Ruger 77/357 vs Mini14 vs Mini30

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LeontheProfessional

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I am going to get one. I just can't decide which one. I have plenty of ammo for all 3

Ruger 77/357... Not convinced on the accuracy and worried it might not be overly reliable.

Mini14... Had one before wish I didn't get rid of it. Not legal to hunt deer with it in VA but can in NC. Mostly use shotgun in VA so not the end of the world

Mini30... Not sure about reliability/ durability with wolf and Tula which is mostly what I shoot/ have. Legal to hunt deer with it in VA though.
 
I had a Mini-30 for close to 20 years and just sold it last month. While I liked it, and it was reliable, it just didn't do anything particularly well. The accuracy was just OK. Magazines are expensive. They are known for breaking firing pins if you shoot a lot of steel cased ammo through them, and unfortunately brass cased 7.62x39 is expensive. As for hunting, I probably shot a half dozen whitetails with it over the years and the power was only adequate in my opinion - nowhere near that of a 308.

I still have a Mini-14, and will be keeping that, but it's mainly just a range toy. If I had to pick from the three, I'd probably get the 77/357. The biggest reason for me would be the ease of reloading 357 ammo on carbide dies. I'm tempted to get one, but I already have a 357 Marlin Cowboy to scratch that itch.
 
Not knowing what you are going to do with it its hard to say. But if I had all three sitting in front of me and someone said 'pick one and take it with you' I would probably grab the 77/357 before I could take another breath.
 
None of the above for me. Each has it's strong points and can be a decent gun. I just can't think of anything something else doesn't do better, and cost less.

If you needed a rifle in a pistol caliber to be legal to hunt in some states I can see the reason behind the 77/357. But it doesn't appear to be the case here.
 
No brainer for me..... 77/357. Theres nothing wrong with a mini, but I have a .223 AR and a 7.62 Saiga already. The M1 action is cool, but I'd rather have it in a full size M1A. The 77 just appeals to me... as I type this, Im not sure I can really rationalize it (ok, I cant rationalize most of my guns except with "I want them"). For whatever reason, a 77/357 is on my wishlist and is getting near the top.
 
the M77/357 in personal experience has pretty serious point of impact shifts depending on loads, my brother's will shift nearly 3 feet in POI at 100 yards ranging from 38 special to +P 357 loads... essentially you pick one type of ammo you like, sight it in, and never shoot a different type of bullet in it ever again unless you plan on rezeroing it.

the mini14 has a bad reputation for being inaccurate, I think they've since fixed the issues, or at least reduced it, but the reputation remains.

the mini 30 has a bad reputation for being unreliable. I know for certain that this has been corrected, though I know not how they would behave with a solid diet of tula. still the bad reputation remains.

I've really been lusting after a black mini 30 in cabinet queen boyds stock to supplement my ugly old SKS in the collection but, cabinet queens eventually get scratched and that just ruins your whole week so I probably won't jump on that train without a little extra spending money coming my way.
 
tahunua001 said:
the M77/357 in personal experience has pretty serious point of impact shifts depending on loads, my brother's will shift nearly 3 feet in POI at 100 yards ranging from 38 special to +P 357 loads... essentially you pick one type of ammo you like, sight it in, and never shoot a different type of bullet in it ever again unless you plan on rezeroing it.

the mini14 has a bad reputation for being inaccurate, I think they've since fixed the issues, or at least reduced it, but the reputation remains.

the mini 30 has a bad reputation for being unreliable. I know for certain that this has been corrected, though I know not how they would behave with a solid diet of tula. still the bad reputation remains.

I've really been lusting after a black mini 30 in cabinet queen boyds stock to supplement my ugly old SKS in the collection but, cabinet queens eventually get scratched and that just ruins your whole week so I probably won't jump on that train without a little extra spending money coming my way.
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I would think, and I am no expert, that the problem sighted with the 77/357 is not really the fault of the gun and would be found in any .357 rifle. No gun is going to be close considering the difference in bullet weight and pressure.
 
Agsalaska said:
I would think, and I am no expert, that the problem sighted with the 77/357 is not really the fault of the gun and would be found in any .357 rifle. No gun is going to be close considering the difference in bullet weight and pressure.
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Yeah that's just kind of a big problem to me
 
I have owned all three. Still own the 77/357 and Mini-30.

Too many other things shoot 223/5.56 better with higher reliability so I dumped the Mini-14.

Never even heard of the 77/357 being unreliable. Of course it's gonna shoot different loads to different POI. Just about any firearm I can think of will do that...Pick one and shoot regularly. Mine loves 158 XTP, but never tried anything heavier (180s).

The Mini-30 is plenty accurate. I own the Tactical and it shoots 2MOA. But I only shoot brass cased stuff. My current favorite hand load is using 125 Vmax.

M
 
M1key said:
I have owned all three. Still own the 77/357 and Mini-30.

Too many other things shoot 223/5.56 better with higher reliability so I dumped the Mini-14.

Never even heard of the 77/357 being unreliable. Of course it's gonna shoot different loads to different POI. Just about any firearm I can think of will do that...Pick one and shoot regularly. Mine loves 158 XTP, but never tried anything heavier (180s).

The Mini-30 is plenty accurate. I own the Tactical and it shoots 2MOA. But I only shoot brass cased stuff. My current favorite hand load is using 125 Vmax.

M
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I see no issues with a gun that will change POA depending on load but a foot or more at 100 yards is ridiculous
 
the M77/357 in personal experience has pretty serious point of impact shifts depending on loads, my brother's will shift nearly 3 feet in POI at 100 yards ranging from 38 special to +P 357 loads...
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but a foot or more at 100 yards is ridiculous
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We have no idea of what grain, fps, bullet type, or how the POI was measured (guessed or taped) let alone going from 38 special to +p 357mag.
 
tahunua001 said:
the M77/357 in personal experience has pretty serious point of impact shifts depending on loads, my brother's will shift nearly 3 feet in POI at 100 yards ranging from 38 special to +P 357 loads... essentially you pick one type of ammo you like, sight it in, and never shoot a different type of bullet in it ever again unless you plan on rezeroing it.
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Does any rifle not have a POI shift measured in feet when you triple the velocity of a round being fired? Target .38 Special goes about 800 FPS from my 77/357 while 125g Buffalo Bore goes 2300 FPS.

Imagine complaining about a 30-06 having a POI shift when you compare a standard 2600 FPS load to a 7500 FPS 10 grain varmint load. You'd probably complain about barrel life too ;)
 
The mini 30 has a .308 bore instead of .311, like a 7.62x39 needs. I wouldn't go with it unless you're going to be hand loading. If you want something to shoot cheap steel case ammo out of, get an SKS or AK.

The 77/357 is just going to be an underpowered, short ranged rifle that I wouldn't want to take hunting any kind of medium game. Of those choices, I'd take the Mini 14. It would be a nice, light, good handling little carbine .
 
The mini 30 has a .308 bore instead of .311, like a 7.62x39 needs. I wouldn't go with it unless you're going to be hand loading. If you want something to shoot cheap steel case ammo out of, get an SKS or AK.
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The Mini 30 has not had a .308 in a long time, but I agree not to use seel cased ammo.http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/lid=15904/GunTechdetail/Ruger-Mini-30-bore-specs

The 77/357 is just going to be an underpowered, short ranged rifle that I wouldn't want to take hunting any kind of medium game.
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357mag is on the heels of the 30/30 when used in a rifle. And as an added bonus it starts out with a .357 hole vs .308

Giving the choice (I own all three right now, so I have the choice, and I reload for all three)

77/357: where I hunt my shots are under 150yds, I can get a heavy piece of lead down range, and I like bolt vs semi.
 
Leon - while I like .357 (I've been looking for a decent priced Marlin 1894 for 2 years!), if memory serves, the Ruger is limited to 4+1 shots, less than a revolver! At least with the Mini-14 you will have a larger reserve of ammo with the gun than the Ruger.

BTW - the 1894 lever-action is a 9+1 capacity, 2X the Ruger. ;)
 
JTHunter Leon - while I like .357 (I've been looking for a decent priced Marlin 1894 for 2 years!), if memory serves, the Ruger is limited to 4+1 shots, less than a revolver! At least with the Mini-14 you will have a larger reserve of ammo with the gun than the Ruger.
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The 77/357 has a 5+1 capacity, same as most revolvers.
BTW - the 1894 lever-action is a 9+1 capacity, 2X the Ruger.
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So what you're saying is when I remove my Magazine from my 77/357, I need to wait for you to finish shucking out yours?
 
We have no idea of what grain, fps, bullet type, or how the POI was measured (guessed or taped) let alone going from 38 special to +p 357mag.
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should it matter the weight? 3 feet at 100 yards is exactly that, 3 feet, way more than any person should have to guess at 100 yards. 3 feet is the height of your average child entering kindergarten, it's the average height of an adult whitetailed deer.

Does any rifle not have a POI shift measured in feet when you triple the velocity of a round being fired? Target .38 Special goes about 800 FPS from my 77/357 while 125g Buffalo Bore goes 2300 FPS.
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I don't know, I haven't been able to triple the velocity of my 7.62x39s or 223 in my collection so I really couldn't tell you if the 223 or x39 would have the same problem in the same situation, why don't you work on that and let me know how it goes?
 
should it matter the weight? 3 feet at 100 yards is exactly that, 3 feet, way more than any person should have to guess at 100 yards. 3 feet is the height of your average child entering kindergarten, it's the average height of an adult whitetailed deer.
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Yes, it matters. A heavier object will fall faster at distance than a lighter one.

The other thing is FPS, if the 38 was a target load going 1000fps and the 357 was a hunting round going 1800.

To many unknowns to blame the rifle
 
Of the three I prefer the 77/357. The cheapest of the three to shoot a lot and makes a good suppressor host if you do that sort of thing. I have a suppressor on mine and works well on everything from rabbits to deer/hogs at medium/short range with the right loads. I have never been a fan of the ruger "mini" line myself. Not horrible guns(well some are, most are not) they just don't do much very well in my opinion. There are other guns in their class that I would prefer.
 
Yes, it matters. A heavier object will fall faster at distance than a lighter one.

The other thing is FPS, if the 38 was a target load going 1000fps and the 357 was a hunting round going 1800.

To many unknowns to blame the rifle
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I'm not blaming the rifle, I'm blaming the cartridge and since the M77/357 only comes in one caliber, that's a possible issue that he may have if he likes to shoot a variety of loads from a given gun.
 
I'm not blaming the rifle, I'm blaming the cartridge and since the M77/357 only comes in one caliber, that's a possible issue that he may have if he likes to shoot a variety of loads from a given gun.
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The complaint was 38special was 3 feet lower than 357mag +P at 100yds. That is not a comparison.
 
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