Reliablity; Ruger Mini 30 versus Mini 14

dreadpirate · Sep 18, 2017

So I was looking at reviews on You tube and one of the well known gun pundits had a rather favorable review of the Mini 14 emphasizing how reliable it is. Then the same guy does a separate review on the Mini 30 and rips it for being very unreliable. Really?? Are they not the same freaking design?? Anyone ever owned a Mini 30? Are they really that bad compared top the Mini 14? This is news to me.

danb · Sep 18, 2017

My mini 14 is finicky about ammo and mags. But with the right ammo, mags, a nice dinner, and a corsage, it goes bang.

dreadpirate · Sep 18, 2017

danb said:
My mini 14 is finicky about ammo and mags. But with the right ammo, mags, a nice dinner, and a corsage, it goes bang.

Hey that sounds like - er - well - never mind! :innocent0

Engine4 · Sep 18, 2017

I have a mini 14 I bought from Lou. When I told him I was considering a mini 30 he strongly advised against it.

dreadpirate · Sep 18, 2017

Engine4 said:
I have a mini 14 I bought from Lou. When I told him I was considering a mini 30 he strongly advised against it.

Interesting - do you recall why he did not like them?

Rack&Roll · Sep 18, 2017

danb said:
My mini 14 is finicky about ammo and mags. But with the right ammo, mags, a nice dinner, and a corsage, it goes bang.

This is no way to live.

Buy right, don't think twice.

ZeroCool · Sep 18, 2017

From my understanding, the main problem with the Mini 30 is that it fails to ignite ammo with harder primers way more often than it should. Because most people want a 7.62x39 rifle to shoot cheap ammo (i.e., steel cased with harder primers), it creates a scenario where a lot of people end up hating the 30 due to regular failures.

You can find quite a few videos out there on youtube with constant failure to fire failures; I'm talking multiple failures per magazine. Those problems seem to go away with american made brass cased ammo. No point to most people in getting a 7.62x39 rifle that costs as much to feed as a .308.

I'm not sure exactly what the issue is or why Ruger hasnt addressed it. One would think that if it's something as simple as a more powerful hammer spring that Ruger would have fixed it by now.

That's about all I know... I personally have no use/desire for the Mini platform because I see literally no advantage that it has over even an entry level AR-15.

dreadpirate · Sep 18, 2017

Hmm - light strikes. Saw that too.

Rack&Roll · Sep 18, 2017

Plus Bill Ruger didn't want you to ever have more than 5 shots in your mag.

Eff him.

danb · Sep 18, 2017

Rack&Roll said:
This is no way to live.

Buy right, don't think twice.

Dump the mini 30 and get an AK.

I'm exaggerating somewhat about the mini 14. Mostly, it does not seem to like some brands of steel cased ammo. You can see why that might be a problem for the mini 30.

hit3961 · Sep 18, 2017

dreadpirate said:
Hmm - light strikes. Saw that too.

Brownnells firing pin fixed my ammo problem.

dreadpirate · Sep 18, 2017

ZeroCool said:
I personally have no use/desire for the Mini platform because I see literally no advantage that it has over an AR-15.

Agreed - I don't want to buy one. I was just surprised by the comments but I guess light strikes are a reliability issue. That answers it.

dreadpirate · Sep 18, 2017

I will say this - if you live in a place like - I don't know - New York - the mini 30 and 14 may be really good options.

Dave MP · Sep 18, 2017

My Mini 14 (580 series) eats any ammo I have fed it, and throws the brass exuberantly across the range.
Not the most accurate bullet launcher, but has never faltered.

kenpo333 · Sep 18, 2017

Had a mini 14 for over 20 years and it didn't fail. My ar's were more accurate so I sold it but no FTF problems.

danb · Sep 18, 2017

In fairness to the mini-14, I have seen some bad/cheap AR builds fail epically at the range.

Also, the mini-14 comes in wood. We all know wood furniture is much safer than scary black furniture with the folding thingie that goes up.

-Z/28- · Sep 18, 2017

My Mini-14 has always gone bang every time. I've never shot a Mini-30.

TargetGrade · Sep 18, 2017

Owned a mini 14 and dumped it for accuracy issues. My Chicom sks cheaper, cheaper to shoot and more accurate with MINOR change.

https://www.mojosights.com/sample-page/ak-sks/

Mr. Ed · Sep 18, 2017

Dave MP said:
My Mini 14 (580 series) eats any ammo I have fed it, and throws the brass exuberantly across the range.
Not the most accurate bullet launcher, but has never faltered.
View attachment 214165

Mine too! That's my favorite thing about it... throws brass WAY forward of the firing line, and not on folks to my right.

Mine (Ranch Rifle) is also stone cold reliable with factory ammo, but I've never tried steel cased stuff, nor will I. Brass works just fine, thanks very much.

It's not a tack driver, but I have other toys for that. Consistent 3-4" groups at 100 yards is enough to make me happy with this platform.

Rack&Roll · Sep 18, 2017

You guys with your Mini 14-not-tack-driver stories...

Isn't like having a ugly girlfriend hogging the covers?

You know, what's the point?

Reliablity; Ruger Mini 30 versus Mini 14

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