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Ruger mini 30 issues

tido4570
I have a mini 30 that I have been shooting some wolf ammo through and I have been getting alot of non fires. There is a dent in the primer but it did not shoot. I know most of it is the ammo but if I changed the firing pin or spring, do you think that would help? I have 1-1/2 cases of the ammo I would like to use up.
Thanks,
Steve
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Comments

8 comments

Date Votes
  • beantownshootah
    This topic comes up from time to time, and you could do a search on the topic for other opinions.

    Common problem with these guns that the firing pin strike isn't strong enough to set off the hard military-style Russian steel case (eg Wolf) ammo.

    Ruger advises againt using Russian steel case in its guns.

    Stronger HAMMER spring will likely fix this, but at the cost of a heavier trigger pull:

    http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=184368&utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=free&utm_campaign=649
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  • Emmett Dunham
    This style rifle seem to have this problem when the return spring becomes weak and does not lock the bolt tight! Just plain dirty! If you are trying to power the firing pin forward replace the hammer spring. Check the firing pin for ware using a loop to see if it is worn. I don't know how many rounds you have through the rifle it may be time to replace all the springs. I would think that the Wolf ammo would be hard on the extractor in these rifles, any other problems with the ammo and the Mini should be posted here.

    Emmett
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  • 5mmgunguy
    Sell the ammo to someone with a SKS or AK47. I shoot only brass cases in the Mini 30. Federal seems the best for accuracy. Never have the problem.
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  • tido4570
    Thanks for all your help!
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  • lts
    thumbs up on using brass in the mini 30. now you have to get an ak or sks for your steel.
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  • deerhntr
    very common issue with these fine little carbines, the Ruger mini-30 was designed to use commercial ammo which has "softer" primers then the military ammo. remember that military surplus 762x39 was desighed for the SKS/AK-47 series carbines which have powerful double wound hammer springs designed to bust these hard primers which would better withstand battlefield conditions . when ruger first offered these neat guns to the public, why they never thought folks would shoot the then cheap surplus ammo and design the hammer spring to shoot it is beyond me! just shoot good commercial ammo and you will be fine.
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  • Emmett Dunham
    I don't know about the AK 47, I can't buy one here. The SKS every time I load a round in the chamber the floating firing pin leaves a mark on the primer. When the round is ejected with out firing you can see clearly on both the rifle I have pin marks. I think this is the real reason the Russians put hard primers in the 7.62x39. I also thought that the reason that Ruger did not want the round used in the Mini was the finished size of the chambers was different from the Russian rifles due to expansion rate of the steel round not the primer. I take everyone's word for the primer problem due to hard primers.

    Emmett
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  • beantownshootah
    quote:Originally posted by Emmett Dunham
    I don't know about the AK 47, I can't buy one here. The SKS every time I load a round in the chamber the floating firing pin leaves a mark on the primer. When the round is ejected with out firing you can see clearly on both the rifle I have pin marks. I think this is the real reason the Russians put hard primers in the 7.62x39.
    {/quote]
    +1.

    Floating firing pin design on SKS rifles means that ordinary light primered rounds are subject to "slam fire" from chambering a live round or dropping the gun. The hard primers in the standard military rounds help prevent this problem.

    There are ways to modify the gun to help reduce the chance of this happening, but its important to know that you probably do NOT want to use normal American brass rounds in your umodified Commie Bloc guns!
    I also thought that the reason that Ruger did not want the round used in the Mini was the finished size of the chambers was different from the Russian rifles due to expansion rate of the steel round not the primer. I take everyone's word for the primer problem due to hard primers.

    I don't know about the truth of this, but its entirely plausible.

    There are also potential bore issues since technical spec on 7,62x39 rounds calls for .311 caliber bullets, while most American guns and ammo use .308 bullets and bores.

    Note that the 7.62x39 round was specifically designed from its inception as a steel case round. The strongly tapered case design was intended to help extraction with steel cases, since those are less elastic than brass ones and have a greater tendency to stick in chambers.
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