If you would like to support mixup98 so I can continue to make videos please visit my Patreon link below: www.patreon.com/user?u=5757796 My friend Benjamin shoots a Mini-30 for the very first time. Should you buy one or not?
Jason.....I've owned several AK's over the years but they've been sold or traded. Still got my Mini-30 though. I love my AR but the 7.62x39 hits a lot harder and it's a blast to shoot. I also don't like a lot of gizmos on my guns. Plain and simple....just like me :) Thanks for watching.
Ruger, an American company that puts out lots of quality firearms. Love to see that guy Benjamins face after firing the rifle. Looks like you made his day by allowing him to try out your rifle. Thanks for the video!
Years ago Ruger worked on making a .308 semi-auto rifle but they just couldn't get it to work properly and the project was discontinued. The Cali fellow, Benjamin, was shooting an old Winchester .22 rifle when I met him at the range. I've done several videos with Ben and I hope to do a few more next spring with him. He's a good guy. Thanks for watching and commenting on my video.
@@iowa_lot_to_travel9471 I almost bought a Ruger SFAR last week but I waited too long and it was sold. Maybe I will find another one, pick it up, and do a review on it. Should be lots of fun.
My Mini-30 shoots Russian and Chinese steel case ammo just fine. That is about all I shoot in my Mini. I have another Mini-30 video on RU-vid where all I shoot is steel cased ammo. You may want to check it out. It's titled "The Ultimate Ruger Mini-30". European ammo typically have hard primers and occasionally I will have a round that won't fire unless it is hit a second time, otherwise, for me, the ammo is cheap and I shoot a lot of it. Good luck and thanks for watching my video.
Cheap ammo, hard hitting, nice styling, as much real-world effective range as iron sights allow. Great for hogs, deer, plinking, home defense. What's not to like?
Man I wish I was American. I sure as hell wasn't born in the right place :/ , it's almost impossible to get on of these out there, even for hunters or lawmen (and I'm neither). Got to get it in Belgium and smuggle it through the border, but I'm a law-abiding kinda guy. Greetings from France man
+KurwaRomek ...come to America (Nevada) and we'll go shooting, throw some shrimp on the barbie and have a great time. Heck, we will even make a couple of shooting videos and put them on youtube.
+mixup98 That would me my utmost pleasure sir! But I've never fired a gun in my life, so it would take a bit of teaching. In that case I'll teach you how to cook french stuff, food's the best thing you can get out of a frenchman ;)
+zackroo1 Lol you know it! Sorry for the lateness of the answer but I couldn't find back the video your comment was in. Well, we're not quite there (yet), but you can be sure they'll go and try to shove their antiquated BS down our throats. And when we'll fight back they'll try to guilt-trip us, because that's the way they operate. Sh*t's getting old, believe me. At any rate I'll get my hands on something ;) 2nd amendment or not I won't be a victim. God bless y'all! Long live the Free!
I use 20 round mags in my video which I bought at MidwayUSA. The mags are available to the public. And for the record...I bought my Mini-30 brand new in 1997 for $375. When I need a real battle rifle I turn to my FN FAL 7.62 NATO smei-auto. That is a real battle rifle.
I've had mine since the mid 80's and never had a problem with it. I was not overly impressed with it's accuracy, but about 5 yrs. ago I added an Accu-strut and that greatly improved the accuracy. I also have the Mini-14. I use the Mini-30 on deer and the Mini-14 on coyotes.
Thanks for the comment. I've watched a few of your shooting and ATV videos. Nice job. I grew up in your neck of the woods and your videos bring back great memories.
I was in the army when we went from M16 to M16 a2 and then to the M4. I was a range NCO for 2 years. Was on active duty in Middle east saw the AR Direct Impingement platform have tremendous problems with sand, mud and rain yes rain. I saw so many times when the ARs jammed. Yes, yes I know the AR 15 fanatics please dont tell me how great the ARs are I have seen many many issues with them. Also the direct impingement system is like pumping your car exhaust back into your engine, it IS FATALLY FLAWED. I had the pleasure of working under a great Brigadier General who was a gun collector who introduced me to the Mini 30. He told me the AR was the biggest long term military mistake US ever made. He cited the smaller caliber and the maintenance problems. He used to call the ARs b.b. guns and toys. He blamed a big part of the Vietnam disaster on a "deficient rifle" that didn't work very well. He also told me that he felt with some slight that the Mini 30 should be the new US field rifle, he told me this with "extreme conviction"... Believed the Mini 30 was the best, most reliable, perfect field rifle out there all things considered...he said the rifle would only need a few minor enhancements. And I have to say I agree with everything he told me. I despise the AR platform, after seeing what I saw...Thanks
Thanks Dill. When I first found out about the the direct impingement system in the AR's I wondered about the brain damage required to think that one up.
the AR platform is fine. despite your experience with them and your brigadier general's acquaintance with the AR rifle- both of you are just expressing an opinion. The reason I say this is that the AR rifle has had a period of experimentation of recent years with the gas piston system, and although that kept the bolt and the rest of the receiver cool and cleaner than direct impingement - gas piston did not catch on. Complaints by both civilian consumer market and the military fail to favor the "newer and improved " gas piston AR rifles; in fact most users preferred and went back to the direct impingement system. The direct impingement system simply works... its also lighter, and requires less maintenance that requires a gunsmith, not to mention in its automatic configuration, the direct impingement has a much higher cyclic rate of fire. If you look at the popularity and practicality of the AR rifle since its inception by Armalite in 1959 and Colt's aquisition of the platforn in 1964; the M-16 and AR rifle is still here and going strong. So with that being said, to state that the AR rifle system suffers from a "fatal flaw" is unfounded. also to suggest that Ruger mini-14 and mini-30 rifles should have been the next military rifle is a statement that Ruger themselves cannot fullfill.. The Ruger minis dont have the ruggedness and resilience to hold up in combat conditions. Now, did the AR rifle in fact suffer some criticism? yes. but the issues were maintaining the rifle in a clean operating state. The AR rifle is a precision firearm and it should be cleaned and protected from the dirt that it is exposed to in the field... After these issues were adressed, even back in Vietnam, it was found that the AR rifle was the a true winner. Heck even the Rusians saw credibility of the AR rifle and switched their ammunition from the 7.62 x 39 to the smaller and lighter round, the 5.45 x 39 because it was lighter, which means a soldier could carry more ammo and despite its small caliber size, it was effective. You know back in Vietnam, the AR rifle fired so fast and and it was so deadly and damaging that it was called: the buzzsaw. The Ar rifle has been and is still the go to rifle of many military units to include foreign nations.
Thanks for the great videos mixup! I always liked the mini from the first time I saw it and this video convinced me to get one about a year ago. love it! That action is awesome,think I'm gonna try to get an m1a next if I can find a good deal
Cajun Mojo......you are very welcome. I have several Mini-30 videos on RU-vid and I might do another one this spring just for the fun of it. I also have a Mini-14 but I like the Mini-30 better. Thanks for the great comment and thanks for watching my video. Be safe and have fun this weekend.
Thanks for the great comment. I really appreciate it. I own numerous rifles and the Mini-30 is absolutely one of my most favorite rifles to shoot. Hopefully you'll get a chance to buy one someday. Thanks again for watching and commenting on my video. You made my day.
My Mini-30 serial number begins with 189. I bought it brand new at a Las Vegas gun show in November, 1997 for $375. Thanks for the great compliment and thanks for watching my video.
David ....that dude has turned out to be a pretty good guy. I just put another video on youtube where Benjamin lets me shoot his AK47 and we had a blast. Hope you get a Mini 30. You'll love it. Thanks for watching my video.
Was introduced to the Mini 14 when they first came out by a 'Nam vet who wished he had one in 'Nam! First centerfire rifle I bought. Years of reliable service so bought Mini Thirty when it first came out. Will eat just about any ammo I feed it but do need to use the right fork(magazine). Just got back from Texas hog hunt using my Mini Thirty and 120lb sow was DRT! GR8 rifle for hunting the brush. Love Ruger products!!
Your a real good shot and you have a cool style about yourself making your video's stand out from the others. I enjoy your Chanel. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us all here on RU-vid. HAPPY HOLIDAY's. Ron..
+ron36105 ...I've received thousands of comments over the years and yours is one of the very best. Thanks Ron. You just made my day. Thanks for watching and Happy Holiday's to you and yours.
+mixup98 I second the motion. I like some of the more “technically oriented” channels, like nutnfancy for example, for highly detailed information but I really LOVE watching videos like yours and Hickok45 where a guy just does a great job shooting the gun and having fun!
Cajun.....that is one beautiful car. SWEET. I love the paint, the sound and the great looks. Thanks for sharing. I have a 1955 Buick Century and I'll have to do a video on it.
Great shooting and video. I love my Mini30, take it all day over an AK or AR, it just feels right!! I liked that fast fire or bump fire you did, gonna have to try that, sounded full auto!!!
I bought one of those $99 SKS rifles back in the early '90's, except I paid $75 for it at a Las Vegas gun show. Best $75 I ever spent. Sold that gun two years ago for $275. Like you, I wish I would have bought 10 of them.
@@candelariosanchez273 You waited about seven years too long. Here is the video I did back in 2014" ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-LywyAmwdHUc.html
nonya.....you are going to love your Mini-30 and I think I'm almost as excited as you are. Comments like yours is the reason why I make videos for RU-vid. Thanks and have fun.
Chuck.....I've also had a few FTF because of hard primers and now I think I'll replace the firing pin spring. Thanks for the advice and thanks for watching my video.
David......thanks for a really great comment. I know you'll be happy with the Mini 30. Hopefully you'll be able to find spare magazines for it if do you buy one. Good luck and thanks for watching my video.
Mini 30s are great!! One of my first guns. Love it. I would recommend one!! If u live in California like I do its the closes thing to an AK 47. I'll take large mags too.
I've never shot a Saiga but I think it would be a great video if I can get my hands on one. Thanks for the suggestion and thanks for watching my video.
dieselwarrior......you are right...the SKS is a great rifle and I absolutely love shooting it. In fact I have an SKS video on youtube where I shot the heck out of it and I had a blast with it. I have owned several over the years and they are extremely reliable. Heck, everyone should own an SKS and a Ruger Mini-30 :)
I bought my ex a mini 30 for her first rifle. The relationship went south, but I got to keep the gun, so it all works out. Great rifle and reliable as can be. The only malfunctions I've ever had were due to poor primer placement on cheap ammo.
I've shot a lot of Tula ammo in my gun, even in this video, and I rarely have had a problem with it. One round out of twenty or thirty rounds will fail to fire due to a hard primer, but otherwise I've had really good luck with any ammo I have run through my Mini-30. Thanks for the information.
Hello! Just came back to this video to tell you I picked up a Ruger Mini 30 today based on this video review. I have not even shot it yet, but am really looking forward to it. Thanks a lot, if I could get Ruger to bump you royalties, I would. Have a great autumn and have a great day as well.
Tax me I'm Canadian ...I've done a few Ruger videos and I think they should bump my royalties :)I'm honored that you have bought a Mini 30 based on my video. You just made my day with your comment. It really is a great firearm and you have made a great choice. Be safe, have fun, enjoy your Ruger, and thanks for watching my video.
mixup98 You bet man! I`m going back into logging camp today, so I`m going to try to get a little video together of me shooting it in there and I will send it to you in 2-3 weeks. I bought the firearm at the new Cabelas Nanaimo BC which had it`s grand opening on Sept 11. The Ruger is very hard to find at stores here - Wholesale Sports Nanaimo had a 2 year wait list, and gun shows around here have never had one either. Cabelas says the next one is 7 months out. I was very lucky to find one brand new Mini 30 there, so I bought it, paid $980 CDN and was happy to pay it.....it`s a very hard firearm to find here, nearly impossible to find new. Thanks again.
Thanks Dave. Here is my video showing how to fire ten rounds per second with a semiauto rifle: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-LywyAmwdHUc.html
Ran across this by accident, and glad I did. Not much info out there on the Mini 30, most are partial the Mini 14. I have a Mini 30 with a laminated stock and a 7x Leopold Scope. Have had it since the mid 90's, and after watching your video I am incline to take it out this weekend and putting a few rounds down range. Thanks
Eric.....all I've ever shot in my Mini-30 are hollow points and full metal jacketed ammo. I've never tried soft points but I'm sure they would feed and shoot just fine. Thanks for watching and commenting on my video.
Thanks for getting back to me on that.I do have both a Chinese AK and Russian SKS,so I'm covered as far as 7.62x39 ammo use is concerned.I've given a lot of thought to just selling the -14 simply because it would simplify my ammo collection a bit. I do really like the -14 when it's got the right ammo in it,really nice shooter.
My mini was my first gun and I don't think I'll ever get rid of it. I love it and it has never jammed on me. If you're on the fence about wether or not to get one, get it!!
Its well known in the industry the TV show Ateam used ruger mini rifles as they could shoot dirty blanks all day and never fail. That sold me right there, DEPENDABLE.
The rifle portion of the long guns in "Starship Troopers" were also Mini-14's. Hollywood adores the Mini-series, because they have very generous gas ports right from the factory, which gives them extremely reliable functioning with blanks. Armorers in the entertainment industry have fondly nicknamed them "The jamless wonder".
Great video. A few guys I have talked to say this is just an excellent gun. I love your video and the cheap 7.62 Nato round it uses is extremely easy to find. This was a well enjoyed video and it looks like you guys had a lot of fun making it. I love the bump fire you did!
I was planning on buying this gun this year but since the school shooting they are hard to find or over priced. Your vid makes me want it that much more
i have both the mini 14 and 30 and ive owned them for over 20 years and never had a problem no matter what ammo i threw in them they are one gun everyone should own
Besides the Mini-30 I also have a NRA special Mini-14. I really like both guns. With the Mini-30 steel-cased ammo is cheap and reliable. I reload .223 rounds for my Mini-14 so it's also cheap and reliable. Hard to say which one I like more, but I seem to shoot the Mini-30 more often. Either way they are both fun guns to shoot.
I agree with this analysis that lack of pin protrusion causes the issue. Compare it with any SKS firing pin, and you'll see why the SKS never has FTF issues. The Mini-30 was designed with a far less aggressive firing pin, most likely due to liability worries. Ruger is conservative in this regard. That said, I'd personally be hesitant to tinker with it. I have mentioned it to Ruger. They seem uninterested in addressing it. Still, the Mini-30 is a very nice rifle.
Ruger does make a 30 round mag but the reviews aren't too good. The magazine is hard to load, fits loose and sometimes jams. Stick with the 20 round mag and you'll be happy. I'm almost positive the AK magazine cannot be converted. It is too wide and it uses a different latching system. Thanks for a great comment.
johny.....New Jersey has very tough guns laws and those laws are probably changing as we speak. I can't give you a definitive answer on the Mini-30 but I would suggest contacting New Jersey law enforcement and be absolutely sure if it is legal or not. As a last resort maybe you can move to Nevada. We seem to be a little more free out here. We will go shooting and I'll buy lunch.
Nice video mixup! Nice bump fire too! I like these guns, do they still make other .30 cals like .308 or is it just 7.62x39? .308 would probably be pretty punishing in this small a rifle. What was the Cali fellow shooting himself beside your Mini 30.? I assume he didnt show up without a gun lol.
Iv'e fired this rifle on several accasions. Sweet carbine for target practise and probably for home defense too if you got some good 30 round mags. I have a few pro-mag 30rd steel mags, work just fine.
The Ruger Minis are great guns, so many people have em and they love em. One of the best features is ... timid know nothing about guns people won't give anyone any shit for having one, they won't pay any attention to it. Same for tube fed automatic shotguns. The M1 Carbine and M1 Garand are great guns too. I do NOT care that both the M1 Garand and M1 carbine came long before my time and both are over 80 years old. The 1911 is over a century old and it's still one of the best handguns. I say by 2042 they should re-introduce the M1 Carbine with a modern model in .38 Super or 10mm ACP if they decide to dump the .30 carbine cart for more common cartridges. I'm FINE with .30 Carbine as long as it's available. Yes, someone will read this, decide to do it and take ALL of the credit. 🤪
oldedude.....I got my Mini-30 in 1997 and paid $375. I also had a Norinco MAK-90 ($150), a Chinese SKS ($65) and my favorite gun , a Colt SP-1 .223, bought in 1986 for $400. Times sure have changed. Anyways, thanks for the great comment and thanks for watching my video.
I have shot both rifles side by side and I can tell you that the AK47, for what ever reason, does have a sharper kick than the Mini-30. The two guns use a totally different gas system. The Ruger uses a stationary piston while the AK uses a gas-driven piston, which might cause the sharper recoil. My 12 year old grandson loves to shoot the Mini but refuses to fire the AK because of the recoil.
Thanks you made my mind up. I was going to get an AK 47 and fix it up but after seeing this video it will be a Mini 30. My AR just doesn't have the impact I am looking for. An I love the old M1 carbines and this kind of reminds me of one. I am a bit of a traditionalist and don't like all the gizmos and such. Like your videos.
A buddy had an m14 back in the mid 70s. Peep sight. Loved that sight. Loved my accuracy w it. Bought an ar15 while back. Got peep sight. Wish i could see better. In my 70s now. Still fun tho
I wish my old eyes could see better too. I have mostly red dot optics on my rifles now and I love them. You might consider putting a red dot on your AR15. Here is a video that I did on red dot sights that might help you if you decide to mount one: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MUQDdxpzatE.html
i shot a mini 30 prolly 15 or more years ago and loved it. so i bought one about a year ago and i still love love them. i kinda forgot about it till i found one im my local gun store.
Seriously considering buying one. I am in Canada British Columbia out on Vancouver Island so the laws here only allow a 5 round magazine. I would love to find a larger magazine but do not want to risk my non-restricted license trying to bring a larger magazine up from the US. That all being said the gun shops here like Wholesale Sports have these Ruger Mini 30s and 14s in stock. The video you posted had me and my father in stitches laughing. That`s a great video of a pretty sweet little firearm.
I owned a Mini-Ranch 222R (french gun laws, not 223 ...) for 20 years, I equiped it with GG&G 1381 picatinny rail (alloy made), a n AR15 like stock and a 4-16 X44 Varmint mil-dot Hawke scope . It gave very good results ; I loaded my rounds with RCBS tools . I sold it at a very good price, it shot few and it was in a very good condition . Accurate and reliable .
The fact that the FBI, almost all State SBI's, the Marine corps and countless other LE organizations used it is the answer you seek. Within the ranges LE typically use its wonderfully accurate and legendary reliability. IF you want to use it for 500+ meters you will be very unhappy. They have corrected the 'barrel whip' of the older models but to me it's a 300 meter gun max. Within that range it's a great gun for what they USED to cost.
