Is this a good price for a Ruger 223 cal mini 14 rifle?

go to compare prices

gunbroker.com
gunsamerica.com

Thanks

Whatcha doing with the gun Johnny?

I thought it might be valuable in the times to come, maybe...

yeah you drew the diagram 2014. LOL

Good choice, and depending on the grade and condition 450 is a damned good price.

The ready availability of cheap ammunition and a strong ,reliable action make the "mini 14" a good military assault rifle. It is much stronger and far more reliable than the wimpyily built ar-15, which in my view is a piece of junk.

Glad you told me , thats the kind of info I wanted,
thanks warrior.

The only problem is the magazines. The Ruger factory 20 and 30 round mags function perfectly. All after market non Ruger are problematical at best.

Any Ruger is a good buy, and for a rifle it sounds like you´ve got/will get a bargain.

Or you could get 4 SKS for that price...and some ammo...

I think Pollys right about Rugers... but maybe a couple of sks´s would be fine or better.

They can overheat like a son of a bitch if you have to shoot a lot. Lose accuracy that way.

I don´t like the .223 as a caliber.

I think it was already mentioned that you could buy 4 SKS rifles and have a rifle of nearly the same effectiveness and range.

5.56mm or .223 is a much more popular round than the 7.62x32 the SKS uses so it will be much more readily available.

so the shells will cost more too? or about the same?

7.62X39mm is dirty cheap...yeah berdan primed, but at those prices.....I keep 1,000+ rounds with each rifle.....key is to have one everywhere you might go.....SKS are reliable and cheap...I put 1,000 rounds thru one in an afternoon...no malfunctions....good enough for me....

that would suit me just fine.

Listen up and listen good, because you can mark my words...

"During a large scale civil crisis, guns are easy to acquire, ammunition is not".

Choose your caliber based on the demographics and terrain (meaning geographical area) you must defend. My advice is to form teams of 3-4 friends with varying caliber sizes. I won´t go into much detail on this.

Buy your gun(s) and stock up on ammunition and cleaning supplies. Learn your gun inside and out and keep it clean always.

I´m out...

Im happy with a hyper-volicity sling shot and high tensil cross bow with my retreivable ammo.

Ammo woul dbe a problem for me in the bush :)

Mini 14 however is a great rifle. Nifty, compact, easy to load, accurate and reliable.

.223 is a much more popular round
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It MIGHT be more available, but I think it would be a close call. Many people like the SKS and AK-47 civilian versions...and both use 7.62x39.

As to being more POPULAR...well, you´ll get a lot of argument on that. Many people...myself included...don´t like the small 55 or 65 grain bullets that it fires. Most hunting magazines describe the round as a Varmint Round...meaning that it is intended for woodchucks, gophers, and other smallish type animals.

Many states won´t allow you to hunt deer with a .223 because they don´t feel the bullet would quickly and reliably kill the animals.

The 7.62x39 shoots a bigger bullet...anywhere from 122gr FMJ to 154gr Soft point...and a bigger bullet seems to equate to faster knockdown power.

Just my .02

.223 is a frickin poodle shooter. Move on up to a .308, consider an FN/FAL from DSR arms or an Armalite AR10.

Sorry IDW, gotta disagree with you on this one. While a Ruger mini 14 is reliable, the accuracy sucks. A 2 MOA rifle at best.....

Choose your caliber based on the demographics and terrain (meaning geographical area) you must defend. My advice is to form teams of 3-4 friends with varying caliber sizes. I won´t go into much detail on this.
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Why not have 3 or 4 friends who standardize their weapons and ammunition? If one guy has his ammo destroyed by a hurricane, he doesn´t have to throw away his useless rifle.

Best all around firearm is a 12ga shotgun. It can fire a variety of shot.

At 89 bucks each when I bought them...the sks is the most bang for the buck on the market....64 bucks for 1,000 round case of mil spec ammo....cheap enough to use and toss....can´t say the same for them fancy high end blasters....

5275

Statistics show that effective targeting of enemies occurs with tandem calibers. The simplest version of this would be to have 2 or 3 using .223 (I´d prefer the 7.62 of the AK 47s) that is what the Russian/Chinese would be using if they invaded the United States--that means more ammunition and it is a larger caliber and more reliable weapon).

The other person would ideally be using a .308 semiautomatic. Laying cover fire for the others who are trying to reconnoiter the enemy and through as much lead at them as possible. It is about wounding enemies as it is killing them. Wounded soldiers congregate hospitals and are helpless. And explosives can take them out en mass. That is the strategy at least.

Remember that in a civil insurrection you will not have the luxury of fancy military maneuvers. Keep it simple.

Yes the 7.62x39 is a bigger round but the .223 may actually produce a bigger, nastier wound as it tends to fragment inside the target.

Whatever gun you buy stock up as much ammo as you can afford to pack away.

Yes the 7.62x39 is a bigger round but the .223 may actually produce a bigger, nastier wound as it tends to fragment inside the target.
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Ha...that old chestnut!

The tumbling .223 seems to be a case of wishful thinking on the part of .223 fans.

If you read Black Hawk Down, you´ll read about the US soldiers frustration in shooting Somalis with .223 and watching them continue to shoot, or to run away. Many of the soldiers wanted their target to fall down and stop shooting.

Reports of similar problems with .223 performance continue, and have continued, since Vietnam.

Statistics show that effective targeting of enemies occurs with tandem calibers. The simplest version of this would be to have 2 or 3 using .223 (I´d prefer the 7.62 of the AK 47s) that is what the Russian/Chinese would be using if they invaded the United States--that means more ammunition and it is a larger caliber and more reliable weapon).

The other person would ideally be using a .308 semiautomatic. Laying cover fire for the others who are trying to reconnoiter the enemy and through as much lead at them as possible. It is about wounding enemies as it is killing them. Wounded soldiers congregate hospitals and are helpless. And explosives can take them out en mass. That is the strategy at least.

Remember that in a civil insurrection you will not have the luxury of fancy military maneuvers. Keep it simple.
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Okay...I´ll respond in the order you wrote your comments.

The 7.62x39 has been phased out in both the Soviet and Chinese armies. Both now use a smaller size bullet although not the same bullet..so they can´t use each other´s ammo. The AK-74 has replaced the old AK-47 and it uses a different caliber.

The reason I recommend the 7.62x39 round isn´t Russian or Chinese invasion. I recommend it because I think its a good round, and because it´s dirt cheap right now in the US. It stockpiles nicely also.

The wounding of enemies will occur regardless of your intention. The military likes to talk in terms of how this retards the opposing military´s use of force by making two men carry a third away from battle. Sounds good...but doesn´t often work that way. Oftentimes the wounded won´t be moved...because they can´t be...until the battle has concluded. In a war, you want to kill the foe and not wound him. A dead foe never comes back. An injured foe may be back in two or three months....better experienced and more dangerous. (Fails to kill him makes him stronger.)

In a civil insurrection, fancy manuevers will in all likelihood be impossible. Also simple manuevers. The difficulty with civil insurrections is communication with your friends and identification of your foes. Both parties speak the same language and typically look like each other. It´s hard to know who to shoot. If the insurgency is attempting to "blend in" with the opposing force, then the identification of targets becomes even more difficult. The Spanish Civil War is a good example of this. As well as most South American terrorist groups.

[link to shopper.howstuffworks.com]

It might be fine to shoot, But when you do you give your location away. you need to be focused to the task of useing such a tool. a good camo suit can have a searching for you enemy, unaware that you have them in your sights.

...finally a subject worth commenting on...

hold on a minute...ruger?...not the quality weapon one would expect...used...or abused...?

...for that amount of money...consider the new beretta storm series...about 600 bucks brand spanking new in a handsome hard plastic case with all the equipment supplied by the manufacturer...

the benefits are simple...calibers of 9mm, 40 and 45...the clips match the existing beretta handguns...so for example if your side arm is a an m-9 (9mm) choose the storm assault rifle with the 9mm caliber...the clips are interchangable between the handgun and the rifle...

...pretty darn good if I say so myself...

the rifle is light, short like the m-14 and highly reliable...it looks goddam cool too!

it can be equipped with picatanny rails and mine has the sight, light, and all sorts of goodies...it comes in all colors as long as you like black...

if you need more info go to beretta.com and check out the STORM rifle system...it costs retail about 600 bucks or so...

saw it, hadda have it...

The ruger .223 is very sensitive to what ammo you use.cheap ammo or hollow points are terrible.
good remington solid points(50 grain) do very well.
also get a bore snake and run it through after each clip, takes a couple seconds and really helps.
the mini is light, low recoil, and a lot of fun.
it would be very intimidating to small groups of looters or attackers, but it really isn´t a military rifle.
its a great one for a lady or youth, and still big enough to be serious.