Luddite is the word that comes to mind for me. I think we've already heard that the mini-14 would make a great hammer too.
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There was also the fact that for quite a few years the Mini was literally the cheapest centerfire semi-auto you could buy apart from the M1 carbine. And the fact that the Mini fired the 5.56/.223 made it, literally "the poor man's AR."
Then around 1989 or so, the Chinese started shipping SKSs and AKs to the US in bulk and undercutting the price of the Mini by quite a bit. It didn't hurt that the Chinese also sold 7.62x39 ammo at fire sale prices that undercut the price of .223 by a fair margin (this was long before you could get bulk Russian 5.56.)
Ruger tried to jump on the bandwagon with the Mini 30 after their failure with the XGI (who remembers that? I do!) But even then, shooters could buy 3 SKSs for the price of one Mini 30 (and IMO the SKS is a superior rifle anyway. I'd even go so far as to say the SKS is superior to the AK but that's a topic for another time.)
Once everybody and their brother with a CNC machine started making AR lowers the entire reason for the Mini 14 to exist disappeared. The fact that Ruger still even makes them is either a testament to their determination or their stubborn stupidity.
What if, Ruger brought back the XGI, .308, and made it to accept AR10 pmags, and priced it under 700.00, huh, then what would you guys think.
A folding stock 308 with pmags, maybe a factory quad rail, yeah................
Problem is they have to retool everything and as good as Minis continue to sell, I don't think they will do that, but since their 'management' changes, who knows.
I still think someone should set up a 120 round semi rapid fire test of the Mini vs AR at 50 yards, one second between shots, off a bench, and prove to the world if one is more accurate or more dependable than the other once and for all. I think it would be close to equal. On video of course. Anyone agree, or volunteer for the AR team?
You basic M4 configuration AR, My 581 with barrel stabilizer and iron sights only.
Remember, no offense intended, but talk is cheap.
Can we just stamp a Confederate battle flag on the Mini-14 and this thread.
It seems like the time has come for these old symbols to go. [Sarcasm2]
The only reason the South even lost was because the Mini-14 was never adopted by their military.
Of course we'd like it (if it worked) but the likelihood of them bringing out a .308 XGI are virtually nil to begin with and if they did it would likely be more than twice your $700 price. They would be better off building an AR10. Furthermore it wouldn't make the Mini 14 any better (its kind of like you're saying "you should LOVE the Chevrolet Spark because they also make the Corvette").