Well Semper Fidelis Bro, hope ya find what ya want, & welcome home

 

You can get a Mini Rancher in 308 for less than $350- you can not got wrong with that kind of deal. Anything over $700 then yeah, go with an AR platform or an M1 platform.

I personally think Mini's in 308 are the perfect ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE gun.

 

There are ALOT of mods for the Mini, including some you shouldn't have. Lighten the trigger pull, and maybe a fluted barrel if you get the cheapo light barrel version. Just add optics!

 

I have a 1976 200th rarely shoot it. If I'm "plinking" it is with my AK. 7.62x39mm.

Cost per round is about the same. My mag for the AK is just larger than the mini14 so it gets the nod.

Also, I don't want to worry about messing up the wood of the mini. The AK is rough and tumble.

 

A good friend has the AC556 which is just the auto version of the mini14 and I have shot it a lot. He also has a mini 30. i personally like the mini14 it feels good in the hands and reliable mags are ez to get. The mini 30 not as much. I would pick an AK over one. If you can get a Mini14 in good condition for under $500 I would grab it. Reliable accurate rifle. If you go over 700 I would start looking at AR platform.