saiga vs mini14

[gunoholic 0]

here in nz a 16" saiga .223 and a ss mini 14 are about the same price (about $1000us)

so i want to know the pros and cons of both. accuracy, reliability etc

of cause no one here would be bias toward saigas

[Havoc308 3]

My mini had horrible accuracy. 4 to 6 inch groups at 100 yards was the best it would ever print from a bench. The thing refused to shoot surplus ammo it wouldn't strike the primer hard enough every couple of rounds. The mini was the ONLY rifle I have ever sold. Although I will add that the mini does have better iron sights. All 3 of my Saigas will shoot 1 1/2" to 2" groups with ammo they like. Plus, don't the Saigas down there come with the trigger group already in the military position? We get the crappy "import" trigger here that requires a goofy stock.

 

The only place online you will find ANY love for the Mini 14 is in Mini 14 forums. Perfect Union

[skyugo 0]

My mini had horrible accuracy. 4 to 6 inch groups at 100 yards was the best it would ever print from a bench. The thing refused to shoot surplus ammo it wouldn't strike the primer hard enough every couple of rounds. The mini was the ONLY rifle I have ever sold. Although I will add that the mini does have better iron sights. All 3 of my Saigas will shoot 1 1/2" to 2" groups with ammo they like. Plus, don't the Saigas down there come with the trigger group already in the military position? We get the crappy "import" trigger here that requires a goofy stock.

 

The only place online you will find ANY love for the Mini 14 is in Mini 14 forums. Perfect Union

 

 

a thousand bucks for a saiga? ouch. we pay 250 here. can you get an AK parts kit down there? i have no idea what the laws are. saigas are pretty nicely made guns, but for 1000 dollars i'd rather build up a nice bulgarian or yugo parts kit.

 

regardless, i've heard almost nothing good about the ruger minis. probably better off with an AR15 even.

[Bad Bob 0]

It's a judgement call for anyone in your position (and I can identify with your predicament, because I was stuck in the Peoples' Republic of Kalifornia for 20 God-awful years - and my wife spent some time in Australia, and has mentioned some of the ways they torture their gun owners). Here are a few thoughts, and you can take 'em or leave 'em, as appropriate:

 

1) Stainless steel is over-sold - unless you think you might have to bury your firearm, to protect it from the Hillary Clinton / Osama Bin Laden types in the world (in which case it might not hurt ;>);

 

2) I've owned three different Mini-14s - a standard blued rifle, a stainless Ranch Rifle, and a stainless Mini-14 GB ('government barrel' - purchased as surplus from the Kalifornia Highway Patrol, God bless 'em, before they got 'politically correct' under the orders of the D@mocrat totalitarians that are running that State). Every one of those Ruger rifles was 100% reliable for me - but allow me to offer the following observations:

 

A ) I clean my firearms frequently;

B ) The Ranch Rifle was more difficult to take down than the others (bolt removal & different ejector, IIRC);

C ) The only rifle that would reliably hold the bolt open on the last round, no matter what mag I was using, was the GB (I don't know if that was a product of special Ruger prep for GB rifles, normal 'breaking in,' or the work of some unknown LEO, who 'tuned' the rifle);

D ) Magazines can be a problem - the only 100% reliable mags I've heard of are Ruger factory mags, and PMI (Precision Mag Industries) mags. PMI (an excellent company) was literally put out of business by the D@mocrat 'assault weapons' ban in 1994. I sold the last of my 30-rd PMI mags for $35 each, over a year ago. CHECK CURRENT MAG PRICES BEFORE YOU BUY ANY FIREARM!!! The mags are part of the system, just like gasoline in a car or truck. If all you can get is 56 octane, keep that in mind when you buy your vehicle;

E ) Accuracy of every Mini-14 I owned was adequate for self defense puposes - if you want a target rifle, buy a bolt gun;

F ) The closest I ever got to a 'fatal malfunction' with a Mini-14, was when I got 'dog-leg' case splits using Chicom brass-cased ammo (and I don't remember which Mini-14 I was using at the time); and finally

G ) The Mini-14 looks more like a castrated, politically-correct rifle, than some others. If you are anticipating further totalitarian 'gun-control' measures where you live, you might want to consider that. I hate to say it, but sometimes the only difference between a 'banned' firearm and a 'politically-correct-Kumbaya-bend-over-and-take-it-firearm' might be a wood stock, vs. an 'evil' black plastic stock. Or maybe even the difference between a few letters of the alphabet - ak vs. mini...

 

Hope you do OK, Compadre! FWIW, where I live, in my peculiar circumstances, I definitely prefer the Saiga to the Mini-14...

 

(But I've got nothing 'terminal' against the Mini... )

 

(And I thank God that I'm not living in some 'workers paradise' somewhere... )

 

;>)

[BlenderWizard 12]

Ok, the mini has a VERY picky gas system. This means you get to remove the gas block, all of its components, clean, and reinstall. Reinstallation means you get to properly torque and index 4 screws. If you gap the upper and lower halves of the gas block improperly not only will it "stain" your barrel with powder residue, but you may have some questionable functionality until you get the gas block sealed down tight.

 

The Saiga (AK) hardly ever has anything go wrong with it

 

If you need replacement parts for the mini, you get to send it back to Ruger, as they won't allow them to be sold to the public. This pretty much only pertains to critical items, like the firing pin. if you have had anything custom done (like trigger work) Ruger will actually toss your trigger group in the bin and install a factory fresh one. How nice of them!

 

Replacement/repair parts are readily available for the AK, and easy to install.

 

 

Dollars for dollars, I'd get a Saiga or other AK variant if available.

[Bad Bob 0]

Ok, the mini has a VERY picky gas system. This means you get to remove the gas block, all of its components, clean, and reinstall. Reinstallation means you get to properly torque and index 4 screws. If you gap the upper and lower halves of the gas block improperly not only will it "stain" your barrel with powder residue, but you may have some questionable functionality until you get the gas block sealed down tight.

 

Allow me to say right here, up front, that YMMV, etc., etc.

 

I owned 3 Mini-14s, and never had a single problem with the gas system on any of them, even though I swapped (against factory recommendations) the top half of the gas block assembly for an after-market part that included a front sight assembly (which allowed me to remove the factory front sight, shorten the barrel to 16.25 inches, and install a threaded flash hider), on two out of the three. Using no torque wrench, and no specialized tools. Simple - with no subsequent problems, whatsoever.

 

And no problem with the gas system on the single unmodified Mini-14, either.

 

Obviously, YMMV, etc., etc.

 

 

If you need replacement parts for the mini, you get to send it back to Ruger, as they won't allow them to be sold to the public. This pretty much only pertains to critical items, like the firing pin. if you have had anything custom done (like trigger work) Ruger will actually toss your trigger group in the bin and install a factory fresh one. How nice of them!

 

I sent a Blackhawk back to the factory once for a new barrel (I used foreign ammo, and didn't clean the revolver when I knew I should have - bad choice on my part). Ruger actually reblued the entire firearm when they installed the new barrel. How nice of them (Amen)!

 

Replacement/repair parts are readily available for the AK, and easy to install.

 

You have got that right, in spades, my friend!

 

Dollars for dollars, I'd get a Saiga or other AK variant if available.

 

Amen to that...

 

;>)

[BlenderWizard 12]

If you need replacement parts for the mini, you get to send it back to Ruger, as they won't allow them to be sold to the public. This pretty much only pertains to critical items, like the firing pin. if you have had anything custom done (like trigger work) Ruger will actually toss your trigger group in the bin and install a factory fresh one. How nice of them!

 

I sent a Blackhawk back to the factory once for a new barrel (I used foreign ammo, and didn't clean the revolver when I knew I should have - bad choice on my part). Ruger actually reblued the entire firearm when they installed the new barrel. How nice of them (Amen)!

 

 

 

I was being sarcastic. I think this is the most assholy thing that Ruger does. If i spend $50+ for a triggerjob, it damn well better be left alone.

[Bad Bob 0]

I was being sarcastic. I think this is the most assholy thing that Ruger does. If i spend $50+ for a triggerjob, it damn well better be left alone.

 

On the one hand, Ruger is like any other bureaucracy out there (including the federal government - ask me how I know). If you want them to leave something alone, I suspect you have to tell them, up front, in capital letters, in writing, and maybe follow it up with a phone call or twelve. Obviously, that will not guarantee anything - I suspect they would want to send your firearm back to you, rather than actually work on it, due to 'liability considerations,' if they can't do everything they want to it. I suspect they were seeing "LAW SUIT," if your trigger job ever left their factory 'uncorrected.' (And, yes, I know that is just plain idiotic...)

 

On the other hand, if they wanted to replace those parts (for whatever reason they thought they might have), they should have asked your permission first, in writing. That was your property, and they had no right to take it and substitute their own inferior parts. After all, can the good ol' boys from Chevy come down the street at night, and take the after-market wheels off your Chevy truck (replacing them with crappy steel factory wheels), without asking you? Just because they want to limit their own corporate liability? I think the answer to that question would be 'H@ll no!!!"

[Oswald2001 0]

I have 2 Minis. I like them. They have been 100% reliable and have not been picky at all.

 

Accuracy of my Minis is as good as any AK I have ever shot including my Galil.

 

 

Ruger's policies are BS and Mini magazines are a BIG PROBLEM.

 

As mentioned earlier in this thread, Ruger factory mags or PMI are the only reliable mags. You may or may not have good luck with other brands. This is a travesty as you should be able to buy 100% reliable mags with a gun like the Mini-14. Especially at that price.

 

I am keeping my Minis.

 

THAT SAID...

 

 

 

BUY THE SAIGA.

 

 

Especially if you can convert it to use Galil mags.

 

Remember, the entire world is awash is AK parts. Ruger won't ship you a bolt, hammer, firing pin, 20 or 30 round mag parts, etc.

[gunoholic 0]

yes I know we're getting ripped off, the longer barreled version is cheaper about $550 us. hi cap mags over here are $90 to $120us+, yep thats just for one and second hand at that.(band import i think) and ARs, I saw a cheap one the other day $3000us normal price $3600 to $6000us

most of the saiga for sale now have the import trigger, the VEPRs and some of the older imports have the militery trigger, like my s12.

VEPR .223 us$1200, x39 us$800, supply and demand??

i'll be keeping an eye out for a (cheap ) saiga or vepr...