The Ruger Mini-14 has been around for a while. It's used in military and law enforcement applications around the world. Is it a sniper rifle? No, it's not but you can shoot a hand size shot group out to 200 yards all day long it is more than capable of defending the homestead and exterminating those wild predators. It also has the advantage of not scaring some left wing liberal because it looks more like a hunting rifle then the dreaded black rifle.