Dear_John, I think you are misinformed about mail order.
Use a FFL finder webpage to find a FFL near your home. (Google "FFL Finder" and a number o websites will pop up you can use. The Gunbroker one is not bad.) Normal to pay a lot less online than through a brick and mortar store. Most home based FFLs charge about $20-$30 for a simple transfer. If you purchase from an out of state retailer, they probably will not collect sales tax. For the type of rifle you are looking at that will more than make up for the minimal transfer fee. (According to state law, you must still self report and pay that sales tax. Just like any type of out of state purchase you make online.) The process is not complicated, saves a lot of money and can get a hard to find firearm quickly.
Gunprime in Alabama has that rifle you are asking about in stock for $975, which is more than $400 under MSRP on Rugers site.
https://gunprime.com/products/ruger-...-magazine-5847
No reason you can't have that rifle home by middle of this week for about $1K.
It was easy to find, that was the first result that popped up when I entered the upc and 'for sale' into duck duck go. A small amount of effort can save you a decent amount of money.
Most folks don't like the Ruger Mini14 rifles for various reasons, some of which you have already mentioned, not taking STANAG magazines. Second, when they first came out their accuracy sucked. It's still not as good as you can get a moderately priced AR-15 to beat. There used to be all kinds of devices to make it shoot better. Ruger woke up and improved it somewhat. Good news is in it's basic form, the leftists don't see it as a threat like an ugly black rifle. Some states that ban ARs in original configuration allow Mini's. The design appeals to a lot of folks that like wood and steel rifles. However the one you are looking usually doesn't fit that fudd crowd. The select fire versions are some of the cheapest ways into a legal full auto 5.56 rifle, usually priced thousands less than M-16's..
You can PM me if you have any questions.
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