Mini-30 Questions

D

DougB

New member
A friend of mine is debating between getting an SKS or a Mini-30. I'm considering a Mini-30 myself. We'd want to be able to shoot Wolf and other cheap ammo, but it seems like I heard that the Mini sometimes has problems with this. True? Anyone use Wolf regularly in their Mini-30?

Also, how tough is it to get decent 10-round magazines for the Mini-30? Any particular brands to recommend?

Other thoughts on Mini-30 vs. SKS? We live in California, so AK clones are not an option at this point (glad I got mine before the ban).

Doug
 
i shot wolf in mini14 223 without one problem function was excelent
not sure about the mini30 although my freind has one and he loves it although i know he shots surplus i don't know if he used wolf i can't see any problems
i sugest go with mini30 not sure about clips
i'll tell u one thing the mini30 is more acurate than any ak47 clone this i heard from an expert
but the mini can't mathch durability and reliability of a kalasnikov no mather how good
 
Mini30 more accurate than an AK clone? I seriously doubt that. The new Robarm Veprs are quite nice. The milled Rumanians are pretty good too. And the Valmets are outstanding (though very spendy).

Magazines are a real problem with the mini-30. I was at a carbine class where one of the other students had a mini-30. The only mag that he had that would feed worth a darn was a Ruger mag. And 10 round ruger mags are expensive and hard to find.

In contrast AK mags are plentiful and cheap.

But, as you said, AK clones are not an option. Given that, I'd probably say it's a toss up between a mini-30 and a Russian SKS. I'd pass on the Chinese SKS.

M1911
 
SKS

I would go with the SKS. It will cost you much less money. I shoot Wolf 122 grn. FMJ HP's in my Chinese SKS. Never once have I had a feed or ejection failure. I'm telling you, for the $100 I spent on this rifle (in 1991) and the low cost of 7.62x39 ammo, it's hard to beat the cost effectiveness of the SKS.

Just my .02

kgs.
 
SKS. Why? For several hundred dollars less you'll get a perfectly good rifle with a 10 round mag that will never malfunction the way most aftermarket mini 14/30 magazines do.
 
I vote the SKS you never need to worry about reliable magazines. An SKS is a 10rd 30/30 with stripper clipps. The reason to "not" get a Mini 30 is the fact your going to end up with a 5rd semi auto. I'm a Mini 14 lover so I'm not bashing the M1 Design. Ask yourself this question "Do you want to shoot cheap surplus ammo with a 5rd magazine or with a 10rd magazine" Get the SKS!
 
Have to agree, even the cheaper AK's group better than the Mini-30's. And if you have a milled Bulgarian AK, the difference is like night and day over the Ruger.
 
DougB, In answer to your ammo question:
I "had" a Mini30 and it would not fire Wolf and some other imports that had hard primers "reliably". However, I did find some Romanian stuff that worked 100% of the time.

My SKS and a Ruger M77 MKII in 7.62x39 that I still own both are 100% reliable with Wolf as well as all the other imports that I have tried.

They say you can fix the Mini30 with a "heavy" Wolf spring, but that trigger was so heavy already that I can't imagine that doing much good for trigger control. Still for blasting I guess it would be ok.

My Mini30 would never group 5 shots under 4 inches using a 2-7 power scope, with the "cheap" SKS I can do that good with open sights. Same ammo, the MKII shoots 5 shots at under 2 inches at 100 yards. k
 
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