Snowblind
Member
Hello!
Last time I was hunting for a gun, the folks here were probably the most helpful of all the places I asked for pointers. So here's the scoop:
About eight months ago I was on the hunt for an AK- had my eye on an Arsenal SGL-34, the NY-compliant version of the Arsenal Ak74's. (I live in NY. Yes, it sucks. No, I can't move. Yet.) Suffice to say, between the legal battles and the buying craze, and then finally Cuomo's gun ban, AK's of any flavour became impossible to get.
Still itching to fill my need for a rifle (I only have a shotgun, been dying to reach out past the 50-yard line. My 870P is set up for a different purpose.) I did some hunting for something that would shoot the gloriously cheap surplus stuff with reasonable reliability, accuracy, and class. That led me to the Mini-30: shoots the plentiful and dirt cheap 7.62x39, and looks like a pretty nifty little gun.
I give my go-to dealer a call, and he says he doesn't have one, doesn't know when he'll get one. I tour the other dealers, same thing. Oh and they all want double what my go-to guy was asking for one.
So, still terribly excited about getting one of these, and unfazed by being told that they're not available (I waited nearly six months for an 870P. I just had to have the police. Express would not do.) I hunt up a wood stock for it (the only mini-30 configurations available new are shipped with synthetic furniture), and even buy a spare mag and 300 rounds of 7.62x39.
By this time I figured my guy would have a line on one, but he says they're still nowhere to be found. He did however scrounge up a mini-14. So here's the question. Are the mini-30's really just not available? Anybody trying to get one? Is this another issue like my 870P, where I hit the hunt at the wrong time in the manufacturing run? Should I swap out my plans and go for the mini-14, and either tuck away or sell off the stuff I've collected for the 30?
As with all my purchases, I've done a lot of homework on this gun. People say the older models have accuracy issues, others say that there's issues with it setting off the surplus ammo (something to do with hard or far-set surplus primers, designed for AK's and SKS's.) There's also a good number of people who are saying the newer ones are a lot better, with a heavier barrel, shoot tighter groupings, and are better about the surplus ammo.
So part II of my round of questions are to people who have these guns- how do they shoot? I'm not buying brass-cased domestic ammo, not when I can get TulAmmo for 6.99 for a box of 20. Do they really jam up that bad? Does it matter? Intended usage is range/plinking/new hobby build. I have an 870P to rely on for HD. I guess what I'm concerned about most is ballistics of the 7.62x39 through this gun. There's chatter about the bore diameter, with older guns not being bored properly for the surplus stuff, which affects accuracy. Will it shoot OK at 100 yards? What happens to the 7.62x39 at say, 200 yards?
Anyways, if you can help me out at all, I'd greatly appreciate it. Sorry for rambling!
Last time I was hunting for a gun, the folks here were probably the most helpful of all the places I asked for pointers. So here's the scoop:
About eight months ago I was on the hunt for an AK- had my eye on an Arsenal SGL-34, the NY-compliant version of the Arsenal Ak74's. (I live in NY. Yes, it sucks. No, I can't move. Yet.) Suffice to say, between the legal battles and the buying craze, and then finally Cuomo's gun ban, AK's of any flavour became impossible to get.
Still itching to fill my need for a rifle (I only have a shotgun, been dying to reach out past the 50-yard line. My 870P is set up for a different purpose.) I did some hunting for something that would shoot the gloriously cheap surplus stuff with reasonable reliability, accuracy, and class. That led me to the Mini-30: shoots the plentiful and dirt cheap 7.62x39, and looks like a pretty nifty little gun.
I give my go-to dealer a call, and he says he doesn't have one, doesn't know when he'll get one. I tour the other dealers, same thing. Oh and they all want double what my go-to guy was asking for one.
So, still terribly excited about getting one of these, and unfazed by being told that they're not available (I waited nearly six months for an 870P. I just had to have the police. Express would not do.) I hunt up a wood stock for it (the only mini-30 configurations available new are shipped with synthetic furniture), and even buy a spare mag and 300 rounds of 7.62x39.
By this time I figured my guy would have a line on one, but he says they're still nowhere to be found. He did however scrounge up a mini-14. So here's the question. Are the mini-30's really just not available? Anybody trying to get one? Is this another issue like my 870P, where I hit the hunt at the wrong time in the manufacturing run? Should I swap out my plans and go for the mini-14, and either tuck away or sell off the stuff I've collected for the 30?
As with all my purchases, I've done a lot of homework on this gun. People say the older models have accuracy issues, others say that there's issues with it setting off the surplus ammo (something to do with hard or far-set surplus primers, designed for AK's and SKS's.) There's also a good number of people who are saying the newer ones are a lot better, with a heavier barrel, shoot tighter groupings, and are better about the surplus ammo.
So part II of my round of questions are to people who have these guns- how do they shoot? I'm not buying brass-cased domestic ammo, not when I can get TulAmmo for 6.99 for a box of 20. Do they really jam up that bad? Does it matter? Intended usage is range/plinking/new hobby build. I have an 870P to rely on for HD. I guess what I'm concerned about most is ballistics of the 7.62x39 through this gun. There's chatter about the bore diameter, with older guns not being bored properly for the surplus stuff, which affects accuracy. Will it shoot OK at 100 yards? What happens to the 7.62x39 at say, 200 yards?
Anyways, if you can help me out at all, I'd greatly appreciate it. Sorry for rambling!