All Outdoor – by Major Pandemic
Many long time readers will remember Ruger Mini-30 featured in the Testing the Cooper Scout Rifle Concept article. The results from the Mini-30 were more than impressive during realistic testing.
Based on my research, I had found that Jeff Cooper hailed the 30-30 as an excellent all-around scout round which had proven itself through history. The 30-30 is by today’s standards considered a medium weight rifle round, with actually about the same 800 Ft/lbs of energy at 200 yards as a standard Russian 7.62×39 AK round. (Technically the AK round is a bit more powerful). Even at 200-yards, the 30-30 and 7.62×39 are still a very deadly round for whitetail and hog hunting. On the other side of the equation, the 7.62×39 rifle round has proven to be a, extremely deadly defensive round in every country around the world.
Don’t let the modest looks and historic Ruger Mini-30 design fool you; it can be the universal scout rifle for home, hunt, or fun.
About The Ruger Mini-14 and Mini-30
The Ruger Mini-30 is not a new gun by any stretch of the imagination. The gun has been reviewed and re-reviewed probably 1000s of times since its introduction. The Mini-14 was hugely popular, especially after the A-Team saved the day proudly toting stainless Mini-14s with folding stocks.
Actually due to budget reasons, the A-Team featured the Mini-14 in a variety of versions simply because they had to buy all the weapons featured in the episode, so they just kept reusing the same guns over and over. The other most significant consideration was that blank rounds used for movies are horribly dirty and generally cause gun malfunctions, scene reshoots, and delays. With a budget show like the A-Team, they wanted to avoid problems and reached for the proven Ruger Mini-14, which is still noted in the movie industry as one of the most reliable off-the-shelf guns to fire blanks from. The self cleaning system always allowed the A-Team to save the day without their guns jamming.
The Mini-30 was introduced in 1987, almost a decade and a half after the 1974 Mini-14′s introduction simply to provide a hunting (yes, hunting) option for Mini-14 fans. But even in the late 1970’s there were states which did not allow deer hunting with calibers smaller than 6mm (.243”). Ruger provided a great large bore option with the Russian 7.62×39 chambered Mini-30. Ruger’s semi-auto platform delivered performance just a bit better than the proven whitetail harvesting 30-30 Winchester. The Russian ammo was cheap and the Mini-30 did very well.
If we fast forward a bit, the Mini-30 lost some of its appeal as the AR-15 arose as the dominant rifle in a platform that had enough picatinny rails to grate cheese and mount a laser. Today the Ruger Mini platform has become less sexy with what some referred to as an outdated look and design. For a while many were concerned that Ruger would drop the line, but diehard fans kept buying the rifles, for one simple reason: they worked every time, all the time, and were cheap to shoot with surplus ammo.
For some, the M1 Garand looks of the Mini-30 does not look as lean and sexy as the AR-15, but it is actually lighter in most cases by at least a pound. It is also delivers more power within the 200-yard range than the .223, and does it all with fewer parts and higher reliability even with cheap ammo.
Fit, Finish, Feel, Features And Functions
The finish and fit has never of the Mini line has been show quality. Instead, it features what I call a “service grade” finish. Of course, the A-Team had their stainless versions polished up a bit. Ruger knew early on that these rifles would get beat and decided there was little point adding 20%-30% to the cost with a high grade finish. Ruger has maintained that philosophy to keep the cost down on the Mini-14 and Mini-30 series, which consistently have street prices in the $750-$800 range.
Many people do not know that Ruger is one of the largest investment casting and heat treating companies in the US. Ruger shows off its capabilities, quality, and consistency with one of the most renowned and reliable semi-auto firearms on earth. The Mini-14 and Mini-30 rifles are based on the M1 Garand-style breech bolt locking systems, which is noted to be self-cleaning, due to a fixed gas piston system. You know all the fireworks around how spectacularly reliable piston AR-15s are? “Welcome to WWII proven technology” said the Mini-30.
The Mini-30 system is amazingly simple, with a very limited number of parts which do not particularly require a high degree of precision to work well. This of course means that you can pack the gun with gunk and goo wrap it in dirt and it will still work. In fact, the gun is so well designed that it will self-clean every time you pull the trigger.
Like all M1 Garands, the hammer fall (lock time) feels like it takes an eternity. Compared to some of the simply amazing light speed hammer falls of AR-15 triggers like the HiperForce Hiperfire, the M1 trigger feels like you could go get a sandwich between the trigger pull and round detonation. That said, once the giant anvil of a hammer finally does connect with the firing pin, the primer is hit with something close to the force of God. Ignition has not been a problem even with surplus rounds. The trigger has a very stock feeling with a long take up and fairly gritty break, but it is designed for durability and not a match grade feel. The trigger works and you don’t notice the feel once rounds starts flying downrange.
In all, the Ruger Mini-30 is brutally tough and infallibly dependable. Perhaps Ruger should offer this in a .308 version to compete with Springfield.
The Mini-30 comes complete with a birdcage flash hider, iron sights, two 20-round magazines, 1” scope mounts, and even a weaver scope mount rail. I mounted a Nikon 1-4x P-223 optic and found it to be the perfect optic and power for this caliber and the intent of the rifle. At one point, Ruger noted that Ruger Mini-14 or Mini-30 owners of new guns could trade the included 1” rings for 30mm rings direct with Ruger if they needed. The current versions of Mini-30s all wear synthetic stocks, but the alloy steel version is available with a 16.12” barrel with threaded muzzle equipped with a bird cage flash hider.
Operation is pretty straight forward, Garand-style functioning. Lever in one of the 20-round magazines, pull the bolt back to charge, place the finger in the trigger guard and move the finger forward to disengage the safety, and then squeeze the trigger. The bolt locks back after the last round; press the mag release remove the old mag, lever in another, and pull back the bolt to release the bolt to chamber a new round. The gun does have a button on the top of the receiver to allow for a manual bolt hold open during cleaning.
Accuracy
Like the Mini-14, the Ruger Mini-30 is not a tack driver. The gun delivers what I would term as realistic hunting accuracy with 10-yard groups in the 1”-1.25” range with decent ammo.
During my Scout rifle article testing I didn’t have any problems connecting with 4” cans of corn at distances from 50 to 200 yards, and ringing the 400-yard gong. The learnings from running those corn cans was that the Mini-30 is extremely friendly, and quick at applying its accuracy to actual targets all while being a blast to shoot.
Final thoughts
The Ruger Mini-30 may not be the newest, sexiest, or most accurate rifle on the market, but it is incredibly reliable and fun to shoot. There is something special about sending nearly three times the lead down range with each trigger pull. I have pushed well over a thousand rounds of surplus Russian ammo through the Mini-30 and only given it one wipe down and squirt of lube (which, for the record, was done because of rain).
One of the main reasons I picked up a Mini-30 was the availability of ammo. Even during the peak of the ammo shortage of 2008-2013, I could still walk into almost any store and buy AK-47 7.62×39 ammo cheaply. Even today, in early 2014, 7.62×39 is still about 30% cheaper than .223, which of course means I can shoot more for less all while owning a nice little deer rifle. Would this legacy throwback firearm be a top recommendation for an all around defense, deer, and fun gun? You Bet’cha!
Specs
- 5854
- Capacity 20
- Overall Length 36.75″
- Barrel Length 16.12″
- Material Alloy Steel
- Finish Blued
- Weight 6.75 lbs.
- MSRP $989.00
- Street $750.00
————————-
Major Pandemic – Is the editor at large of MajorPandemic.com which features hundreds of deep product reviews. No my name is not Pandemic, nor am I a Major, I am but a mortal being, using my freedom, intelligence, and available resources provided in this great free nation to survive another day. Hopefully I can help you get smarter and live longer and enjoy the outdoor more comfortably and more safely.
– See more at: http://www.alloutdoor.com/2014/03/27/ruger-mini-30-rifle/#sthash.Sfie3qDO.dpuf
Any thoughts on a sniper rifle..such as 30-06 or .308 round preference?
Think about the .308. It is a NATO round that the US Army uses ALOT of. It is also a mean SOB when it impacts it’s target. It also has a lot more capability than the 7.62×39. I wish they had the Mini30 in a .308. It would be in my arms room.
..308 is what I figured people would say. I can shoot hand guns and medium range rifles well enough, but now I’ve been looking into extended range. I’ll have to look into the ballistics of the round in depth and pick a decent rifle.
I have always liked the Rugers,fun rifle to work with.I do though also agree with the .308 aspect,why I have one,damn,tis warming up and thus more pleasant in the back 40 for some rifle time though am at moment really addicted to the new crossbow.
I love my Mini-14, even without the A-team’s endorsement, and I saw a special-forces guy carrying one in the pictures we got from New Orleans after Katrina.
For .308 shooting, I have my Remington 700 SPS.
How do you like the Remington. I haven’t fired one. I shoot a Mossberg 100 ATR in .308. The Remington looks like a great shooter, but the price was a little much at the time that I was looking.
It’s fun to shoot, accurate, and has a hair-trigger that I like because it makes it easy for me to squeeze one off without shaking the rifle.
I put a bi-pod on it, and a Nikon Buckmaster 6-18 power zoom scope with a mil-dot reticle. (now I’m studying mil-dot math)
As soon as the weather clears up here I’m going to hit it with camo-paint.
Now, Bulldog… someone here told me something about it that I’m not sure of. He said it had a light barrel, and because of this, accuracy is lost after three of four shots heat the barrel up, and for me to shoot much more than that at targets, I need a “match barrel”. Any truth to that?
I haven’t heard that. I am going to have to check into it. I haven’t heard anyone complain about the weapon.
Thanks….I’m going to ask around too.
The point he was making is that my long-distance range time was for naught, because the barrel wasn’t accurate after a few shots anyway.
I would hate for that to be true, because it would mean that I’m wasting my time (and ammo) after the first few shots.
It is true, but you can greatly improve on the situation by floating the barrel, as this is what makes the gun pull. Where the barrel touches the stock, the stock acts as a heat sink, making the barrel cool unevenly and hence making it pull.
Hope this helps.
Henry, That is the only complaint that I found on this weapon. Is contact with the stock. They didn’t go in depth on it. I have a friend who is a Remington guy that I was going to call this evening and see if he knew anything.
It’s an easy fix. I float the barrels on all my long range accuracy rifles.
On the range, I will not run rounds through any gun I own to the point of getting the barrel sizzling hot. I’ll shoot a few rounds and then let the gun sit with the bolt open. We emphasize here on that first cold shot. The fact is any gun will start to wander if you get it hot enough.
And I can’t imagine a sniping situation where you would be pumping that kind of rounds through a sniper rifle, but the less it has been heated up over it’s life, the better it is going to do, should such a situation arise.
I cooked a barrel on an M240 so bad once the rounds were literally everywhere. You tend to not think about the barrel heat when you get going with the trigger, then all of a sudden the SOB could fry an egg.
Jolly Roger,
Is it synthetic or wood?
it’s a synthetic stock. (and thanks for the advice, both of you)
I don’t think I ever got it very hot, because I shoot slowly, and after 15 rounds I hike out to change the targets, and I don’t remember the barrel ever getting very hot.
And I think the barrel is floating too, because you can slide a dollar between the stock and the barrel. (the guy I was talking to did this, and he was a competitive shooter)
I”m thinking now that if I shoot slow, take long breaks after a few rounds, and then go back to it I should be alright.
Jolly Roger,
Yep. Sounds like you got a handle on it. When we make our final site-in shots on our guns, we go out, sand bag them down, and take one shot and adjust if necessary. We do not shoot the gun ’til the next morning. The barrel is completely cooled down and the cross hairs settled from the ride. If you get your gun dead-on two mornings in a row, well that’s about as good as it gets. 🙂
I can’t believe 15 rounds straight in a row wouldn’t get a barrel hot enough to burn a blister on your hand. I would never shoot over 4 rounds without letting the barrel cool down, unless the situation demanded it. Just how I’ve always treated my guns. I have also found that breaking the barrel in correctly is the secret to finding that 1 in 100 barrel you run across every now and again that shoots absolutely true.
I really need to go shoot. Too damn busy every weekend. I am going to have to make time. I am starting to get withdrawal symptoms.
Well I’m kind of a novice shooter, Henry. I’m just learning this stuff now.
But that’s what I’m going to do in the future — only a couple shots per day.
I shoot right behind the house, so that’s not too inconvenient.
Jolly,aint the back 40 a grand thing,no trips to ranges/friends property ect. unless you just want to for giggles and grins!