I've had a Ruger Mini 30 since they came out in the 1980s. I mounted a 1-4x variable on it and have killed quite a few deer with it over the years even though it is not near as good as a 30-30. Ballistics are claimed to be the same, but having killed many, many deer with a 30-30, the 7.69x39 doesn't measure up. Not saying it won't kill deer just saying the 30-30 with the heavier 150-170 gr bullets are much better than the typical 123 gr x39 pill. I've hand loaded both and the 30-30 is still much better. Pretty much stopped using the Mini for deer and it has sat in the safe for probably 10 years or so without getting any love.
However, recently I've been shooting a lot of iron sighted military rifles and have gotten fond of the peep and post sights. I was digging through the safe and saw the Mini. I thought why not? The Mini is kind of a pseudo military rifle and I've always enjoyed how it looked and feels. I took off the scope and took it up to my hunting property to see what it could do and to bang some steel out to 100 meters. I was consistently getting 3-4" groups with Hanson 123 gr FMJs but was shooting left and low about 4 inches. I was shooting prone off a mat with a GI web loop sling. Minis are notoriously inaccurate, (at least on the internet) but they are actually on par with most standard military rifles which is 4 MOA. Considering I was shooting unsupported, using 20+ year old .311 ammo in a .308 bore rifle with iron sights, I thought that little carbine did pretty well.
If you have a Mini ranch rifle you know the rear sight is the little flip up peep. Works ok as a peep sight but is kind of fragile and difficult to zero. My attempt at adjusting it for elevation ended up breaking the heads off the tiny screws rendering the sight useless.
Today I ordered a rear Tech Sight for my Mini. I use Tech Sights on both a 10/22 and a Marlin 795 as training rifles. They work real well on those and I am hoping it will give me what I am looking for, a good set of iron sights for my M30.
What I would really like is a front post sight with the wings like they have on the newer tactical minis. Does anyone know if those front sights can be retrofitted to an older Mini 30?
PS. before someone says Minis suck and to get an AK, SKS, AR etc, just know that I have multiples of all those plus an M1A, M1 Garand, M1 carbine and a bunch of other stuff.
However, recently I've been shooting a lot of iron sighted military rifles and have gotten fond of the peep and post sights. I was digging through the safe and saw the Mini. I thought why not? The Mini is kind of a pseudo military rifle and I've always enjoyed how it looked and feels. I took off the scope and took it up to my hunting property to see what it could do and to bang some steel out to 100 meters. I was consistently getting 3-4" groups with Hanson 123 gr FMJs but was shooting left and low about 4 inches. I was shooting prone off a mat with a GI web loop sling. Minis are notoriously inaccurate, (at least on the internet) but they are actually on par with most standard military rifles which is 4 MOA. Considering I was shooting unsupported, using 20+ year old .311 ammo in a .308 bore rifle with iron sights, I thought that little carbine did pretty well.
If you have a Mini ranch rifle you know the rear sight is the little flip up peep. Works ok as a peep sight but is kind of fragile and difficult to zero. My attempt at adjusting it for elevation ended up breaking the heads off the tiny screws rendering the sight useless.
Today I ordered a rear Tech Sight for my Mini. I use Tech Sights on both a 10/22 and a Marlin 795 as training rifles. They work real well on those and I am hoping it will give me what I am looking for, a good set of iron sights for my M30.
What I would really like is a front post sight with the wings like they have on the newer tactical minis. Does anyone know if those front sights can be retrofitted to an older Mini 30?
PS. before someone says Minis suck and to get an AK, SKS, AR etc, just know that I have multiples of all those plus an M1A, M1 Garand, M1 carbine and a bunch of other stuff.