I was reading Michael Bane's Blog...
Ruger has jumped on the bandwagon and is making a Mini-14 in .300 Blackout.
The thing that jumped out for me about it wasn't the new caliber but that a Mini is now a kilobuck rifle.
I remember a time when a new Mini was about $400 and a new AR was at least $600 (and that was Bushmaster not Colt).
I've been aware that the relative prices have reversed somewhat over the years, but this time it really stuck.
I've read that the newer Mini's are greatly improved over my old gun, and that could be why the price went up. The near ubiquity of the AR greatly aids in keeping its prices down. It makes sense that the trend lines would eventually cross and considering that newer entrants to the field of 5.56 rifles cost at least twice as much the Mini is still something of a bargain.
The role it used to fill as the "cheaper than an AR, entry level 5.56 gun", I think, been taken up by the KelTec SU-16 (but it's MSRP is nipping at the heels of $1,000 too).
Ruger has jumped on the bandwagon and is making a Mini-14 in .300 Blackout.
The thing that jumped out for me about it wasn't the new caliber but that a Mini is now a kilobuck rifle.
I remember a time when a new Mini was about $400 and a new AR was at least $600 (and that was Bushmaster not Colt).
I've been aware that the relative prices have reversed somewhat over the years, but this time it really stuck.
I've read that the newer Mini's are greatly improved over my old gun, and that could be why the price went up. The near ubiquity of the AR greatly aids in keeping its prices down. It makes sense that the trend lines would eventually cross and considering that newer entrants to the field of 5.56 rifles cost at least twice as much the Mini is still something of a bargain.
The role it used to fill as the "cheaper than an AR, entry level 5.56 gun", I think, been taken up by the KelTec SU-16 (but it's MSRP is nipping at the heels of $1,000 too).