(GunReports.com) — Three very different 7.62x39mm rifles turned in a tightly fought battle in the July 2010 issue of Gun Tests, says its editor, and the magazine’s test team preferred two rifles that might not have the traditional AK shape.
“Our test rifles were the Ruger K-Mini Thirty-P/20, the AR-15 style DPMS Panther carbine, and a Standard SKS Type 56 with an aftermarket stock from the Advanced Technologies Incorporated,” said Gun Tests editor Todd Woodard, “Our readers tell us they have a lot of interest in defensive carbines.”
In the feature, the magazine tested the three rifles with Wolf 122-grain HP, Federal American Eagle 124-grain FMJ, Wolf Military Classic 124-grain SP, and Winchester USA 123-grain FMJ rounds.
“We deleted the Wolf 124-grain SP rounds when we found that our vintage SKS was the only rifle that could break its primers on every shot,” Woodard said.
“Roger Eckstine’s team did a great job of comparing these rifles,” Woodard said. “All the rifles worked extremely well.”
Excerpts from the Gun Tests magazine comparison:
Jonathan A. Ciener Hi-Power Plus, $249: The Ciener conversion was exceptionally well made. It would grace any Browning or other version of the Hi-Power, we thought, with its extremely nice metalwork and black finish.
SKS Standard Type 56 with Fiberforce stock, $510 retail: Our SKS rifle was loaded by way of stripper clips. When we said earlier that changing the stock was probably the most popular modification to the SKS, we might have said adaptation to removable high-capacity magazines was also high on the list. Magazine conversions are available for the SKS, but in our opinion changing from clips to mags destroys some of the charm of this design.
Ruger K-Mini Thirty-P/20 No. 5853 7.62x39mm, $966: From the bench we only found one round that didn’t perform well in our Ruger. The Winchester USA rounds were reliable but produced the largest groups. The American Eagle ammunition produced statistical groups that averaged about 0.85 inches across. But firing the Wolf 122-grain HP ammunition, the Average Group Radius measured just 0.75 inches across, topping our other test rifles.
DPMS Panther 16-Inch No. RFA2-762-16 7.62x39mm, $850: One aspect we liked about this rifle was that it was familiar. Anyone trained on an AR-15 was good to go with no additional training necessary. This included takedown and cleaning.
“Subscribers can learn how we scored these units by logging on to www.Gun-Tests.com,” Woodard said.
