Mini 30 or AR-15 ?

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Stretchman

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I looked at the mini-30 today at Bass Pro. The price isn't too bad, at about 679 for the stainless synthetic model. Anyway, the really quick question is
is ther mini-30 more accurate than the ar-15 in .223? Do the same rules apply for the mini-30 as oppoesed to the ar-10?

They mini 30 is 762x39, if I am not mistaken. Can it shoot .308 ammo?

The ar-10?

TIA
 
No, on average the Mini's are less accurate.

The mini 30 shoots 7.62x39, will NOT shoot 308.

All my SKS's are more accurate than my buddies mini-30, with the same ammo.
 
Mini-14's shoot the same round and one with a 580+ serial number will be more accurate.

However I do like the mini-30's as well.
 
Stretch -- whatcha looking to do with it? AR-15s, AR-10s, Minis.. there's some overlap sure, but they're not really suited to the same role.

Are you looking for a cheap plinker? Something for distance shooting? Something that'd make a decent hunting rifle in a pinch? "Katrina-type" defensive role?

Answer that question, and you'll likely get a much better answer for your needs. :)
 
.308 is 7.62x51mm. The AR-10 is chambered for that round.

7.62x39 is a very affordable round that was standard issue in the USSR, the Warsaw Pact, China, and some other Communist countries. It's also common in the Muslim world and other developing countries. That's the round the AK, SKS, and Ruger Mini-30 are chambered for. Russian made FMJ is still very affordable.

The mini-14 is chambered for .223.
 
Well, in answer to what I might do with it, I was looking for an all around weapon. Jack of all trades, so to speak. I was talking with a friend of mine, and we got to talking about bear. He said that if he was going to take a rufle out there, that he wouldn't bring anything less than a .44 magnum. In fact, he was looking at the Ruger .44 mag carbine. Doesn't look like they make it anymore.

I'm guessing that either would be a good ranch type rifle, and any would be good for HD, but I am looking for a more multi purpose weapon. Will a mini 30 shoot to 300 yds?

I am also thinking about a lever action rifle, chambered in either .38 or 44 mag. I imagine that either of them would be about as good as any of the others above for probably less money.
 
Ruger still makes the .44 Mag.

The Mini 30 won't be able to reach out that far.

Lever guns are great.

The AR15 is just about the best platform for an all around gun.
 
I think you can get a better rifle than the Mini-30 for $679. At $679 you are almost in the same price range as a budget AR like an Olympic Plinker.

If you are set on 7.62x39 (not the same as .308), then the Saiga and SKS are both great rifles that can do just about everything the Mini can at a much lower price, though they don't have quite as nice ergonomics.
 
Do you mini people not remember what Bill Ruger did to us? I can't believe we actually have people still thinking about buying rugers.
 
Will a Ruger Mini shoot out to 300 yards?

The Mini 30 won't be able to reach out that far.
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:rolleyes:

That's a big wrong answer Mr. Green. Yes the Mini 30 will shoot 300 yards.

My son inlaw has a Mini 30 that is scoped. Four weeks ago at the range I sat there and watched him ring a 20" gong at 300 yards, 8 times in a row. I can ring that same gong with my Vector AK, but it's not scoped, and I've yet to hit it more than 2 times in a row.
 
N4Z, hitting a target isn't the same deal as killing an animal cleanly.

The 7.62x39 is pretty much a marginal hunting cartridge for deer and hogs. Then, factor in the rather crude iron sights that are common plus fast-acquisition shot from an offhand or hasty-rest position. You're then mostly talking about 100 to 150 yards as a practical limit with decent hunting ammo.

Art
 
For an all around rifle to cover 30 to 300 yards I think I would have to side with the AR over the Mini 30 as well. The 7.62x39 round just doesn't have the power at 300 yards that a .223 does. The .223 round comes out of the barrel at around 1000 fps more than the 7.62x39 and the bullet is more aerodynamic. It would be much more suited to dealing with long range varmints out on the ranch.

If you go with an AR I think it would be better to get a flat-top model instead of something with the carry handle built in. It's more convenient to scope the flat-tops.

I don't think I would want to use a .223 on bear though. The idea of a .44 Mag is probably a good one if you under 70 yards.
 
Well if I read it right the poster is looking for an all around weapon that will reach out to 300 yards. He didn't say anything about killing an animal "cleanly".

I have no doubt that a Mini30 with a scope is gonna put a fatal hurtin on any yote at 300 yards. Now if yer "sportin" one shot kills on varmits then maybe the mini isn't the best, but it will work.


I agree though that an AR is more accurate, but the bigger round will do more damage.

Go-Bang - a .223 will retain less energy at further range then a 7.62. 7.62 typically weigh in between 122-154gr. .223 runs around 55. Simple physics says the heavier retains more over distance.
 
N4Z,

If the "bigger round will do more damage" then why did the Soviets switch to the 5.45MM round after they saw how effective the 5.56X45 was in VietNam??

The Afghans accused them of using poison bullets because the 5.45 rounds were so much more effective and so much deadlier than the old time 7.62MM "pumpkin rollers."
 
AR15 based soley on platform and not on caliber wars. Plus, mags and accessories are much cheaper for the AR than for the Mini.
 
OK Chey, I'll rephrase to "The bigger, heavier 7.62 has the potential to do more damage than the lighter smaller 5.56".

And you further asked my opinion as to why the Soviets changed?

#1 - The Americans were doing it.
#2 - Ability to carry more ammunition.
#3 - Smaller tumbling round has a higher propensity to maim as opposed to kill out right. Rational is this will take two to three soldiers out of the battle while they move the wounded off the field.
#4 - Economics.
#5 - And most importantly in the then USSR, because the Kremlin said so.

…..Because the Americans were doing.

Revisiting #3 - The Stoner rifle fired a tumbling .223 that produced nasty wounds. The AR/M16's of today have been tweaked out to improve long range accuracy in exchange for the tumble. No tumble? No nasty wounding. Ice picking instead with a high speed .22 caliber projectile.
------- end of my opinion --------

More on this from http://world.guns.ru/assault/as01-e.htm

In the 1974, Soviet Army officially adopted the 5.45mm ammunition and the appropriately chambered AK-74 assault rifle as its new standard shoulder arm. The AKM, however, was never officially removed from service, and is still in Russian army stocks. many non-infantry units of the Russian Army are still armed with 1960s vintage AKM assault rifles. There's also an increasing interest in the 7.62mm weapons since many troops were disappointed by the effectiveness of the 5.45mm ammo during the local conflicts in the 1990s. Some Russian special forces troops (mostly police and Internal Affairs Ministry), currently operating in Chechnya, are using the venerable 7.62mm AKM rifles.
Click to expand...


I'm going to call point of order on myself as this has nothing to do with the original post. AR is more accurate than Mini30, but Mini can do the job out to 300 yards.
 
Try a Saiga .223 as a baseline,hell of a lot cheaper than a Mini or Ar, Saigas are based on the Ak principle. Take it to the range and try it, so u can get the feel of it, if you don't like it then sell it probalby for what you paid and upgrade to an AR, I have all three (Saiga, Mini14 and AR) and honeslty I like the Saiga better, but that is my opinion, although they will never catch up to the "Black Rifle".
 

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Do you mini people not remember what Bill Ruger did to us? I can't believe we actually have people still thinking about buying rugers.
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Yea, I remember. He kept his products off the ban list so we could all still buy them.

He's dead...get over it already.

RH
 
Yeah and the company still is run under the same policy. Give your money to Ruger. Support there anti IIA policy. That's great.
 
#3 - Smaller tumbling round has a higher propensity to maim as opposed to kill out right. Rational is this will take two to three soldiers out of the battle while they move the wounded off the field.
Click to expand...

This is myth. I've never seen a single official document that supports the notion that any country, anywhere in the world, adopted a round because it was more likely to wound than kill. If you know of even a suggestion of it in some official documentation, please share.

Revisiting #3 - The Stoner rifle fired a tumbling .223 that produced nasty wounds. The AR/M16's of today have been tweaked out to improve long range accuracy in exchange for the tumble. No tumble? No nasty wounding. Ice picking instead with a high speed .22 caliber projectile.
Click to expand...

Well, besides being incredibly oversimplified, this is also just plain wrong. The Reading Library link at the top of the forum has a very informative link on Terminal Ballistics of most military rounds.
 
Yeah and the company still is run under the same policy. Give your money to Ruger. Support there anti IIA policy. That's great.
Click to expand...

Anti 2A policy?? Tell me, just how many guns have you put in to the hands of U.S. citizens in the last 50 years?:neener:

RH
 
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