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Posted: 1/18/2004 4:50:42 AM EDT
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Before I got my AR I was looking at Mini 14's but was told that I would be less than thrilled with the accuracy. I am still very interested in the Ruger design for certain applications where my AR is not as well suited. A friend of mine has a Mini 30 Ranch rifle. My question to all of you is: is the Mini 30 more or less accurate than the Mini 14? Also are they still available? I have not seen one for sale for quite some time. And last, how about mags and parts, what is available? Thanks |
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The mini-30 is still made. Mine was abysmally inaccurate. There are no factory Ruger magazines for it. There are a number of aftermarket magazines for it. I had both USA brand steel magazines and plastic Eagle magazines. The USA worked fine for me, despite that company's less than stellar reputation. The Eagle magazines functioned well with fmj, but not hollow point or soft tip ammunition. There are other brands of aftermarket magazines, but I have no experience with them. It is my understanding that the minis can be made more accurate with a new stock and particularly with a new barrel. I did not feel mine was worth the investment in time and money and sold it. |
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The Mini 30 is well made , reliable , and as accurate as most AK's. It is easy to mount optics on. Alas , large capacity RELIABLE mags are VERY rare.  They ARE a good woods hunting rifle , and fun for plinking though. I loved my Mini 30 , despite it's shortcomings, (sold it)but I have several AKs now 
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| The mini-30 is still available. My mini-30 stainless wasn't very accurate out of the box. I would say it was about on par with the average mini-14. However this was with wolf fmj ammo. There are some aftermarket accessories for the mini-30 but not quite as many as there are for the mini-14. Some of the parts are interchangeable between the two. The only 100% reliable hi-cap mags I have found are the Thermold 30 rounders. I got mine from a gunshow for $37 a piece. I replaced my wooden stock with a Choate synthetic pistol-grip which improved the looks and accuracy of the gun. I also installed a John Masen muzzle brake which helped accuracy even more. Now it is a handy rifle that is reliable and can hit coke cans at 100 meters all day long with cheap wolf fmj. Next I plan to install a Ultimak scout rail and Eotech 552 on it. |
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I got my Mini 30 when they first became available back in the 80s. The gun has a nice compact feel about it & It shoots a good Deer cartridge. Not very accurate, With a Nikon scope & Yugo brass cased ammo about 6 inch groups @100 yards. A few years back I changed the Ruger gas bushing with one I bought from a guy over at perfect union .com & groups have shrunk to 3 inches with the same ammo. He sell a kit that comes with 3 different size gas bushings, I installed the smallest one, The gun kicks less & functions fine; Also It no longer throws the brass 30 feet in the air! If you want the kit inquire on the mini 14/30 board over @ perfect union, Someone will direct you to the guy. Some day I will stick it in a Synthetic stock & see if that helps a little more. PS: The Wolf ammo does not function well in my gun, Every third or fourth round does not fire on the first hammer hit, I have to recock & fire again. |
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that gas bushing kit is less than $10, and a $12 muzzle break can cut groups in half. Everything you want to know about Minis |
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I liked my Mini-30 Ranch rifle. It never hiccuped with whatever I fed it, factory or reloads. It just never would do better than 6-8" at 100 yards no matter what I tried. I got an offer for it I couldn't resist and it found a new home. Maybe I expected too much, either way it was an adventure. As usual, YMMV. Danny |
| Sold my mini-30 after years of tinkering with handloads to get decent accuracy. Best I could do is 2" at 100 yards with Nosler ballistic tips. Very dissapointing but not as dissapointing as not being able to reliably shoot surplus ammo. Out of 20 rounds, maybe 2 to 3 would not fire with the first hammer fall. I felt lucky to get what I paid for it with the extras (mags, scope, dies, components). I would get an SKS over the mini-30. |
I never had problems with surplus, The Chinese AP & Yugo brass cased work great. Only the Russian wolf stuff, The 162 grain (I could be wrong about the weight) was the worst, Every 3rd round required a second hammer strike to fire! PS: The best group I ever got out of the gun (After the gas port change) was 2 inches @100 yds, Using some old Chinese AP ammo I bought back in 1984. Be careful shooting surplus out of the Mini 30, Most of it is very corrosive & will rust the barrel overnight, I squirt some windex in & run a patch down the bore before I leave the range, As soon as I get home I clean the whole gun with Very hot water & dischwashing detergent. |
| ......happy with mine......2" @100 yrds is not bad for that rifle.....not sure if mine will do better than 3" @ 100.....but that`s acceptable for me......it replaced a nice norinco sks that would easily do about 10" @ 100yrds.....it`s in a ramline stock....that helps.....also have a modified brake.....and optics help.....problems are.....mini is costly.....ak`s....are hit and miss......the mini shoots everything.....no problem.....(no wolff)......s&b...russki....umc......am eagle........no hiccups at all.....bbl dia is tighter than sks...in general....... |
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