[kyle1337]

So im in the market for a good 7.62x39 and am looking at the mini-30 whats your experience with these or ar style 7.62x39?

 

[MH12194]

Personaly I wouldn't get a mini30. It's a bit overpriced and I'm not sure if they fixed the thin barrels on them.

You could go with an SKS for half the price or lesser. Hell you could probably get 2 or 3 SKS for the price of one Mini30.

But If you want to spend the money I say go for it. Mini30's aren't very popular from what I've seen. I don't think I've seen one at a gun show in years. But it all comes down to how it feels in your hands and how the sight picture is to you. Recoil can be managed in many ways with a reciol pad and proper shoot tech. Buy an uncomfortable rifle is a bad rifle. If it doesn't feel good don't even bother with it.

Have you gotten to play with one yet? If not find a mini14 and see how it feels. A mini14 and mini30 are pretty close to the same dimentions give or take. The mini30 will weigh slightly more when loaded. But not much.

 

[Hard Hittin 54r]

Own one worked on many, Stay with the SKS or AK for the 39 round. They are always your best bet.

HH54r

 

[kev]

Does Ruger even make the mini-30 anymore?

I had a mini-30 years ago and really liked it. The magazines were not really reliable, but besides the mags, the rifle preformed very well.

When I got my ruger mini-30, they only cost something like $400. I just can not see paying the prices that they want for a mini-14 these days.

 

[SgtBooker44]

SKS cost less and way more reliable.

 

[SeekHer]

The new ones are far better then the first generation models, the mags are better in 5 or 20 round configuration from Ruger and 5, 10 & 20 round from OEM so you can go hunting with them with out having the mag pinned, blocked, wood or plastic insert added to comply with the 5 round hunting rules in effect...

They now offer it only in a synthetic stock but with a better barrel and bedding and I believe they changed the rate of twist as well...I still prefer the wooden stocked models!

The old one on the farm has been beaten, rode hard and put up wet/sweaty, isn't anywhere near close to benchrest accurate but it has taken its fair share of coyotes, feral dogs, cattle and a whole bunch of deer in its twenty five odd years its been around...Liked it so much that a brand, spanking new Mini 14 has joined it...

I believe they are far more accurate then a SKS will ever be, they're shorter meaning easier to handle, have sufficient weight to dampen recoil but a recoil pad is always nice to have and they're new, American made guns not some Soviet Satellite mil-surp that is because of that far cheaper...

 

[Skyjump136]

The Mini will never get a fair shake on this board. Go to www.perfectunion.com for comments from some actual firsthand users...

That said, if you are going with that caliber then SKS would be a great choice at only $250.

 

[sailinghudson25]

IF you want a mini-30 with a scope for hunting or casual plinking, go for it. IF you want to trust the rifle a bit more, then SKS is a good route.

Get the best of both worlds. Get a SKS and drill the reciever to mount a choate scope mount. Scout mounts has a rear reciever conversion for $65, however, it only mount a short pistol scope (straight wall no expanded ends like a 3-9x40) or red dot sight on them. Yugo SKS is usually a pretty safe bet on accuracy and reliability. Only had problems with chinese SKS, both accuracy and reliability issues. The yugo have all been shooters and absolutely no reliability issues. ONly problems have been noticable firing pin wear, replaced them with chinese ones. But still, no problems, just preventative measures.

Peep sight are available my williams, tech sight, and lyman. I have the lyman 66 (need to drill) and the tech sights one too. Both make 30-50% better looking groups.

 

[Herd Sniper]

I'd go with an AK-47 rifle with a folding stock. I would mount a red dot sight or a 4X scope on the rifle to enhance over all shooting accuracy. That would be a really good survival rifle set up. And you would still come in under the price of a Mini-30.

 

[MrMorden]

Nothing really wrong with a Mini-30, but consider:

If prices are similar to a new Mini-14, you're looking at $600+, and magazines are going to be about $40 each. A good AK will cost ~$500, and magazines can be had for around $12-18 each. With the savings you could get a nice little stash of ammo (1000-2000 rounds).

The Mini-30 *might* be more accurate at range, especially if they have the newer barrels like the new Mini-14. But honestly, if you're looking for good accuracy beyond 150m or so, the 7.62x39mm round is really the wrong choice. You're better off with something in 5.56mm or 7.62x51mm.

 

[vetgrunt]

Depends on what you want to spend and what you'll be using it for . I have a friend that just bought a Mini 30 for around $650.00 and it is fine for what he does with it (target shooting and very regular cleaning). I paid 75.00 (they've gone up alot since then) for my Yugo SKS I can neglect it even drop it in mud ( been done) and still hit every target I shoot at within 150 yards. Don't get me wrong the Mini 30 is a fine weapon but if you want to save some cash and you want a reliable weapon go with the SKS.

 

[Steve_NH]

Yes the mini 30 is still made by Ruger.

Mini-30

You can read about it on the Ruger website. There's a serious amount of mis-information coming from a lot of members on this forum.

If you have any specific questions, email Ruger directly. They are more than happy to answer any questions you may have and typically respond within a day or two.

If I simply wanted a 7.62x39 chambered rifle, I'd buy the SKS. If I wanted a 7.62x39 chambered rifle made by Ruger, I'd buy the Mini-30.

FYI, Ruger does not make ANY Assault or Military weapons.

YMMV

 

[Robbvious]

I'm new to this board, but I thought I'd chime in here, since I have first hand experience with all of the rifles being discussed. The Mini-30 is a fine rifle, as is the SKS. The 7.62x39 round was designed for engagements within 300 meters, packing the most stopping power into the smallest and lightest weight cartridge. Any of the rifles discussed here are easily capable of 4 MOA groups if the shooter does their part. I am very confident in saying that, because I consistently do it while shooting at Appleseed Project QDAQT targets.
All of these rifles can use improvements, but that's true of nearly every rifle. For the SKS, Tech Sights and a trigger job make it an excellent rifle, and the Mini needs barrel stabilization, a trigger job, and adjustable gas pressure to make it also really good. None of these are tack drivers, they are not intended for that. They are all utterly reliable, and in my experience will eat just about any ammo.

For my money, though, the SKS is the winner because of the cost.

 

[Raycing]

I agree, the SKS wins for value for money, if you were going to spent almost 1000 clams for a 7.62X39 thrower IMHO your money would be much better spent on something like an Arsenal AK

 

[kyle1337]

Thanks for all the info, I already have an AK and SKS. My ak is a converted Saiga, and my sks is a yugo (somewhat accurate[compared to my AR]) I am just so pleased with the 7.62x39 and it's capabilities but like some of you said its not very good past 300+ yards. I am dissapointed with my 5.56's as far as penetration capabilities, I strictly use only SS109 in my AR's I think cause I want it to do what the AK does!...lol! So I was looking for a tack driver X39. But I guess they can't be had I'll Keep looking in the .308 market then....Thanks again for the info...what about AR X39 rifles???

 

[Robbvious]

Ah, more personal experience. If you were to get a 20" barreled AR upper, I'd say it's fair to count on 3 MOA accuracy. Only marginally better than your SKS at a cost of around $500+. Then you'd need some dedicated C Products 7.62x39 AR magazines to make it run. Regular AR mags just don't work reliably enough. You could do a lot of shooting from an SKS for the cost of all that stuff! The AR does have the nifty benefit of tons of farkles available. I personally love my AR, and I just had to have one in 7.62x39, so I'm more than happy. I guess I'd say that if you want one, get one! It's your rifle, after all.

 

[smoke63b]

Already owning the rifles you own, I would move to another cartridge for better accuracy. The 7.62x39 is being used to its potential out of something like an SKS or a good AK already. It's not really meant to be a sniping round or anything like that. I'm sure you could squeeze a little more accuracy out of it with certain platforms but what would be the point? You already have the best 7.62x39 slinger out there in the AK.
Definitely check out another cartridge/rifle for what you want.

 

[thess02]

Does Ruger even make the mini-30 anymore?

I had a mini-30 years ago and really liked it. The magazines were not really reliable, but besides the mags, the rifle preformed very well.

When I got my ruger mini-30, they only cost something like $400. I just can not see paying the prices that they want for a mini-14 these days.

My neighbor just bought a new Mini-30...$679.00 if I remember correctly. He already has a Mini-14...says he likes the 30 better.

 

[matty86suk]

the sks will shoot as good and in some cases better than the m30, but the m30 has detach mags and a solid scope mount option,

 

[thess02]

the sks will shoot as good and in some cases better than the m30, but the m30 has detach mags and a solid scope mount option,

I purchased a couple of Norinco Chinese paratrooper sks carbines a few years ago. They took standard ak 30 round magazines and had short barrels....16" if memory serves. I sold em...wish I'd kept one.