I’ve had a Mini-14 since 1978 and had no problems with it at all...Very reliable field weapon, IMO...
I trashed a couple of M-16’s in Vietnam so maybe I have a bias against that weapon...relied mostly on M-14’s and a very nice Stoner 63A most of the my time there...
I think I was issued a couple of those M-16s you trashed and they’re probably still running, 23 years after I used them ;)
The AR family has evolved and is an incredibly useful tool.
Much easier than trying to get a Mini-14 tapped.