Mini 30 vs. AK 47

teflon6string · Mar 11, 2012

I've been toying with the idea of trading my Ruger Mini 30 for an AK. Just for fun, no other reason.

Pros, cons? Varieties to seek or avoid? Must-have gagetry?

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Crawler65 · Mar 11, 2012

Pros: AK is lighter, more reliable(flame suit on), and the mags are cheeper, and if you like blade and notch better than peep, better sights.

Cons: Mini 30's tend to sell for more used than AK's do, It's not a Ruger, depending on what you like for stocks, you have much less selection of styles for the AK.

I have/had each of these guns, IMO the AK is the better choice of the two. A lot of it depends on what you want to do with the gun, and that dictates what you do to the gun.

AK's are a lot like pump 12ga shot guns, they all work great in stock form, you can add all the tacticool you want, and they still work great. You don't really need any of that crap, but it can make the gun more enjoyable to play with

soberups · Mar 11, 2012

No joke, I have been toying with the idea of trading my AK for a Mini 30! Maybe we should meet at the range sometime and compare the two.

I do know that the Ruger is finished much better and is more refined, with fewer rough edges and a nicer stock. I suspect that, with identical optics, the Ruger would probably be more accurate although I have no proof of that. The AK is a weapon designed by peasants for peasants, with an emphasis on simplicity and reliability in harsh conditions. AK's are crude and ugly, but they work.

Ding · Mar 11, 2012

AK's are crude and ugly,

Blasphemer. :s0093:

WasrNwarpaint · Mar 11, 2012

Ding said:
Blasphemer.

yeah that

AK's are crude and ugly

not to mention most popular

unklekippy · Mar 11, 2012

AK's are the perfect weapon. The 47 and the 74. That doesn't mean the Mini 30 isn't great, but I would rather have an AK if I could only have one. An AK is even easier to clean after firing corrosive ammo. I believe that Norinco MAK90's are the finest AK's available. The Yugo M70 underfolder is great as well. I do not like WASR's. There are thousands of perfectly fine WASR's and I admit bias, but I would stay away from them. People generally say to stay away from Century guns. I agree to a point, but I own currently and have owned in the past great 47's and 74's from Century. I also have owned and witnessed horrible Century guns. I owned an FAL that I would rather not talk about. If you have a chance to fire your future AK, a quick range session will tell you a lot. My number one AK is a simple MAK90 with a Tapco 6 position collapsable stock, a rail on an aftermarket receiver cover with a knockout for the iron sights and a red dot. I use the iron sights 80% of the time, but I can trust the red dot to 200 yards. I have a very simple nylon sling. I use the original wood foregrips, but all sorts of rail systems are available if you'd like. If you're a made in the USA kind of guy, Century now has the Centurion, which is 100% American made and also has been getting good reviews. I think those run about $900. AK's are great and the only thing better than owning one is owning two(or 16). One last thing. Slide-fire stocks are now available for AK's. I can't wait to own one. Kip.

erudne · Mar 11, 2012

My old model Mini-30 stinks, I dumped $350 in it so it will shoot about the same as a Good AK but factory mags are $35 each
For the price of a new Mini-30 you can have a complete AK w/6 mags and a tacticle forend

revjen45 · Mar 11, 2012

AK's are crude and ugly,

Yeah, so?

robertg · Mar 11, 2012

My buddy has a Mini 30 and it seems to be picky about ammo, whereas my Arsenal AK shoots any kind of crap ammo and is just as accurate.

soberups · Mar 11, 2012

revjen45 said:
AK's are crude and ugly,

Yeah, so?

I own an AK.

Its crude and its ugly.

I like it anyway. I didnt buy it because I wanted a pretty gun.

eganx · Mar 11, 2012

I have owned both. I bought the mini 30 and loved it until I moved out of california and wanted a high cap mag. The Ruger is great for what it is and I have always liked the M1 action. The AK is a master of what is was made for, but its purpose differs from the Ruger. The question is what are you looking to get out of the gun? I sold my mini to fund the purchase of a Saiga 12.......and I still have my AKs. The lack of decent high capacity mags was the deal breaker for me. For $8 you can get an AK surplus 30 round mag that will never fail......for the Ruger I could not find a magazine other than the factory 5 round that I would trust to work all the time.

So, in my opinion, if you want the rifle to keep in your truck while you work your farm or play on your property, the Ruger would be great. If you might need to use said rifle in any sort of self defense situation(read need magazine reliability), or want it for a SHTF rifle, you might heavily consider the AK.

The AK actually has far more furniture options than the Ruger......you might have to do a bit of riveting or cave man gunsmithing to get it installed though.

If your thinking of trading solely for a gun to have fun with, which is what I gather from the OP, than you cannot go wrong with the AK....nothing kills more fun than a rifle with a magazine that won't feed.