I traded a 1911 for a mini-30

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Joined
Nov 15, 2005
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Greenville, SC: USA
(I traded a 1911 for a mini-30)

looks like I'm going to have to. I was at a friends house the other day helping him plug holes in his attic to keep squirrels out and he showed me his carbine he never shoots... is broke according to him.

stainless mini-30 ranch from the 90's. He says it will chamber a round but no bang... so I assume the firing pin is broke. Also notice the rear peep sight is broken....

we finish the deal with the attic (I spent 3 hours going up and down a 30ft ladder putting metal over holes) and he wants to know what he owes me and I told him that he didn't owe me anything because I had choosen to not 'work' that day but to just come over and try to help with his problem. So then he says how about we make a trade for the rifle. I had already offered to take it with me and get it fixed. He says how about trading one of those Springfield 1911's you have for it? I figure what the hell, he's a friend and wants a 1911 and I really don't need two, never ever shoot either, so I say sure.

I get the rifle back home and take it apart to clean it and discover the firing pin in not broken... seems fine to me. So, I call him and ask again and he says it would make 'light' dents in the primers but they would not go off... So, I guess that's what it is and not the ammo. Have yet to take it to the range to make sure...

Here's my question. Are the firing pins for the mini-14 and 30s the same? I ask because I have a spare for a mini-14. And do any of you gun smiths know if it really has to be factory installed or installed by a gun smith? The reason I have a spare firing pin is I broke the one on my mini-14 a while back and ordered two and then had a local guy install it.
could light primer strikes be due to dirt and such or does it have to be a 'short / bent' pin?

So, it looks like I now have two mini-30s along with two mini-14s and two PC9s as well as an undisclosed number of other Ruger guns...
 

wetidlerjr

Single-Sixer
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Dec 17, 2002
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299
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TIPTON IN/USA
First, look for anything obvious like dirt or crud restricting the firing pin. Also, some say the Mini-30 can give light primer strikes compared to, say, an AK and shooting mil spec hard primer 7.62X39 can give you FTF's. You could try commercial 7.62X39 and see if that solves the problem as the primers are softer.
Wolff makes extra power springs for the Mini-30 and that has solved the problem for some. :mrgreen:
 

card

Bearcat
Joined
Aug 5, 2003
Messages
4
Location
N.C.
blume, I would try some domestic produced 7.62x39.like wetidlerjr said,alot of the foreign stuff uses berdan primers wich are a lot harder than boxer primers.The mini-30 is one seriously fun gun,you will not be disappointed.Good luck
 

Hangfire

Bearcat
Joined
Mar 9, 2008
Messages
29
Location
Joplin Missouri
Per GunManuals.net
Mini 14 Firing pin Pt # is KMS01102
Mini 14 Ranch Firing pin Pt # is KMS01103A
Mini 30 Firing pin Pt # is KMS01103
Hope that this helps.
 
Joined
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Messages
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I've never had a problem shooting the cheap commie ammo in my first mini-30 and was just kind of curious. But then, I've probably only put 200-500 rounds through it... it was bought used and I'm sure somebody else did the same....

I'm hoping cleaning it did something.... but will probably run to the range today and see. and I will bring both the hard primed stuff and some domestic 'soft' primed ammo.

but we'll see with this new one... worse case is I have to replace the firing pin.. Is there a gun smith on here that knows any secrets to changing out the firing pin? Like I said, Ruger claims it has to be done by the factory.
 

RJ556

Buckeye
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Nov 28, 2009
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blume357, take the bolt out of the gun, push in on the back end of the firing pin to where it is flush with the back of the bolt. The front tip of the firing pin should stick out of it's hole to strike a primer. Also it should be smooth spring pressure, pushing on the back of the pin. Another thing, if the firing pin looks OK, someone might have shortened the hammer spring for a beter trigge pull. Swap the hammer spring out with the one in your other Mini and see if that makes a difference. RJ
 

Pinecone

Blackhawk
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Jan 29, 2007
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Maine
blume357, The bolt on the Mini-14/30 is very similiar to the M-1 Carbine bolt. It is very easy to disassemble and remove the firing pin. With the bolt removed: Use a jeweler's screwdriver to depress the extractor "plunger" inward, remove the extractor upward out of it's recess in the bolt, as the extractor post clears the "ejector" the ejector will be released, be sure and "RESTRAIN" the ejector/spring and ease them out of the bolt while also restraining the extractor "plunger and spring" so they don't get away from you. Removal of the extractor will allow the "firing pin" to be taken out the rear of the bolt. That's it!...................................Dick :wink:
 

Krazy Okie

Bearcat
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Mar 13, 2007
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Location
Claremore, OK. USA
Blume, if the pin is just making a dimple on the primer, you might consider putting a new spring as someone else has just suggested. I shoot wolf ammo on occation and get the same result, every once in a while no bang! It shoots fine with Federal or Winchester ammo; so I guess it is the harder primers on the commie ammo.
 
Joined
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Well the good and bad news is I took the rifle to the range today and could not make it missfire. I didn't shoot the rifle more than 10 or 12 times, but I tried both domestic ammo and some cheap commie stuff and it went bang everytime. And at fifty yards with the iron sights I was hitting within 2 or 3"...

So, I guess I'm out of luck having to replace the fireing pin. I either fixed it when I cleaned the gun or it was bad ammo the guy was using... the problem is the 15 or so loose rounds he gave me I think I just threw in a box with some other loose ammo... so, now I can't even check it.

I did discover one problem I had created.... I had changed out the original wooden stock to a Butler Creek folding stock I had on my way too expensive mini-14 that I now have an ATI stock on.... mags would not go in the rifle... reason... the original mini 14 stock re-enforcing sleeve was still on the stock... and this has a different shape than the mini-30, which has that flared out at the rear magazine well. So I had to hand chamber all the rounds I shot.
 

AkRay

Single-Sixer
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Dec 3, 2007
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171
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USA
I bought a used stainless mini-30 this fall for $400.00. I already had a blue one, but this one was stainless. I took it out to shoot though and 1 or 2 of every 5 rd magazine would just have a dimple in the firing pin. I took it home and took it apart, and soaked the bolt assembly and trigger assembly in a can of carburetor cleaner. When I put it back together and lubed it, it still did the same thing. I thought about taking it to a gunsmith, but the guy I bought it from told me he'd refund my money if there were any problems, so I called him up and got my money back. Yours had a happier ending than mine.
 
Joined
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Messages
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I went back a 2nd time and did have a problem with missfires... 4 times... all four were when I started using after market mags... two of the four had what I consider normal primer strikes the other two had no strike at all... I refired those and they went off.

I think the two with no initial primer strike were not chambered fully or something... I think the two with hits were bad rounds... all four were cheap Chinese or Russian ammo.

Reminds me, I need to go clean the rifle.
 
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