladin,

Thanks for your input--I appreciate it.

Crash

[Paladin]

Some discussion on twist rate:
Pairing Barrel Twist Rates with Bullet Weights for .223 and 5.56 NATO

Basically for a given caliber if you want to shoot more accurately at distance you want a heavy bullet. For 70- to 77-grain bullets you want a 1-in-7 twist rate barrel. Again this is primarily for distance shooting to reduce the effects of wind.

[Jose_in_Dallas]

Some personal notes from me. When I had a Mini 14 in the early to mid 90's. It was my first rifle in .223. Buddy of mine sold it to me on a good deal and I had always been infatuated with it since the days of The A-Team. It was a Stainless Steel model with the Choate folding stock. Made for a very compact setup. Loved that about it. But some things I hated. It had a very pencil thin barrel which I heard made for inaccuracy after a few rounds had been fired because it heated up quickly. No rail. Honestly didn't know that was a thing and I shot it with iron sights. Even when my vision was good, I was terrible at shooting this with any accuracy. Also what I read and experienced, it was finicky with magazines. Can't remember what brand it preferred but magazines were certainly an issue.

No idea if that's still a thing with modern Mini 14's or not. AR's can now add a Law Side Folder if you want to make it more compact or there are a lot of options for that coming from the factory (think Sig MCX). With the amount of accessories and compatibility, I would go with the AR. I honestly don't remember how hard it was to clean or to take fully down. But there is a reason why the AR is so popular. Sorry I didn't really cover easier to maintain as I do pros and cons.

[AF-Odin]

I have a Mini-14 I bought in 1978 and more than one AR platform. Really like the Mini-14 as a rifle to use for odd jobs around the ranch and plinking. Used to have a folding stock for it, but foolishly traded the stock about 1993. That said, the AR is much easier to care for, more options, and significantly cheaper magazines. For home protection purposes I would go for the AR with a red dot and a light.

[Grayling813]

I have an older 1980’s model Mini-14 Ranch, it’s the firearm I have owned the longest since mid ‘80’s. It’s always been as accurate as I can shoot and never had a single failure of any kind. The Garand system is battle proven in WW2 and Korea, low maintenance and reliable.

All that said, I hardly ever take it out to the range but when I do I always ask myself why I don’t shoot it more.

One advantage a lot of people say about the Mini-14, especially the Ranch models, is they don’t look like those scary black AR15 “assault rifles.”

Still, my go to rifle is my AR.

[Crash]

Some discussion on twist rate:
Pairing Barrel Twist Rates with Bullet Weights for .223 and 5.56 NATO

Basically for a given caliber if you want to shoot more accurately at distance you want a heavy bullet. For 70- to 77-grain bullets you want a 1-in-7 twist rate barrel. Again this is primarily for distance shooting to reduce the effects of wind.

Paladin,

Thanks for this article. I knew that, in general, you needed a faster barrel twist for the heavier bullets, but didn't know the specific rates for the various bullet weights. Very helpful....

Crash

[Rafe]

For a somewhat...extreme example, check out the 8.6 Blackout. Most barrels for the cartridge use a 1:3 twist rate, and one from Gorilla Ammunition is a whopping 342-grain expanding subsonic round. There are YouTube videos showing the wacky effect a big bullet spinning that fast has on ballistic gelatin.

[ORIGINAL TEX]

A couple of things to consider. ARs are quicker to reload, and slightly more ergonomic, but dirty up quicker than a Mini. A failure to extract, resulting in a double feed, in a Mini is handled much like a pistol, but in an AR is more complicate to clear. ARs are generally more accurate at extended distances (beyond 150 yards), but at very close range you have the bore to sight line offset to worry about. An AR sight line is about three inches above the bore whereas on a Mini it is about an inch.

You mentioned you wanted this for personal home defense (out to 300 yards). Keep in mind, if you shoot someone at 300 yards, you may end up in jail as it might be hard to convince a jury you could not take cover or exit at that distance. Military M4s are normally battle zeroed at 300 yards, but this creates a big offset at distances you might encounter in your home or on your property unless you live on fairly large acreage. What I mean is that at 10 yards that 300 zeroed AR is going to hit 2-3 inches low. For ARs I suggest a 50 yards zero with the large aperture which gives you a vertical impact area about 2 inches from top to bottom from 7 yards to 200 yards. Unless you shoot 200 yards quite a bit, it is further than you are probably thinking. If you zero a Mini at 50 yards, you have basically a 1 inch vertical impact area from 3 yards out to 150. 150 is a long shot in an urban environment.

Minis have had a bad rap over the years concerning accuracy, which can be fixed up to an extent, but the ones built now are more accurate right out of the box. I have one that will put rounds well within an index card at 100 yards with iron sights all day long. Cryogenic treatment, a barrel strut and good muzzle brake can improve accuracy even more on a Mini if you are willing to go to that much trouble.

One advantage of an AR is that you can have one receiver and a multitude of different caliber uppers. With a Mini, what you bought is what you got. Minis often cost more than a decent AR at this time. One a advantage of a Mini is that it does not have that scary AR look and you can get folding stocks probably cheaper than converting an AR to folding. Many Minis seem to prefer only Ruger original magazines however, but there are at least half a dozen brands of AR mags that work well – and are cheaper.

I have both and like both but for different reasons. That being said my go to for home defense is the Mini, an AK or shotgun. I live on a standard residential lot (maybe ¼ acre) and my expected engagement distance is 5-25 yards. When I need a travel long gun it is usually an AK or modified SKS. Have you considered an AK? They are super reliable; don’t have quite as much off set as an AR and a round that can often punch through more than the 5.56. I have seen 5.56 not make it through windshields or car doors without breaking up, but 7.62x39 doesn’t usually have that problem. You can get an AR is 7.62x39, but I am not sure how reliable they are and you need special magazines.

[ORIGINAL TEX]

The Min-14 is easier to maintain

[orionengnr]

I have owned and enjoyed multiple examples of each since around 1983 (AR) and 1985 (Mini).
I think an AR is marginally easier to disassemble, but due to the DI system, the AR needs more frequent disassembly and cleaning.
The Mini does not require removal of the bolt for normal cleaning. Couple patches down the bore, wipe down the bolt, maybe a drop of oil.
The AR requires removal of the bolt carrier and subsequent disassembly for cleaning/lubrication.
To me, the Mini is a lower-maintenance platform.
There are plenty of other pros and cons, but the question was about ease of maintenance.

[dlh]

Thinking about buying either a Ruger Mini-14 or some AR15 clone for home protection ("up close and personal" out to about 300 yds).
In general, which is easier to maintain, including disassembly and reassembly?
Also, I understand that, because of twist rate of the Mini-14 (1 in 9), it probably won't shoot the heaviest bullets (anything above 75 gr) as accurately as the AR15. Is that correct?

All input appreciated,

Crash

Get em both! :) I have both and they are great rifles. I also have the Mini-30. One time it failed to feed but it was at the end of a range trip and I never got back to examining the magazine however I did thoroughly clean the rifle--used another magazine at a subsequent range trip and have not had the problem since. A YouTuber who goes by "Mixup" (I think) bought a Wolf recoil spring for his Mini-30 and it fixed his failure to feed issues.

[srothstein]

Military M4s are normally battle zeroed at 300 yards, but this creates a big offset at distances you might encounter in your home or on your property unless you live on fairly large acreage. What I mean is that at 10 yards that 300 zeroed AR is going to hit 2-3 inches low. For ARs I suggest a 50 yards zero with the large aperture which gives you a vertical impact area about 2 inches from top to bottom from 7 yards to 200 yards. Unless you shoot 200 yards quite a bit, it is further than you are probably thinking. If you zero a Mini at 50 yards, you have basically a 1 inch vertical impact area from 3 yards out to 150. 150 is a long shot in an urban environment.

I don't know about the M4 and short barrelled AR variants because my military experience was with the M16A1 with a 20" barrel. Back then, we would sight it in to hit the target about one inch low at 25 meters. The bullet would still be climbing in its natural ballistic arc at that point. It would cross the line of sight and peak about one inch high before it started slowly dropping. At about 250 meters, the bullet would be dropping and crossing the line of sight again. This would let you basically hold an aim point directly on target from anywhere close (ten meters or so) out to about 275 yards. No need to correct for rise or drop in the flight.

Of course, we were always shooting silhouette targets and anywhere on the black counted too. Combat accuracy from the muzzle to 275 meters was all we needed. For self-defense, I always figured that anything that hits the suspect is close enough.

But I do agree that convincing a jury for self-defense when the suspect was 100 yards away is very hard, let alone 300 yards.

[The Annoyed Man]

The Min-14 is easier to maintain

OTH, the AR-15 is not hard to maintain, so IMHO, it’s a wash (no pun intended) in that regard. I have never owned a Mini-14, and to the best of my recollection, have never fired one. I have owned a M1A (similar action, just a lot bigger), and I found the takedown procedure for a thorough cleaning to be more complicated and jiggery finicky than taking down/reassembling an AR-15. Just trying to remove the bolt from the receiver, or (in the case of the M1A) getting the op-rod properly lined up on the receiver during reassembly is much more complicated than removing the bolt or inserting/removing the charging handle on an AR-15.

I have nothing really against the Mini-14 other than maybe magazine cost and availability, and I’d actually like to add one to my collection someday. But if I could only own one or the other, it would be the AR-15 hands down, and not for just the above mentioned reasons. It’s more modular. It’s more consistently accurate. Replacement parts and upgrades are easy to procure. Etc.

Depending on where you live, maybe having a Mini-14 instead of an AR-15 as a vehicle long gun might be advantageous in the eyes of the local constabulary. But the AR-15 is entirely legal throughout Texas no matter where you live, and I ceased caring a long time ago what law enforcement thinks of my personal choices as long as they’re legal.