The Mini 14 in it’s secondary format
The Mini 14 seems to have a love hate relationship with gun owners. There are a lot of gun owners that were mad at Bill Ruger for his lack of a spine during the Clinton years and his support of the Assault Weapon ban, and many people were irked by the fact the Mini 14 was not sold with 20rd or 30rd magazines which were supplied to Law Enforcement and AC556 owners. The Mini 14 is one of those guns that everyone wishes would hold up to the same reputation of combat worthiness that the M1 Garand and M14 or M1A had, but it couldn’t. There were design flaws that kept the Mini 14 from ever being anything more than for a few quick shots.
The Mini 14 with all of it’s shortcomings is still an extremely reliable firearm under most conditions. It does not hold up to the amount of fire that an M16 can tolerate, but although it is very good as a truck gun or varmint gun, it can be used for home defense because the .223 is actually a very good close range caliber if using the correct kind of defensive ammunition. Butler Creek rifle stocks have given another angle to the Mini 14, and if you using fragmenting ammunition, the Mini 14 is as destructive as any AR15 rifle is. This urban Carbine is light and easy to store in your gun safe. Heck, I’ve actually had more room in my gun safe for more firearms since I swapped a few standard Mini 14 stocks in for these folding stocks.
If you are thinking about buying your first gun for inside the home, there is no better option than a shotgun. Some rookie gun shopper may think a shotgun is too powerful, but the reality is there is no better defensive weapon that can be so versatile when it comes to projectile ballistics. The difference in bullet penetration between a shotgun slug and size 9 shot is tremendous. Both are incredible leathal at close ranges, but energy is lost very quickly which is an assett in close situations. Due to modern home construction, there is no better reasoning than to consider what happens to a bullet if it misses the target or if it happens to hit the target and still go on. There is a saying that there is a lawyer attached to every bullet that exits your gun if it is used in a defensive situation and this very true.
After a few years of actually taking real fighting classes, one of the most common things every instructor told us was, “get a white light” on your fighting weapon. There are some handgun options where you can hold a flashlight while using a handgun and not have a fixed light on it which makes holster options very limited. The Section8 Tactical ultimate retention device is a good tool to use, but this isn’t recommended for using with a shotgun or carbine. I recenltly finished a training course where we used lasers for defensive purposes. The best tactical for using lasers is knowing when to turn them off. Yes, using a flashlight or laser is a giveaway, but spotlighting a threat and identifying it is paramount.
I must admit that I wasn’t into the idea of needing a semi-auto 22LR. The 22lr isn’t an effective defensive round and really mostly a plinking and training round. A bolt action with iron sights is still the best configuration for learning how to shoot. It teaches aiming and trigger control, but i think the Ruger 10/22 is still a fun gun to shoot with. There seems to a lot of big kids that like to shoot the 10/22 and there’s nothing wrong with a kid shooting them. I have a friend that put a heavy barrel on his and it’s a tac driver.
I have to admit it, I am a Mini 14 enthusiast. The Mini 14 has served me well and I always respected and understood the design limitations. The more I involve myself with the shooting world, the more I just sit back and observe gun owners and watch their skills with the firearms they choose to use. Gunboard squabble will never end when it comes to one gun over the other, but there is nothing wrong with modifying a less expensive semi-auto gun and using it as a defensive weapon.
Most of us probable got into the shooting world via a shotgun or 22lr rifle. Those seem to be some of the best instroductory firearms. You can learn the basics about shooting from a 22lr bolt action rifle and the shotgun is the most versatile firearm out there. Something like a Remingto 870 shotgun is normally available with an 18-28 barrel on it and can be found in 12 or 20 gauge. The shotgun can be used for pheasant hunting all the way up to deer just by altering the type of shot or using a slug. Depending on the sights you have on the gun, you may want to consider rifle sights if you plan on using slugs very often.
Back in the 1990s there was a lot of Eastern Com-Block guns coming into the Country. There were also a lot of MAK90s and SKS Rifles coming in from China. Not sure why there were so many Chinese guns coming in, but there must have been some house cleaning from the Militarys over there. You may be able to find a well made 7.62×39 rifle being made in the USA now, but they are pretty expensive and will cost you about the same as a new AR15 or more. Some of the nicest AKs are being by Arsenal Arms and they look and shoot great.