Mini 30 ?

[bowdonkey]

Ok gunbuffs, I've had a mini 30 for many years. Great little rifle, but it's so dang slick to hold onto. Is their a product to put on the forearm and butt that would reduce the slip. It's a real pain sometimes. And by the way, yesterday while up in the deerstand a huge tomcat and I mean BIG walked by. I know you cat lovers are gonna hate me but I just had to kill him. 45 paces, one shot one kill LOL!. Oh another question, anyone use those 125 gr soft points from big bear or grizzly or something like that? If you have, how do they perform?

[hunter63]

The Ruger Mini 30 shoots the 7.62 X 39 right?
About the same as the win 30-30.
I don't think that the 125 soft points would have enough power to take on a Black bear or Grizzly.
I have a Mini 14 and don't have any trouble hanging on, 'course it's a 223.
What kind of stock does it have?

Lot's of cool after market stocks out there, but I would just put a rubber slip on butt /recoild pad, and maybe rough up the fore arm?

[Explorer]

Oh another question, anyone use those 125 gr soft points from big bear or grizzly or something like that? If you have, how do they perform?

If they did, they are no longer here to talk about it.

[bowdonkey]

No I wouldn't tackle bear with the mini 30. That was the ammo manufacturers name. Bear something or other. Actually over a bait I would. Strictly a head shot with a FMJ. And that's if no other suitable gun was available.

[countrymech]

I think Hogue makes an 'Over-Molded' stock that should do the trick. I have one on a mini-14 and I have been really happy with it. I was so impressed that I also replaced the forend and grip on an AR-15 with Over-Molded products.

[Bearfootfarm]

http://www.cabelas.com/prod-1/0012777224192a.shtml

Hogue "over molded" stocks

[Ed Norman]

I was lucky to be taught to checker gunstocks by a master. It is slow and tedious. I once bought several rifles from an old gunsmith and he stippled his stocks. It doesn't have to be ugly, and there are two main ways to do it. Draw out your patterns on the grips and forearms. It is best to draw one side, trace it, and transfer that to the other side. Then you can either take a kinda semi blunt nail and tap it with a hammer inside your pattern lines, several thousand times to lightly dent and crush the wood and make it rough to hold onto, or, stick masking tape around your pattern lines and a few inches farther, then sandblast inside your pattern. That wears away the softer grains of wood and makes a very nice feeling non slip surface. Rub a little stain on the area and apply a few coats of Tru Oil to seal it.

[BRYAN]

I have solved this problem on a rifle pretty cheaply once by painting the stock with a "black crinkle paint" that left a durable rough finish. I bought it from JC Whitney, I can't remember now, but I think it was called Crinkle Paint. It left a black, rough, nonreflective surface perfect for my needs at the time. Its application was a several step process that wrinkled up as it dried.

[Cascade Failure]

Skateboard grip tape.

[bowdonkey]

Thanks for the answers you all. I like that overmolded stock and the price is right. What else would be nice is a 20 or 22" barrel like an FN's. Maybe get a little more ompf out of the cartridge. All in all it's a great little gun. Shot 3 deer and a cat with it so far, all one shot kills. I wish there were premium bullets that could be used in reloading them. I guess the early 30's were 308 bore dia, now it's the Russian 311 dia. I called Ruger and found this out. So I guess I'm stuck for the moment with regular soft points.

[Explorer]

Originally Posted by bowdonkey

No I wouldn't tackle bear with the mini 30. That was the ammo manufacturers name. Bear something or other. Actually over a bait I would. Strictly a head shot with a FMJ. And that's if no other suitable gun was available.

Sorry, sometime since my stroke earlier this year is misread things. Thank the PTB for spell check.

[bowdonkey]

No worries Explorer. I looked at my OP, it does look like I was talking about using this on bear, LOL! I was at a buddies house and seen this ammo in one of his magazines. Reading type of magazine! Real reasonable price, but with a cartridge that's this low powered, the bullet counts for alot in clean kills. I've used Federal SP's on all of the mentioned kills and from past experiences with these bullets, they do fail on occasion. Same with the Winchester SP's I've used in other calibers in the past. Guess I'll have to try and purchase some and test fire a bunch and see how they perform.

[Explorer]

In the past I have always had good luck with Barnes bullets.

[radiofish]

The Ruger Mini 30 is chambered in 5.56 NATO or known to civilians as the Remington .223 caliber....

Shooting aa adult bear - with "Bear" brand ammunition in .223 caliber, would just tick off the bear and maybe you would get mauled for the effort!! Use at least a .30-06 springfield or a 7mm Magnum chambered weapon at least, before you get chewed up by Yogi and Boo-Boo when you annoy them....

I did have some Bear brand ammo that I had bought for my 9mm Makarov (9X18mm) from Cheaper Than Dirt, and there were a few misfires. I believe that ammo is Russian in origin..

The stock of the mini 30 is to slippery, then try an aftermarket stock or as posted maybe some skateboarding tape. I have never had that problem, even with a bit of cosmoline left after taking a weapon out of storage. Just hang on to it tiighter...

[zito]

Originally Posted by radiofish

The Ruger Mini 30 is chambered in 5.56 NATO or known to civilians as the Remington .223 caliber...

You're thinking of the Mini 14, which is the .223. The Mini 30 is 7.62x39

Zito

[radiofish]

Originally Posted by zito

You're thinking of the Mini 14, which is the .223. The Mini 30 is 7.62x39

Zito

My Bad.... I am in Michigan on vacation, and away from my copy of the "Small Arms Of The World.."

[reluctantpatriot]

For the money, I would go with an AK-47 pattern rifle in that caliber.

You could also handload heavier rounds if you wish for your Ruger.

[1_gunner]

7.62 x 39 is a great caliber. I've been reloading and casting this caliber for years. Brass is getting harder to find since Wolf steel case has become so popular. Anytime I can pick up FB or brass case ammo I buy it. The steel case (even the berdan primed) can be reloaded but it is a pain. In the Eastern Bloc countries 7.62 x 39 is the equivalent of the 30-30 here in the US. If you use a bolt action rifle (CZ or rem 799) you can load sub-sonics in this caliber as well. Any one interested in addtional info PM me and I'll send along som ballistics and some articles. Thanks.

[texican]

Quite a few aftermarket stock makers. Ruger products are real popular, so it should be easy to find replacements.

Haven't used the Grizzly or Silver Bear brand... Yet!

Answer me this... after needlessly killing the tomcat, did a big buck walk out on you?

[sorry, one of my lil hunting rules... if I'm hunting deer, you don't go shooting squirrels, ducks, coyotes, bobcats, hogs... anything... if you expect to kill a deer that day]

And, if you're hunting deer, hopefully you're using a soft pointed bullet. The steel cased Wolf 7.62x39 is meant for wounding humans. Yes, a '7' will kill a deer, but so will a .22.

If I were getting bulk 7, I'd try and get at least half a case of brass cases based ammo (think the silver bear uses brass)... that is, if you ever plan on reloading... if not, I'd stick with the cheaper steel for plinking, and buy some premium ammo for hunting purposes.

[bowdonkey]

I have a case of FMJ's but their strictly for plinking. The Grizzly or Silver Bear's I seen advertised where 125 gr soft points. I'd never knew their were SP's out there that light for the 762 from Russia. I'll check at Cabelas over Thanksgiving holiday and see what they got since we're traveling south. I've looked on the Ruger site and they have a mini 30 with the composite stock. They also have a bunch of tricked out mini 14's. And in answer to your question about the cat, I have the same rules. But I already have venison in the freezer so not getting another one wasn't important. I'd have shot a coyote under the same conditions but I would have skun that. The cat was a beauty. If I had the $$$ I would have had it mounted. I always wanted one mounted in a sleeping position and then place it in a sunny window and see how many people go up and pet the cat.