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AK verses Mini-30
- Thread starter Hueco
- Start date
Well , to start off , let me say I solved the
problem by buying one of each ak and also a mini 30.
I like the mini 30 because it is lighter in wieght than the standard pre 1988
ban ak. But, the ruger mini 30 has a 4140
barrel which is not crome lined and is not
a heavy barrel.
The mini 30 barrel is not designed for
continious rapid fire (such as full auto or
burst fire) and will warp and twist under these conditions; or so I have heard.
My mini 30 is semi auto only so this is not really a consideration for me; however, one
always strives to buy the best.
All ak barrels are crome lined and originally designed for machine gun service
so one might say that ak barrels are higher quality.
Ruger had made a heavier (machine gun
application) barrel at one time in the past
for law enforcement; but this barrel has not been available to civilians for many years,
now.
The current Ruger barrel is ok for semi
auto not at a constant fast rate. Needs more
time between shots to cool down as the lighter barrel cant take too much heat.
This is not a concern for me ,but could be for others.
Ammo--concerns--Russian ,east german & other
forien ammo can be corrosive and usually has steel jacketed bullet heads.
Place a magnet to the bullet head and if it attracts--it is steel jacketed.
The life span of the ruger barrel is 100,000
rounds of steel jacketed or 1 million rounds of copper jacketed.
The life span of the ak crome lined barrel is 300,000 rounds of steel jacketed or 3 million copper jackets.
So we see here that the ak barrel lasts 3 times longer due to the hardened crome lining. Also--the crome lining gives maximum resistance to corrosive powder while the ruger barrel will corode the first time that
you shoot corrosive powder and forget to clean it immediatly (within 8 hours of shooting it.)
New ak vairaints are lighter in wieght
that the pre 1988 ban models and are therefore, to me, more attractive.
I dislike having to carry a heavy rifle (anything over 7 pounds).
This will probably not be much of a consideration to you-- but means a lot to me.
I like the sar 1 and (the sar 2 even more). also the slr95.
All 3 rifles are in the same light wieght
range as the ruger mini 30
The sar 1 (7.62x39) [ak47] and
the sar 2 which is 5.45x39 [ak74] both have
open pistol grips with fixed wood butt stocks
and sell around 425.oo
The slr95 is thumbhole stock (all black
polymer) with muzzlebreak and sells 800.oo
to 900.oo
The last consideration is that the ruger mini 30 will probably be the last semi auto
in America to ever be banned seeing as how
Bill Ruger is such great buddies with Bill Klinton; or so I have heard.
Any ak is better that the ruger mini 30 or
mini 14-- because of the crome lined bore
and ease of dis assembly. Remember the ak is designed as a main battle rifle and he ruger minis are designed as hunter's toys.
Still though, the ruger mini 14 & 30 are good rifles-- just not as good as ak's.
I especially love the 5.45x39 [ak74] because of the very light recoil of the ammo not
bothering my shoulder autheritis much.
stell jacketed 7.62x39 can run $3.00 to $4.00
a box while you will pay &.00 to 9.oo per box
for copper jacketed 7.62x39
5.45x39 runs 4.50 to 6.00 box, not available in copper jacketed.
problem by buying one of each ak and also a mini 30.
I like the mini 30 because it is lighter in wieght than the standard pre 1988
ban ak. But, the ruger mini 30 has a 4140
barrel which is not crome lined and is not
a heavy barrel.
The mini 30 barrel is not designed for
continious rapid fire (such as full auto or
burst fire) and will warp and twist under these conditions; or so I have heard.
My mini 30 is semi auto only so this is not really a consideration for me; however, one
always strives to buy the best.
All ak barrels are crome lined and originally designed for machine gun service
so one might say that ak barrels are higher quality.
Ruger had made a heavier (machine gun
application) barrel at one time in the past
for law enforcement; but this barrel has not been available to civilians for many years,
now.
The current Ruger barrel is ok for semi
auto not at a constant fast rate. Needs more
time between shots to cool down as the lighter barrel cant take too much heat.
This is not a concern for me ,but could be for others.
Ammo--concerns--Russian ,east german & other
forien ammo can be corrosive and usually has steel jacketed bullet heads.
Place a magnet to the bullet head and if it attracts--it is steel jacketed.
The life span of the ruger barrel is 100,000
rounds of steel jacketed or 1 million rounds of copper jacketed.
The life span of the ak crome lined barrel is 300,000 rounds of steel jacketed or 3 million copper jackets.
So we see here that the ak barrel lasts 3 times longer due to the hardened crome lining. Also--the crome lining gives maximum resistance to corrosive powder while the ruger barrel will corode the first time that
you shoot corrosive powder and forget to clean it immediatly (within 8 hours of shooting it.)
New ak vairaints are lighter in wieght
that the pre 1988 ban models and are therefore, to me, more attractive.
I dislike having to carry a heavy rifle (anything over 7 pounds).
This will probably not be much of a consideration to you-- but means a lot to me.
I like the sar 1 and (the sar 2 even more). also the slr95.
All 3 rifles are in the same light wieght
range as the ruger mini 30
The sar 1 (7.62x39) [ak47] and
the sar 2 which is 5.45x39 [ak74] both have
open pistol grips with fixed wood butt stocks
and sell around 425.oo
The slr95 is thumbhole stock (all black
polymer) with muzzlebreak and sells 800.oo
to 900.oo
The last consideration is that the ruger mini 30 will probably be the last semi auto
in America to ever be banned seeing as how
Bill Ruger is such great buddies with Bill Klinton; or so I have heard.
Any ak is better that the ruger mini 30 or
mini 14-- because of the crome lined bore
and ease of dis assembly. Remember the ak is designed as a main battle rifle and he ruger minis are designed as hunter's toys.
Still though, the ruger mini 14 & 30 are good rifles-- just not as good as ak's.
I especially love the 5.45x39 [ak74] because of the very light recoil of the ammo not
bothering my shoulder autheritis much.
stell jacketed 7.62x39 can run $3.00 to $4.00
a box while you will pay &.00 to 9.oo per box
for copper jacketed 7.62x39
5.45x39 runs 4.50 to 6.00 box, not available in copper jacketed.
Destructo6
New member
If you're interested in high capacity mags, definately go with the AK. The mini-30 mags don't have quite the right curve for the 7.62x39 round. I'll echo the same as above.
If you want a really nice AK, buy a Saiga in 7.62x39 and send it to the AK guru, Mike Prewitt for some conversion. He'll modify it to use standard AK furniture (US parts made for Sec922r) and use standard AK mags if necessary. When he's done, you'll have one of the few standard config AKs that actually says, "Kalashnikov" on the receiver and made in Ismech[sp?] by the original manufacturer!
I've never shot a 5.45 AK, so I can't tell you how well that shoots, but being AK, I'll venture to say, "reliably."
If you want a really nice AK, buy a Saiga in 7.62x39 and send it to the AK guru, Mike Prewitt for some conversion. He'll modify it to use standard AK furniture (US parts made for Sec922r) and use standard AK mags if necessary. When he's done, you'll have one of the few standard config AKs that actually says, "Kalashnikov" on the receiver and made in Ismech[sp?] by the original manufacturer!
I've never shot a 5.45 AK, so I can't tell you how well that shoots, but being AK, I'll venture to say, "reliably."
Originally posted by ernest2:
"The life span of the ruger barrel is 100,000
rounds of steel jacketed or 1 million rounds of copper jacketed.
The life span of the ak crome lined barrel is 300,000 rounds of steel jacketed or 3 million copper jackets."
Just curious how you arrived at those barrel life projections. They sound pretty high to me.
[This message has been edited by Tom D (edited January 27, 2000).]
BUY THE AK!!! The Ruger is not accurate, cannot be reliably used in a "social" situation without changing mags every 5 rounds, costs about the same, and is nowhere near as reliable as an AK-47. I don't know from where these figures for hundreds of thousands or even millions of rounds of ammo through a barrel come, but that is not accurate. If you don't believe me, call any of the major custom barrel manufacturers in this country and you'll get the real life expectancy of a barrel. Most chrome lined barrels last from 8000-10000 rds, depending on rate of fire, barrel heat, weight of bullet and weight of powder charge. A GOOD stainless barrel will last from 4000-6000 rds. before experiencing serious degradation in accuracy, and a non chrome lined chromoly barrel will last about 20% less than a stainless, given the same conditions. The barrels about which I am speaking come from Lilja, Hart, McGowan, Douglas, Pac-Nor, Kreiger et al, and cost anywhere from $250 to $600, not the $15 piece of junk tacked onto a Ruger. Do yourself a favor and buy the AK. It has a long life chrome lined barrel which is at least as accurate as a Ruger Mini-30, but the chamber is chrome lined as well, which is very important if you're going to use steel cased ammo. Ruger chambers can be battered out of spec by steel cased ammo, and Ruger recommends that you not use this in their Mini-30. In addition, high capacity mags are cheap, reliable, and available for the AK, and that is not the case for the Mini-30.
Sorry for the rant, but I hate seeing misinformation put out when people are going to spend good money, and are being encouraged to purchase substandard products.
Mike
Sorry for the rant, but I hate seeing misinformation put out when people are going to spend good money, and are being encouraged to purchase substandard products.
Mike