I'm thinking after my .243AI is finished I want to get a Mini for a "throw in the truck" type of gun. Used mainly for coyotes, and the occasional deer. I think I could load up the SPC with 110gr. TSX's for a great deer load. But I don't really know anything about the 7.62x39...? What do you guys think?

That is a russian round,Bullet weights are around 100 to 150 grains..
Muzzle velocitys run about 2650 fps down to around 1800 fps depending
on your choice of bullet..If you get one,stay away from some of the older
ammo..They used steel cases and they will stick in the chamber..

Bullet dia. can be anywhere from ..308 to .312 is some of the older rilfes..

The 6.8 is more powerfull.Basically a .270 bullet on a shortened 30Rem case.A nice 7.62x39 is the BA CZ carbine.You end up with 30-30 power roughly.........Harold

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To put the 7.62X39mm into perspective, think of it as a shortened, rimless .30/30. It will fire bullets of the same weight as the .30/30 at very similar velocities using comparable powder charges. Out to 200 yards, it is just as deadly as a .30/30 and is good for the same sort of game. I believe your thinking about the 6.8 SPC is correct, but I do not think it would be any better for deer and coyotes than the 7.62X39mm. The Russian round is available anywhere in the world, and some of the ammo is very cheap even today. In a rifle like the CZ 527, the 7.62X39mm is as accurate as any cartridge, if good bullets are used. One thing about the 6.8 SPC is that there aren't just tons of rifles made for it, and it is NOT a popular chambering, yet. I don't know if it will ever be popular, or even if it will survive.

I have had terrible accuracy problemsusing the Mini-30 and the Mini-14. I have heard rumors that Ruger has finally figured out how to make them so they are reasonably accurate. I don't know if this is true, but I will never buy another one until I see proof that the accuracy problems with them have been fixed. However, the CZ 527 is something else again!

Unless you just want that type of a weapon I think you would be better served with a 30-30 lever action carbine or a youth model bolt gun with a shorter barrel.

I have just heard too many bad things about these guns to pony up that kind of money for one. You could get a beat up SKS as well, and it may be more accurate, plus you have that nifty spike at the end.

Paul

I would like an SKS or an AR, but I live in California. I already have a 30-30 lever action. I'm just looking for something a little different, I'm sure it will be accurate enough for what I need it for, then eventually I'll probably re-barrel it anyway.

You can't get either of those in california now? I thought the weapons ban was over. That is actually where I lived when I owned my SKS and AK, but that was 20 years ago.

So you basically just want one because you like the looks of it. Nothing wrong with that in my opinion, it is America after all. I would suggest the 7.62x39 just for the ease of use factor. They are flat out fun to shoot as well.

Paul

No, not the looks of it, I actually think the look kinda goofy. I just think a short, semi-auto, super reliable rifle would be just perfect to throw in the truck on the way to go cut some wood or something. And I think they are a blast to shoot.

The Federal Ban ended, but not the California ban. I did find loophole for the AR's (thats how I built the one I have), but the law is so complicated I don't want to carry it around in the truck with me, just too many LE's that don't know the law.

Even the Ruger Mini-14 Target rifle (thumbhole stock) is illegal here. [:@]

"just too many LE's that don't know the law."


Absolutely correct! And not just in CA, either!