Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles Who else likes the 7.62x39?

I have a new Mini Thirty and it shoots terrible. One good group (~1.5-2.0") at 100 yards and the next is all over the paper (6-8"). It's a Ruger replacement for my first Mini purchased at a gun show which shot terrible. I've tried many different bullet and powder combinations in an attempt to find a load it prefers. Tried .308" and .310/312" bullets with no luck. The bore slugs .3105" with multiple tight and loose spots. It's very tight under the turned down area for the front sight. Tried firelapping the bore with no improvement. Removed the front sight and going to try some tuning weights next. My friends skinny barrel Mini shoots great with a flash hider on the end of the barrel, and terrible without it. Oh...my 7.62 X 39 Ruger American Ranch Rifle shoots great with anything I feed it. It's bore also slugs .3105" but is perfectly uniform from chamber to muzzle. I also have two AR's in 7.62 X 39 and they shoot everything great.

As a side-bar, I've recently purchased cases of PMC 123gr FMJ and BELOM 123gr FMJ and both shoot very well with the BELOM a bit better. Both have Boxer primed, reloadable cases. And at a local gun show yesterday, I purchased a 5 gallon bucket almost full of once-fired 7.62 X 39 cases. There's my winter project!