And if I have my facts right. The reason the mini 30 in 7.62 x 39 is not the most accurate rifle is that the bbl that is used in the mini 30 was actualy set up for the XGI. Ruger shelved the XGI due to chamber pressure problems. But when the 7.62 x 39 round became popular, they pulled it back out. They save some $ on R & D and used the numbers form the 308 round for the mini 30.
Magnum Mini?
Is it possible to ream the chamber of the Mini-30 to a more powerful .308 cartridge? I Know that the magazine length and head diameter are the limiting factors so I was specifically thinking in terms of a 7.62x39 improved for possibly 200 or so more fps. Anyone ever heard of this being attempted?
1 - 4 of 22 Posts
I do not know the #'s but the bbl of the XGI is, I think .308 and the 7.62 x 39 bullet is .311 or vise versa. The 2 bullets are not the same size and that's one of the big reasons for the rifle not be as good as it could. I read a good report matching up a new $400.00 mini 30 the a 3 x 9 x 40 scope and a used $89.00 Chi-com SKS with just iron sites. The SKS shot rings around the mini 30. They both where shot off the same rest at 100 yrds. The answer was that the SKS bbl was made for the x 39 round and the mini was made for the 308. At the end of the write up, the guy said if you are wanting a nice cheep deer rifle, save you $ and but the SKS.
A little more to chew on and I'll look for more.
The 7.62 x 39 cartridge has been so related to military use, that it is rarely thought
of as a sporting cartridge. And because of it’s military ammo, it is rarely
used hunting. Now a number of AK 47s and their clones I’m sure are
used for small game and varmints....but generally it is not thought of in
that sense. Since over 50 countries now use the caliber for their military,
near a dozen manufacturing sites up to a few years ago were in
existence...and estimates that since it’s inception in
1941/42....approximately 50,000,000 AK47 type rifles have been
manufactured. The thinking of it as purely military is obvious. Too bad I
found it to be an excellent game round up to the size of deer and black
bear. Just like it’s American rimmed counterpart the 30-30.
It’s bullet size is .311 mostly...I have found some military stuff loaded
with .313 caliber, like some of the older Wolf Russian ammo that gave
good accuracy.... and some Korean stuff that was worthless. It is popular
to recommend .308 jacketed slugs for it. Yes I agree and yet not
completely. Any time you use a smaller diameter bullet then the bore it’s
fired in, the bullet has to expand on ignition and fill the rifling or it will be
inaccurate.
The 7.62 x 39 cartridge has been so related to military use, that it is rarely thought
of as a sporting cartridge. And because of it’s military ammo, it is rarely
used hunting. Now a number of AK 47s and their clones I’m sure are
used for small game and varmints....but generally it is not thought of in
that sense. Since over 50 countries now use the caliber for their military,
near a dozen manufacturing sites up to a few years ago were in
existence...and estimates that since it’s inception in
1941/42....approximately 50,000,000 AK47 type rifles have been
manufactured. The thinking of it as purely military is obvious. Too bad I
found it to be an excellent game round up to the size of deer and black
bear. Just like it’s American rimmed counterpart the 30-30.
It’s bullet size is .311 mostly...I have found some military stuff loaded
with .313 caliber, like some of the older Wolf Russian ammo that gave
good accuracy.... and some Korean stuff that was worthless. It is popular
to recommend .308 jacketed slugs for it. Yes I agree and yet not
completely. Any time you use a smaller diameter bullet then the bore it’s
fired in, the bullet has to expand on ignition and fill the rifling or it will be
inaccurate.
Here is the chart I was looking for
http://www2.rpa.net/~bologna/dims.htm
Average Groove Diameter
.2825"
30 M1 Carbine
.308"
.308"
30-30 Winchester
.308"
.308"
30-40 Krag
.308"
.3095"
7.5 X 55 Swiss
.308"
-
300 Savage
.308"
.3075"-.309"
307 Winchester
.308"
-
308 Winchester
.308"
.308"
7.62MM NATO
.308"
-
30/06
.308"
.308"
300 H&H
.308"
.308"
308 Norma Magnum
.308"
.308"
300 Winchester Magnum
.308"
.308"
300 Weatherby Magnum
.308"
.3075"
7.62 X 39MM Russian
.311"
.310"-.311"
7.62 X 54R Russian
.308"-.310"
.308"-.312"
7.7 X 58MM Japanese
.311"
-
303 British
.311"
.308"-.317"
7.65 X 53MM Mauser
.312"-.313"
http://www2.rpa.net/~bologna/dims.htm
Average Groove Diameter
.2825"
30 M1 Carbine
.308"
.308"
30-30 Winchester
.308"
.308"
30-40 Krag
.308"
.3095"
7.5 X 55 Swiss
.308"
-
300 Savage
.308"
.3075"-.309"
307 Winchester
.308"
-
308 Winchester
.308"
.308"
7.62MM NATO
.308"
-
30/06
.308"
.308"
300 H&H
.308"
.308"
308 Norma Magnum
.308"
.308"
300 Winchester Magnum
.308"
.308"
300 Weatherby Magnum
.308"
.3075"
7.62 X 39MM Russian
.311"
.310"-.311"
7.62 X 54R Russian
.308"-.310"
.308"-.312"
7.7 X 58MM Japanese
.311"
-
303 British
.311"
.308"-.317"
7.65 X 53MM Mauser
.312"-.313"
1 - 4 of 22 Posts
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