Ruger Mini-14 or Mini-Thirty

I've been thinking about buying a Ruger Mini-14 or Mini-Thirty and need some input on what caliber to select. What caliber do you Dogs prefer, .223 Rem or 7.62x39mm?

I didn't know they made it in 7.62x39...

They are also offering it in a 6.8 now. Part of caliber selection will depend on how you plan on using it. I know I'll catch a lot of disagreement for this but I prefer the .223. I know there are stopping power issues but those can be resolved with Black Hills 77gr Match ammo, 75gr Hornady TAP ammo or Cor-Bon DPX ammo.

They refer to it as a "Mini-Thirty".

Yup! I've changed the post to indicate that.

I have several AR's, as well as a number of AK's and SKS's,so I'm familiar with both calibers. What's the intended purpose? Both are a solid self defense round and will do the job. If you plan on hunting deer with it go x39. Yote and smaller..I'd go .223. If it's going to be more of a gravel pit gun to plink with and you do not reload, I'd go x39 just because of the cost of ammo. A case (1K rounds) of .223 reloads goes for 380 up here at the gun show. You can still get Wolf or Golden Tiger cases of x39 for about $225.

Buy an AK if you want 7.62X39. Rugers will work, but last time I checked, the bore was .308 and not .311 like the wolf and com bloc ammo. Function and accuracy may be impaired by this unless you want to buy the expensive remington ammo.

For this caliber: Buy a Bulgarian AK and feed it from good circle 10 mags.

They are scrambling to get 308s in the sand box. Less likely to stand up once hit (unlike 223).

Whittakers has excellent prices on 308 ar-10s or whatever you decide to get. Ship to your FFL.

http://www.whittakerguns.com/

Thanks Dig,

I'll be using it as a plinker and for home defense. I've checked out the ammo prices and they are as you have indicated.

If anyone has experience with either the Mini-14 or the Mini-Thirty, I'd sure like to hear your thoughts on the performance of the rifle.

Personally, I've owned THREE Mini-14s over the years. Two standard, and one Ranch Rifle. All three of them sucked. They had bad triggers (one weighed in at over 25 gritty pounds), bad sights, the groups wandered around as the barrels heated up, for some repairs you HAVE to send them the rifle (they won't sell you parts), on the Ranch Rifle the Ruger scope mounts would NOT stay tight without LocTite, I couldn't find good mags for less than $75 apiece to save my soul (although I hear this has changed recently, and Ruger is now selling 20-rd. mags to the public)...

I could go on and on. I sold my last one several years ago, and will not own another.

Other people have had better luck than I, so to each his own... but if I was going to spend the money on a Mini-30, I would just go ahead and buy an AK-47 instead. And NOT a WASR.


I really tried to give the Mini-14 an honest chance. I like the concept of the rifle. But it just never worked out. [censored] you, A-TEAM!!!

While I much prefer the 7.62 x 39 to the .223 as a caliber, in the Ruger I'd go with the Mini-14 in .223. I have seen one Mini-30 that shot well, but for that caliber I prefer the AK-47 or one of its variants. The cheap Russian ammo funtions well in those. .223 ammo is available or it used to be. Don't expect hair splitting accuracy. Mini-14s typically shoot 2" to 4" groups at 100 m. A few do better. I have 3 of them, and only my heavy barrel one will shoot under 2". The action is very reliable and accuracy is good enough for a self-defense weapon.

I own a MINI-30. I have scoped it and can shoot sub MOA at 150 yards. It is accurate and fun to shoot. The rifle is basically designed after the M14 so if you are used to that type of action then you are good. There are a lot of people out there that will tell you they are crap.....it all depends on the rifle and how much care and time you spend with it. I have shot over 2000 rounds with mine and it is as good and accurate as the day I bought it.

One thing that drives me nuts about the mini-30 is the lack of QUALITY high cap mags. They are very hard to find and if you do they are expensive as crap. I have a bunch of low count mags due to the fact that I hunt with this rifle; and yea I have taken many clean harvests with it.

The one Mini-30 I am familiar with only fired hand loads with .308" bullets, and it also was sub-MOA. It was amazingly accurate. But for some reason, the owner, a good friend and fellow shooter, was reluctant to shoot the Russian .311" bullets in his. He also had a hard time getting quality high capacity magazines for it. My gun dealer tells me that the newer Mini-30s function just fine with the cheap Russian ammo. I love the action on the Mini-14s and Mini-30s. It is stone reliable, more so than the AR-15. But none of my Rugers is as accurate as either of my AR-15s. I like the Mini-30, and love the caliber. If they truly do shoot the cheap 7.62 x 39 ammo well and you can find decent magazines for it, I'd prefer it to my .223s. For now, I'm sticking with my Yugoslavian AK-47 for that caliber.

The Mini-14 would be your better choice, because you have a wider selection of ammo and larger factory magazine capacity. Most of the aftermarket mags I've seen suck, and I don't believe Ruger ever made a Mini-30 factory mag higher than 10 rounds. The newer Mini-14s are a little better for accuracy too, now that they have a 1/9 twist rate for the barrels. For 7.62x39 it's better to stick to the AK variants.

Mini 14 for the reasons laid out above. Is there a reason that you have not looked at the AR system? I have been noticing the price on them have been dropping big time lately. I saw where CDNN in Tx has CMMG rifles for about 8 bills. Considering the price of mags for the AR vs the Mini 14, you come out ahead with an AR.

I’m reviewing all options at this point. I really appreciate the input from everyone. The depth of knowledge on this forum continues to amaze me.

AK for 7.62X39--Check out Classic Arms. They usually have a good deal.

.223, go with AR. Even Ruger has come out with an AR. The Ruger 556.

Mini 14 mags are expensive. Cope's has them for 40.00. I'd rather have 3 PMags. There is a new Mini 14, tactical looking, but AR's rock. Lots of choices, can even get a 22LR conversion for it.,

You know, my new Mini-14 (the so-called improved one) is no more accurate than my oldest one. Only my ARS heavy barrelled custom one will shoot moa (on a good day with the moon just right). I paid nearly $800 for the new one. I like Mini-14 Ranch Rifes fine, but now that Ar-15s are available for not much more, that is THE gun to get. One lower and you can get additional uppers in 7.62 x 39 or 9mm, or whatever. Magazines are readily available. Accessories are infinite. Unless you can find a good used Mini-14 for a lot less, go with the AR-15.

I would agree if you're comparing the Mini-14 and AR. Plus, the last time I checked the Mini-14s around here were going for around $650-700 new. Wow! That's almost the price of an AR. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

I have a Bushmaster AR-15, but never owned a Mini-14. I love my AR and its super accurate and it never jammed on me, even shooting wolf ammo. I havn't heard too many good things about the mini-14.

The virtue of the Garand action in the Mini-14 is its reliability. It is less sensitive to dirt and simpler than the Stoner design. None of my Mini-14s shoot as accurately as my AR-15s, but they are as accurate as my AK-47. Also, the "Ranch Rifle" has a more PC look to it than the M-16 looking Ar-15. Back when the Mini-14 was $400 and the AR-15s were $1000, buying a Mini-14 made sense. Today, with some basic model AR-15s priced close to some Mini-14s, I think the AR-15 is a better deal.

I have a mini-14 and I just don't use it any more. My friend in CA told me he just got a CA legal AR-15 lower reciever. Since I don't live there, I don't really know what that means, but the AR platform would be my first choice for something that shoots .223. As far as 7.62x39 goes, an AK would be key. I don't believe that's possible in your neck of the woods. With the magazine capacity restrictions in place there in CA, I would just opt for a different style gun altogether. Not sure what you are looking to do with it, but a nice lever action rifle would do you well for most situations I can think of.

I would go the AR route for 223...the Minis are historically not the most accurate.

So 762 if you must go Mini. They are tough and realiable though!

There are some good deals on ARs now if you know where to look.

Oh, darn, I forgot about the California laws. In that case, get the Mini-30. Bigger bullets and PC.

This morning there was a guy selling a Mini 14 on SIGforum for 450.00. Don't know if it sold yet.

I second 87bourbon... get an AK47 type SAR... he knows what he's talking about!!! I personally love Ruger firearms, but in this catergory a SAR is what you need.

In my neck of the woods anything in .223 is way cheaper to shoot than any .30 cal piece. The above guys are right.....prices on guns are starting to come down a little, but the ammo is still staying pretty high. I have plenty of .30 cal rifles, but my next piece is going to be a flat top model AR. GI ammo for the .223 is around $8 a box. .308 is $22 a box for Federal American Eagle. It kinda boils down to a best bang for the buck scenario.

First I would like to thank all of you for your input. This is a great forum and you guys are the best!

After due consideration I purchased a Mini Thirty. There are apparently some AR-15 and AK-47 variants that supposedly are legal for sale in CA. I haven’t confirmed that with my FFI dealer. In order to comply they have blocked magazines with 10 round max capacity and some other limiting features that I don’t understand. At least the Mini Thirty is a straightforward, CA legal rifle with (from what I have read) a solid reputation. The ammunition is relatively cheap and I prefer the 30 cal. Bullet to the .223 in the Mini-14.

Once again, thanks for your thoughts. They were very useful in this process.

Horta.....good call....you can always pick up a AR later....I love my mini 30 and my AR but it is like comparing a .22 to a 17 HMR.

Good choice. Good reasoning.

Horta, I can see that you used wise judgement in your decision. Have fun wih your new rifle. Make sure you let us know how she shoots.

Bay area is tough. Down near where I live (Coachella Valley) there is a shop that sells quite a bit of AR's and AK's. The 10 round limit is a California thing, it's not limited to the type of gun. The other thing is the removable mag law. I have to have a Prince50 on my AR to make it "legal". Anyway, now that you have the 7.62 covered, get the 5.56 <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />! AR style.