Anyone have a Mini-30?

[barretcreek]

Every now and then there's one for sale and I'm tempted.

My reservations are minute of barn door accuracy, magazine availability and reports they don't like commie ammo.

The plus is most 'assault weapon' definitions I've seen doesn't cover them.

Your experience?

[Art]

I have never owned any of the Mini 14 family of rifles. I have a friend who has an older Mini 14 and loves the rifle, I think mostly because it's Garand-ish in 5.56mm. He says his is accurate enough for him which may not be accurate enough for you.

What I've heard about these rifles, especially the older ones is that if you get a good one they can be very, very good. if you don't they can be stinkin.' The post 2000 era ones are supposed to be universally better.

7.62x39mm ammo obviously varies a lot. I've shot a lot of it and while mil spec ammo pretty much shoots to the same spot for me whether it shoots a group or a pattern is highly variable with com bloc ammo especially, and can vary with the same brand. Even some western ammo can be a problem. The Fiocchi I've shot through my rifle was just plain bad and other reviews of the stuff confirm my opinion. For plinking ammo I'll shoot whatever's on sale at Wal Mart, my serious ammo is Hornaday Black which is very high quality stuff if you can find it. Federal and Winchester shoots really well for me too, but is not cheap. That's my rifle, though, your results will almost surely be different from mine.

Ruger high capacity magazines are pricey at $25.00 to a little over $30.00. After market magazines are, of course available for under $15.00.

A lot of people have bought these rifles as insurance against an assault weapons ban. Maybe, maybe not. In New Jersey the M1 Carbine which has a similar layout to the Mini 14 is classified as an assault weapon. I believe Washington State has just classified the Springfield Armory M1-A as an assault weapon. Fortunately the Supreme Court has been friendly lately but from the examples I've given its no guarantee.

CIMG1189.jpg

The above 5 shot group was shot at 200 yards from a bench using my range bag for a rest. The flyer low in the 9 ring was just me. Ammo does matter with this caliber regardless of your rifle

The sight is a com block PK-01V 1.5 mil red dot. The sight is obsolete in Russian service but I'll bet there are a lot of Rooskie infantrymen who'd love to have one today. I seldom see pictures of any Russian soldiers in The Ukraine with any kind of optic. When they took The Crimea most of the Russians seemed to have an optic on their rifles. Rampant corruption isn't good for your war effort.

[Ltdave]

i had one. it didnt have stellar accuracy but a friend wanted one so i gave it to him. the guy I got it from sold it and a box of ammo for $100, saying "ive had my fun with it." he sold off a nice RRA AR carbine too and then committed suicide about 3 months later from failing to endure his debilitating back pain. he'd had surgery that made it worse, he had to have heavy doses of Oxy to manage to stay out of tears and he was a pretty solid guy... anyway i gave it away and i guess the guy enjoys it

[Allen]

I know the Mini-14's have very crude sights. What I hear of the Mini-30 is the bore is .308 while the 7.62x39 ammo bullets are .311. I have not heard of this being a problem though. This may be one reason why they may not function well with certain 7.62 ammo.

I'll bet those barrels heat up quickly.

[lyman]

first gen Mini 14 owner ,
never had a mini 30

my early Mini is minute of man to a point, but not a target gun by any means,
sights are good, M1\M14 type rear, single blade front,



I have bought and sold a ton of Mini 30's, and all were used by hunters, minute of deer, good knockdown, and if needed a SHTF gun that falls under the radar,


factory mags work,

[Allen]

my early Mini is minute of man to a point, but not a target gun by any means,
sights are good, M1\M14 type rear, single blade front,

You've seen more of them than me and the one my brother owned (inherited from a friend) may have been a later model but we both laughed about the sights. The front sight looked like a pyramid while the rear blade sight was nothing but a blade with a huge "V" ground out.

He is a fan of the 5.56 caliber (I'm not). He sold the rifle solely because of the sights. I don't know if he even shot it or not.

[lyman]

You've seen more of them than me and the one my brother owned (inherited from a friend) may have been a later model but we both laughed about the sights. The front sight looked like a pyramid while the rear blade sight was nothing but a blade with a huge "V" ground out.

you may have had a Ranch Rifle, they have small flip up sights like a 10\22, and the receiver is milled for rings,

[Allen]

you may have had a Ranch Rifle, they have small flip up sights like a 10\22, and the receiver is milled for rings,

I looked at some pic's on GB since I posted and I agree.

[Art]

i had one. it didnt have stellar accuracy but a friend wanted one so i gave it to him. the guy I got it from sold it and a box of ammo for $100, saying "ive had my fun with it." he sold off a nice RRA AR carbine too and then committed suicide about 3 months later from failing to endure his debilitating back pain. he'd had surgery that made it worse, he had to have heavy doses of Oxy to manage to stay out of tears and he was a pretty solid guy... anyway i gave it away and i guess the guy enjoys it

My worst nightmare. Cancer has wrecked my spine, significant damage to 5 vertebrae and my T-11 vertebrae is almost completely destroyed, I've developed a significant spinal curvature and I'm over 1 1/2" shorter than I was a year and a half ago. Why I'm not in excruciating pain is a mystery to me. So far the pain has been quite manageable but I know that can change any time.

Fortunately good docs, good meds, and great physical therapists have kept me at least in the game, went fishing with our daughter, son in law and grandson last week, the grandson caught the fish of a lifetime, a 40" redfish.

[Allen]

A friend of mine carries a copy of his x-ray showing his entire spine attached to a rod. I thought the vertibres were attached to the rod with tie wraps but I saw the photo recently and they used some type of clamps.

I think his condition was cause by bone degeneration (not cancer). He's obviously gone through his share of pain but I asked him about sleeping, rolling over in bed and whatnot and he said no real big deal there. I'm surprised.

I feel for you. It's amazing what we can go through when we have to.