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Current generation examples like what is pictured are an improvement over the older examples.

From a purely practical perspective, an AR built to TDP specs or better will be faster to operate, likely more durable and vastly more flexible to configure.

That being said, you can get fast accurate hits out to 300 yards with a modern Mini-14 if your eyes are good enough and you practice instead of just plinking like I see most Mini-14 owners do.

Don’t buy steel case ammo for it. The case isn’t the issue, it’s the steel projectiles. The “ejector wears out” is an ignorant straw-man objection to steel case ammo. The projectile is the main problem. The low and inconsistent velocity is the other problem.

Get Wolf GOLD (imported Taiwanese M193 ball) and a pile of 20 or 30 round RUGER magazines. Get factory mags. Do not rely on anecdotal “my after market mags worked fine” suggestions. Get factory mags. 44mag.com is my go-to place for a lot of mags. No shilling, just heard about it on ARFCOM ages ago.

If this is going to be your only defensive rifle, I don’t think it’s an optimal choice, however it would be better than nothing.

If this is going in the safe with a bunch of other stuff, get 3-4 good magazines and a pile of ammo and shoot the living bejeezus out of it and enjoy it. It will probably pleasantly surprise you.