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A lot of shooters want to shoot imported Berdan primed steel case ammo in their Mini's. The Mini-30 wasn't designed to shoot that, and Ruger will tell you so. But part of the appeal of shooting the 7.62 x39 cartridge is being able to buy ammo for $5-$6 a box. Good brass case, Boxer primed ammo, like Ruger would like you to use, is more like $20 to $24 a box, although some, like PPU is good stuff and can be had for closer to $11 for 20 rounds.
I tried some Tula and Hornady steel case Berdan primed ammo in both of my Mini-30's. About 20 rounds out of 100 of the Tula failed to go off ( at least the first time, they all fired the second attempt). The Hornady was better, only 4 failed to go off out of the 100 I bought.
I bought my Mini-30's knowing that I would get reloading dies and do my own loads using quality brass cases and good ole Winchester primers, which I have done. But I wanted the option of having reliable ignition if one day (zombie apocalypse/ Red Dawn) I only had a case of Commie ammo available.
Some have installed a heavier hammer spring in the hopes of getting better ignition. DON'T DO THIS !!! Think about it. When you pull the trigger, the hammer strikes the firing pin and drives it forward. It can only go so far before it hits the "shelves" inside the bolt which limits its forward travel. Putting in a heavier hammer spring without modifying the firing pin to go forward farther, just puts an awful lot of stress on the firing pin, without making it strike a primer any deeper. That's why many end up breaking their firing pin.
Ruger will not sell you a spare pin without you sending the Mini in to them for fitting and test firing. Mini's are not "one size fits all" when it comes to bolts and firing pins. My 2 Mini-30's are from the same production run (189 series) and do not have the same size bolts or FP's.
I would not try to modify your factory pin as they are impossible to get unless you send your gun in to Ruger and ask for a spare to be fitted.
The replacement pins sold by Glend Arms do not hold up well, many break after less than a hundred rounds, or the tip will bend. They are made of softer steel than the Ruger factory pins.
What you can do, is order a spare from a Florida company called Iron Sight Precision. These are quality, heat treated stainless pins and appear to be identical to the factory pins, except are oversize in length.
You have to first, ensure that the pin doesn't protrude out the back of the bolt, when the pin is pushed forward. My factory pins are slightly below flush when the pin is all the way forward. The Iron Sight replacement pin. when test fitted into my bolts, fit below flush in one, and in the other, way sticking out. That is why Ruger won't sell you a pin to put in yourself, all Mini bolts are slightly different. To get the new pin to fit farther inside your bolt, you will have to relieve the tapered shelf part way down the pin, with a milling machine if you have one, or just with emery cloth, until it goes further inside the bolt, matching the fit at back of your factory pin.
One thing to check before going further, is to make sure the face of your bolt does not have a raised rim around the firing pin hole. Mine did not have this machining mark, but if your's does, it will need to be removed to ensure the face of the bolt around the firing pin hole is smooth and even.
Next you will notice that your new replacement pin is sticking out of the bolt face a lot more than the old pin (this is "protrusion").
I cannot tell you exactly how much protrusion you should go for, as all Mini's differ slightly, but as an example, most Mini's seem to have around .030" to .032" tip protrusion. An AK or SKS might be as much as .050" or more. What you want to go for is more protrusion than the factory pin, but not so much as to pierce primers if you happen to switch ammo and fire some Boxer primed ammo like W-W or PMC. I took off the tip of my new pin, using emery cloth, until I had what I measured as .038" protrusion.
Brownell's sells a firing pin protrusion gauge for $40, that would be worth it if you are going to fit a lot of spare pins. If you are only going to do one, you can get by with using some auto feeler gauges.
I tested 60 rounds of Tula with the new pin, and had all ignite reliably. (Tula seem to be the worst for the Mini, due to the primer being seated deeper in the case, the Mini usually has a hard time reaching them). I then shot 50 rounds of my hand loads, loaded with Winchester large rifle primers, and a box of 20 PMC FMJ factory loads. All were fine, firing pin hit was deeper than the factory pin, but no pierced primers. If you over do it and try too much protrusion, you will pierce a primer. Make sure you are wearing good safety glasses when you test fire! That is a good practice when doing any shooting.
Here is the link for the Iron Sight Precision firing pins:
Ruger Mini 14 Firing Pin
I bought mine off E-Bay but had trouble locating it doing a few different searches. I have recommended these on other forums, so it appears people have been ordering them, it looks like Iron sigh Precision is out of stock at the moment, they probably didn't anticipate the demand that was there for a good quality spare pin for the Mini.
I tried some Tula and Hornady steel case Berdan primed ammo in both of my Mini-30's. About 20 rounds out of 100 of the Tula failed to go off ( at least the first time, they all fired the second attempt). The Hornady was better, only 4 failed to go off out of the 100 I bought.
I bought my Mini-30's knowing that I would get reloading dies and do my own loads using quality brass cases and good ole Winchester primers, which I have done. But I wanted the option of having reliable ignition if one day (zombie apocalypse/ Red Dawn) I only had a case of Commie ammo available.
Some have installed a heavier hammer spring in the hopes of getting better ignition. DON'T DO THIS !!! Think about it. When you pull the trigger, the hammer strikes the firing pin and drives it forward. It can only go so far before it hits the "shelves" inside the bolt which limits its forward travel. Putting in a heavier hammer spring without modifying the firing pin to go forward farther, just puts an awful lot of stress on the firing pin, without making it strike a primer any deeper. That's why many end up breaking their firing pin.
Ruger will not sell you a spare pin without you sending the Mini in to them for fitting and test firing. Mini's are not "one size fits all" when it comes to bolts and firing pins. My 2 Mini-30's are from the same production run (189 series) and do not have the same size bolts or FP's.
I would not try to modify your factory pin as they are impossible to get unless you send your gun in to Ruger and ask for a spare to be fitted.
The replacement pins sold by Glend Arms do not hold up well, many break after less than a hundred rounds, or the tip will bend. They are made of softer steel than the Ruger factory pins.
What you can do, is order a spare from a Florida company called Iron Sight Precision. These are quality, heat treated stainless pins and appear to be identical to the factory pins, except are oversize in length.
You have to first, ensure that the pin doesn't protrude out the back of the bolt, when the pin is pushed forward. My factory pins are slightly below flush when the pin is all the way forward. The Iron Sight replacement pin. when test fitted into my bolts, fit below flush in one, and in the other, way sticking out. That is why Ruger won't sell you a pin to put in yourself, all Mini bolts are slightly different. To get the new pin to fit farther inside your bolt, you will have to relieve the tapered shelf part way down the pin, with a milling machine if you have one, or just with emery cloth, until it goes further inside the bolt, matching the fit at back of your factory pin.
One thing to check before going further, is to make sure the face of your bolt does not have a raised rim around the firing pin hole. Mine did not have this machining mark, but if your's does, it will need to be removed to ensure the face of the bolt around the firing pin hole is smooth and even.
Next you will notice that your new replacement pin is sticking out of the bolt face a lot more than the old pin (this is "protrusion").
I cannot tell you exactly how much protrusion you should go for, as all Mini's differ slightly, but as an example, most Mini's seem to have around .030" to .032" tip protrusion. An AK or SKS might be as much as .050" or more. What you want to go for is more protrusion than the factory pin, but not so much as to pierce primers if you happen to switch ammo and fire some Boxer primed ammo like W-W or PMC. I took off the tip of my new pin, using emery cloth, until I had what I measured as .038" protrusion.
Brownell's sells a firing pin protrusion gauge for $40, that would be worth it if you are going to fit a lot of spare pins. If you are only going to do one, you can get by with using some auto feeler gauges.
I tested 60 rounds of Tula with the new pin, and had all ignite reliably. (Tula seem to be the worst for the Mini, due to the primer being seated deeper in the case, the Mini usually has a hard time reaching them). I then shot 50 rounds of my hand loads, loaded with Winchester large rifle primers, and a box of 20 PMC FMJ factory loads. All were fine, firing pin hit was deeper than the factory pin, but no pierced primers. If you over do it and try too much protrusion, you will pierce a primer. Make sure you are wearing good safety glasses when you test fire! That is a good practice when doing any shooting.
Here is the link for the Iron Sight Precision firing pins:
Ruger Mini 14 Firing Pin
I bought mine off E-Bay but had trouble locating it doing a few different searches. I have recommended these on other forums, so it appears people have been ordering them, it looks like Iron sigh Precision is out of stock at the moment, they probably didn't anticipate the demand that was there for a good quality spare pin for the Mini.
I remember the issue of excessive pressure being addressed in the article and it stating that pressure was a non issue and no ramifications from shooting .311 ammo. Has to be the same article. Can you post the link. I'm heading for Google to see what I can find. Thanks for the post.
