Mumbles Marble Mouth
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Lower Mainland
lol. Don't let the guys in the battle rifle forums see that.
Mini14 vs XCR.
- Thread starter ocanuck
- Start date
lol. Don't let the guys in the battle rifle forums see that.
Bah, let them cry about theyre precious m14s.basically the shortest active service life of any rifle in the history of the U.S. I have a Garand, ditched the mini14 ASAP. Seeing how bad the mini and the m14 bind up with dirt i assume its just a downfall of how open everything is. But aslong as your not rolling in mud or in a sand storm you have nothing to worry about.
Travis Bickle
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Upper Lower Middle Alberta
I just bought a used XCR. They can be had for around $1,800 if you're thrifty lol
I have shot the mini 14 quite a bit as well. I would go for the XCR Sir.
What I have come to realize is the greatest asset of the XCR is simply that you can get the Armorers Manual in pdf on the internet for free and you can strip the rifle into pins and springs with a small set of allen keys, a single crescent wrench and a couple punches. Literally. No special tools required at all. The rifle is simplicity defined.
It's reliable so far for me. I had a major issue with it not extracting. Lo and behold $15 in a new extractor and extractor spring and I have put about 400 rounds through it firing relatively hard and fast without a single issue. It cycles hard and positive throwing brass almost 20 feet on gas setting one!
As far as accuracy....I'm getting about 2-5" groups from 50 to 100 meters with iron sights and good quality 62gr ammo. It's no tack driver but it is beefy, reliable, well built, extremely ergonomic, you can hang stupid tactical junk off it (if you're into that stuff), you can change any part on the rifle yourself in about 3 minutes max regardless of what it is with zero special tools and zero experience, can shoot many many rounds with almost no cleaning due to the piston system, hand adjustable gas system the list of positives goes on and on. I personally love the FAST stock. It's well built, very sturdy and still looks pretty cool on the rifle. I torqued the bolt inside the receiver that holds it down hard with a dab of loctite and it's on there solid now, most people complain about the lock up of the folding mechanism/hinge without reading the manual and realizing you can actually adjust the tension on stock for rigidity of the folder/lockup mechanism very easily.
The only negatives are as follows: it's still overpriced, parts are expensive and proprietary to the rifle, it's not that accurate a rifle for the amount of money it costs (even for a semi auto black rifle), the extractor spring is a major weakness as it's literally a piece of scrap rubber tube inside the bolt extractor channel(WTF!?) why they didn't just go with a sturdy metal spring is beyond me but when it's fresh it functions and cycles like a beast!
Honestly the accuracy between the Mini14 and XCR are about the same from personal experience with the XCR coming ahead by a bit but not much. The only thing the mini 14 has on the XCR is the much lower price. That's it.
Hope that helps.
I have shot the mini 14 quite a bit as well. I would go for the XCR Sir.
What I have come to realize is the greatest asset of the XCR is simply that you can get the Armorers Manual in pdf on the internet for free and you can strip the rifle into pins and springs with a small set of allen keys, a single crescent wrench and a couple punches. Literally. No special tools required at all. The rifle is simplicity defined.
It's reliable so far for me. I had a major issue with it not extracting. Lo and behold $15 in a new extractor and extractor spring and I have put about 400 rounds through it firing relatively hard and fast without a single issue. It cycles hard and positive throwing brass almost 20 feet on gas setting one!
As far as accuracy....I'm getting about 2-5" groups from 50 to 100 meters with iron sights and good quality 62gr ammo. It's no tack driver but it is beefy, reliable, well built, extremely ergonomic, you can hang stupid tactical junk off it (if you're into that stuff), you can change any part on the rifle yourself in about 3 minutes max regardless of what it is with zero special tools and zero experience, can shoot many many rounds with almost no cleaning due to the piston system, hand adjustable gas system the list of positives goes on and on. I personally love the FAST stock. It's well built, very sturdy and still looks pretty cool on the rifle. I torqued the bolt inside the receiver that holds it down hard with a dab of loctite and it's on there solid now, most people complain about the lock up of the folding mechanism/hinge without reading the manual and realizing you can actually adjust the tension on stock for rigidity of the folder/lockup mechanism very easily.
The only negatives are as follows: it's still overpriced, parts are expensive and proprietary to the rifle, it's not that accurate a rifle for the amount of money it costs (even for a semi auto black rifle), the extractor spring is a major weakness as it's literally a piece of scrap rubber tube inside the bolt extractor channel(WTF!?) why they didn't just go with a sturdy metal spring is beyond me but when it's fresh it functions and cycles like a beast!
Honestly the accuracy between the Mini14 and XCR are about the same from personal experience with the XCR coming ahead by a bit but not much. The only thing the mini 14 has on the XCR is the much lower price. That's it.
Hope that helps.
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My mini14 seems to be fine breaking clays at 100yrds with the scope at 4x with AE tactical 223 ammo.
Changed the scope and I plan on trying for groups again at 100yrds with some ammo I reloaded.
I would of bought an xcr but can't justify an additional $1k(yet), and the mini14 is reliable enough for me and just accurate enough. And light enough, plus wood & steel look great.
Money not an issue, I would of got an xcr. Or acr + conversion to non-res.
Changed the scope and I plan on trying for groups again at 100yrds with some ammo I reloaded.
I would of bought an xcr but can't justify an additional $1k(yet), and the mini14 is reliable enough for me and just accurate enough. And light enough, plus wood & steel look great.
Money not an issue, I would of got an xcr. Or acr + conversion to non-res.
notsorichguy
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- The city that rhymes with fun
It is my firm belief that every "black gun owner" should have at least owned (if not still own) a mini-14/30....
After all it is the rifle that started all this "crap" in the '90s.
I'll tell ya a story.....
Back in 08-09 I decided that the mini 14 I had just wasn't "cutting it" for me anymore. I sold it and started down a path to search for a better 223 varmitting semi auto non-restricted rifle.
Over the next 6 years, I purchased, shot, benched and hand loaded the following rifles plus some others that I won't mention; XCR, MR1, Tar21 & SL8.
This past winter (after selling yet another $2K+ black rifle) I finally found the "best bang for your buck" NR black rifle......
A mini 14..... It's was a brand spanking new rifle, fresh from the factory via gravel agencies to my LGS. It cost me an even grand with a red field 4-12x40. With several different factory offerings it groups no worse than 5"-5 shot groups. It does shoot as small as 2" groups with factory ammo. With 25.5gr of benchmark behind a 50gr nosler BT it places 5 rnds into 1.5" off bags.
At least as good as any but the SL8 and even then best I ever did with the SL8 was 1.25".
IMHO, it's bunch cheaper and you can buy a butt load of mags for $1000.
Ymmv.
After all it is the rifle that started all this "crap" in the '90s.
I'll tell ya a story.....
Back in 08-09 I decided that the mini 14 I had just wasn't "cutting it" for me anymore. I sold it and started down a path to search for a better 223 varmitting semi auto non-restricted rifle.
Over the next 6 years, I purchased, shot, benched and hand loaded the following rifles plus some others that I won't mention; XCR, MR1, Tar21 & SL8.
This past winter (after selling yet another $2K+ black rifle) I finally found the "best bang for your buck" NR black rifle......
A mini 14..... It's was a brand spanking new rifle, fresh from the factory via gravel agencies to my LGS. It cost me an even grand with a red field 4-12x40. With several different factory offerings it groups no worse than 5"-5 shot groups. It does shoot as small as 2" groups with factory ammo. With 25.5gr of benchmark behind a 50gr nosler BT it places 5 rnds into 1.5" off bags.
At least as good as any but the SL8 and even then best I ever did with the SL8 was 1.25".
IMHO, it's bunch cheaper and you can buy a butt load of mags for $1000.
Ymmv.
Certainly is odd. I have a love/hate thing for M14's.
Guess the only good thing you can say about the very open action is if it does go south due to dirt & dust you can take a piss on it and wash it out or dump a canteen of water into it to clear it.
If you own or intend to own an M1 Garand/M1A, the Mini 14 makes perfect sense. I do. Super reliable and sufficiently accurate for most purposes. Mine has an AccuStrut on it and it definitely tightened up groups.
However, any rifle that can take LAR 15 mags has it all over the Mini 14 in competition. Ask me how I know .....
However, any rifle that can take LAR 15 mags has it all over the Mini 14 in competition. Ask me how I know .....
Depends what is your intended purpose? Mini-14's are awesome for the price and with a decent scope I've seen deer drop no problem for the fraction of the price, don't get me wrong xcr's are nice to have the caliber conversion, but they don't like water. If your gonna go in the xcr budget, have you considered an ACR
LOL why do people always keep saying this for every single what gun to buy thread ? They are like $4000 if you can even find one since there were only like 3 for sale and they are all sold out. Its easier to find a leprechaun riding a unicorn shooting rainbows out its ass
For 223 I bought a Tavor and I love it because its unique, compact and a heck of a lot of fun to shoot. Plus I was kinda eyeing the XCR-M for a 308 semi auto so didn't want the XCR-L as well.
LOL why do people always keep saying this for every single what gun to buy thread ? They are like $4000 if you can even find one since there were only like 3 for sale and they are all sold out. Its easier to find a leprechaun riding a unicorn shooting rainbows out its ass
For 223 I bought a Tavor and I love it because its unique, compact and a heck of a lot of fun to shoot. Plus I was kinda eyeing the XCR-M for a 308 semi auto so didn't want the XCR-L as well.
Not really, there are always at least one or two in the EE for much less than 4gs and NR....
I like the Tavor as well. And owned an XCR-M. For the OP it just comes down to preference. Everyone wants a laser beam accurate rifle but doesn't need one. I think people need to assess their needs and what they want to spend, do the research and make a purchase. I would take a mini over the xcr for a farm gun any day, I wouldn't be so worried about it getting some scratches or dents that could significantly decrease the value of a more expensive rifle.
LOL why do people always keep saying this for every single what gun to buy thread ? They are like $4000 if you can even find one since there were only like 3 for sale and they are all sold out. Its easier to find a leprechaun riding a unicorn shooting rainbows out its ass
For 223 I bought a Tavor and I love it because its unique, compact and a heck of a lot of fun to shoot. Plus I was kinda eyeing the XCR-M for a 308 semi auto so didn't want the XCR-L as well.
First of all they are nowhere near $4000 new or used. A buddy of mine just bought a used one already converted to non restricted with a questar stainless barrel for under $3000. I ended up well under $3000 for mine with a Geissele super ACR trigger and non restricted barrel.
Second, they are not hard to find at all if you actually look for them.
Tavor is a fine rifle but if you're looking for accuracy the ACR trumps it by a large margin. Sure that's usually with a custom high end barrel but even the factory barrel shoots well and if they could be made for the Tavor or XCR I'm sure people would and I'm pretty sure the ACR would still be more accurate. It's the design of the gun that limits the other two not the barrel.
The Tavor does excel in a few areas like it's compact build and quick handling. It all depends what a person is looking for but a person can have a non restricted ACR, XCR or Tavor all for between $2500 and $3000. If you're willing to take a risk and buy an earlier gen XCR you can get one for around $2000.
XCR-M isn't much better than the -L in the accuracy department by the way, I've shot 2 of them and both were only good for 2.5-4 moa with any ammo we tried other than the handloads my buddy made for his and the best we could get was around 1.5 moa but it would be safer to say 2 moa if you wanted to shoot multiple groups.
I own and love one of each. Both accurate enough and reliable. I had a few more in the past and always kept one of each.
For your purpose you'd probably get better accuracy from a Mini-14 target. Then I'd suggest the XCR as the bulk and black rifle look don't bother you.
IMO the Ranch rifle is at it's best with a classic stock, Ultimak rail and Micro reddot. It's light and small, handle well, point fast. Great for deer hunting, riding, hiking, etc. And it looks conventional while having a good firepower.
For your purpose you'd probably get better accuracy from a Mini-14 target. Then I'd suggest the XCR as the bulk and black rifle look don't bother you.
IMO the Ranch rifle is at it's best with a classic stock, Ultimak rail and Micro reddot. It's light and small, handle well, point fast. Great for deer hunting, riding, hiking, etc. And it looks conventional while having a good firepower.
If you want to hit gongs from as far away as possible and smash coyotes then in my opinion the HK SL8 is your best bet if you want to keep the cost closer to $2000. It is muzzle heavy and some guys don't like the thumbhole stock but I've owned 2 of them and they are the most accurate black rifle out there. For around $1800-$2000 you can pick up a used one and with quality ammo both of mine were capable of one moa. I only sold the last one because I wanted an ACR so I could build non restricted caliber conversions for it. The SL8's are extremely reliable, the only problem with them which is also one of the best things about them is the proprietary magazine. The mags are expensive but just like the Swiss Arms mags they are extremely well designed and a much more reliable mag than a STANAG (AR pattern) magazine.
