Ruger Mini 30

[Poygan]

I've been thinking about getting a Mini 30 but I thought I'd get your opinions on this rifle and caliber before starting the search. I'd like to hear what you liked or disliked about it. Price ranges paid would be useful since I will be looking for used most likely.

[2ndAmendmentNut]

They are alright truck guns, but honestly an SKS with Tech-sights will be just as if not more accurate and half the cost of a mini.

[Artful]

7.62x39 is a decent round - almost as powerful as 30-30 in a more compact form. .310-.314 bore sizes in com-block guns - Older Mini-30's had .308 bores.
Accuracy wise a good shooting Mini-30 will be Min of clay bird at 200 yards from a rest. A bad Mini (14 or 30) will be a scatter gun one pill at a time.

I'd have to agree with 2ndAmendmentNut that SKS may be a better bargin - especially if you find the Rancher model that took AK47 mag's.

[Poygan]

I already cast and reload the 7.62 x 39 and have a Norinco SKS with a 4x scope. A friend just bought a Mini 14 and it was fun to shoot but I don't want to return to the .223 in any configuration. So I thought maybe a Mini 30 would be fun. I don't know anything about either so I thought I'd run it by you folks before proceeding.

[Artful]

Well if you want a fun plinker - I'd say go for it. Do you have a specific question in mind?
I have several Mini's in 223 and find them reliable and fun.

[Bullwolf]

I recently picked up a used, but new to me stainless Ruger Mini-30 .
Judging by the serial number on the gun, it's from around 2002-2003 manufacture and has the pencil thin barrel.

Ruger Mini Thirty Serial Number History
http://www.ruger.com/service/productHistory/RI-MiniThirty.html

I paid $599 for the Mini-30. It came with a 3x9 Browning marked scope, which apparently is just a branded Bushnell Elite or 4200 series scope, and a few extra magazines. I considered it a good deal. I have seen them selling in the $800-900 range before. Still, it was quite a lot more than I remember paying for an SKS back in the day when they were still cheap and plentiful.

Only a small amount of the early 189 series Mini-30 barrels were .308 diameter. The Later 189-196 series, and all of the new heavier barreled 581 series Ruger Mini-30's are .310 diameter bores. As always, slug your barrel to see exactly what you have. My rifle slugged as a .310 bore.

I have read lots of internet horror stories about the accuracy of these rifles, like shooting 16 inch groups and so on. I would have felt a lot better if I could have shot it first, or bought one from a friend, so I knew if it was a terrible shooter already or not. It turns out that I was worried about nothing.

Here is the first sight in target, that I used to dial in the scope on my Mini-30 at 50 yards. It was shot with Winchester White box ammo to test functionality. Took me 4 shots to center the scope, (covered with the black target dots) and I was more than satisfied with the remaining 15 round group.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=65861&d=1403145577&thumb=1
I am not the most accurate long range target shooter with a rifle, and this is definitely not a cherry picked group target. It is however the only target that I have a picture of, and it shows that the rifle is capable of somewhat decent accuracy I believe.

Here's a few tips from the folks over at the Perfect Union forum, who are really into Mini-14's and Mini-30's. http://www.perfectunion.com/vb/

The guns tend to work best using Ruger® brand magazines. Aftermarket mags may offer questionable reliability at best.

And last, do not expect stellar accuracy using the cheapest, most inexpensive steel case, or surplus 7.62x39 ammunition that you can find. It's not fair to use the $4.70 box of Chinese ammo, and then blame the gun for the resulting poor accuracy.

My Mini-30 shot the Winchester White box 7.62x39 with 100% reliability, and the brass is at least boxer primed, and more easily re-loadable.

My notes indicate that I haven't reloaded 7.62x39 since Nov-1994. At the time, I was using a Hornady #3140 .310 123 grain S.P. behind 24 grains of an old (metal can) lot of IMR 4198, and a Win LG rifle primer. I have yet to cast for 7.62x39, but it's on my long list of things to do. I expect to have to work up a new load now, but the old load would cycle my SKS without any problems.

A lot of the stories of vertical stringing from really hot barrels were from shooting the old thin ruger Mini barrels. They can be tightened up quite a bit using a strut device like the Accu-strut.
http://www.accu-strut.com/

The funny looking thing on the front of my Mini-30 barrel is not a M-14 style gas port, it's an Accu-strut. A few other people out there make a rigid barrel strut for the Ruger Mini-14's and Mini-30's rifles. Like the Har-Bar, the Mo-rod, and so on. The strut can really tighten up groups. Especially on the older, thin barreled Ruger Mini rifles.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=65859&d=1403145577&thumb=1

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=65860&d=1403145577&thumb=1

I really like the stainless Ruger Mini-30. If you can find an affordable one, I would definitely say buy it. It's not as inexpensive as a SKS, which is still a solid gun, but it is one heck of a nice Garand patterned rifle. I love the action, the handle-ability, and the controls on the Ruger Mini-30 Rifle. It feels very familiar to me, like coming home to an old friend.


- Bullwolf

[LongPoint]

I am very happy with mine. It is an honest 2 inch shooter with several handloads including jacketed and the Lee 155 gr bullet designed for the cartridge,even though my mold drops boolits @.314x.311. The .310-.311 jacketed bullets group a half inch or so tighter than .308 jacketed. My barrel is .310. The only thing I have done is to replace the gas metering bushing with a smaller one so brass is easier to find. It has never missed a beat. Stock bedding is critical and is hit or miss on the rugers. My 30 is fine, my 14 took some work. Good Luck.

LongPoint

[Poygan]

Thanks, guys. That is what I was looking for - personal experiences with the Mini 30. Don't see too many around but there is a gun show this coming weekend....