Philosophically, I decided long ago to never purchase/own a Warsaw pact caliber. I've probably missed out on owning some pretty fine weapons, and as unlikely as it seemed at the time I made that decision, some pretty cheap bulk ammo, too.
As I would say to anybody in regards to their choice of weapon, if you like it, and it suits you, go for it :-)
I love the weapon, and have no philosophical issues with the round. Have an old Mini-14 too, love both because as a kid my two fav rifles were the Winchester 30-30 lever action, and WWII M1 Carbine. Owned both, but sold the M1 Carbine as it was so inaccurate. Weak round too. 7.62 x 39 ballistics are a bit better. So as you said, the Mini-30 is a close imitation.
My son saw it at a gun show and wanted it but didn’t have the money. Price was great, so I said, “Hey, I like it! I’ll get it.” Loved it ever since.
It and the Mini-14 make a good pair.
While I can understand that (I was almost there), I decided that we'd probably be fighting people who used that ammo, and it might be neat send their own (captured ammo) back their way if that happened.
Sadly the communists we are fighting were already here.
It's all in one's perspective, I guess. After the Eastern Bloc crumbled, I figured it was my patriotic duty to help empty their warehouses of the ammo intended to shoot at us and our NATO brethren. My dad never flinched when picking up his K98 Mauser (which came home in his duffel bag), so it all seemed like the spoils of victory to me.