Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Good load for my ruger mini-30

Prelim. results with cheap wolf brand ammo show promise with the little 30.
Not looking for light the world on fire as far as velocity. Just want an accurate load, that will cycle.
Thanks

Speer 130gr HP. IMR 4198 Start 24grs. work up.

What year was your Mini-30 manufactured? The older ones had a .308 barrel while the newer ones have the .310-.311 barrel.

I tried to work up a load for my son's Mini-30 Tactical a few years ago. I was having a lot of trouble and basically wasting components as nothing was working.

Then I purchased a Tubbs Final Finish Kit and fire lapped the bore. It cut my 6+ inch groups down to 3-. I then settled on the Hornady 123gr SP with a AA 1680 for consistent 2+ inch groups at 100 yards.

There is a site that you can go to and enter the serial number it will give you what your barrel was .308 or .311
I did that with mine, and it is a .311 barrel.

There was a time when Ruger planned on producing a rifle called the EX-GI. 308 cal. For whatever reason (probably political) they canceled the project and had a lot of .308 barrels left over. Those were used in making the early mini-30s.

My Mini 30 is a newer "580" series and has a .308 barrel dia.
After much testing I found 26.5grn of IMR4198 and a Hornady 110 spire point gives VERY good accuracy. usually 1" to 1.5" at 100 yards. Velocity is under what Hornady advertises. I get 2350 (clocked) But best load by a long ways from anything else I have tried. My oldest son has taken a couple of deer with this load with good results. Small deer (around 100 lbs or so) and broad side shots in the lungs. Neither went 20 yards. Shot at 75 and 100 yards

Mine had a magazine with the right configuratin to handle 7.62x39 ammo but was marked Mini-14. Sold the rifle recently but still have that mag.

The 580 series is long past the manufacture dates when Ruger was using up the left over XGI 308 barrels. No way your 580 is a .308, slug it and find out for sure. If it is a .308 than the barrel is not a 580 series.

Tried 24 grains of IMR 4198 with 123 and 130 grain .311 and .308 bullets both. Less then stellar results. Did just as good or better with the tula 123 grain hollow points. Getting about a 2 inch group with those with the occasional flyer as the barrel warms up.

I have sluged the barrel. Ruger says its .308 and my calipers says the same thing. This is no secret, I believe someone has the wrong information. Of the several I have owned "580 series", all have been .308 bores. Ruger states the same thing. Newly manufactured ammo is now avalible in two diameters. Remington is .308 and Winchester is .311. My rifle hates .311/.312 bullets but loves the remingtons. When I pulled the bullets from factory cases and measured them I found this out. This promted some phone calls and slugeing my barrel to verify.