Mini 14 or Mini 30? Which would you choose?

[Mosinka]

Go with the Mini-14. I have both the Mini-14 and Mini-30, and while the Mini-14 lives up to my expectations, the Mini-30 falls short. I've already taken up this issue with Michael Fifer, but so far I haven't had a reply. You can expect to hear more about this when I do.

If you like the 7.62x39mm round (and who wouldn't?) then get yourself a nice SKS. In fact, get two SKS's. You can afford two for the price of a Mini-30. And you'll NEED an SKS anyway, to fire the rounds that FTF in your Mini-30. Just sayin'. I WANTED the Mini-30 to be my favorite rifle ever, but it isn't. And until Ruger does something to improve it, I will remain disappointed. I'm not selling mine ... YET. But I'm not doing much with it either. I still love my Rugers, and I have plenty of them to love. But the Mini-30 is NOT my favorite. Go with the Mini-14.

 

[johnqpublic]

http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=97783&highlight=

 

[David Wile]

Hey folks,

I had a Mini-30 in stainless and found it flawless. I never shot any surplus or Communist ammo in mine. When I first purchased it nearly 20 years ago, I also bought several cases of Lapua Boxer primed ammo. I also had a Colt AR-15 HBAR in 7.62X39, and I used the same Lapua brass for reloading ammo for both rifles. The bullets chosen for reloading were .308 caliber.

While the AR-15 was more accurate than the Mini-30, the Ruger never failed to function and was a great rifle. I would choose the Mini-30 over the Mini-14, but I also never fed any surplus ammo to mine.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile

 

[Fishman777]

I don't have either the mini-14 or the mini-30. I do like them and plan on getting a Mini-14 at some point. I like the AR-15 design, but it looks like an assult rifle. Non gun people might overeact to seeing one, so I want something that looks more tame.

I've read that the barrel on the mini-30 is set up to be a true .308. What I mean is that the diameter of the bullets it is designed to shoot are SMALLER than the diameters used in the foreign, steel cased, bulk 7.62x39 ammo. If you fire the cheap stuff, you'll be dealing with higher than advertised pressures, which could be unsafe.

I know that bullets deform when you shoot a bullet that is a lot smaller than the barrel's bore diameter. This can reduce your accuracy. I'm not sure if you get accuracy issues when you force a bullet that is bigger than the bore diameter of the barrel. My guess is that you'd see a decrease in accuracy when shooting russian ammo through a mini-30.

I'll eventually get a Mini. If I do, it will probably be a Mini-14 in either .223 or 6.8 mm SPC. If I don't decide to reload, it'll be the .223. If I decide to get into reloading, it'll be the 6.8 mm SPC.