[TimH]

I know I could do a search but this has discussed sooomuch taht I didn't want to wade through all the post. Anyway simple question. Are these rifles reliable? Accuarcy doesn't matter that much. Just reliabillity. And if you were going to pick one which one? Thanks Tim

[Onslaught]

I had a Mini-30. I really did like it. I stuck it in a Choate pistol grip stock, shortened the barrel to 16" and put a Choate flash supressor on it. (all before '94 ;) ) But it never worked reliably with anything but 5 round mags. With the factory 5 rounders, never a hiccup. At least, with the Mini-14, there are some 20's and 30's available. Neither Ruger or PMI ever made higher capacity mags for the 30.

The 30 has more recoil, but neither is significant.

Other than that, I don't know what you'd use it for so I can't really say.

After I bought my AR-15, the Mini-30 only came out to go hunting in very wooded areas where longer shots weren't an issue.

I eventually sold it and put the $$$ down on a Springfield M1A.

[mini14jac]

I had a Mini14 years ago, and just recently got another one.
Among Mini owners, both guns are renowned for reliability, even to the point of shooting Wolf ammo.

From what I have heard, the main drawback with the Mini30 is the "standard capacity" mag issue.
If you can live with factory 5rd mags, you will probably be very happy.

With the Mini14, PMI mags can be had for $30 each.
The new 10 round Promag mags are getting very good reviews, and they go for $18 or so.

[Tropical Z]

If you HAVE to go with one of those two,get a 30.

[Andrew Wyatt]

get a mini-14. the .223 is flatter shooting, and the standard mini-14 has much better sights than the mini-30 (which only comes in the ranch variant).

[H Romberg]

I like the 30 for the cheaper ammo. Like everything Ruger makes, both are as reliable as an AK in stock configuration. Like he said though, don't expect great reliability out of anything bigger than a 5 round magazine. Failures to feed are the most common, since the throat of the cartridge tends to catch on the forward lip of the magazine. I think it must have something to do with the rounds' tapered case walls causing them to nose down when the bolt pushes them forward.

Anyway, stick with the 5 rounders, and you've got an absolutely first class medium range carbine.

[benEzra]

My mini-14 is not terribly accurate (6.5" groups at 100 yd with inexpensive ammo, but not much better with match loads), but it IS rock-solid reliable. I have NEVER, EVER had a failure to feed that I can recall, using several brands of full-cap magazines. The only failures I have ever had of ANY kind were failures to extract some ultra-hot .223 reloads (5 GRAINS OVER MAXIMUM LOAD, I later found out) that a friend gave me by accident. I have several thousand rounds through mine. My experience has been that if the magazine fits and doesn't bind the bolt, it feeds. Period.

I've got a Choate pistol-grip stock on mine, shortened an inch with a custom buttplate (I have short arms). Ergonomics are much better than the standard stock, IMO.

bE

[ShaiVong]

Like everything Ruger makes, both are as reliable as an AK in stock configuration.

Judging by my 10/22 then, AKs jam every 4 shots :D

[BamBam-31]

My Mini-14 is nothing if not reliable. I've fired almost a thousand rounds through it without a hitch. From all I've heard, this is typical of the Mini's. Accuracy is not as common, unfortunately, but reliability is definitely one of the Mini's strengths.

I'd get the Mini-14 instead of the Mini-30 because the mags are more common and there's more good ammo to choose from in .223.

Just my two cents.

[TimH]

Thanks everybody. Accuracy isn't as important as reliability as far as I'm concerned.