Mini14 - Best Optics for Home Defense?

Hi All ...

Just picked up a Mini14 and was looking for some opinions regarding the best optics for shorter range (<100 yards) applications. While reading up the opinions are all over the place - from red dot to fixed power to 3x9 or better. Of course, the other options is to just stick with the iron sights ...

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks!

I will answer to the title of the thread......home defense.
For me........from across the room out to 50 yards, irons will do the trick. But (in an urban environment) anything past 25 yards is where "home defense" is likely gonna take some explaining......if I need a quick-to-target optic, I prefer a Red Dot.

Well realize that "home defense" is generally a nighttime sport forget about optics of any power. That leaves three choices: iron sights, laser, or red dot.
Iron sights are not real disable at night unless you can find night sights. Most folks find them of diminishing utility after about 25yards.
Laser sights that are good to 100 yards in bright light but require good batteries and are expensive.
Red dot sights work well but except for one trijicon sight they require batteries.

The big problem with batteries is that they fail and often take oddball replacements that require considerable time to change. Telling the BG "I'm out of batteries come back in 2 days while I go to Amazon or batteries plus" is unlikely to produce the desired results. So you still need backup might iron sights.

Be realistic. A good home defense weapon is not dual purpose. If you have a clear 100yds shoot you either have a weird house or a major mansion (in which case you really need good hired security).

grobin said:

The big problem with batteries is that they fail and often take oddball replacements that require considerable time to change. Telling the BG "I'm out of batteries come back in 2 days while I go to Amazon or batteries plus" is unlikely to produce the desired results. So you still need backup might iron sights.

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Most Red Dots I'm familiar with take the very common CR2032, CR1632, or a similar coin battery battery or even AAA size. These are available in any Walmart, Home Store, hardware store and even super markets at low cost. They last a long time, are easy to change and you could easily afford to change them every six months as a precaution.

I agree that backup iron sights are worthwhile but red dots are also very reliable.

If "Home Defense" means inside the house, I think factory sights and a gun mounted flashlight are best.

I have tritium dots on a couple of my shotguns. I think the same thing would work fine for a Mini-14 being used for "home defense."

Dunno if anyone actually makes such a thing for bolt-on installation, but I'd imagine something could be found or devised.

Question: What/who are you thinking you need to defend against? The common home invader, or a trained fire team? If the former, a decent pump shotgun and/or a handgun is a better choice than a mini-14 with or without optics.

If a Mini 14 is all you have, and you're going to use it for home defense, then forget about any optics, and don't concern yourself with the iron sights, either - learn to shoot instinctively like a shotgunner does. Home defense is not a 100 yard benchrest competition.... the bad guy is going to be so close that he's liable to have powder burns around the entrance wound.

If you have the option, a handgun is a much better choice, and something like Crimson Trace grips could be added - they actually make sense for home defense.

GTF said:

......... the application i'm thinking of for the mini is more of a shtf situation where i would need to go out to 50 yards. thx

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If you shoot somebody who's 50 yards away, it had better be a very strong case of you returning fire... and even then, you're going to face a lot of questions as to why you felt it was necessary.

GTF said:

wwb said:

If a Mini 14 is all you have, and you're going to use it for home defense, then forget about any optics, and don't concern yourself with the iron sights, either - learn to shoot instinctively like a shotgunner does.

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Ok. Although in a real shtf, I'd be visiting the local armory for something a bit heavier than a mini-14. Like an M240 and a truckload of belted ammo, along with whatever explosives I could lay my hands on.

PS: Speaking of shotguns, besides the usual buck and bird shot, are you familiar with the Brenneke line of slugs? If not, you might be interested in them for your potential SHTF needs. http://www.brennekeusa.com/ . I keep my 590 loaded with a mix of 00 and Brenneke Green Lightning - for Personnel and Vehicles.

Specs for all their slugs are a PDF download here: http://www.brennekeusa.com/service/downloads/

Here in Texas, what we commonly refere to as "home defense" when these sort of discussions come up can be (and is) lawfully extended to include everywhere within the bounds of one's property...or property under his control.
What that means in my case, is that regardless of whether we are talking 10 feet or 200+yards, it's all purty-much the same thing...meaning that if I'm right in using 'deadly force' to protect myself and my property, I'm just as right regardless of 'how far away' I had to shoot.

Now, with the above facts having been established;
Keeping a loaded, carbine-type rifle handy has been a part of my defensive strategy for over twenty years. Presently, the gun which fills that roll happens to be a Mini-14....

So, getting to the actual question being posed by the OP...no, mine doesn't have any sort of add-on optics, nor a light of any kind. Reason is, a peep sight works fine for me and has for years, so I don't see the need. Plus, I'm of the mind that wandering around at night with a light turned on is a real good way to get yourself shot...whether it's being done inside of a structure, or not...and I've already been shot at enough times to suit me, thank you very much.

DGW

DGW1949 said:

Here in Texas, what we commonly refere to as "home defense" when these sort of discussions come up can be (and is) lawfully extended to include everywhere within the bounds of one's property...or property under his control.
What that means in my case, is that regardless of whether we are talking 10 feet or 200+yards, it's all purty-much the same thing...meaning that if I'm right in using 'deadly force' to protect myself and my property, I'm just as right regardless of 'how far away' I had to shoot.

Now, with the above facts having been established;
Keeping a loaded, carbine-type rifle handy has been a part of my defensive strategy for over twenty years. Presently, the gun which fills that roll happens to be a Mini-14....

So, getting to the actual question being posed by the OP...no, mine doesn't have any sort of add-on optics, nor a light of any kind. Reason is, a peep sight works fine for me and has for years, so I don't see the need. Plus, I'm of the mind that wandering around at night with a light turned on is a real good way to get yourself shot...whether it's being done inside of a structure, or not...and I've already been shot at enough times to suit me, thank you very much.

DGW

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Can I say "Me to"? :wink: Different gun tho:

GunnyGene said:

DGW1949 said:

Here in Texas, what we commonly refere to as "home defense" when these sort of discussions come up can be (and is) lawfully extended to include everywhere within the bounds of one's property...or property under his control.
What that means in my case, is that regardless of whether we are talking 10 feet or 200+yards, it's all purty-much the same thing...meaning that if I'm right in using 'deadly force' to protect myself and my property, I'm just as right regardless of 'how far away' I had to shoot.

Now, with the above facts having been established;
Keeping a loaded, carbine-type rifle handy has been a part of my defensive strategy for over twenty years. Presently, the gun which fills that roll happens to be a Mini-14....

So, getting to the actual question being posed by the OP...no, mine doesn't have any sort of add-on optics, nor a light of any kind. Reason is, a peep sight works fine for me and has for years, so I don't see the need. Plus, I'm of the mind that wandering around at night with a light turned on is a real good way to get yourself shot...whether it's being done inside of a structure, or not...and I've already been shot at enough times to suit me, thank you very much.

DGW

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Can I say "Me to"? :wink: Different gun tho:

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You certainly may. :wink: ...
And while we're at it, I'd like to add that I keep something similar to yours standing 3' from my front door...only mine is an older, walnut-stocked 5-shot Remington 1100 with a (factory) 18 1/2" Police (AKA 'riot') barrel and a single bead sight. Over the years, it's shown itself to be a very handy contraption to have...sort of a multi-use tool, if ya get my drift.

DGW

Really can't beat a good shotgun under 100yds. The single most versatile firearm ever invented. Will put little birds on the table and take out any unarmored vehicle depending on the ammo you feed it. Brenneke has a a high antimony slug that delivers over 3500 ftlbs of energy at the muzzle, and nearly 2000ftlbs @50 yds. :shock: http://www.brennekeusa.com/fileadmin/user_upload/brenneke/Downloads/Catalog_USA/Law_Enforcement_Catalog_2014.pdf

You can probably tell I'm a Brenneke fan. :wink:

GunnyGene said:

GTF said:

wwb said:

If a Mini 14 is all you have, and you're going to use it for home defense, then forget about any optics, and don't concern yourself with the iron sights, either - learn to shoot instinctively like a shotgunner does. Home defense is not a 100 yard benchrest competition.... the bad guy is going to be so close that he's liable to have powder burns around the entrance wound.

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yea, there's ideal and then there's practical i'm in NY where you can't even get a detachable mag for an AR.

GTF said:

GunnyGene said:

Ok. Although in a real shtf, I'd be visiting the local armory for something a bit heavier than a mini-14. Like an M240 and a truckload of belted ammo, along with whatever explosives I could lay my hands on.

PS: Speaking of shotguns, besides the usual buck and bird shot, are you familiar with the Brenneke line of slugs? If not, you might be interested in them for your potential SHTF needs. http://www.brennekeusa.com/ . I keep my 590 loaded with a mix of 00 and Brenneke Green Lightning - for Personnel and Vehicles.

Specs for all their slugs are a PDF download here: http://www.brennekeusa.com/service/downloads/

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yea, there's ideal and then there's practical i'm in NY where you can't even get a detachable mag for an AR.

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Understood, and you have my condolences for your predicament. Maybe things will change in a few years, but often the "I can't" attitude depends on how willing you are to ignore what the State says. Where there's a will, there's a way.

Well I see some questions not asked.
What are you protecting and against what?

If you are protecting a large property against vandals or critters I assume you've considered collateral damage. You may or may not be clear to shoot intruders or critters outside your home. A good conciled carry class will update you on laws and how local LEO reacts.

Are you protecting against: regular thieves and vandals, someone with a vest, a reenactment of the Hatfield–McCoy feud, or critters? In the first case the mini is overkill. In the next two cases its a bit light and for critters it depends. If you are talking small to medium varmets-squirrel, rats possum, coons, .... It's overkill. For larger varmets it can be light. Just check with the local game guys and see what is legal. (If you are a farmer etc. in many jurisdictions you can get a nuisance abatement permit and get rid of deer, bear, coyotes etc.

I keep a Mini-14 in the home defense role. Stepping out of my front door it's difficult to get line of sight on anything more than 40-50 yards away. I just use my iron sights. No optics attached at all. I think it's a case of determining your own situation and it can be very different from another persons.

I have a scope I can throw on it, and if I'm heading to the range for some plinking it's really not too much trouble to put it on and zero it then take it off again when I get home.

I have a 100 yard zero on the irons and at close range while the impact is off it's very slight and not enough to make much difference in a defensive close range situation.

Hi,

It seems DGW's point about property defense laws is very important in one's choice of arms, ammo and accessories. In CA, for example, we can use deadly force against a BG if we perceive him to be a threat to our life or the lives of others, inside the house, and in certain cases, outside the house. We cannot, however, use deadly force to protect property as far as I know.

So for places like this, home defense is going to be a very short range proposition. I once saw a discussion with the mfr of a small carry pistol which had virtually no sights (a little nub at the end of the barrel perhaps), and the mfr was asked why no sights. The answer was that in the typical self defense scenario, that proverbial "7 yards" distance we've all read or heard about, the shooter should be familiar with his firearm well enough to be able to point shoot something the size of a human, even keeping the shot to center of mass, without the use of sights at all. Interesting point.

For other places, it sounds like one should research their laws, then make the decision based on what they're allowed and what kinds of situations could occur. For example, if one's got some acreage, a 100-200 yd shot sounds quite plausible if defense of property is allowed. But it's hard to get over 100 ft outside on my postage stamp "city" lot of 8000 sq ft, and hard to get over 25 ft inside the house. In other words, what are the parameters we need to know to answer the question?

Rick C

The Aimpoint Patrol would be my minimum for a red dot. 2MOA dot and long battery life. Well worth the price.