“ I owned a Mini-14. Couldn’t hit anything with it.”
Reliable but inaccurate. You gotta accurize that thing to death, practically change everything but the serial number.
Mini-14s have used several different barrel twists over it’s history. Different twists require different bullet weights for best accuracy. Lots of range time using different ammunition will let you find the best combination for your Mini-14. With mine, 62 grain work much better than 55 grain. If I really want the best accuracy, I’ll pay the extra and go to 68 grain Hornady.
Lots of practice and a little ammo tweaking will let a Mini-14 shoot as well as as an off-the-shelf AR15.