I just got a call and bought 20 of the rifles. Ruger made a little over 300 for Lipsey's recently. They shipped today, so I won't have them in hand until Monday -- possibly Tuesday.

If any of you are interested, please shoot me an email at:
[email protected]

Include your screen name in the email. I'll give you guys first crack at them before I put any on the shelf.

'preciate it, I'll send you an email.

PM sent
Thanks, Mouse

Do you happen to know if they have .308 barrels or ..311s?

I seem to recall the Mini30s being .308.

Thanks.

Good question.

I'll find out Monday and report back.

Previous versions were .311

This version is .311" too. These are $879.99 for those of you inquiring...

That is a very good price!

Mark

Yes, my dealer said they had some plain left over wood and made 305 copies.
A collectors dream.

I understand collecting and wanting to get the unusual stuff. If it weren't for the collectors this version would sit on the rack forever since it's pretty much useless.

PM
And
Email sent

Email address is not working......

I'm getting emails, by the minute!

[email protected]

Darrik

Do any of them have good wood? Or are all of them the plain, no character walnut that has been coming out the past several years?

Thanks

Dave

Dave,

We got in 20, but I only opened one box for the shelf. The wood looks pretty common on the sample I've seen. I may try to look at a few more today, but I don't expect anything spectacular in this batch.

Darrik

Thanks. If you come across anything spectacular (or above average), pm me.

Just to confirm, these are blue?

thanks again

Dave

They are blued....

How's the surplus steel shoot in these??

I'm just guessing here but loaded with the 123 grain Hornady it should be an excellent whitetail or pig gun for most areas where ranges are under 150 yards or so....

No doubt it is probably the classiest production rifle ever chambered for the lowly AK round. We got a couple in at work and if I didn't have a CZ 527 so chambered, I'd snag one, but I'm trying to use some restraint these days. May not be the most "practical" choice but it makes more sense than the ones chambered for .357 Magnum. Those certainly don't gather any moss when they come up for sale and I'd sort of like to have one for some crazy reason.

If you hunt where you have a chance at multiple animals from the same stand, smaller cartridges are worth considering. I noticed some years ago, I touch off an '06 case in a 22" barrel, and I wouldn't see a deer again for 2-3 days. I shot a doe one afternoon with a .300 Savage, burning 20 grains less powder, and I had a decent buck in the next morning.

The 7.62x39 obviously falls into the same category.

YMMV, of course a can further dampens noise.

I'd be afraid to put a can on a #1. Seems like anyone who did would receive death threats and have crosses burned on their front lawn, maybe even risk divine retribution and jeopardize their entry into Heaven...

No, that's only a Sharps. A #1 with a can only inspires stern looks and children shooed away...

You can put a can on a #1B but if you molest that wrap around front sight on the 1A or 1S I would personally come to your house and put beans in your chili.

And he means to put beans in your chili, by way of the back door...

No matter the source, if beans get in chili, its only good for throwing away....

Anyone shoot theirs yet!?????

How they grouping!??

I'd buy one if they had nice wood, but I have yet to see one so blessed There's plenty of them online, and one at a LGS. Every one I've seen is as plain as Janet Reno.

That's not plain, that's UGLY/SCARY!

My little CZ Carbine has done that and blackbuck too via my then two young son's. We used Wolf 123 gr copper jacketed hollowpoints. Bang flop every time. I bought a thousand rounds way back when I bought the rifle, maybe 2003, and have yet to buy dies for it. I do not see the copper jacketed stuff these days?

In a strong action like the #1, the 7.62x39 could be uploaded some, so with care you could improve the ballistics. Multiple caveats there, of course.

I think you should get one.....










And let me shoot it.

The 30-40 is purtier.

email sent!

Janet Reno!!! That would be 'Anti-Wood'

I admit the idea of one is appealing, even in lieu of good wood.

They are slowly going away on Gun Broker, two less tonight from when I last checked, sort of interesting to me as well.

Checked Gun Broker again tonight, count back up to 19, heard from Lipseys a couple of days ago, they had 14 of the 305 made still in stock. Suppose I need to make a decision fast if I can use one at the cheap prices I'm seeing as offered.

Well I grabbed one over the weekend. With no sign of the K1V .223's or 1B .257 Roy that I wanted, I decided to work with a Russian Ruger. No figure in the wood but some mineral streaking, and real good grain flow through the wrist. It's fairly blond in color. The trigger is a little heavy, but crisp.

I'll probably swap a 1.5-5 VX-3 on to it this week, and try some loads with 1680. I have some Hornady Zmax and soft point 123's on hand from my AK experiments, and a fair amount of good Lapua brass. The chamber is much tighter than the AK (surprise) and fired AK brass won't begin to chamber.

The throat is not excessively long on it. The Hornady 123gr Zmax touches the lands with about .16" of bullet in the case neck, which is fine for a single shot. If I decide to try 150's it should work fine without excessively deep seating.

The 7.62x39 has a mild report, and I think tends to disturb deer less in a given area. I'll probably pop a spike on this ranch later this year, but there are some nice bucks I wanna grow another year so I hope I don't spook them. There is also at least one big sow on the ranch I'd like to put in the freezer.

If that rifle pans out you should bring it to the pig hunt. It oughta be perfect!

yep, I should have it figured out by then

I want to shoot it!


I'll let you shoot my deuce.......

Dude...

THIS one, you knob.

30-30 ballistics with 150 grain .311 boolits (2400 fps) have been pattained in a Mauser action.

No idea how hot that load was

I'll probably try 1680 first. I've been dissatisfied with my Hornady seating die, and ordered a new RCBS seater, but it won't be here until next week. Also ordered some Sierra 125's, which are said to be .311 dia, versus the Hornadys which are .310.

Ramshot says you can reach 2111 fps with 150's, at 43,800 CUP (20" barrel). 2400 fps sounds pretty warm. The 123's should be fine for small deer & pigs.

I wish I'd learned about the (relatively) fast twist on those when they were current. I've seen a couple with decent wood, but passed thinking they still had 1 in 14" barrels.

My son took two deer this year with this rifle. A huge 9 point and a doe. I was not happy with the fusion ammo so
Perhaps in the next year I will find a better ammo for deer.

What was the problem with the fusion ammo? I bought some and have the rifle sighted in with the fusion ammo but no on game experience yet..

Probably shoot it Christmas Eve



Although it has the best wood of the current run, that I have seen, I am tempted to refinish it with wet sanded tung oil. Maybe it will bring out the mineral streaks a little better.

Shot the Ruger today, after mounting a VX3 1.5-5 in Ruger offset rings. The rifle weighs 8lbs 2 oz with scope, and as you might guess, the report and recoil were mild. I shot a Hornady factory load "123gr Zmax", which clocked about 2350 fps, and a Win 123 gr softpoint load, which ran about 50 fps faster.

I tried a handload with 1680 in Lapua brass, the same charge under both the 125gr Sierra, and the 123gr Hornady SST. It was much speedier than the factory loads, and also shot well. The Hornady measure .3104", versus Sierra 125's, which measure a true .311". The rifle preferred the Hornadys, with a couple of 3 shot groups under 1" - the last 3 shots were in a 1/2". There were no signs of excessive pressure; extraction was easy and fired cases show no signs of case web expansion. It's ready to kill a deer.

I'll likely do some more load development with it over the next few weeks. May even try some 150 gr in it, maybe .308 bullets.

From the fist run of these rifles....





With a Russian single shot also in 7.62...



And they are shooters...



Bob

Sweet!

Looking at some of the literature out there, some references state that Ruger used barrels with .308 groove dia. on Mini-30's. I emailed Ruger on the question, and they advised that groove dia for this rifle is .3100 to .3115".

I have slugged a stainless model at .3105" with the tightest spot being at the barrel band.

There was an old saying that the Number Ones with the barrel bands were the fussiest ones, as far as accuracy. If they had tight spots, I can see why!

I killed a doe Saturday with the Ruger. The load was a stout charge of 1680 under the 123 SST. She was about 85 yards away feeding, quartered toward me. I held on the near shoulder, but hit slightly in front of it. She jumped about 6 feet up when hit, and ran about 60 yards. The bullet had caught and ruined the front of one lung, cut some big blood vessels, then went down and exited the brisket, and broke the offside leg. A copious blood trail made the track pretty easy. It seems it works fine on our small deer, though I want to try better placement next time, and maybe different bullets.

Pat...I haven't heard many good things about SSTs on game....

Same here, I but figured the modest velocity would make it less explosive. The changing direction thing inside the animal I can live without. Data point of one, of course.

They do shoot well, better than the Sierras, which are about .0005" larger in diameter. Those are the bullets easiest to find around here, which are intended for the 7.62x39.

Congratulations on getting her bloody, regardless. I'm inclined to think like you about the reduced velocity making it less explosive.

Shoot three pigs and report back.

Three deer this past season with our 7.62x39 No.1!

Great gun

Congrats! What bullets/loads?

I would think one of these would make a neat ( as in not everybody has one ) deer rifle for those of us that don't generally shoot at long ranges. Of course I regret not buying a 30-30 when I had the chance.

I'd buy one if I saw it. I always like the 7.62x39!

My friend has one in 357 mag and it's a lot of fun. I have a 77/357 that I love and we do a shoot off, one shot each, I call his target he calls mine and we keep going until one misses.

These mild yet capable cartridges are low recoiling which makes them fun to shoot which in the end results in a gun your actually practice with a lot and become very confident with.

Nosler has made a few prototype bullets for the 7.62x39, available here:

http://www.shootersproshop.com/nosl...totype-fb-tipped-bullets-blem-100ct.html

I bought 100, tried them and found they shot well. I just bought another 500.

Now if I can talk Forster into making dies for it...