[nvcdl]

The Mini-14 used to be horrible for accuracy - 4-6moa average. AR-15s tend to be accurate 1-2 moa.

Supposedly they have improved the accuracy on newer models but they are still no where as good as a typical AR-15.

[Durus]

No way a mini-14 is more accurate than an AR.

[PIF]

The GAU-19 has it beat in spades ...

[Mat_Helm]

The Mini-14's are great light and handy little rifles. They shoot minute of paint bucket. With an accu-strut to help reduce barrel whip and stinging after the barrel heats up it shoots minute or grapefruit (3 MOA). I have an original Ranch Rifle and a newer all stainless target model that could shoot minute of golf ball (1 MOA) with the ammunition dialed in, but was heavy and never as accurate as any of my H-Bars. So, I cut off the harmonic balancer and installed a threaded muzzle brake and it still holds 1 MOA with heavier 72 gr bullets.

They are more durable with the gas system, lighter and will shoot all day long without a jam or failure to fire. Bill Ruger designed this rifle as a handy fun sporting arm to carry in your truck and take care of varmints and other critters on the ranch and it does this perfectly. The rotating bolt action being the same design as the M1 Garand, M1A M-14, .30 Carbine, etc...in the .223 (5.56) made it practical and fun to shoot and own. It was never designed to be a target rifle or paper puncher.

My Rock River NMA2 with two stage target trigger and heavy contour fire lapped barrel will shoot 1/2 MOA with and without optics. The sights are match quality and wonderful. It is a heavy SOB with the big barrel. My Colt AR-15 A4 is light and compact with the shorter barrel and will easily shoot 1 MOA. With its chrome lined barrel it has never jammed, but boy does it get dirty and need disassembly cleaning of the bolt carrier group and upper receiver after every day at the range or in the field after a hundred rounds. The Mini-14 on the other hand just needs a single swab of the barrel with light oil and it is good to go. If I had to pick on for SHTF and had to depend on it without having to clean it would be the oldest most reliable .223 in the stable which is the original Min-14 Ranch rifle.

[Garth Tater]

I don't know about the accuracy of new Mini-14s, but older ones suck. You could get adjustable gas valves and barrel weights to "tune" the barrel whip but at best they were still less accurate than AR-15s.

In the plus column for the Mini's, you can put a folding stock on a Mini-14 that makes it a pretty good car gun. You can't fold an AR due to the recoil buffer.

But the absolutely worst thing about the Mini-14s was their  ability  tendency to go full auto if someone got a little too aggressive with a file while smoothing out the sear. This was such a problem (I mean who would want a short, light, full-auto rifle) that the govt required the company to make design changes (after approximately serial #176xxx) that would prevent this  capability  flaw.

Older Mini-30s had the same  capability  design problem.