mini 30 vs. ak 47

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Revolver Ocelot

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I'm looking for a survival/bug out type weapon and I have been looking around at 7.62x39 rifles and of all of them these two came out on top: the arsenal sgl 21 and the ruger mini 30 tactical, Now I'm stuck.

I would like to hear opinions on which will be the better rifle out of the box for the fore mentioned type of scenario.

The cost of the weapon, the type of accessories available or the cost of magazines etc is of no concern here.

Thanks for any input,

-Ocelot

edit: is the arsenal sam7 worth the extra money?
 
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That particular AK would come out on top. Otherwise, I'd bet my life on the Ruger before many of the cheaper production models.
 
The Mini 30 is a cool rifle. One thing that has kept me from buying one is that they are just not designed to work with the wide range of ammo that an AKM-clone can handle. Some have trouble popping primers or failing to extract with certain brands of Russian ammo. You would need to do some experimentation to see which ammo your rifle prefers.

Firing pins are a weak point, as is the availability of reliable magazines. Yes, new Ruger brand "regular capacity" magazines are being sold again, but they aren't exactly under every rock.

I'm happy to be corrected by any Mini 30 owners, but the above issues are a constant theme on perfectunion.com.
 
If you are going to add a scope I would go with the Ruger because the newer ones come with their own rings.
 
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Don`t own a mini 30 but have a mini 14. If you are going to use a scope then I would go for the ruger as the new ones come with their own scope rings.
 
I have both an Arsenal AK and a Ruger Mini 30. I like both very much. I mounted a forend top rail to the AK and have a red dot on it. This is an easy do it yourself add on. I replaced the top piece of the forend on the Ruger with a rail also. I red dotted it as well. Also a very easy do it yourself change.

This addition makes both rifles better. I would highly recommend doing that to whichever you go with.

They are about equally accurate. The Ruger does not like some Russian ammo. Specifically, that ammo has hard primers, and the Ruger doesnt always light them. I would not recommend using Russian ammo in a Ruger, especially if you are using it for self defense.

Ruger magazines are also about twice as expensive as AK mags.

I like both very much though.
 
Arsenal is a top tier AK builder. I would definately select that over a Mini 30.

WASR vs Mini 30? I would take the Mini 30 because it's a higher quality rifle. However you said bugout, not collecting...so AK every time no matter the model. It'll keep on running through almost anything. Last time I saw, field stripping a Mini is not easy.
 
I'm a Mini guy. I mainly like Mini-14's but love the 30 as well.

That said, buy an AK FIRST then buy a Mini. AK is a low cost beater gun, that seems to have become kind of expensive. The drawback of most AK's are the short stock not comfortable at all when firing like a standard rifle.

Maybe an inbetween 7.62x39 rifle - A Saiga!!! A VERY reliable rifle - the only problem is the trigger, a bit rough, but correctable (I did mine by converting to an AK style.)

Currently I own the converted Saiga and a Mini. As a side note, neither has jammed or failed to feed on a variety of ammo.
 
AK, no question.

Suarez haters keep moving.
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If you are going to toss out his endorsements and reviews it is only appropriate that people inform those who may not be aware of Gabe about who and what he is. I'm interested in the Sig 55R but it is in spite of anything Suarez has to say and not because of it.
 
The Mini 30 is a cool rifle. One thing that has kept me from buying one is that they are just not designed to work with the wide range of ammo
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I don't like AKs, but dislike finicky guns even less.

AK47 > Mini30

Now, the mini-14...I like!
 
Convicted frauds, to say nothing of immature blowhards, tend to have their detractors. Like I say if you don't want a discussion of of what that guys opinion is worth and his lack of integrity don't post his videos. You cannot simply expect that you can command others to ignore the fact he is a convicted liar/fraud and has shown him self willing pimp nay product he can make a buck off of (and all to often then turn his back on it).
 
I'm looking for a survival/bug out type weapon and I have been looking around at 7.62x39 rifles and of all of them these two came out on top: the arsenal sgl 21 and the ruger mini 30 tactical, Now I'm stuck.
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Disclaimer -- I like AKs, within the parameters of their specific pluses and minuses. I've owned several along the way, everything from a Century (so-so) to a Krebs (superb) and still have the Krebs. An AK may not be my idea of a perfect 100% solution, but I'd feel well armed with one that didn't have mechanical/QA sort of issues.

That said, I think part of the answer to the question is to better define what the OP is looking for in a "survival/bug out type weapon." For a weapon one might be slinging over a shoulder and carrying around for personal defense during a Katrina-type disaster and/or civil unrest, I think the AK carries a lot more cultural baggage than something with a pretty conventional rifle profile. For better or for worse, the AK profile is associated with basically every significant group of bad guys to come down the pipeline in the last six decades -- Viet Cong/NVA, generations of Middle Eastern terrorists, tin pot dictators, Osama bin Laden, drug gangs, North Hollywood bank robbers, etc.

Objectively, a gun is just a gun, but I'm willing to bet that if you interview a random sample of average Americans, police officers, and active and reserve military personnel (all people you might have encounters with during a bug out disaster/unrest scenario) you'll find a bias against the AK -- probably a subconscious one most respondents can't quite put their finger on. That bias, however, could very well have a significant impact on things like encounters with law enforcement and the military in tense and volatile situations.

The same might tend to hold true with other evil black rifles of different flavors, but I think, for instance, it would not be as pronounced with something like an AR -- which is more familiar (Walmart sells them, for Gods sake) and is associated in the public imagination with our guys, not the bad guys.
 
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