Need help! About Mini30

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303 Britman

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Doesnt seem to be alot of Mini 30 owners around here. Just wondering if you guys use milsurp ammo in these rifles.I bought a case of Czech ammo will it be safe to use? And how do you go about cleaning the corrosive residue afterwards. Also anyone actually hunt with these things? Up to what size of game, is it possibly good for bear protection in the bush?
 
Great gun, not sure about hunting, I have the same question, 100m sounds right. Don't worry about the Czech stuff it shoots decent, DON'T HUNT WITH IT! Target with it, hunt with good ammo if your confident that your gun shoots straight. Take the gun home and clean every nooke on the gun until you find no more residue. I generally stick to cleaning within 4 hours of shooting the corossive stuff just to be on the safe side. I baby all my guns after putting cheap ammo through them...
 
I don't have any direct experience with the mini-30 but I have been told that the bore on them is .308 not .311. This makes me ask if you're seeing any signs of pressure using Czech ammo which is designed for .311 bores? I would imagine this would cause increased bore and throat erosion in .308 tubes. I may be wrong, if so please chime in.
 
I've always thought the bore was 308 as well. If you use surplus ammo you're going to wear that barrel out fast (which in the case of a Mini won't make much of an accuracy change :p ).
 
Great little rifle. As for distance, similar ballistics to a 30-30. My wife dropped a deer with hers at 70m. I have been reluctant to use surplus ammo because of the .308/.311 diameter concerns.
 
I read on another forum that the bore was tapered from .311 to .308 at the muzzle to allow the use of both bullets. I doubt Bill Ruger would have put his name on a Mini-30 if it wouldn't safely fire the cartrige it was designed for.
 
Mini thirty ammo

My mini thirty doesn't like the czech ammo. I found a lot of the primers were fairly struck but ammo didnt function. I since changed the hammer spring with no noticable difference . Chinese , winchester and american eagle worked fine. It just doesnt like my particular crate of czech ammo. Mind you my sks had a lot of similar problems with the czech stuff however when refired it all functioned.
 
do not use any optics that has a long side target adjustment on the mini 30,because the brass will ding it.(example;elite 3200 10X40mm)
 
I have both 5.56 and7.62x39 mini's in ss. I hade to change the op rod springs on both guns to make them like military ammo. Wolf gun springs in both guns solved many of the problems.
 
for bear protection? I will use milsurp ammo for sure,because its consider CQB,hahaha..for target & hunting? use winchester,american eagle for sure.
cheer:D:
 
ian_in_vic said:
I don't have any direct experience with the mini-30 but I have been told that the bore on them is .308 not .311. This makes me ask if you're seeing any signs of pressure using Czech ammo which is designed for .311 bores? I would imagine this would cause increased bore and throat erosion in .308 tubes. I may be wrong, if so please chime in.
Click to expand...

I think Ruger corrected that particular deficiency. .311 bore AFAIK.

A buddy of mine bought one (new s/s model) Functioned perfectly with Czech surplus. Put 500 rds through it right out of the box without a hiccup.

The accuracy of that particular rifle was acceptable IMO, grouping 2.5 - 3.5 MOA from the bench with surplus

The early M77s (7.62x39) and Mini 30s were .308 bore as plentiful and cheap surplus as not as easily available then and the market wanted reloading options using common components. Likewise the first commercial ammo from Midway etc. used 125 gr .308 bullets. Lapua 7.62x39 was coming in back then before US producers got on board which used a .308 bullet as well. I have a set of Lyman dies in 7.62x39 made in the 80s which include both .311 and .308 neck expanders.
 
I've had half a dozen Ruger mini 30 carbines. You certainly can't call any of them accurate. Some people blame the .308" bore / .311" bullet thing for this.

However, I have loaded hundreds of Lapua 123 Gr FMJ bullets [ which by my measurement went .3105" diameter ] through several .308 Winchester /7.62 NATO rifles, and I have achieved very fine accuracy with these loads.

Most likely causes of the Mini .30 horrible accuracy is that the larger bore and thin walls of the barrel, plus the immense reciprocating weight of the massive op rod, cause the barrel to flex under firing pressure, somewhat like a garden hose run over by a truck. Plus, most of the Ruger Stainless barrels, mini 14 and mini 30, are unbelievable rough on the outside, probably from being hogged out at too high a speed. Take a caliper and mike the barrel exterior from gas assembly to muzzle if you don't believe me .

Every single time I bought a Ruger Mini 30, I compared it to a beat up old SKS that cost me $ 100, and found the SKS would shoot about 2" 100 yd groups, while my last Mini 30, which cost several times as much, shot 10" patterns at 50 yds.

Now I just chop full sized 7.62 NATO M-14 rifles into MAXI 14 shorties, with 18 3/4" barrels, and put them into folding stocks. Don't worry much about accuracy, or stopping power, or reliability, or no mini nuthin'.

PS: I've also personally owned about 6 DOZEN of the Mini 14 rifles, and think that these are great little rifles... and some of them have been almost as accurate as my worst AR 15 build. Once again, a shorty M-14 makes the Mini whatever seem a but redundant.

just my 2 Cents worth
[;{)
LAZ 1
 
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