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Rifles

Ruger Mini-30 Tactical

On September 8, 2010, Ruger announced the Mini Thirty Tactical rifle. Chambered for the 7.62×39 cartridge, the new Mini-30 offered a more compact version of the company’s existing Mini 14 and Mini Thirty platforms.

Let’s take a look at this rifle and where it is today.

Ruger Mini 30 Tactical Rifle

Where to Buy the Ruger Mini 30

The Mini 30 is a bit of a niche gun, and it can be hard to find in local shops. If you have problems sourcing one locally – or finding a Ruger Mini 30 Tactical at a price you’re willing to pay – try buying through our affiliate links below. I’ve done business with all of these companies and have gotten great service and good prices from each.

All About the Ruger Mini 30

Ruger’s Mini 30 platform is an evolution of the older Mini 14. Chambered in .223, the Mini 14 is a popular rifle with many American shooters.

Ruger Mini 30 Tactical review

However, Ruger recognized that there were few American-made rifles available for the 7.62×39 cartridge. This intermediate-power .30-caliber cartridge was relatively inexpensive and plentiful, yet outside of the AK-style guns, there were few options for shooters.

Enter the Mini 30.

The Mini 30 is, in many ways, a variant of the Mini 14. Yet, it is its own gun with a distinctly different group of owners. Sure, there is cross-over between 14 and 30 owners. But, it has been my experience that shooters are more likely to own one or the other – not both.

General Features of the Mini 30 Tactical

The Mini 30 Tactical is designed to be a handier firearm suitable for home defense more than long range shooting and hunting. As such, it has a 16 1/8″ barrel for easy maneuvering around a house or in a police officer’s squad car.

barrel and flash hider of Mini 30

Additionally, the gun has a synthetic stock. These kinds of stocks tend to be more resilient in varying weather, heat and humidity conditions. This could prove to be a real selling point for a law enforcement agency or farmer looking for a truck gun.

Additional features include ghost ring sights and an A2-style flash suppressor. The Tactical ships with two 20-round magazines. Original guns shipped with only one, so I am glad Ruger listened to its customers and includes a second.

Where to Buy Mini 30 Magazines

Mini 30 magazines can be purchased through a variety of locations. If possible, I recommend supporting your local gun shop. However, I know that brick and mortar stores don’t often carry Mini Thirty mags.

I recommend using our affiliate links to Gun Mag Warehouse. I’ve been a customer of theirs since they started up and have spent a stupid amount of money with them. They always ship fast and have some of the best prices around.

OEM Ruger 20-round magazine

Extended 30-round magazine

Additional capacity magazines

Ruger machined scope bases into the receiver, and includes a set of scope rings. This makes things a lot easier for a shooter who wants to add a scope or other optic to the rifle.

The 7.62×39 cartridge is certainly capable of taking medium sized game, and dropping a nice Leupold scope on top of this will give you good accuracy for taking that white tail.

mini 30 magazine

Compared to the standard Mini Thirty, the Tactical has a barrel that is almost 2.5″ shorter. This makes the gun a little handier for moving around, which could be useful in a home defense situation or if the Brits ever come to collect back taxes (that might be closer than you think, by the way…)

Additionally, the original Tactical model had a barrel and receiver that were blued alloy steel instead of a matte stainless steel. After all, everyone knows a true tactical model has to be black, otherwise it just isn’t operator enough.

stainless mini 30 tactical

Not long after the Mini 30 Tactical started selling, the company added a version with a matte stainless finish to the catalog.

The ‘standard’ Mini Thirty rifles don’t have the flash suppressors that the Tactical models do.

Ruger Mini 30 Tactical Price

Originally, the MSRP for the Mini Thirty Tactical is $921, which was less than the $949-966 price tags on the other Mini Thirty variants at the time.

Since then, the prices have gone up. At the time of the most recent update, the blued gun had a MSRP of $1,339 while the matte stainless version cost $1,439.

No, the Mini 30 Tactical is not California legal.

Specifications

Here are the specs on these Mini 30 models:

Model Number58545868
Caliber7.62×397.62×39
Standard Magazine Capacity20 rounds20 rounds
Barrel Length16.12″16.12″
Twist Rate1:10″ RH1:10″ RH
Stockfixed syntheticfixed synthetic
Overall Length36.75″36.75″
Length of Pull13.0″13.0″
Weight (unloaded)6.7 lbs6.7 lbs
Finishbluedmatte stainless
MSRP$1,339$1,439

Updated: April 2, 2022

By Richard Johnson

Richard Johnson is an American author, editor and entrepreneur. He's done a lot of silly things in his life, but quitting police work to follow his passion of writing about guns was one of the smartest things he ever did. He founded this site and continues to manage its operation.

3 replies on “Ruger Mini-30 Tactical”

No, it’s the “flash hider” on a detachable-mag long gun that makes it illegal in CA. If the flash hider was replaced with a compensator or removed altogether, then it would be CA-compliant.

Nehemiah –

Thanks for checking in. California’s laws make my head hurt, and I can never keep them straight. Feel free to chime in any time.

-Richard

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