mini 30 vs. 6.8 AR

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dvdcrr

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Along with an illuminated reticle scope, which rifle would you pick for general hunting small and medium game. Do you find the mini 30 to be reliable and enjoyable to shoot? Any reason why it would be better/worse than a 6.8 ?
 
Title of the OP says "6.8 AR". I ain't much for pistol grips on rifles, so I'd pick the mini 30, but you say "small game"? A little much for squirrel and rabbit I'm thinkin'. Oh, it'd kill 'em ok if you didn't wanna eat 'em and if you didn't care about bullets flying off in the ether after shooting at a squirrel which is almost always shot up in the trees. I have rimfires for that. :D

I also have a couple of SKSs, so really put the mini 30 out of my mind as a choice. I'm told they don't do well with surplus ammo and surplus ammo was MADE for the SKS/AK. I just think of the SKSs as semi auto .30-30s. Ballistics are about equal to the .30-30, 154 grain Wolf/Tula at 2200 fps from a 20" barrel. Pretty accurate, too.
 
Along with an illuminated reticle scope, which rifle would you pick for general hunting small and medium game. Do you find the mini 30 to be reliable and enjoyable to shoot? Any reason why it would be better/worse than a 6.8 ?
I find the Mini-30 reliable and enjoyable to shoot. I shoot brass ammo only and reload. Within the limitations of the cartridge it should be fine for hunting. Count on 2 MOA with good loads and maybe scope/red dot. Most knowledgeable (read picky) Mini-30 owners stick with boxer primed brass for best reliability.

I also own a Colt AR carbine in 7.62x39. Also reliable and enjoyable to shoot. I only shoot brass ammo and reload. 1 MOA with good loads/scope/red dot.

Sorry, no experience with 6.8 SPC, but I hope this helps.

M
 
I have wanted a mini for a long time but never bought. I am also pretty familiar with the AR ( via M16) but didn't get bit until I rolled the dice on a 6.8 SPC build. I think it fits my needs (and wants) perfectly.
 
Minis are over priced and not very accurate. They are nice guns for $400, not $600. Spend a little more and get a nice AR.
 
Oh yeah I had forgot about the 6.8 mini.
Mini-6.8s are discontinued and ones you find for sale will be 6.8 SPC not the more desireable 6.8 SPCII chamber. You could have the chamber reamed to new dimensions (I would).

Good luck

M
 
If you want to hunt, the 6.8 ballistics dominates the 7.62x39, by a wide margin

Its not close

I drop very large piggies with my Bison Armory 6.8


The price of the rifles are similar, with the 6.8 being a bit more


The one advantage it seems that would be an advantage is
cheap blasting ammo, that the 6.8 still doesnt have. You are still looking at
.75 to 1.00 a shot for the 6.8, unless you reload (I do)

However most people cant run the super cheap surplus through the mini 30
because of the firing pin set up

Lastly, most people report poor accuaracy in the mini 30. My 6.8 AR is SUB MOA, when I do my part


Good luck!
 
is it a common thing to accu-strut the mini 30 or is that only for the 223 version? Does it help?
 
I will reiterate. A lot of the old ideas about the Ruger Minis accuracy are incorrect. The new Mini-30 has much improved accuracy. Two MOA for 5 shots is fairly easy to attain and that's plenty accurate for game out to 200 yards, IMO.

The new tapered barrels help stiffen it and obviate the need for the strut. Same for the Mini-14. You can still add one but it may or may not offer a noticeable improvement. The barrel on the M-30 Tactical is plenty thick ahead of the gas block and adds good overall balance.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=760923 see post #8





M
 
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I've had a love affair with the Mini for many years but in todays market the AR has it all over the Mini in many aspects. I would choose the AR.
 
^^^ I would have to agree with that statement



M
 

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I like Minis, but AR's and AR parts are plentiful and inexpensive right now and the AR is the better rifle in terms of accuracy, aftermarket, optic mounting, and ergonomics.

Mini makes a lot more sense at $4-500, not their current going rate.
 
Two MOA for 5 shots is crap for a thousand dollar MSRP. No 6.8 anything on Ruger's site. 6.5 Creedmoor in bolt action only.
Anyway, if you want a rifle to play with and have a thousand bucks for a BNIB rifle, the Mini will do. A 6.8 AR will cost about the same money with all the excitement of finding ammo. Depending on where you are, of course.
 
My 6.8 SPCII AR is very accurate and with the right ammo should be able to take any medium size game up to white tail deer. You may not need or want it for a home defense gun, crap hit the fan gun, etc. but if needed for that purpose it would be a good choice as well. Hornady 120 SST is very accurate in mine and the Barnes TSX loads are excellent for take down. I have no experience at all with the mini's and can not offer an opinion on it. The only real down side that I can see with the 6.8SPCII is the availability and cost of loaded ammo unless you reload which I do not. Plenty of info available at the www.68forums.com
 
No question the AR in 6.8 over the Mini. However the AR in 6.5LBC would be my first choice. What type of game specifically? The .223 is plenty for anything up to and including whitetail out to 300yds and smaller game out to 600yds.
 
Mini 30s aren't $1000, except maybe at gun shows during a panic. More like $750-800. BTW, you can spend way north of $1000 on a semi-auto rifle and not get 2 MOA...

Besides, we don't even know what state the OP lives in...

M
 
The platforms are more different than the cartridges, besides the 7.62x39 mil-surp ammo if plinking is desired. I think it should come down to other factors the OP desires.

I think bolt action rifles' features are gaining ground on semi autos. Enough that the advantages of a bolt action like lighter weight, reliability, and accuracy are more significant.

By the way, I love my Mini in 6.8 and I reamed it out to SPC II. But it wouldn't be my first choice for hunting. I think of it as a 3/4 scale model battle rifle. Super cool but I don't expect it to be the best tool for any need I have.
 
is it a common thing to accu-strut the mini 30 or is that only for the 223 version? Does it help?
Struts helped my Mini 14 and 30.
I used TrueShot Technologies on mine- got a deal on them awhile back for much less than the Accu-Strut.
 
I can't speak for the Mini 30 but I will say that both my 14's (580/581) series Mini's have proven to be extremly reliable one has over 3000 rds through with zero malfunctions and yes it does shoot 1 1/2 to 2" @ 100 ...only work that was done was a trigger job and optics. This count includes both steel and brass I tried that in my AR's and neither would feed steel reliably! I know ,I know " I don't shoot steel in my AR " well I do and for me I don't buy guns to baby them ! Most people speak of the older series Mini's and there crappy accuracy and there right , but not so for the newer models WTS its NOT a bench rifle but for hunting inside 200 yrds they will work fine. I purchased a M14 (.308)this year and plan on using that for hunting its also a distant cousin of the Ruger you may want to consider.
 
I used a Mini-30 Stainless Ranch Rifle this season and could not be happier. Light, accurate for the shots that I would be taking with it (0-150 yards in the area I hunt), reliable, and comfortable to shoulder, shoot, and carry.

I hunted with a 6.8SPC years ago. Had two dramatic failures to put down deer at close range with well placed vitals hits. I sold that rifle after the season and will never own another 6.8SPC chambered rifle.
 
I hunted with a 6.8SPC years ago. Had two dramatic failures to put down deer at close range with well placed vitals hits. I sold that rifle after the season and will never own another 6.8SPC chambered rifle.


What bullets were you using? The 6.8SPC should have the 7.62x39 beat pretty well as far as velocity, sectional density and energy.
 
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