Compared to my limited rifle experience, the previous shooters' advice is all grounded on much more solid shooting foundations.
Bought a used Mini 14 and 30 last winter, then an SKS. Have shot the Mosin 44 since December.
The aftermarket mag problem with the Mini 30 is very real in many cases.
All three of mine (came with gun) were pretty bad. A gunsmith got just one to be sort of reliable-all are silver metal.Some guys can tweak theirs and have no more problems. Before I buy one, I'll see whether Ruger is really having a good one designed, then find out the price.
Keeping the carbon cleaned out of the chamber when using rigid steel shells can help stuck shells, according to gunsmiths' evaluations.
If somebody chooses to pursue the Mini 14, for some reason, there are now four full pages of them at GunBroker: it must be fuel costs and mortgage problems. My polymer 30-rd. Promag has only been loaded with 4-15 rounds, and used a few times, but works perfectly. Good-looking used 14s mostly list for $450-550 in a few stores near here, that is, if you can spot one, do not stay in the store long. For self-defense, I would never need one for more than about 50-100 feet: much further and I would make a tactical retreat-if possible (would probably be in my car if near a riot etc: a Mini would be handier in there than my standard SKS. An air strike on Iran or a US Navy ship somewhere in "the Gulf " could create long gas station lines and real trouble as people try to hoard gas...).
For offensive shooting, a Mosin Nagant 44 killed an adult bear with two shots ($.17/round, $90/rifle), and a single jhp round from a standard SKS quickly killed a large feral pig. The color photos of the swine are quite graphic and persuasive.
For very short-range needs, the shortest SKS - the so-called "Paratrooper"- appears to be very, very popular with its owners. Is this also worth considering?