Mini 30 and Gunbroker

I bought my Mini-14 from Bud’s some time ago.

Sight unseen you worry a little, but all turned out well, very happy with it.

My advice is to give the gun a real good looking over before you fill out the Federal form, at that point it’s yours, regardless.

Don’t buy from any gunbroker seller with zero or 1 feedback. Check them out thoroughly. Don’t pay with Zelle or bitcoin

https://grabagun.com/firearms/rifles/semi-automatic-rifles/ruger-mini-30-tactical-7-62x39-20rd.html
Grabagun.com has them in stock and they are a reputable dealer. I've bought several firearms from them and their customer service is excellent.

They are nice guns, but the factory trigger is pretty rough and creepy. Easier to mount a scope on a Mini30 than an AK.
Factory magazines are pricey and aftermarket units are mostly junk.

Im sure you'll like it. What did it run ya?

NIGHTLORD40K said:

They are nice guns, but the factory trigger is pretty rough and creepy. Easier to mount a scope on a Mini30 than an AK.
Factory magazines are pricey and aftermarket units are mostly junk.

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There is a solution to that trigger. It just needs to have the secondary sear stoned. The secondary sear spring can also be clipped to bring the trigger weight down to 4.5#. There is a video on YT by Gunblue490 that details the process very well. It's extraordinarily easy. If you don't have a stone or stones, I suggest a stone set like the one described as "CBRIGHT Sharpening Stone Set,7pcs Knife Whetstone Set Green Silicon Carbide Oil Stone Honing Stone." It fits perfectly.

I also recommend a Tech Sight rear sight. The stock one is good, but difficult to adjust. If you only ever shoot Global Ordnance, then maybe set it and forget it. If you shoot any variety of ammo and expect to re-zero, the Tech Sight is well worth it unless you're going to use some kind of optic.

The Mini comes with Ruger-type scope rings and with a rail that will mount to the receiver the same way. This rail could be used for a larger carbine-style red dot. For pistol-type mini red dots, I like the Samson mfg. Hannibal rail that replaces the handguard. It clamps to the barrel so that it holds zero better than a AK dustcover style mount.

Given the Mini's more traditional drop at heel I prefer a low-mounted optic vs. the high-mounted AR optics that suit the zero drop stocks. Because of that, I like the Tech Sight and the mini red dots (RMR, SRO, ACRO) vs. the taller optics (LPVO, MRO, Aimpoint COMP series, etc.)

I bought this Mini 30 Tactical several years ago when CDNN was blowing them out at $700.00 and free shipping and no sales tax.

It’s a good shooter and 100% reliable with Russian steel cased ammo.

I bought this Mini 30 Ranch Rifle during the height of COVID at my LGS for about what I paid for the Tactical (seeing’s how they were practically giving it away price wise reference the panic of the time, I had to buy it)


It too has been a great shooter and 100% reliable with Russian Steel cased ammo as well. I replaced the factory wood stock with the hogue rubberized to prevent scuffs and scratches from desert use.

I personally believe the OP will enjoy his purchase and I’m sure he will find it more than serviceable and accurate at moderate ranges.

Congrats on your purchase and do share your thoughts on how it performs.

wmgeorge said:

List price, when Nobody has one you do not get discounts.

Click to expand...

Man goes into a store looking for jeans. He finds a pair he likes, but stops when he sees the price tag.

MAN: "Seventy-five dollars for these jeans? They're only forty at Bargain Mart!"
SALESMAN: "So go buy them at Bargain Mart."
MAN: "They don't have any."

The Mini -30 is a great rifle/carbine .. I have owned several over the years .. actually have taken several whitetails using Remington 125gr SP ..

I have a couple of SKS’s that are absolutely wonderful… but .. if I ran across a good deal on a Mini-30 .. Id grab one up

When I worked for a law enforcement agency in the late 70s early 80s we were issued Mini 14s at times. Thought it was a handy little carbine for what it was intended. I am a deer hunter so as much as I liked the Mini it wasn't something I had a personal use for. Ruger teased with the 308 version and then brought out the Mini 30 which was/is a pretty good brush gun. Only came with 5 round mags at the time.

I bought one when they first came out and used it as a back up deer rifle. Mostly used to take doe/harvest meat after taking my buck with something else. I have killed a few bucks with it but mostly doe. Probably a dozen or so since the 80's.

I've never found the 7.62x39 particularly good for deer. It's okay at short range but there are many other better deer cartridges out there so I've exchanged the scope for Tech Sights and have relegated my 30 as a plinker, backup SD and/or truck gun. It's still a fun little carbine to shoot.

I always liked conventional styled rifles. Top to bottom a Keltec SU16 in 223, Saiga sporter in 7.62x30, Mini 30 w/tech sights and a WWII M1 Carbine

I hope you enjoy the Mini30. Don't discount the 7.62-39 as a hunting cartridge. It's performed just fine on deer and hogs under 200 yards for me.

Congrats on your Mini-30. I bought mine new 33 years ago and it still rocks. It came to something under $500.00 including taxes back then. I paid a little too much for the time, but they weren't easy to find in my area. There was one in the whole county... and I got it!

Mine eats steel case as well as brass. Not all of them do. Mine always did, but a few years ago I put the longer aftermarket firing pin in it from firingpins.com just to be sure it would digest whatever ammo that would be available in the future. There are a couple other aftermarket firing pins out there. The one from firingpins.com is the only one I can recommend.

Product Number 2470
https://www.firingpins.com/ruger-mini-14-firing-pin-2470

There's a lot of berdan primed 7.62x39 in brass and steel case that's not made in Russia. Some of my favorite steel case is made in Russia though. I bought a lot of it to stack deep over the years, but it didn't cost what it does now. It'll come around again when Putin and his inner circle die by firing squad on Red Square. Russia and the west will kiss and make up, but it will take a while this time.

Enjoy your Mini-30. Mine's been good to me.

Beck said:

Congrats on your Mini-30. I bought mine new 33 years ago and it still rocks. It came to something under $500.00 including taxes back then. I paid a little too much for the time, but they weren't easy to find in my area. There was one in the whole county... and I got it!

Mine eats steel case as well as brass. Not all of them do. Mine always did, but a few years ago I put the longer aftermarket firing pin in it from firingpins.com just to be sure it would digest whatever ammo that would be available in the future. There are a couple other aftermarket firing pins out there. The one from firingpins.com is the only one I can recommend.

Product Number 2470
https://www.firingpins.com/ruger-mini-14-firing-pin-2470
https://www.firingpins.com/ruger-mini-14-firing-pin-2470
There's a lot of berdan primed 7.62x39 in brass and steel case that's not made in Russia. Some of my favorite steel case is made in Russia though. I bought a lot of it to stack deep over the years, but it didn't cost what it does now. It'll come around again when Putin and his inner circle die by firing squad on Red Square. Russia and the west will kiss and make up, but it will take a while this time.

Enjoy your Mini-30. Mine's been good to me.

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$73.00? Those look great and I would love to buy a couple, but that is juuust a little bit spicy for me right now. Maybe after I am done spending my cash building a pergola in the yard.

I put in a Wolff extra power hammer spring in my older Mini-30 and Mini-14 after a couple of FTF with the Mini-14 using Russian ammo. After the swap there have been zero FTF. The trigger pull is a touch heavier, but the guns do what I expect them to do so I can live with a less than match grade trigger. (They are smooth though.)

OP, nice gun. You will have a great time shooting it. As was stated above; Ruger factory magazines are the way to go. Aftermarket ones have been hit or miss with me over the 25-odd years I have owned minis. (Mostly miss.)

Let us know how it shoots for you when you get a chance to take it out.

Stay safe.

Are the modern post sights a bit thinner than in the 2005-vintage Mini 30s?

How about the trigger? These were my main complaints when I had one in 2008.

Riomouse911 said:

$73.00? Those look great and I would love to buy a couple, but that is juuust a little bit spicy for me right now. Maybe after I am done spending my cash building a pergola in the yard.

I put in a Wolff extra power hammer spring in my older Mini-30 and Mini-14 after a couple of FTF with the Mini-14 using Russian ammo. After the swap there have been zero FTF. The trigger pull is a touch heavier, but the guns do what I expect them to do so I can live with a less than match grade trigger. (They are smooth though.)

Stay safe.

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Build a pergola in the yard first for sure. Glad the Wolff spring is working for ya.

Yeah, the pins have really gone up in price. I bought mine for half the current price when the company was called 'Iron Sight Precision.' They were unavailable for a long time once the pandemic hit.

The Wolff spring works in many cases, but like you observed it does add a bit to the trigger pull. If the factory pin is on the short side of the factory spec, the wolff spring might not help much at all with berdan primers.

Ruger's Mini-30 factory pin protrusion is unusually short, so the aftermarket pin will address the root problem. I bought the Wolff spring, but I've not used it. It's in my spare parts box just in case. One thing I've learned about the Ruger Mini is that some really cool accessories and aftermarket parts will come along, but be discontinued later never to be seen again. So I'll buy things for possible future use even if I don't need it now.

Ignition Override said:

Are the modern post sights a bit thinner than in the 2005-vintage Mini 30s?

How about the trigger? These were my main complaints when I had one in 2008.

Click to expand...

Sights and trigger are about the same since then. Minis can all use a trigger job, but that is no more expensive to have done than buying aftermarket triggers that are so popular with other firearms.

I had trigger work done on mine about 1990ish. It's been a pleasure to shoot. So the trigger has al kinds of potential. It just doesn't come from the factory as refined as it could be.

The early factory front blade was even thicker. I got into aftermarket combination sight/flash hiders early on and ditched the factory front sight.

I think you'll like it. I've had one since the late 80s. After seeing your post I pulled it out of the safe, cleaned it and took it to the range. It still goes bang every time. I just got a sear spring from M-CARBO $13 that I plan to install. I just put one of their trigger return springs in my new Ruger American Ranch/5.56 and it went from 4 1/2 to 2 3/4#, so I expect some improvement in my Mini. I put an extra power hammer spring and an aftermarket firing pin in it years ago. It would fail to fire wolf steel cased ammo with a stock spring. Back then talk was the extra power hammer spring would deform the firing pin over time. Mine is a 50 yard gun but I like it as a plinker with cheap ammo, at least it used to be cheap and I have enough to last me a good while. I have the Hogue stock which I like. It sounds like Ruger has made some good changes to improve accuracy which is good. I've used the stock irons, several scopes but settled on a SIG red dot I won as a door prize which is great for my use. I bought just about every aftermarket mag for it when Ruger only made 10 rounders, none of them were reliable. When Ruger did make the larger cap mags I bought a few and all have been reliable. Good luck and have fun with it!

toivo said:

Man goes into a store looking for jeans. He finds a pair he likes, but stops when he sees the price tag.

MAN: "Seventy-five dollars for these jeans? They're only forty at Bargain Mart!"
SALESMAN: "So go buy them at Bargain Mart."
MAN: "They don't have any."

Click to expand...

I was a partner in a retail store for a while.

When people would say that to me I would tell them that “$40” was our price when we were out of the item also.

You may wish to see if there are any local FFL-holders nearby. They can search around and order. They may already know a wholesaler who treats them best; maybe they've got an ongoing relationship (?). If the FFL-holder is using their own home as their "office", then you've not got their brick'n'morter lease cost added to your product cost.