ScottFisher

I was thinking of getting a Ruger Mini 30 for hunting in Saskatchewan, whats the accuraccy/relyability of these rifles, the 7.62x39 is a 308 isnt it??

ScottFisher

BT

I have shot a few they never jamed. The acecy is so so 2in groups some times more with some surplus ammo 4+in groups poped up. the 7.62x39 Is the sks\ak round its on par witha 30-30 in power Its counted as a 30 cal. .308 dimater bullets but in original loading "non american up.312 in dimater. the 308 win. Round or 7.62 NATO and I think"7.62x51mm" is alot stronger round.

JagMagMan

I don't even think that the .30 cal. is on par with a 30-30! There are many better calibers to use on whitetail deer. So, while you are buying a gun anyway, don't handicap yourself with a poor caliber. Get a good one to start out with and you won't have to be sorry later! A 7MM-08, .308, .270, or a 30-06 would be very good choices among others!Even the lighter calibers such as the .243 on up to the calibers that I mentioned before would be better choices than the .30 cal.!

BT

Frank --The min 30 is a 7.62x39mm Not the 30 cal. carbine. its a russan 30 cal. "when i referd to 30 cal. I was talking of the .308 to the russan .312 bullet dimiter all of them are in the 30 cal. Family like 30-06 308 300 mag and such all 30 cal." The easion i put all that in was i as not sure if he was asking if it was a 308 in dimater"30 cal" or if he was asking if it was a 308 win cal.----the 7.62x39mm is very close in power to the 30-30 where its less powerfull comes from the 123gr bullet compaed to the 150-170 gr bullet of the 30-30.

JagMagMan

BT, you are right about the differences between the .30 and the 7.62X39. It does have more power than the .30 cal.
However in the cheaper guns the accuracy can be less than desirable. I just think that while he is buying a gun, it would be better to get a good one to start with!

Briman

For the $500-600 a mini thirty would cost, you could buy a really nice hunting rifle chambered in a good, powerful hunting round. 7.62x39 is pretty cheap to shoot but it might be difficult to find soft point loads that can be used for hunting. Like others said, 30-30 would be a much better choice at the very least for hunting.

hunt4fun1

Prolly not the best gun to hunt deer with. It's not the most acurate rifle either. But, if you want reliability, you'll get that.
I have never had a malfuntion with mine. Had it for years.

soarkrebel

i got rid of mine . didnt like it if i want to go out and shoot up alot ammo i take my mini14. it is inferior to a 30/30 (look in reloading manuels). i got a 243 youth for my son it is far better than the 7.62 x39. plus i would rather him learn to shoot a bolt action where he has usually one good shot. make it count and make it good. for fun they are ok i guess i never took mine hunting even on our little s. ark deer.

Mark whiz

The Mini- 30s & 14s are great playtoys - fun & cheap to shoot...........but not the best choices for a serious hunting gun. You're not going to see groups better than 2-3" at 100yds and you're probably not going to want to use it to hunt any further than that.

They work fine at closer ranges......I've seen one of these 7.62X39 rounds blow 1/2 the head off of a wild hog at around 25yds - quite impressive.

If you want a serious semi-auto hunting rifle, spend just a few more $$$s on a BAR in .270 or 30-06 - much more accurate and devastating for the hunt. (Then get yourself a Ruger 10-22 as a cheap playtoy <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle> )

gun4hire35

I think Mark pretty much summed it up. I used a mini 30 this year for deer, it makes an excellent brush gun.They aren't very accurate 1 1/2 inch groups at 100 yards. If your taking longer shots get a Remington 700 or some other Bolt action. If your using it as a brush gun it good then.