Ruger Mini 30 bore diameter?

[Redington Slim]

Is it true that the bore diameter on the early Mini 30 guns measured .308", then it was corrected at some point to .310-.311"?

Can anyone tell me at what serial # range Ruger corrected the barrel diameter problem? Thx.

 

[Fishslayer]

My new-to-me Mini is 189-56xxx. I see a set of 7.62x39 dies in my immediate future.

 

[blume357]

I keep hearing about this and I have two older mini-30s... can somebody explain the difference in layman's terms....

I have and shoot both cheap commie ammo in these as well as good american made.

 

[Ia.redneck]

Mine is ser#189-34940, according to Ruger it was made summer of 1990. They said that is when they made the switch from .308 to .310. So I slugged the barrel and it was .3105

 

[GM Shooter]

This is the second post I came across that infers that it is undesirable to have a .308 bore diameter Mini-30. Being a hand loader I have four rifles in .30 cal and it is convenient to be able to load various bullets in all of them. There are far more bullet options in .308 than in .310. I have also shot 5 or 6 of the off shore .310 diameter ammo in it with success. It's not as accurate as my .308 hand loads but for punching paper at 50 yards it works fine.

 

[deadduck357]

I keep hearing about this and I have two older mini-30s... can somebody explain the difference in layman's terms....

I have and shoot both cheap commie ammo in these as well as good american made.

Blume, it really is no big deal, from what I understand the early 30's had a .308 bore diameter and now .310. .310 is just correct for Russian 7.62 caliber. It is only .002 difference so shoot on. I think the reason why American manufacturers bore their bore to .308 was because back when all we had to shoot and reload was .308 bullets.

 

[psyclone66]

I read on another forum that the supply of .308 barrels originally intended for the XGI rifles were used on the early mini-30s. Sounds reasonable enough, but have no idea if true or not.

 

[Anonymous]

Had a mid to late '80s mini 30 and sold it because it shot 5" groups at under 100yds. The first 2 were right on then when the barrel got hot you had fliers. Heard that the newer ones have all been fixed and now are good shooters? Anyone elaborate on this and when did they fix this problem?