Just Bought a New Ruger Mini 30

Personally, I would have gotten a Zastava or WASR AK.

Magazines and parts are far, far easier to find, reliability is dramatically better, and accuracy will be the same or even better. Plus these AKs have the proper bore dimensions to shoot milsurp ammo. The Ruger uses the wrong bore diameter.

There is a ton of aftermarket support for AKs. Any upgrade and accessory you could think of. And these guns are less expensive than the Ruger by a long shot.

The Mini 30s often don’t run well on cheap steel cases ammo, which is half of the appeal of the 7.62x39mm. I’ve met lots who’ve sold their Mini 30s and never looked back.

Maybe your experience will be better?
 
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Cool! Mine is an older blued/hardwood model that I have had for years.
If you reload, Ruger barrels are .308” in diameter, so any lighter .308” bullet can work.
I will say to only use Ruger factory mags. Minis are universally picky, and aftermarket ones are hit and miss (mostly miss). Spend the extra $$ and buy once, cry once.
If you intend on shooting a lot of steel case/com bloc ammo, you may get a misfire or two. I added an extra power hammer spring to mine and it has been 100%. There are also longer firing pins, but I haven’t used those.
The mini is a superb rifle that is rugged, deputy proof and reliable. They are not as accurate as AR’s in either 7.62x39 or 5.56x45, but they will put rounds in vital spots at reasonable distances if you do your part.

IMG_1865.jpeg IMG_1866.jpeg

Let us know how it shoots for you when you get a chance to take it out.

Stay safe.
 
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JCooperfan1911 said:
Personally, I would have gotten a Zastava or WASR AK.

Magazines and parts are far, far easier to find, reliability is dramatically better, and accuracy will be the same or even better. Plus these AKs have the proper bore dimensions to shoot milsurp ammo. The Ruger uses the wrong bore diameter.

There is a ton of aftermarket support for AKs. Any upgrade and accessory you could think of. And these guns are less expensive than the Ruger by a long shot.

The Mini 30s often don’t run well on cheap steel cases ammo, which is half of the appeal of the 7.62x39mm. I’ve met lots who’ve sold their Mini 30s and never looked back.

Maybe your experience will be better?
Click to expand...

It's too late for that. He bought what he wanted.

Do you actually own the above mentioned rifles? Please tell me more about the wrong bore diameter.
 
Currently mini-30s run .310 barrels if that's a concern.....have since the 90s.

All the mini-30s ive shot have been 2-3 moa guns, but none were mine and none were shot with "good" ammo, so I don't have any personal experience with how accurate they can be.
 
"As introduced in 1987, the Mini Thirty had a 18.5” barrel, 37.75” long and weighed in at 7 lbs. 3 oz. empty. Reportedly, some of the Mini Thirty rifles produced up to the early 1990s had a bore diameter of .308” and U.S. manufacturers of 7.62x39 mm did the same with their bullets, all the while imported ammunition had a bore diameter of .311” to .312” which posed a problem with compatibility.

This was solved on the earlier rifles by incorporating a longer throat into the chamber to squeeze the larger bullets into shape as they were fired, though accuracy was adversely affected. This was resolved afterward when the standard was set to match the Russian specifications for the ammunition and the diameter widened."
 
Mine is approximately the same vintage as Riomouse's. Its been flawlessly reliable with cheap russian steel cased ammo. Accuracy is minute-of-enemy, but not match grade for sure. The trigger is pretty rough and creepy, with a mushy, inconsistent break which is its worst feature.

The newest examples have MUCH better iron sights, similar to an M1 carbine.

Factory magazines are pricey, but bite the bullet and get them. I was given a pile of aftermarket hi-caps, of several different brands, and only 2 sorta work- I threw the rest in the trash.

Overall, they are good looking, reliable, and handy carbines- though a little unrefined and unsuitable for serious target/ marksman work without extensive tuning and modification. IMO.
 
IJ1981 said:
Yes, they have gotten pricey as with almost all guns. The one I bought is in stainless. About 1k.

But hey, we only go around once! :cool:
Click to expand...
I have an older vintage stainless Mini-14 and a new model stainless Mini-14 as well. The newer ones have much better sights than the older ones and seem to be more accurate, too
. :thumbup:

You will like your new mini-30. I think they do have more of a whack on steel plates when using it compared to the 5.56 :).

Stay safe..
 
Armored farmer said:
Congrats
Today I'm hanging out with my Ruger American Ranch in 7.62x39 .
I hope you like your mini.
Click to expand...
The RAR was my 1st gun in 7.62x39. I kept scanning the web sites for something to come in. When rifles in 7,62x39 was scarce. My 1st choice was a CZ 557. But they were discontinued. And i didn't like the new offerings from CZ. A Howa was 2nd and the RAR 3rd. One popped up on sportsman warehouse and i ordered it. Im very happy with it.
 
A trigger job and larger gas bushing is in order. I did that right away on my mini-14. The factory trigger is gritty/creepy and the gas bushing causes cases to scar the receiver when ejected. Not sure if that's the situation with the 30 but you might want to watch it. If you change the bushing use a torque driver and 25 lbs. Other wise accuracy will suffer.

Enjoy your rifle. I'm very satisfied with mine.
 
My .30 mangles cases pretty well, but they dont seem to be whacking the receiver- unless they ricochet off a wall and come back anyway. Its definitely not undergassed! :D
Without a barrier in the way, it usually throws empties about 12 feet at 2 o'clock.

AFAIK, all the .30s are "Ranch Rifles," with integral scope mounts and side ejection.
My older 14 predates the integral mounts and ejects almost straight up. They were difficult to scope back then and you really needed a shell deflector.....:what:
 
The price difference from what I can see is not a factor around $100 give or take . You made the right decision there is no way I would pay $900 plus dollars for a wasr ever. The mini 30 is a nice rifle. Sadly I do not own a mini 30 but would love one . I shot a friend’s mini 30 quite a bit and we never had any problems with it. Have fun with your new rifle. Bob
 
You may enjoy this video. I did. I have two SKS rifles and a Mini-14 and would love to have a Mini-30 to go with them. Yes factory mags are expensive but a good mag is the whole life of the gun. That being said I have eight 20 round Pro-Mag magazines made from steel for my Mini-14 and they have been just as good as the one 20 round factory mag I have. I also just bought four 20 round Pro-Mag magazines for my AR but haven't tested them yet.

I bought new gas bushings for my Mini-14 and it helped keep the cases just a few feet away from me and really lessened the felt recoil of my gun.

 
NIGHTLORD40K said:
My .30 mangles cases pretty well, but they dont seem to be whacking the receiver- unless they ricochet off a wall and come back anyway. Its definitely not undergassed! :D
Without a barrier in the way, it usually throws empties about 12 feet at 2 o'clock.

AFAIK, all the .30s are "Ranch Rifles," with integral scope mounts and side ejection.
My older 14 predates the integral mounts and ejects almost straight up. They were difficult to scope back then and you really needed a shell deflector.....:what:
Click to expand...

Mini-14/30 is a fine rifle. It just needs somebody that understands how to make it run. Having both I can say is it's a much better rifle than a 30 carbine for SD. ;)

I look at it as the new 30 Carbine. Pretty much the same operating system as the Garand, M1 Carbine and M-14. Old school but they all worked.
 
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