[pfflier]

It seems counter-intuitive to me that adding more moving parts to a rifle will make it more reliable.

Field strip and clean an M-4 then a mini 14 then get back to us on that.

[NorthMountain]

Better comparison. Field strip and clean a standard AR15 and a SIG516 (or similar), and report on what you find.

Mini-14 is an interesting machine, but there are piston rifles that more closely compare to the AR15/M16.