New Owner Mini 30

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Jun 3, 2009
Messages
3,258
Location
Indiana
Stainless, synthetic skeletonized stock, 3 mags, clean.

Im a AR guy but the price was just to cheap to pass up, I have no idea what ill do with it other than put even more holes in paper. its a 7.62x39MM (same as a AK ) Ive owned and enjoyed a mini 14. SO, optic ? no optic ? accessories.. im just itching.. time will tell.
 
Originally Posted By: Doog
Did you buy it used or new? How much did it set you back?


It is a mini 30; he is not set back, he is ahead! j/k
 
Congrats on the purchase. I've owned one since 1989. It is an extremely rugged and reliable rifle. They will feed and shoot any ammo you run through it and are not sensitive to running dirty. Mine typically shoots about 3 MOA, which is sufficient for hungting. They are great deer and hog rifles allowing for very quick second shots.

I bought mine new for $300 way back in '89.

Hope you enjoy yours as much as I've enjoyed mine.
 
Originally Posted By: OtisBlkR1
its used but clean. $350


thumbsup2.gif
NICE DEAL. I would have bit that like a starving shark.
 
Last edited:
Only real issues with the mini family is they can be awfully picky on mags. Some people can get the aftermarket ones to run fine, and some guns refuse to love anything other than factory mags.


You got a good buy. I was debating for years between a Mini 30 and a M1 Carbine. As I already had an SKS and an AK in 7.62 Soviet, I opted for the less powerful carbine just for historical reasons.
 
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
Only real issues with the mini family is they can be awfully picky on mags. Some people can get the aftermarket ones to run fine, and some guns refuse to love anything other than factory mags.


You got a good buy. I was debating for years between a Mini 30 and a M1 Carbine. As I already had an SKS and an AK in 7.62 Soviet, I opted for the less powerful carbine just for historical reasons.


Ruger has been making 20 rnd mags for the last few years and they are excellent. I had a couple of Eagle mags way back when and they were OK, with the occasional hiccup. But the factory 20 rounders feed like any other factory mags. Highly recommended.
 
Indeed, it was nice to see Ruger finally start making the factory mags more easily attainable. For many years it was hard to get high cap factory mags for them. Old man Ruger had a thing against doing that(he testified as an expert on the mag capacity ban back in the early 90s.
 
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
Indeed, it was nice to see Ruger finally start making the factory mags more easily attainable. For many years it was hard to get high cap factory mags for them. Old man Ruger had a thing against doing that(he testified as an expert on the mag capacity ban back in the early 90s.


The impression I got was that Bill Ruger testified in favor of magazine bans because he though that the Mini-14 would be exempted and he'd get more sales once AR mags were banned.

After that I didn't buy an Ruger product until after Bill died.

BSW
 
Several years ago I bought an early production Mini-30 hoping it would shoot reasonably well. 50% failure-to-fire on several mil-surp brands even with a Wolff extra power spring, and I could shoot better groups offhand at 100 yards with my target 22 rifle than it could with a scope from the bench. Wasn't expecting much and it still disappointed. Moved it along. Hope yours is better.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: AZjeff
Several years ago I bought an early production Mini-30 hoping it would shoot reasonably well. 50% failure-to-fire on several mil-surp brands even with a Wolff extra power spring, and I could shoot better groups offhand at 100 yards with my target 22 rifle than it could with a scope from the bench. Wasn't expecting much and it still disappointed. Moved it along. Hope yours is better.


They retooled a while back and accuracy is better. The 7.62x39mm round is not exactly a round known for its accuracy, let alone with mil surp(I assume steel cased) ammo. For many years the mini rifles were know for "minute of milkjug" accuracy at 100 yards.
 
Originally Posted By: Robenstein


They retooled a while back and accuracy is better. The 7.62x39mm round is not exactly a round known for its accuracy, let alone with mil surp(I assume steel cased) ammo. For many years the mini rifles were know for "minute of milkjug" accuracy at 100 yards.


I have a Yugo SKS that kills the Mini in accuracy, with iron sights, and it will fire everything. I wanted to replace the SKS with a good old 'Merican made rifle. The only thing minute-of-milk jug is good for is burning ammo and making noise. No fun to shoot paper and disrespectful to hunt with. Still have the SKS.
 
Originally Posted By: AZjeff
Several years ago I bought an early production Mini-30 hoping it would shoot reasonably well. 50% failure-to-fire on several mil-surp brands even with a Wolff extra power spring, and I could shoot better groups offhand at 100 yards with my target 22 rifle than it could with a scope from the bench. Wasn't expecting much and it still disappointed. Moved it along. Hope yours is better.


The misfires are due to the hardened primers on the Russian mil-surp ammo. The chinese(Norinco) ammo was far superior to the Russian made junk. No problems with any of the American loaded ammo either. I solved that problem by installing a Wolff extra power spring and touching up the firing pin(gently) with a file for better penetration. It is something that Ruger should address as it is a simple fix, particularly for the factory.

If you were getting such poor accuracy I can only surmise that the barrel was either damaged or shot out. They can also suffer from copper fouling if not cleaned properly and thoroughly after many years of shooting.
 
The rifle was a 95%+ condition obvious low count example. The barrel wasn't fouled. It was a minor life lesson, in spite of the overwhelming number of owner reports of dismal accuracy I thought I'd roll the dice. I own lots of Rugers but won't try a Mini again.

Sorry for the derail OP, hope yours meets your expectations.
 
Just another gun in my safe, and at the price im paying im sure I can sell it if I hate it. I own plenty of firearms, only about 20% of them I actually hunt with or CC. its a bit of a addiction..
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top