Norinco m14 or Ruger mini 14?

apples and oranges. One is significantly bigger and heavier than the other. Depends what your using it for I guess. The ruger is light and handy, but the m14 is a classic and uses the .308 vrs. the .223 in the mini 14. Alot more power.
 
If you asked the question 12 years ago, I would have suggested the Norc, because 7.62 surp was cheaper than 5.56 in bulk quantity. The Norinco ".223" that is available now is a lot less expensive than even the lowest grade 7.62 fodder. Therefore, best bang for the buck would be a Ruger. Not a new Ruger, but an older one that is less expensive. However, if you are into something that has out of the box accuracy, with potential for a lot more, as well as excellent iron sights, you would be better off going with a Norc.

You'll need to evaluate what you want out of the rifles and make a decision from there.
 
As a counterpoint to what 300Spartans says, I can offer that the newer Mini-14's (580/581 series serial numbers) have improved as to accuracy vs. the older models. They also have much better iron sights... at least the equal to the Chinese ones. Mine shoots around 2MOA with American Eagle bulk... a little wider with Norinco ammo. My GF shoots the hell out of coffee and soup cans with it LOL.

My Mini-14 is one of my favorite rifles ever. I also have an AR15 and two M14s (one Norc, one with some upgraded parts).

THE BIGGEST drawback to the Mini-14 in my opinion is the difficulty finding pinned magazines. You'll likely find all the factory 5 rounders you want, but they're small and difficult to handle in quick mag changes. If you're not planning on using it in active shooter type games this isn't an issue.
 
Good luck in finding a mini14 right now. I've been looking for a new one for weeks now and everyone is telling me that they are back-ordered till 2014.
 
I've got the mini 14 and love it, it dead on out of the box and cheap to run. I don't run cheap ammo in her though, just makes me feel dirty when I do. Cheapest I run is that Russian stuff, but I run that through my AR's as well.

Now, I've been eyeballing the norinco m14 this last month and I thought I'd pick one up since I love my mini 14 and I like the 308 cal, but I was just handling one today and I won't be buying one. The action and stuff was really ruff (even for norinco) and the plastic stock felt K-mart cheap.

I have the ruger gun site scout in 308 so I guess I'll just get my 308 rocks off there.
Now if ya could get a decent after market stock for that M14 then it might be worth looking at.

Plus keep in mind that .223 is way cheaper to shoot.

And picking up 30rd mags for the mini 14 is easy as cake, I just picked up 6 plastic and 6 metal ones.
 
I should have asked which one first, obviously I am going to get both! :) I have a sks already, just trying to figure out the next rifle purchase. I also have a 10/22 already so just need a bigger caliber one to play with..... Might go bolt action 300... There is just so many I want. And waiting for 2 restricted transfers is killing me!!
 
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