[Model 52]

One of the principle advantages of the Mini 14 for law enforcement work is its non assault rifle look, especially with a wood stock. Way back in the day there was bit more sensitivity to public perception.

For example when I first started in law enforcement, one of the major concerns expressed about carrying a 1911 or an FN Hi Power, was the very visible cocked hammer, and how the public reacted to that when it was just sitting in your holster. That same concern for perception was also a nod in favor of the Mini-14 in one form or another over the more iconic and very military looking AR-15, M16A1, etc.

It's the same concern that also had officers wearing striped slacks, uniform shirts and ties with concealable body armor underneath. Today you see far more officers with tactical pants, and in some cases BDU style shorts and tactical plate carriers or external body armor. Those two extremes present vastly different images to the public.

That change in dress in many people's mind (public and officer alike) also conveys a change in attitude from "to serve and protect" to more military like attitudes of "whatever it takes to get home tonight", and worse, "us against the civilians".

Reagan was not pro gun but was very pro law enforcement, and the whole war on drugs campaign that started in his administration has moved US law enforcement as a whole in a progressively more military direction. Many of the things we are seeing now in terms of negative press surrounding law enforcement are the results and reactions to that shift. I suspect the pendulum is now going to swing the other way and that swing will be in the Mini 14's favor.

 

[RJF]

Model, I agree.

Mostly.

Much of it depends on location: wouldn't want to paint things with a broad brush across the country. LE in Bernardino is far different than in, say, Spotsylvania, VA. Not just in terms of mission/focus, but in terms of operational matters and threats. If the local LEOs think they should have Barret .50s, M8 armored cars, or even an M1 Abrams, I'm fine with that.

But they don't. They're reasonable. Can't say all LEO PDs are that way, but such is the nature of particular needs for particular locales.

Around here, the LEOs don't particularly care about public perceptions. The county next door used to have Mini-14s as their patrol weapons. When Uncle Sugar offered up used M16s for free, they got them. If that had not happened, they'd still have Mini-14s (and IMHO, be better off). But the price was right!!!

I am happy to say our county sheriffs' department is good, decent, and responsible. I don't care what they want or need - as long as they get it.

Naturally, I would prefer they have a Mini, but I leave it up to them: they're the ones with their lives on the thin blue line.

 

[imarangemaster]

There has been a shift in public expectation as far as police goes. 20 years ago, people would have been appalled to see officers with body armor and tactical gear. That began to change with 9/11, when it started to be commonplace to see it.

2012 to 2014 I did a domestic Security Contractor job funded by Homeland Security. My job was to drive around in the mountains of northern California and protect powerhouses and dams from Mujahideen. I wore a tactical vest and carried an AR15 and a 1911. Whether talking with campers in the woods, or the stores and gas stations in the small towns up there, no one batted an eye lash at it.

 

[jws360]

There has been a shift in public expectation as far as police goes. 20 years ago, people would have been appalled to see officers with body armor and tactical gear. That began to change with 9/11, when it started to be commonplace to see it.

Unfortunately, such also appears to have led to an "us vs. them" mentality all too often. Militarization of police, IMO, is a dangerous slope.

 

[Hellgate]

Thanks to Obama embracing BLM more cops are getting shot so they are armoring up.

 

[imarangemaster]

I had to armor up! I was a one man patrol, and often because of the layout of many of the dams and powerhouses down in the canyons, I would not know I was up to my eyeballs in Muji until it was too late. Thank God I never ran into any. Believe me, you feel very alone when help would be over an hour away rolling code 3, and your radio didn't always work because of the canyons. It was a pretty lonely @ss job, 12 hours a day in the mountains alone. I also did mutual aid for Forest Service and occasionally El Dorado County.

 

[imarangemaster]

Unfortunately, such also appears to have led to an "us vs. them" mentality all too often. Militarization of police, IMO, is a dangerous slope.

I agree. Having been a cop for 20+ years, most of that as a rural deputy I am glad I was not in a situation where I had to do SWAT every day. In California in the major retro areas, though, the gang violence is so pervasive and frequent, it is a necessity.

 

[jws360]

I agree. Having been a cop for 20+ years, most of that as a rural deputy I am glad I was not in a situation where I had to do SWAT every day. In California in the major retro areas, though, the gang violence is so pervasive and frequent, it is a necessity.

Agree. The sad part is the left either created or tolerates gang violence, renamed is "gun violence" and then wants to disarm everyone BUT the gangs. Brilliant.

 

[chill1955]

Funny how the "gun debate" never centers on the data. Somehow the truth is suppressed. But I if you listen to Fox News they are shifting their discussions and not in a good way. Our world is upside down, right is wrong, wrong is right.

 

[imarangemaster]

The now convicted felon, Leland Yee was a Democratic California legislator who championed gun control. He was convicted of racketeering and gun trafficking to gang members by the Feds a few years back. Even after that, the California legislator still balked at expelling him. They actually had to debate whether or not to expel him!

 

[imarangemaster]

Leland Yee was a member of the California State Legislature for years. He was the most strident voice of the Democratic party calling for outright seizure of privately owned firearms, and father of several of the assault Weapons bills we now suffer under. He is now in Federal Prison for gun trafficking to Filipino gangs, racketeering, and extortion. Even at that, there was a heated debate in our Legislator on whether or not to expel him from the legislature! There were many who thought he should be allowed to keep his seat!

 

[imarangemaster]

As long as you adhere to the California socialist totalitarian platform, you can do no wrong in their eyes. Recently there were numerous sexual harassment complaints against several of the Democratic legislators. If I remember correctly, only one has lost his seat in the face of sexual assault accusations. If it was a conservative legislator, they would have been bounced and arrested. Even Leland Yee was arrested by the feds, not California law enforcement.

 

[imarangemaster]

Good place for this thread. Between 1982 and 2000, I had two Mini-14s and two Mini-30s I used as LEO trunk weapons during that time.

My first Mini was in 1982. It was a Bicentennial Mini-14l 180 series. I really liked it. I got it because AR15s were twice as much, and I was raising three kids at the time on cop pay. I sold it in about 1986 when I got a Sterling made AR180 to replace it.

My second was a 181 series Mini-14 I got in about 1990 or 1991. I used it for about a couple years , and traded it for a Mini-30 stainless. about 1995. It was scoped when I got it with a big Bushnell 3x9, and was really too heavy for a trunk carbine (which is what I wanted it for). I sold it around 1997 and got a blued Mini-30 that I put the M1 Carbine style rear sight on it. That was a great shooter, but in 2001, I had retired, and a friend offered me a stupid amount of money for it, as it had a beautiful walnut stock. I sold it to him.

I never had any problem qualifying with any of the Minis to be able to use them as LEO trunk weapons. It was 10 shots at the head of a B27 silhouette at 100 yards, and 7/10 had to be in the black. With the old pencil barrels, I am sure I would have had issues if it was a 50 round course!

The Mini was a GREAT LEO trunk weapon. Back then, the public were not used to the proliferation of the AR15 platform we have today. AR15s were RARE until the mid to late 1990s. I did not weird out the public to see a cop with a Mini-14 with a wood stock and 20 or 30 round magazine.

I always knew I would get another Mini, so I kept my mags (my rule was if I sell a firearm, I only include one magazine!). I did not get another Mini-14 until about 2015, when I picked up a used 582 series. I was very impressed, but went through a tough time of being off work after a surgery and then changing professions, so I foolishly sold it.

Fast forward to last year (2017) Commiefornia's gun laws made it where all non-featureless semi autos had to be registered as Assault Weapons. I sold an AR15 and replaced it with a new in box 583 series Mini-14. Then a couple months later, I sold my AK rather than make it featureless, and bought a new in the box 583 series Mini-30.

I could not be more pleased with either one!

 

[jws360]

Good place for this thread. Between 1982 and 2000, I had two Mini-14s and two Mini-30s I used as LEO trunk weapons during that time.

Commiefornia's gun laws made it where all non-featureless semi autos had to be registered as Assault Weapons. I sold an AR15 and replaced it with a new in box 583 series Mini-14. Then a couple months later, I sold my AK rather than make it featureless, and bought a new in the box 583 series Mini-30.

I could not be more pleased with either one!

Register? Of what do you speak? No such word exists in the gun owner's lexicon. Many four letter words, however, do.

 

[kwg020]

I was attempting to sell "California compliant" AR 10 lowers about 6 or 7 years ago from a dealership (FFL) here in Iowa. The lowers were built by Aero Precision and were the Armalite B series design. It was identical to the Armalite B but was not on California's banned list by name. Yet.

I'll bet I called 125 dealerships and FFL holders. It was the same story: we can't trust our legislature and especially our Attorney General Karmela Harris. They all said we can be right but they will sue us anyway and it will put us out of business.

I talked to one guy who claimed he was a former California legislator (current firearms dealership) and he claimed he has already seen the bill as written by Diane Feinstein and it outlaws anything semi auto. It sounded like this bill had floated around the California legislature for several years and very few folks would support it. It's obvious things and times have changed.

The liberals never forget. Think about it, how long has Diane Feinstein been in the U.S. Senate ? They will hang onto something forever just waiting for the day and years to put it into the public forum. The Mini 14 is just another one of the victims. I'm sure there will be more before it's over.
kwg

 

[imarangemaster]

Yep, there is a bill currently circulating in Sacramento banning ALL semi-automatic rifles. That includes Winchester Model 100, Remington 740 series, Remington Model 8 (made in 1907), Winchester 1907 in .32 SLR, .351 & .401 self loader, Ruger Minis, M1 carbines, Marlin Camp Carbines, etc....The death of 1000 cuts.

It is notable that Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, Benito Mussolini and the fascists, Moa and Stalin and the Communists ALL banned private ownership of weapons. That was a step necessary to secure their tyrannies...

 

[Hellgate]

The reason for all the various martial arts (judo, karate, tai kwon do, etc., etc. ) is because historically the asian despots/emperors forbade the possession of arms among the people so these means of self defense/offense were developed to give some means of self preservation. They are all basically acts of desperation when completely disarmed.

 

[jws360]

Yep, there is a bill currently circulating in Sacramento banning ALL semi-automatic rifles. That includes Winchester Model 100, Remington 740 series, Remington Model 8 (made in 1907), Winchester 1907 in .32 SLR, .351 & .401 self loader, Ruger Minis, M1 carbines, Marlin Camp Carbines, etc....The death of 1000 cuts.

It is notable that Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, Benito Mussolini and the fascists, Moa and Stalin and the Communists ALL banned private ownership of weapons. That was a step necessary to secure their tyrannies...

I'd say we're past the point of active resistance. But that's just me.

 

[RJF]

Mini-14 in the News. Not great news, though...

Mexican Military Seizes Cartel's Rocket Launchers, Dynamite, Grenades near U.S. Border

One of the photos appears to show a SBR SS Mini-14 folder.

 

[jws360]

Mini-14 in the News. Not great news, though...

Mexican Military Seizes Cartel's Rocket Launchers, Dynamite, Grenades near U.S. Border

One of the photos appears to show a SBR SS Mini-14 folder.

Nice catch. Would not have noticed myself. Never knew there WAS a short barrel available.