Firing pin on a mini

[rs3604]

I recently had a mini 30 follow me home, at least that's what I told the better half ,(yes, better half, she just smiled at me and said nothing). I know it seems to be a love or hate kind of gun, still haven't made up my mind but I can put 4 rounds in one ragged hole at 50 yards so that's a plus. But I have heard a lot of grumbling about the firing pins being weak, I don't shoot wolf,etc, hard primed ammo out of it but wouldn't want to trust my life to it if the firing pins are weak and break. Does anyone here have any experience or know of this problem, any info would be great thanks.

 

[HOWARD J]

I picked one up the first year they came out for sale.
I fired many many rounds--no broken firing pin yet.
I have heard that they will not fire some russian ammo because the primers are set too
deep for the mini 30. I have no trouble with Wolf or Chinese steel case ( banned)
I have not used other brands of Russian.

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[Semyon Vasilii]

i would love to read a comprehensive review. i love hearing different peoples opinions on a gun. especially this one because right now i am looking for a firearm to feed 7.62x39 steel cased plinking fodder. and being in california, an AK is pretty much out of the question and i dont want a gun with surplus parts really. so im heavily leaning towards a saiga ak47 style hunting rifle. but the mini 30 is a contender too because my friend is trying to get rid of his for a good price. so you know maybe talk about your results at the range, fit n finish, how you like the ergo, and your pros and cons.

i have heard about the firing pin thing, but my guess is that its just internet exaggeration. a few people have theirs break and then suddenly its an epidemic among mini 30s. if it really concerns you, buy an extra and just use your handgun or shotgun for home defense. then you wont be flinging 123gr FMJs through your walls either

 

[jimmyraythomason]

We put hundreds of rounds of Chinasports steel cased ammo through mine with no problems. Fit and finish were very good. My older daughter loved it and was exceptionally accurate with it. I gave mine to her only to have her ex-husband sell it during the seperation and consequent divorce. Otherwise,I would still have it!

 

[rs3604]

Semyon, I like it well enough so far, the fit and finish are excellent, the ergos are better than the saiga, I have in 223, and love. As for the range, I have only had about 100 rounds so far but no complaints, accuracy is better than I expected. The mini is very easy to take down and clean, along the lines of the ak. Recoil is very manageable, though a bit more than it has to be, it ejects spent casings into another zip code ( a litte exaggeration), it does seem to beat it self up. It fires a good entry level deer cartridge along the line of 7-08 or 243 for young shooters.I would recommend it to anyone who has a chance to pick one up, IMHO, it is better than the romy wasr 10. Though some ak's like the vepr would shame it.

 

[Shear_stress]

I haven't dabbled with Minis in a while, but I believe the concern isn't that hard primers will break the firing pin, but that the pin doesn't consistently strike hard enough to set them off.

 

[Waywatcher]

As a former Mini owner, the issue for me wasn't about how long it would last. For me, if something breaks, I want to be able to fix it without sending it to the factory. (Ruger doesn't sell firing pins for Minis, period.) It also shreds/loses brass. On a given outing, I would lose half my brass, about 10% un-findable, the other 40% had deep, deep dents/marks.

Former mini owner, present AR owner. (Of my 210 rounds through my AR, no lost brass, no unuseable brass)

 

[jimmyraythomason]

(Ruger doesn't sell firing pins for Minis, period.)

but...Numrich does <http://www.gunpartscorp.com/catalog/Detail.aspx?pid=291460&catid=8375> and has them in stock.

 

[Double Vision]

My Thirty doesn't fire Wolf steel ammo, so I don't use it.
The other day I took they Thirty out to the range and fired 20 rounds of Remington UMC, 45 rounds of Classic Arms Yugo surplus and 10 rounds of Georgia Arms brass, all good. The Yugo is a little dirty but the Thirty cleaned up just fine.

Oh yeah, at 50 yards, the Thirty is plenty accurate. I'm a crappy shot and not a slave to measuring groups. But you can be sure the rifle is getting the job done.

And fun to shoot, too.

 

[M1key]

Mine shoots nothing but boxer primed, brass cased US and European, and reloaded ammo. With 4X it will group into 5 inches or less at 200 yds.

All I could ask.

The AKs get the steel stuff...

Here is a picture of a cleaned up firing pin from one of the guys on Perfect Union. Should eliminate or minimize FTFire and FP breakage.

M

 

[rs3604]

M1key, do you know how they polished it. Buffer wheel would seam good but wouldn't want to heat it too much.

 

[Jeff F]

I think he did it on a lathe. Those firing pins from Numrich are garbage. Don't shoot Berdan primed ammo in a Mini 30 and you should not have firing pin problems.

 

[M1key]

M1key, do you know how they polished it. Buffer wheel would seam good but wouldn't want to heat it too much.

Here is the thread: http://www.perfectunion.com/vb/ruger-mini-14-mini-30/82981-fireing-pin-solution.html

 

[rs3604]

Thank you

 

[rs3604]

Jeff, good to know thought about getting one or two just in case. Does anybody know where to get a good replacement.? W/o sending it back to ruger, don't know why they make it so complicated.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Those firing pins from Numrich are garbage.

Proof? personal experience...? Such a comment is worthless unless you can back it up. I've bought a LOT of replacement parts from Numrich and have never bought any garbage.

 

[Jeff F]

Proof? personal experience...? Such a comment is worthless unless you can back it up. I've bought a LOT of replacement parts from Numrich and have never bought any garbage.

Those firing pins from Numrich are not Ruger pins, I think they are Glend Arms. Any ways, my buddy went through two of those in 3 month before he sent his rifle back to Ruger. He only shoots boxer primed ammo now.