[tomcat4638]

Hello again everybody! Finally got the rifle. Decided on the 30 with the synthetic stock. I just got back from the range and couldn't be happier. I was amazed at the accuracy right out of the box with no work or scope! I must say I am very pleased. Used the wolf ammo and it really sucked though. Any suggestions on a "low cost" ammo that doesn't misfire almost every 3rd or 4th round? It really got irritating. But the rifle itself i couldn't be happier with. Any suggestions on reliable hi cap mag brands? Thank you for the suggestions in helping me make my decision. Keep 'em coming please!

 

[cajungeo]

Hey tomcat. Glad you like your new mini-30. Maby you could try some PMC I've heard from some members it shoots well.

I'm shure some other mini-30 owners can give ya some ideas.

 

[va hunter]

Tomcat, I have never had a misfire using wolf ammo in my mini 14.I wonnder what the deal is with mini 30 ammo?

 

[Bill S.]

Tomcat,
My Mini 30 is also fairly new, 3 months old. It's the same with Wolf ammo, or any other ammo with berdan primers. Maybe all the new Mini 30's are made with cheaper, lower cost firing pins. I don't know what Ruger has been up to, or what they're thinking. I'm gonna to start looking for an aftermarket firing pin. Maybe one that's strong enough to handle both berdan and boxer primed ammo. Here where I live , 20 miles east from L.A., there's a gun shop that sells PMC Target Ammo for 5$. It was a big disappointment for me when I realized I wasn't gonna to be able to shoot Wolf ammo. 1.99$ a box. 69.95 for 1000 rounds at the gun show. Oh it's killing me! The other day at the shooting range, there was this guy there with his AK-47, 40 round banana clip, shot them all nonstop, not one misfire. Wolf ammo of course. I still love my Mini 30 though, just wanna change that firing pin.:cannon:

 

[ogre]

Use the south african ammo. Works great in my mini-30 and it never misfired on me even with the berdan primer. On the other hand if you can find some S&B in that caliber in bulk for a relatively low price...GRAB IT!

 

[SKS182]

Hey Tomcat,

I shoot alot of old russian stuff (prewolf days) as well as wolf in my mini. I do occasionally get a misfire. It's my understanding it is because the ammo has harder primers. I know it can be a pain but at 1.99 a box or so you can't beat it. Also, the misfires will go off when you run them through a second time. After every misfire give it a little time however before ejecting just to make sure it's not a "hang fire". I'm sure you know that though. By the way, I've found that the russian stuff is generally the most consistant accurracy wise. I can get better groups with some other brands of commercial ammo but not cosistantly better groups. The commercial ammo seems to be more suseptible to poorer accurracy when the barrel heats up.

Brett:rapid:

 

[Geno]

The best 7.62x39 ammo out there is Cheetah sold by www.vectorarms.com is brass cased non corrosive made in Africa. Forget hi caps for the mini 30 and try the 10 round ProMag magazines, they are excellent quality and work well.

 

[Dave]

The way to make hi caps work is to put on a new barrel. I know, high price to pay but it works. The feed ramp or throat is shaped totally different then factory. Look at the factory and you will notice sharp right angel edges. Shillen or high dollar barrels are smoother and tapered. Any handloads I make up feed fine. Even SPEER .308 hollow point 110 grain. They have a flying ashtray profile. If anything would have trouble feeding this would be it. The Russian small hollow points used to snag on one of the sharp angles occasionally, but not now.

 

[Grinch]

Hey guys,
I don't have a mini-30, but an extra power hammer spring cured the misfires my mini 14 was giving me. Just a thought, check it out if you like.
www.gunsprings.com

 

[tomcat4638]

Thanks everyone. I have heard on this forum that the south african is good. Like Bill S. says, it's a shame because the wolf is so dirt cheap! Maybe i'll look into the firing pin, any suggestions? For now, I'll use up the rest of the wolf and just deal with it. At least it DOES shoot the rounds the second time, but that takes away from the fun! Thanks again guys!:usa:

 

[special poop]

your post gave me a thought - and I have no explanation for this - but when my mini 30 was new and I used wolf ammo, I too had a few misfires (a few more than I cared too anyway). these days, 2-3000 rounds later, I still use the wolf and I get maybe one in a hundred. I'm not sure if there is a "break-in" period for the pin or the spring, but it seemed to improve over time. in the interim I found the PMC to be reliable and more accurate (but expensive by comparison). I use Wolf now and don't have a worry in the world.

 

[hanksr]

I saw another post on here where a couple people bought aftermarket firing pins and they both broke shortly after. I doubt that they are all like that but it is something to think about.

 

[tomcat4638]

Thanks special poop. I still have 400 rounds to shoot and will do quite a bit of it this weekend, so hopefully it does get better. It misfires literally every 3rd or 4th round! Thanks hanksr for the tip about the firing pin, i'll take it into consideration. :usa:

 

[cajungeo]

Just a thought tomcat. Are you using an aftermarket mag or the Ruger?

 

[Tankcommander]

My mini -30 was bought used made in late 1999 and wolf never gave me a problem. As mentioned in another thread Barnual with the cowboy has worked well for me.

TC:rapid: I don't like the new set up for Smilies doesn't always work I'll use commanders weapon station instead.

 

[tomcat4638]

Yeah, it was the ruger mag, not an aftermarket. I'm hoping that with time it will be o.k. I just ordered three 10 round pro mags from fourfourmag.com, heard some good stuff on this site about them and their return policy, ordered them monday night, hoping to get them by saturday, going to be some fine shooting weather here in NY. Take care all. Thanks.:usa:

 

[acerman]

I'm having the misfire blues with my mini-30 using Wolf ammo.I'm going to try the Wolf hammer spring.

Anyone have a name for aftermarket firing pins?

How do you remove the firing pin from the bolt on a Mini(new version mini-30)??

 

[Camera man]

My mini 30 loves anythng made by Barnual. That's all I shoot out of it. A buddy of mine, that is a better bench shooter than I got a 3 shot group of .85 with it. ONE time. Most times its around 1 1/2 in. at 100.

I even use Barnual 123 SP to deer hunt with. Took a nice doe at 90 yards last year. She never took a step after the round hit her.

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

Geno - I checked Vector's site and the Cheetah ammo wasn't liisted, sold out maybe?
I've seen it a time or 2 other places - I'm thinking it is made by PMP, S. African company?
I've had great results with Lapua FMJ (shoots great, clean burning and hot loaded) I got from 'auction arms' site. 300 rds @ 100$$ plus shpg. a little more (about 1.5X) than any Russki ammo but the brass is absolutely the best for re-loaders.

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

Hello again everybody! Finally got the rifle. Decided on the 30 with the synthetic stock. I just got back from the range and couldn't be happier. I was amazed at the accuracy right out of the box with no work or scope! I must say I am very pleased. Used the wolf ammo and it really sucked though. Any suggestions on a "low cost" ammo that doesn't misfire almost every 3rd or 4th round? It really got irritating. But the rifle itself i couldn't be happier with. Any suggestions on reliable hi cap mag brands? Thank you for the suggestions in helping me make my decision. Keep 'em coming please!

tomcat - the 'American' brand 10 rd mags are flawless and come in S/S as well as blued. I also have ProMag 10's that do great. for ammo try the Lapua I mentioned previous post, it is darn good stuff - save the brass some handloader will buy it. it is the best brass made IMO for the X39.