Mini 30, M1 Carbine, or SKS for wife

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bennadatto

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Afternoon all!

I'm considering the three rifles / carbines above for self / home defense for my wife. I already own rifles that I would choose personally, but they may be a bit too heavy or have too much recoil for my wife to use. I know that if an actual emergency arose, she could deal with it, but I think she'd be more inclined to practice shooting if the rifle wasn't to heavy and hard hitting.

I chose mini 30, as the caliber matches other firearms I may or may not own:neener:.

I'm actually leaning towards the M1 Carbine as it is the lightest and smallest of the options. I know the round may be considered by many to be anemic, but I think for my purposes, it will get the job done.

The SKS is in the list because we already own one, and again caliber sharing. I do think that it is a bit heavy though. I know she wouldn't be comfortable carrying it or shooting offhand for long with it.

Thoughts?
 
Mini-30's don't fair well in the accuracy dept., if recoil and weight are an issue, I'd go Mini 14, but you addressed the caliber issue. If you have an SKS why is it included in the question? Well I'd take a carbine over a mini 30.
 
I guess, if it were my wife I would not recommend a rifle for SD/HD but if I were simply buying her a rifle. I would problable choose the M1 Carbine for it's historical/coolness value.
 
I guess I left the SKS in the equation as a "stick with what ya got" option.
 
mcdonl,

That's another reason I'm leaning towards the M1 Carbine. It'll be "her rifle," but I'll have to take it out many many times to make sure it's functioning correctly!
 
My main thought is to have her shoot them before you buy.

That said, how about a nice semi-auto shotgun? Something that has some good recoil reduction?
Maybe use some low recoil shells if you go with a pump?

Firearms are a very personal thing and whatever you are considering for her, make sure she likes it and if possible have her shoot it before you buy.
 
Boba Fett is right on target.

What's wrong with asking her what she wants? If she doesn't know then go to a shop or show where she can handle several and let her choose. An AK-type weighs less than an SKS and can be had for less than an M1 carbine. If you have an SKS already then the 7.62X39 would be a natural choice in either an AK-type or Mini-30. You could even get an AR in 7.62X39 (we have one and it shoots great). Of course you can always drop the SKS into a Tapco polymer kit and loose the weight of the wood.
 
I have/had all of them. They will all work very well for HD/SD. Forget any accuracy problems with the Mini in an SD roll it will serve that purpose VERY well. My choice for my wife is the M1,the .30 cal U.S. is a proven man stopper. My wife LOVES hers. Size,weight and firepower all make the little M1 an excellent choice(best loaded withSP ammo).
 
The Mini accuracy will be an argument for a lot of people. I own a Mini-14 in the newer configuration 580 Tactical and trust me when I say accuracy is NO problem. Extremely accurate, light, and low recoil. All fitting the bill for your wife. That being said, a M1 Carbine would be a fine little rifle for her as would a Mini-30 ( provided the Mini-30 is a newer 580 series)
I do like the Rugers, but if you do go to a Ruger, be sure to stay away from the older 180 series and 190 series, as these are the guns that gave the Minis a bad rap for accuracy. The 580's ? On target, easy to operate, very reliable, and will eat any ammo you put in it. A Mini-30 may be a little more costly than a M1 Carbine. The 7.62x39 ammo is more cost effective than the .30cal, and the 7.62x39 tends to be more readily available too..ie: bulk purchases.
Another pro on the M1 Carbine side is the availability of high cap mags: you can find tons of em. On the Ruger side: Ruger just announced the availability of 20 round mags for the Mini-30 ( you can get the .223, 20rd Ruger mags for about $25.00) M1 carbine mags tend to run about $15-$20, but can be found in a lot more places.
Hope this helps.
 
1. As others had said: ask her what she wants.
2. Just make sure she learns sign language before she pops a round off inside the house, room or other enclosed space without hearing protection.
3. I have a mini-30, stick with factory 5 rdn mags or it won't feed reliably.


My recommendation? 12 or 20 ga short barrel pump shotgun and buck shot. Easy and effective.
 
In an HD roll forget about accuracy as you don't even need sights. If you must defend your life/family/home you wont be aiming anyway it likely will be point blank range. Typically 10-20 feet will be a long shot inside of a home.
 
Hands down the M1 Carbine. I think it might be alright in a SD/HD situation because it has okay reliability (well proven in combat, mine has had no failures whatsoever), okay stopping power (is a 357Mag enough, the US military said it was), and decent handling (is there anything else that handles better?). The Mini-30 is a close second, handling, weight, balance, and reliability are nearly as good, energy is even better (but unnecessary IMO). Also the round that it shoots is more available and much cheaper. I want one...but I don't want stainless (which all they make now). The SKS has very poor handling characteristics IMO, and has no advantages over the Mini-30 at all. I didn't care for them when they were $100...and I like them even less now. If you want something commie...buy an AK for $100 more (perhaps less).

I have a mini-30, stick with factory 5 rdn mags or it won't feed reliably.
Click to expand...
Factory 20rnd mags do just fine from what I hear.

:)
 
I have an M1 Carbine and highly recommend it. Loaded with Cor-Bon 100 gr DPX hollow points it has almost twice the muzzle energy of a 357 magnum.

I keep it under my bed and it has a Surefire 9P mounted to the bayonet lug. No need to aim, just put the center of the light beam center mass and poke some holes.

The combination of light weight and short length makes it very easy to move and point in tight quarters.

The only downside is that ammo is very hard to find right now.
 
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If one were to purchase an M1 Carbine, what do you look for when purchasing? Also, would a trip to the CMP guarantee a better model that say gunbroker.com or a local gunshow?
 
My wife enjoys her Kahr/AO M1 Carbine. With 15 rounds of soft points delivering half a ton of energy each (if you're into the whole "energy" thing), I feel she's well protected. Though I really think she'd grab the Kahr K9 if she needed a gun.
 
Just a question about using any of these rifles discussed for HD. What is the danger of over penetration / going through walls and such.


That's really the main reason I think the semi-auto or pump shotgun would be a better choice.


But if there isn't much concern about it going through your wall and into the kid's or neighbor's walls, then it just comes back to making sure she likes and can handle them well.
 
Maverick223,

I don't think there is such a thing as "factory" 20 round mags for the min-30, mini-14 yes.
Ruger has actually said they may make some 20, possibly 30 round mags in the near future.
 
Had aftermarket 20 and 30 round mags for the Mini 30. A few ftf but after a slight adjustment to the follower they all ran great.
 
What's wrong with asking her what she wants?
Click to expand...

LOL - My wife has never even seen some of "her" guns let alone shoot them!

OP, is your wife an "active" shooter? Do you also own handguns and/or shotguns? Not to distract from the rifle in the rifle thread, but as mentioned over penetration is a real consideration, as well as the need to practice using a rifle for HD/SD much more (Maybe not much more?) then a handgun or smooth bore gun.
 
Again, if you are to purchase an M1, is there anything in particular to look for?
 
The problem with buying an M1 carbine is the price these days is $700+ for a simple Inland around here. For that type money you can now get back into a low end ARs now that prices have started dropping.

The benefit of a trip to CMP is that it allows you to use their gauges to find a low TE with a nice muzzle. They're not aggressively trying to sell the guns since everyone that comes to them is looking for what they have. They're very helpful. Factor in the travel expense of going to hand pick your carbine if you're not going to order it in.

If you have a good collector group around your area there will probably be some members who are carbine gurus that might be able to put you into a good shooter for a little less. I've seen guns that someone made the mistake of putting a vent handguard on a GI gun or a new stock or an aftermarket folding stock and because it wasn't GI the price plummeted to below $500. The guns were in excelling shooting condition, but just not original enough to demand the price for a full GI gun.

The other issue with the M1 carbine is ammo can be pricey since you will want to use CorBon's ammunition to get the best effect.

If you go the M1 carbine route be sure that the crown is perfect, the TE is under 3 and that you have a good chamber and bore.

I dearly love my M1 carbines (IBM, Inland and Rockola), but I'll take an AK or AR type rifle over them any day of the week from a practical standpoint.
 
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Carbine feels like a .22, in fact you might even consider that. A .22 LR from a RIFLE at close range is no slouch.
 
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