Mini-30 and other Hunting Stock Rifles

[Nick_007]

I was wondering about the Mini 30. If you remember, I live within the New York City limits, where I can't have a rifle with any "evil" features and I think you can only have 5 rounds.

I want a gun just for insurance when the balloon goes up. The gun I want should have 5 round clips, but when the balloon goes up, have readlily available hi cap ammo and hold its own in a 100 yard to 300 yard battle (which according to Wiki is what the Germans designed their guns to do in ww2 since they concluded most gun fights happened in this range).

I thought I read somewhere that the Mini 30 takes AK mags which I figure will fit the bill; it has no "evil features". But does it have the range that I described?

The mini 14 is on a ban list here; no luck with that.

Alternatively I could argue that I could pin a fixed 10 round SKS to 5 rounds ??? Is this easy to pin and unpin when it's Mad Max time? I am looking at a PITA trying to register a firearm with the NYC permit bureau.

Sheesh as I type this I am starting to think it's time to move to neighboring Nassau county -- since I was planning on moving soon anyway.

 

[Duke of Doubt]

Mini-30 took detachable magazines unique to that rifle -- NOT AK magazines. Good luck finding any extras. The rifles were prone to misfeeds owing to poor engineering of the chamber throat for the 7.62x39 cartridge. The Mini-30 was basically a Mini-14 in 7.62x39. It shared the accuracy problems inherent in the Mini-14. I once recommended, as a young man, that a friend go ahead and get a Mini-30 as he was planning, rather than the Mini-14 he had originally planned. Still feel bad about that advice almost twenty years later.

I'm surprised you can have a Mini-30 and not a Mini-14. What would keep you from converting your Mini-30 to .223 like a Mini-14?

American gunmakers have sometimes made crummy guns, too, and Bill Ruger made most of them.

 

[Spyvie]

There is a lot of fail in the responces to this post.

The Mini 30 is still being made, now with the correct chamber and a new barrel. Mags are an issue, there are no hi-caps from Ruger. There are some reliable 10 rounders available, and new 20 rounders are promised but not out yet.

You could not convert a Mini 30 to a Mini 14 without a whole new barrel assembly and a lot of work.

Ruger is among the finest American firearms makers.

 

[Duke of Doubt]

Spyvie: "You could not convert a Mini 30 to a Mini 14 without a whole new barrel assembly and a lot of work."

Maybe the newer ones you describe are more difficult to convert than the older ones. I honestly thought they stopped making the things years ago for good. When did they start making them again?

My point was that if NYC does indeed ban Mini-14 and not Mini-30 rifles as the OP seems to think, then the ban is pointless and easily circumvented, as one legally could own a Mini-30 which he converted to .223 like a Mini-14.

 

[Nick_007]

Well it lists the mini 14 in the ban. We are talking about clueless gov't workers. For all I know I could say: "look you don't allow mini 14s but my gun is a mini 30." And have a mini 30. There's a lot of ambiguity about what one can and can't have; I talked to gun dealers and cops at my local precinct and no one really knows what you can or can't have.

 

[Spyvie]

Ruger has stated they consider the Mini 30 a hunting rifle, so no high cap mags are available from them, not even for LE. Maybe that’s why they are legal in NY?

Converting one to a new and smaller caliber would require at least a new barrel and a new bolt, you could buy 2 Mini 14s for what it would cost.

A new Mini is more accurate than all but an expensive arsenal AK

 

[jimmyraythomason]

The Mini-30 is an excellent choice! It isn't nearly as inaccurate as most people would have you believe. I had one that was accurate and reliable using 20 and 30 round aftermarket magazines. My daughter has kind of "aquired" it. Check out here shooting<http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=3839358#post3839358>. Is an SKS with a 5rd flush mount fixed magazine allowed where you are?

 

[Ed Ames]

DoD... do you think such a ban would ever have a point or be effective?

Look at CA's attempt to ban scary rifles by name. Ban the AR-15 and someone starts making the CR-15, etc ad nausium. That's why they went to a feature list... but the didn't get rid of the old list of names.

Same could be true in NYC....

 

[Nick_007]

Are Aftermarket hi cap mags easily available for the Mini 30 however.

I don't know what 5 round flush mount is. I figure if it has 5 rounds then it's legal. But I don't want to go coyote hunting though so not sure what good that's going to do . . .

 

[jimmyraythomason]

The flush mount magazine is identical to the orignal 10 rounder except it is flush with the bottom of the stock and only holds 5 rounds. I had one from Cheaper Than Dirt as well as a 5 round detachable magazine for the SKS. Both worked great.

 

[easyrider604]

Alternatively I could argue that I could pin a fixed 10 round SKS to 5 rounds ??? Is this easy to pin and unpin when it's Mad Max time?

In Canada, our SKS is pinned to 5 rounds. Easily reverted to 10.

You could buy two SKS for one Mini 30, appropriately called the New York reload.

 

[Nick_007]

I'm yet to see an SKS without a bayonet, let alone a 5 round fixed mag.

And what do you mean easily convertible? Do you mean I have to take the original mag out, and put in a new one which i can't have because they're illegal

 

[jimmyraythomason]

An SKS that was de-bayoneted as per the Klinton ban of 1994 or one that still has the bayo attatched which can be removed by removing one screw. The 5rd simply replaces the original 10 rd mag., which is very easily removed.

 

[wally]

Are Aftermarket hi cap mags easily available for the Mini 30 however.

30 round after market mags are available, unfortunately they are made by: ProMag, Triple-K and National -- if you get ones that work, I'd invest in some lotto tickets too!

The 10 round metal ProMags are really very good and have always worked for me, but their plastic 30 rounders rarely feed without a jam.

I've tried all the other metal 20 and 30 round mags out there and none worked reliably. Some are so far off dimensionally they fall out of the gun when shooting!

--wally.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

I've never had much trouble with the aftermarket hi-cap mags feeding(either in the SKS or Mini-30) but if the OP is limited to only 5 rounds it seems like a non-issue.

 

[Nick_007]

I think it is actually relevant. I only live 1 mile within the city limits. So technically I can go to a range in neighboring counties and shoot 10 round mags (which I would have to do anyway in order to shoot at a range). And heck in neighboring Pennsylvania -- about a 45 min. drive -- I can shoot high capacity mags.

That sure seems to beat taking out a fixed mag and putting it back in whenever I feel like shooting more than 5 rounds or when the SHTF and being stuck with only 5 rounds.


The exception being of course if i can't find the Mini 30 mags easily and/or they don't work. I don't get it -- do the aftermarket mags work?

 

[wally]

I've never had much trouble with the aftermarket hi-cap mags feeding(either in the SKS or Mini-30)

Any trouble feeding beyond using them beyond the point of where they need to be cleaned, IMHO means forget about them for SHTF. YMMV Two or four jams per 30 rounds with my ProMag ain't a big deal at the range, the open top of the Mini makes it pretty much one-hand to partially retract the bolt and thumb the rounds nose back towards the chamber. But the occasional bolt over base requires removing the magazine to clear would be game over in a SHTF situation.

The exception being of course if i can't find the Mini 30 mags easily and/or they don't work. I don't get it -- do the aftermarket mags work?

Use the search, some say they do, more say they don't. As I said, I've tried all the high capacity Mini-30 mags and the only ones that have not yet failed are the ProMag 10 round and the Factory 5 round.

If someone makes 20 or 30 rounder that gets the universal praise of the factory 5 rounder, I'd expect Mini-30 sales to really pick up as its a very nice and handy rifle -- IMHO all the virtues of the M1 Carbine with a more potent round and a better selection of ammo types at usually lower prices.

--wally.

 

[MD_Willington]

IIRC the 7.62x39 Saiga is not on that list...

 

[jimmyraythomason]

If you only want a 10 round rifle that will function without fail (more times than not) get an SKS and leave it as originally made. If you want a 5 round for home,a 10 round for neighboring areas and a 30rd SHTF, get a Mini-30 or a Saiga. Those ,ISTM, are your options according to your criteria.