Mini-30 and steel case ammo

jski

jski

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I know this topic has been brought up before but I thought I'd do an up-periscope and take a look at the current lay of the land.

Is this the best ℞ for what ails the Mini-30 in reguards to eating steel case ammo ...

... or has Ruger addressed it lately or has Wolff introduced even more beefy hammer springs?
 
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The main problem with steel cased ammo around here is that it's almost all corrosive. I take it apart and use it to make non corrosive with commercial brass cases and primers . All but the ammo on stripper clips have big differences in powder charges. The stripper clip ammo charges (which I consider to be rifle ammo ) all seem to be 25 grains in weight. I just transfer the powder from one case to the other and seat the bullet. The other stuff which I consider to be machine gun ammo I weigh and use 24 grains per case. That works well.

Just today I shot an 18 shot 2 !/2 " group on a swinging gong as 100 meters. It makes good ammo, and you don't have to worry about hammer springs not being up to the job. I am using a Triggertech Duty trigger in my WK 181 C.


IMG_4929.JPG IMG_4931.JPG IMG_4932.JPG
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I put a Wolff high power hammer spring in my Mini-30 and 180-something series Mini-14 several years ago. So far both have shot lots of steel cased ammo from several makers with no issues.

Stay safe.
 
The problem with the mini 30 is an engineering problem that Ruger refuses to address, even though they have known about it for decades. And the problem is a result of the bean counters at Ruger.

They are too cheap and stubborn to realize that the mini 30 needs a longer protrusion length firing pin than their mini 14 does. Therefore, they use the same firing pin for both models of the mini.

There have been reports on the Ruger forums that the heavier wolf springs only accelerate the wear and tear on the Ruger trigger parts, and lead to broken factory firing pins.

The solution is very simple. Replace the factory firing pin with the mini 14 firing pin from firing pins.com. It has a protrusion of about .045". The factory firing pin has a protrusion of about .032-.035". The extra .010 will turn your mini 30 into a steel case ammo firing wonder, with 100% reliability.

Good luck, and best wishes. And yes, my mini 30 with the new pin will now shoot all steel case ammo with ease.
 
That video has been around for a while and is uterly useless. Those two guys are complete yoyos. You can't use one Mini-30 and come to a conclusion about all Mini-30s

I've shared the definitive solution many times over the years on different forums.

1. Ruger has never said you can't use steel case ammo. It does not say that in either the Mini-14 or Mini-30 manuals. They only caution against corrosive ammo, which might be steel or might be brass.

2. Light primer strikes are an easy fix. Some have success with the Wolff spring, and others with aftermarket firing pins with greater pin protrusion. I've installed the firing pin and it works like a charm.

The reason some have luck with with the Wolff spring and others don't is due to the range of pin protrusion from the factory. If the pin is on the short side of the spec the Wolff spring won't solve the issue. People with a pin that comes from the factory on the longer side of the protrusion spec have better luck with the Wolff spring.

The best way to solve the problem is with the aftermarket pin from firingpins.com, which at this writing is unfortunately out of stock. Keep watching, they'll be back in stock.

There's no conspiracy on the part of Ruger. Some people joke that Ruger puts safety over function. Obviously true in this case. The pins on the Mini-30 aren't long enough for Berdan primed ammo because they don't want them so long that they might pierce primers on Boxer primed ammo. That's the reason.

Yes, it's stupid because no one has pierced a Boxer primer with longer aftermarket pins. Ruger manuals are written mostly by lawyers. This country has way too many lawyers.

Those lawyers would be shocked to learn that I've put more Berdan primed steel case than I have Boxer primed brass case through my Mini-30 that I bought new 34 years ago. It's a beautiful carbine. No worse for the wear.

PS: My Mini-30 came from the factory with pin protrusion on the long side of the spec at .036 inch. I very rarely had any fail to fire. Just a handful over many years. I put the firingpins.com pin in anyway a few years ago when the company was known as Iron Sight Precision. Great investment. Rock solid. Never misses a beat.
 
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Alright guys, which is the correct ℞ : stiffer hammer spring or a longer firing pin?
 
Mini30SS said:
The problem with the mini 30 is an engineering problem that Ruger refuses to address, even though they have known about it for decades. And the problem is a result of the bean counters at Ruger.

They are too cheap and stubborn to realize that the mini 30 needs a longer protrusion length firing pin than their mini 14 does. Therefore, they use the same firing pin for both models of the mini.

There have been reports on the Ruger forums that the heavier wolf springs only accelerate the wear and tear on the Ruger trigger parts, and lead to broken factory firing pins.

The solution is very simple. Replace the factory firing pin with the mini 14 firing pin from firing pins.com. It has a protrusion of about .045". The factory firing pin has a protrusion of about .032-.035". The extra .010 will turn your mini 30 into a steel case ammo firing wonder, with 100% reliability.

Good luck, and best wishes. And yes, my mini 30 with the new pin will now shoot all steel case ammo with ease.
Click to expand...
Some are too stubborn to understand Ruger couldn't care less about Russian ammo
 
Mick Boon said:
I suspect the bean counters at Ruger are also the responsible for their the second rate PCC barrel liners.
Click to expand...
Thread drift due to incorrect information. ^

I just got off the phone with Ruger.

You are incorrect. The PC Carbine has a solid, one piece barrel, there is no barrel liner. Call them yourself at 336-949-5200 and ask if you don’t believe.

Threaded barrel showing it is machined from one piece.
IMG_3078.jpeg
Rubber O ring
IMG_3079.jpeg
Stepped thread protector to clear o ring, this can be used in either direction so it is stepped on both sides.
IMG_3080.jpeg
Reversible thread protector in place.
IMG_3082.jpeg

You said something happened to a gun you own or were around. Whatever the damage is, it wasn’t because of a barrel liner.

Show some pictures and somebody here can help diagnose and get to the bottom of what happened.

As to a new pin or spring, both can work. The pin is probably the better option if you shoot hard primed rounds pretty much all the time, they were about 80 bucks the last time I looked. If you pierce soft primers you may etch the bolt face from the hot gasses escaping and over time cause damage, look for that if you shoot a lot of each.

The spring was about 6 bucks. They are in stock. The same soft-primer caveat goes with these, plus as posted above there may be an issue with broken pins from the extra whack the hammer delivers. (Anything like that is certainly possible.)

Stay safe.
 
CoalCrackerAl said:
Not to be rude.But i would not use steel case in a 1000.00 rifle. If i recall correctly. My mini 14 booklet said not to run steel case.
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Have you checked market prices on semi auto rifles/carbines lately. Russian SKS - about $1k. European made AK's ( not the kit guns) - starting about $1k. Chinese made SKS models D&M ( take AK mags) starting at about $1k. Original Norinco AK's starting at about $2.5-3.0k.

So with the exception of a few American Made, or Parts kit made AK's, the vast majority of semi-auto carbines firing the 7.62x39 now cost $1k or more.

If you were one of the ones that bought multiple Chinese SKS's in the 1980's for $69 ea., consider yourself lucky. Your investment has ( or can) pay off now.
 
Yes it's crazy how they went up. I should have grabbed an SKS when they were cheaper. My LGS had a Norinco for 300.00 pre covid. Now im kicking myself in the but for not getting it. I have my 7.62x39 AR'S at least. And my RAR too. Im happy with those.
 
Anyway....Ruger should be ashamed of themselves, that the buyers of their flagship 7.62x39 carbine have to rely on the aftermarket to fix their $1100+ mini 30. If their Ruger American Ranch model 7.62x39 bolt action can fire steel case ammo, that goes bang everytime, they should be able to get their mini 30 right after 35+ years. Sadly, they stubbornly refuse to do so.
Primer piercing is a poor excuse, and undocumented on their end I have never had that happen with my mini 30 with brass/boxer ammo and the firingpins.com pin. I have also never seen this problem appear on YouTube videos.
Ruger needs to correct their rectal/crainial inversion on this matter
 
Riomouse911 said:
Thread drift due to incorrect information. ^

I just got off the phone with Ruger.

You are incorrect. The PC Carbine has a solid, one piece barrel, there is no barrel liner. Call them yourself at 336-949-5200 and ask if you don’t believe.

I expect you believe everything you are told.:rofl:
Click to expand...
 
CoalCrackerAl said:
Yes it's crazy how they went up. I should have grabbed an SKS when they were cheaper. My LGS had a Norinco for 300.00 pre covid. Now im kicking myself in the but for not getting it. I have my 7.62x39 AR'S at least. And my RAR too. Im happy with those.
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Blame your government.

SKS's are all over the place in Canada, everyone I know has at least one, I have four lol :)
 
jski said:
Alright guys, which is the correct ℞ : stiffer hammer spring or a longer firing pin?
Click to expand...
Either may work, depending on the pin protrusion of the factory pin. The aftermarket longer pin from firingpins.com will always work regardless. Aside from being longer, it's a far superior pin than the original factory pin.

There are no downsides to the aftermarket pin.

2470.jpg https://www.firingpins.com/ruger-mini-14-firing-pin-2470

There are some downsides to the Wolff spring.

- It adds about a pound to the trigger pull
- It's harder on the bolt because it slams the pin with more force against the inside behind the bolt face
- It's harder on the pin tip for the same reason
- It's a hammer spring so the hammer smacks the rear of the bolt with more force as well

Overall the Wolff spring is a bit harder on parts. I consider it a stop-gap measure until you get the new firing pin.

With the firingpins.com pin you can even use a lighter spring than the stock factory hammer spring. That's best left to a gunsmith who is well familiar with the Mini-14/30 or M14/M1A while doing a trigger job.
 
Mick Boon said:
Where does the 7.62 x 39 ammo in the US come from ?
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There is still a backlog of Russian ammo coming in, but that is slowing down. Newer stuff is coming in from Serbia, Czech Republic, Azerbaijan, South Korea and a small amount is US made. US made is hardly purchased because it can't price compete with import ammo.
 
Mini30SS said:
There is still a backlog of Russian ammo coming in, but that is slowing down. Newer stuff is coming in from Serbia, Czech Republic, Azerbaijan, South Korea and a small amount is US made. US made is hardly purchased because it can't price compete with import ammo.
Click to expand...
The Russian ammo seems to have stopped being imported here in Canada altogether, lot's of Chinese is being imported though, all of it steel cased and corrosive, that's all anyone buys now. The US made ammo is more expensive here in Canada that it is in the US.
 
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