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Need your opinions on M1 carbine vs mini 14 at close range

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  • gonzo

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    I'm looking to get a carbine rifle for my wife. The rifle will either be an M1 carbine or a mini 14 carbine with iron sights only for either. My wife is only good at about 50 yards maximum with iron sights. Which rifle do y'all think I should go with? I'm thinking the 30 carbine will have more stopping power at 50 yards or less, but I could be wrong. They're both gas operated, rotating bolts. It looks like the m1 is about $200 cheaper for the rifle, but the mini 14 has cheaper/more available ammo. What are yalls opinions?
     

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    3154tm

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    just a thought, if you're considering the carbine, for that kind of money you could buy an actual USGI M1 carbine and have a shooter/collectable with a real history. of course i might be little biased.
     

    gonzo

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    I'm not necessarily looking to spend more or less money. I'm just interested in reliability at the moment. But I agree the M1 has a great history behind it.
     

    Kanaloa

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    I wouldn't be inclined pay that kind of money for a replica M1. The potential problem with the older M1s, is that they are old, and I'm assuming you want a HD option for her. If you know a lot about weapons, no big deal. I would think you could pick up the Ruger barely used for a better price.
     

    gonzo

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    Ya I've got mini 14 myself. The price tag on them fluctuates drastically though. One month they're going for $700 and the next they're $900+. It's essentially the same design as the M1 carbine. I was just curious as to what people thought about the effectiveness of the two rifles at 50 or less yards. I know the mini has a way better range, but is the 30 caliber more effective at 50 or less yards?

    Thanks for the quick responses to guys. I didn't think I'd get feedback so quick
     

    fl57caveman

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    for 50 yrds and under, the m1 would be my choice...very easy to handle and has good power with softpoint bullets, about like a hot .357..less recoil than.223

    the noise of the .223 might keep her from shooting a lot with it...
     
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    just a thought, if you're considering the carbine, for that kind of money you could buy an actual USGI M1 carbine and have a shooter/collectable with a real history. of course i might be little biased.

    USGI M1 Carbines are steadily going up in value. Getting one from the CMP is not going to happen. Even the Inlands are going for nearly $1K these days. Additionally, $846 for an AO M1 Carbine is way too much. They have a couple on GB for $699 (http://www.gunbroker.com/M1-Carbine/Browse.aspx?Keywords=M1+Carbine).

    The .30 Cal. Carbine round does have some punching power. I saw some old footage of them testing the M1 Carbine back after WWII shooting at a steel M1 helmet at 300 yards. It was punching a hole completely through it. That said, the M1 Carbine is pretty accurate out to around 150 yards, but a skilled shooter can be accurate with it a little further.

    The Mini-14 is a nice rifle, but the M1 Carbine is much nicer to shoot. The recoil is almost non-existent. It is almost like shooting a .22lr. The rounds are readily available too.

    http://palmettostatearmory.com/ammunition/rifle-ammunition.html?ammo_caliber=1092
     
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    oneshot

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    the R. Mini-14 If you want to bring her over and let her try out them before you buy any thing. Got a couple of other things she can try to. I'm not to far from you. Just my 5cents jj
     

    Ric-san

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    I just lucked out into a deal on a older well worn WW2 M1 carbine. It needs some TLC to bring her back into her glory. I had JJ look it over with his knowledgeable eye before the deal was finalized. That being said, I'm going to reload 30 carbine ammo as it now cost some good coin. A new in box Mini 14 was $620 at Wal*Mart the last time I checked, and 223 ammo is more plentiful and in the long run cheaper. Unless you buy a refurbished like new M1 from James River Armory for well over $1200 or luck into a good deal, IMHO the Mini 14 is more sensible. Not so for me as I have an AR already and enough spare parts to build another one ...
     

    SAWMAN

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    If you are considering a M1 Carbine for the reasons stated in your OP,get her a Universal. Parts are available and they do not cost a fortune like the milspec guns. A USGI M1 Carbine is super hard to scope or sight if needed down the road. The M1 carbine does not have very many factory load offerings. Basically a 110gr FMJ or a round nose with exposed lead. Check the price of the older milspec stuff also.

    The M1 Carbine has (basically) the stopping power of a(fairly)well loaded 357Mag. IMO,not enough for ethical hunting of deer and hogs at the mid/close ranges(75-125yds). It will loose its velocity quite rapidly also. The FMJ version of this ammo will over penetrate and waaaaay under expand. I have no experience with the other ammo available in non FMJ.

    The Mini 14 would definitely be my pick between the two. It is almost as light. Almost as short. Can be had in stainless,which would be my pick. All size mags are available and cheap. Even the 5 shot mags. Can be quite easily scoped or red dot sight installed. Parts are everywhere although I suspect that you would never need them. AND ..... most importantly .... waaaaay more power than any M1 Carbine. There is lots of different 223/5.56 ammo available,some with great solid copper bullets. I will be hunting with a handloaded 223Rem with a 55gr Barnes TSX this afternoon and have killed quite a few hogs and deer with this bullet/ammo.

    My choice would be the MINI any day of the week. --- SAWMAN
     

    fl57caveman

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    If you are considering a M1 Carbine for the reasons stated in your OP,get her a Universal. Parts are available and they do not cost a fortune like the milspec guns. A USGI M1 Carbine is super hard to scope or sight if needed down the road. The M1 carbine does not have very many factory load offerings. Basically a 110gr FMJ or a round nose with exposed lead. Check the price of the older milspec stuff also.

    The M1 Carbine has (basically) the stopping power of a(fairly)well loaded 357Mag. IMO,not enough for ethical hunting of deer and hogs at the mid/close ranges(75-125yds). It will loose its velocity quite rapidly also. The FMJ version of this ammo will over penetrate and waaaaay under expand. I have no experience with the other ammo available in non FMJ.

    The Mini 14 would definitely be my pick between the two. It is almost as light. Almost as short. Can be had in stainless,which would be my pick. All size mags are available and cheap. Even the 5 shot mags. Can be quite easily scoped or red dot sight installed. Parts are everywhere although I suspect that you would never need them. AND ..... most importantly .... waaaaay more power than any M1 Carbine. There is lots of different 223/5.56 ammo available,some with great solid copper bullets. I will be hunting with a handloaded 223Rem with a 55gr Barnes TSX this afternoon and have killed quite a few hogs and deer with this bullet/ammo.

    My choice would be the MINI any day of the week. --- SAWMAN

    even though personally i prefer the m1, all the above is true

    .30cal is only reasonable on line , brick & mortar stores run $25 to $37 for 50 rounds
     
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    even though personally i prefer the m1, all the above is true

    .30cal is only reasonable on line , brick & mortar stores run $25 to $37 for 50 rounds

    .30 Carbine ammo can be bought from PSA for about $20/box of 50 just as I showed in the link I gave in an earlier post. In addition, the OP made no mention of his wife using this rifle for hunting. He said that her range is about 50 yards. The M1 Carbine would be perfect for her at that range and even out to 100 yards should she want to.
     

    SAWMAN

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    Well then ....... I will just have to default to my energy on target,trajectory(even at 50yds the 5.56 STILL shoots flatter),choice of bullets,cost of weapon,easily scoped or sighted,etc.etc,etc. If the lady is not going to use this weapon for hunting ... well ... I guess that it will be for range/plinking/target practice. If the latter is true I would much trather spring for a couple hundred rds of Tula el cheapo 5.56 than $80 worth of .30Carbine ammo at twice the price. --- SAWMAN
     

    Pompnewbie

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    With the prices of parts you could build her a AR and have adjustable lop, same ammo as your Ruger, mid length gas system and a decent muzzle brake will make it shoot smooth and easy on the recoil.. Very easy to customize to her
     

    gonzo

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    I've had several ARs in the past. I had a forum member introduce me to the mini 14 and after one session I was sold. I bought my own and after a couple of more sessions, I sold all my ARs. I like the simplicity of the mini's firing system, not that the AR is that much more complicated. I'll admit, I'm somewhat of a prepper thus my interest in the two carbines used for several scenarios. I want to keep the rifles simple and light for this reason. We don't want battery operated optics or a million Accessories. "Keep It Simple Stupid" is the name of the game. My wife is a bad ass with a pistol, but as I said before, only good with a rifle at about 50 yards max. Hence my interest in the 30 carbine round. I've owned an M1 carbine in the past and currently own a mini 14, I just want opinions from other peoples experiences with either of the two. Thanks again for the awesome input guys. Keep it comin
     

    Pompnewbie

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    from the "prepper" stand point alone I would go Mini for the same mags, and ammo commonality alone.. not too mention multiple choices of ammo, and cost effective ammo VS 30 carbine.
     

    gonzo

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    from the "prepper" stand point alone I would go Mini for the same mags, and ammo commonality alone.. not too mention multiple choices of ammo, and cost effective ammo VS 30 carbine.

    Ya mag and ammo commonality was a huge factor in our matching CCW and sidearm choice.

    So it looks like so far I have 6 votes for the mini 14, 4 votes for the M1 carbine, and three votes for AR15. Who knows, maybe I'll catch the wife on a good day and get both lol.(probably not gonna happen)
     
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