bwheeler

Not a whole lot of love for the Mini! I have to say, they aren't the most competitive rifle in the world. It does remind me of a smaller, less accurate M1A (M14). It was where I started in 3-gun (shot my first SMM3Gun with it, and hit a bonus target) but upgraded to an AR that can be what I need it to be. IMHO there are two scenarios for having a Mini: 1. you live in CA and want to shoot your Hi Capacity magazines that you happened to find in the trash at the range... 2. you want a fun, easy to shoot rifle that mimics an M1A, at Garand prices, and shoots cheaper .223 ammo. Which is what it sounds like the OP wants. There are definitely worse guns out there on the market. Have fun with it!

If you are looking for a lower with THE best trigger I have ever felt (handgun, shotgun, pistol, cordless drill, ect.) give JP a call and ask them about their lower with fire control package. $299+ shipping and transfer and I had a lower, safety AND an awesome, JP single stage trigger. It was $348 in my hands in PRK, which is a pretty decent deal. My link

Pictures, as promised... with my other limited guns

I have been building mine for a couple of weeks now, waiting for parts to come in... BCM 18" SS410 upper, Viking TRX 13" rail, BCM BCG BCM Gunfighter charging handle DD fixed sights JP Stripped lower with Fire Control installed (on its way) DPMS lower parts Vltor A5 stock kit ErgoGrip tactical grip JP Tactical comp (waiting) Magpul BAD & Triggerguard (waiting) Will post completed pics soon!

I too started on a mini-14. Being in CA, it is one of the easiest centerfire semi-auto rifles to have, and can do just fine. I shot SMM3Gun last year with one. It burped on me a few times (stuck mags, double feeds) but I also hit a 300ish yrd bonus strobe target with it (Tac Iron). Some mini's are accurate, some are not. The tolerances are different for each one (gas piston, barrel harmonics, stock bedding, ect.) You can shoot one for all that it is worth, but to upgrade the accuracy or any other parts of it is not worth it with quality AR type rifles around. I am now building a 3 gun AR (JP Lower and BCM 18" upper) just because I would like a rifle that I KNOW is a better shot than I am. If you plan to get into HM at some point, and want to shoot a M1A, than it is good practice with the reloads, and the manual of arms is reasonably similar.

So, my father just retired from LE, and carried a P14-40 Nite Tac LDA in .40S&W on duty for quite a few years. He had to get an LDA, as he was not permitted to carry a single action but wanted a 1911. Since it is not a duty gun any longer & he doesn't need to worry about several things (trigger weight, mag capacity, sights, ect.) I wanted to send it off to a gunsmith for him. I was looking into: -Trigger job (LDA is pretty rough. I'd do it myself, but I hear LDA is tricky) -Mag Well -Fitted grip safety (the one that is on it is HORRIBLE) -Sights I want to get it set up for him for Limited and for ESP If anyone can point me in the right direction, i sure would appreciate it! Thanks!

I went with an adj. rear sight. Bo Mar is the best, but is no longer. I know that Wilson, Ed Brown and many others now make similar products. The standard Glock Bo Mars stick out about 1 inch to the rear, so I decided to get them "blended" into the slide on my 35. The front is a Dawson Precision F/O, .300" high. The only drawback to this is the removal of the standard finish, but that can be replaced with any number of options (Roguard, Black T, NP3, many others). Total cost, including sights, was about $200. The following link to some pics on GlockTalk of how it turned out. Profile Rear Sight Front Sight