After a lot of study and reading I have narrowed the field to:
Ruger Mini 30: most expensive, stainless steel, reliable, reasonable accuracy in the new models.
The mini-30 is the most expensive SKS money can buy - enough said. I woul'd store one in YOUR guncabinet, let alone my own. The Remington 710 of the semi-auto world IMHO. You'd be wise to steer clear. they have a crappy reputation for a reason. For the money involved in making one shoot properly, you could almost buy a Robarm XCR in 7.62x39 
CZ 58 NON restricted: Moderate price, requires special mount. NOT stainless
reasonable......good (?) battle field accuracy.
Like all the guns listed, no problem achieving 3MOA. Not the best rifle to mount optics on unless you do a red-dot an expensive aftermarket handguards or go with an in-line stock system and NEA mount. Expect to spend as much as the rifle costs to convert it and you haven't even bought a scope yet if you make it an inline. I like this gun in this configuration and I even have one, but be aware - this is an expensive route. Don't worry about stainless or not. Stainless rusts. Trust me.
SKS Russian variant: Cheap, Tapco stocks available, harder to clean VS CZ(?) the least accurate of the three........I think.
No, the average Mini-30 is the least accurate of the three. Even the new ones IMHO. IF you buy an SKS, get the nicest one you can find and just shoot it. Fancy tacticool stocks are a waste of money on this platform IMHO. Why dress one up like a VZ when you could just go buy a VZ. These guns are GREAT for what they are and work very well if you don't try to turn it into something it is not. Most shooters would be best served by spending the price of the Ruger on an SKS and three crates of ammo for practise. Like all guns, even stainless, you have to clean it. The chlorates (salt) in corrosive primers will rust stainless steel just fine if not cleaned and oiled. Oiled metal doesn't rust - whether blued or stainless.
Here is the criteria:
2.5 to 3" MOA 100yards. I want to blast away
all three guns can do that... well... maybe not the Mini-30.
EASY to clean as the ammo is corrosive.
of those three guns, the SKS is probably the easiest to strip and clean. No tools required either.
Mounting a red dot sight is a requirement s**tty eyes....
so added cost.
if you NEED a red dot, I'd go with a handguard mount on the VZ or a rear sight mount on the SKS. I wouldn't own another Ruger Mini-30 so I can't comment. When I last had one, I didn't use red dot sights yet. Ruger makes GREAT single-shots though... the No.1 is a fantastic gun.
Each rifle has advantages.
I would be hard pressed to describe anything on the Ruger as an "advantage"... I have 1000.00 bucks to spend.
then I would get a used CZ858-2 Tactical and an NEA front handguard for your red dot. You guys shoot more than I.
I can tell if you are even considering the Ruger.
Thanks Guys!
you're welcome.[/QUOTE]
