Ruger Mini 30

concealedG36

Hi to all again. I have been gone for a while, but am back in the game, so here is my question.
I am looking to purchase a Ruger mini 30, SS, with a walnut stock, and am having a hard time finding out the value of such an animal. Looks to be in great shape, shot very little, and the owner is a close family member. I just want to make sure he gets what it is truly worth.
Can any of you experts tell me the current value of such a rifle, other than looking up the info in the blue book?
Appreciate your input, and I'm glad to be back.

BigBarn[8D]

concealedG36

I have posted a lot on this gun, I have had for about 4 years and I guesimate 2000 rounds through it. It has a beautiful Ruger finish, wood, accessories, and assortment of pistol grip stocks and large cap mags as well as muzzle brakes and scopes. The trigger group is smooth, if stiff, but the firing pin is weak against the commie ammo, and misfires a lot. I figured out that CHEETAH ammo, South Aferican, brass cased and close to the cost of Wolf, is close to price to Wolf, but never misfires like the cheap Russian or Norinco stuff does (about one in 30). Aside from this it compares favorably in accuracy against an SAR-1, AK, but the mags SUCK. I suspect that if the AWB is sunsetted it may increase in value if someone makes some decent 30 round ammo mags that can stand being dropped on the ground, but wonder what it may be worth now used? Should I sell it and get another SAR-1? Those things (SAR-1) are indestructable, and reliable, if less accurate. I want opinions on both please.

concealedG36

Will the stock off a Mini 14 fit on a Mini 30 or vise versa???

concealedG36

Anybody have an opinion on this firearm. I'm thinking about buying a used one in excellent condition. I want a semi-auto and the .380 seems like the right calibur. Thoughts?Thanks,G36

concealedG36

I purchased an Arsenal Inc AK 47 a couple months ago, its my first AK type rifle. I've been very impressed with this rifle. I am now considering purchasing a Ruger Mini 30 and attaching a folding stock. Any experiences with this rifle? Thanks in advance for any comments.

leeblackman

The Ruger Mini-30 doesn't come in a .380...Its a 7.62x39mm (.310" bullet)Its a great bush gun, its a very reliable and simple design. There are many accessories available for them. The ammunition is widely availble and very cheap. I would also recomend it as an alternative to the AK-47. Anything you'd use an AK for you can use the Mini-30 for.

concealedG36

Thanks. Yeah, I knew it wasn't a .380, I was reading something about one when I was typing. ooops!Well, I think I'm going to pick one up and see how I like it!

competentone

I think you could say that I "kind-of" like Ruger's Mini-30....as I own three.

landis

Three?!!Well I can understand, mine is a lot of fun to shoot. Thinking of a Mini14 to go with it. Mini 30 is not really an accurate gun, you might keep the group in a paper plate sized grouping at 100 yards, but the Garand style action is the real attraction. Ammo is available for $1.89 a box(20), and we had an earlier conversation about the .308 or .311 sized bullet, and I even called the Ruger customer service and they confirmed the ability of the gun to shoot either. (as long as it is "7.62X39"). Ruger says to use US made ammo, but that is for reasons of corrosibility, not bullet size. I use the Russian cheap stuff which is non corrosive. If you only have one gun, this one does a lot. You can hunt, and use it for home defense, as well as recreational shooting. 7.62 can be used for deer in most every state, and it makes an ideal short range deer rifle. Handy size makes it a logical gun for the pickup if you live out west. Recoil is really not bad at all. Did I mention it is a lot of fun to shoot? They aren't cheap, an SKS would be cheaper, and for most purposes just as good, but the SKS is just plain ugly. I have had a few guns, no expert, but from what I have used in the past, I love the thing. I think three Mini 30s is a good number to have.

REBJr

I picked up a mini-30 about 2 years ago and I love it. Of all my guns it's got to be my favorite. A real blast to shoot. Be careful (if yours has the wood stock) when removing and installing the handguard. Doing so has made a dent in my stock where the handguard contacts the forearm.

luger01

I also have a Mini-30 (got rid of the Mini-14s and bought the 30 as a more useful multi-putpose rifle) and find it's one of my favorites.Got rid of the birch stock and dropped the action into a Choate synthetic stock. The Choate is darn near indestructible, looks good, is completely weather proof, and has a nice rubber butt pad that doesn't slip like the factory smooth plastic one.Also gave the rifle a trigger job and got the pull down to 4# (just polished the surfaces and didn't touch the critical surfaces) and got my groups down to 2-2.5" at 100 yards. Plenty good for any purposes I have (hunting, defense, plinking).The Ruger Mini rifles are built hell-for-stout. They will continue to work in almost any condition. If one jams shut, you can even stomp the action open and do no damage! That makes the Minis at the top of my list for the one rifle to have when the chips are down.

landis

Luger,Interesting that you sold the Mini14(s), I was thinking that the lower recoil and flatter tragectory due to the higher velocity .223 would be interesting to shoot, and given that I like the Mini30 so much (not about to sell it) I thought I might like the Mini14 as well. Mini14 sure is a popular gun, but the MIni30 came out many years later. Maybe the Mini14 is not worth it?? I guess this could start a conversation on the choice between 7.62 and .223.

Dave3

You guys have gone and got me thinking about getting a 30 instead of a 14. I had a 14 and traded for a citori, Well the guy got some money and want's his citori back and I need another semi cheap bullet shooter. I was thinking about another 14 But now you have me wondering. What are the differences in 7.62 and 223?

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"Protect the Right to Protect yourself"

REBJr

DAVE3 I had a savage 111 in .223 given as a present to me, and I own a mini-30. living in the midwest there's no prairie dogs and darn few coyotes around, but plenty of deer.I found in my case that my .223 was a darn good pop can killer but not much else, whereas the 7.62 is useful in the thick woods around here where most shots are well below the 100 yard range. Other folks' circumstances and opinoins may differ, but for me it was a no-brainer, sold the .223hope it helps-Ralph

luger01

Landis,Both (Mini-14 and -30) are good rifles. The choice basically comes down to purpose.The Mini-14 is a fine self-defense rifle. Hi-Cap mags are available (PMI and Ruger factory are all I would own), and the rifle shoots well enough for defensive purposes. The .223 is an easy shooting round, but the caliber is inappropriate (and in many places illegal) to use for more than varmits. Given that the accuracy of the Mini-14 is not sufficient for long range varmiting (over 100 yards), the rifle has only two real uses: defense and plinking. (The AR-15s have a greater accuracy potential, and can be used as decent varmit rifles).The Mini-30 is also decent for self defense, and with the rifle's accuracy, equally good at ranges similar to the .223. Some hi-cap mags are available (Eagle 18 rounders) and the rifle can be used for hunting up to the small deer size of animal. Again accuracy limits useable distance, but I would feel OK using it up to 125-150 yards with a well-placed shot.IMHO the recoil of the Mini-30 and 7.62x39 cartridge is not a lot greater then the Mini-14 and .223 round. Although the .223 uses a lighter bullet, it does fire it at a higher velocity and the recoil energy is not too different.So, My reasoning for selecting the Mini-30 over the Mini-14 is because it can be used as a hunting rifle if the need arose. I believe it is a more useful tool than the Mini-14 because of that. I consider the Mini-30 as the one rifle I own that I would choose to keep over all others - it satisfies both critical needs of defense and food acquisition. If I could choose twwo rifles to keep, I'd probably select a better one for each category (perhaps an AR-15 and a .30-06 bolt rifle).Hope this helps you understand why I like the Mini-30 better than the Mini-14.