Bermuda Regiment Gives Up Mini-14

[bdareg]

That's actually a good question, sidearm is beretta m9 but they are only issued to senior officers, who would probably never have a need to discharge a weapon. I will try to find out what the plan is for the m9s.

[johnwilliamson062]

The US civilian market wants these rifles and will pay for them.

They would be fairly collectible I would think. Wikipedia says 609 soldiers, so wouldn't be many. How many mins are out there with crests on them? Only these I'd guess.

[SPEMack618]

Sad day. Having seen a few of the Bermuda Regiment's parades on GPTV, I always thought thy looked rather sharp with thier Minis.

In regards to the OP, despite the Bermuda Regiment giving them up, a friend of mine who is a Marine Security Guard informs me that some Embassy Dets in "friendly" nations use the Mini-14 in lieu of an M-16 pattern rifle because it is less threatening.

[Tucker 1371]

Dangit, when are WE going to get a new rifle? Something with a piston that doesn't take 6 hours to clean, doesn't hate lefties, and require three hands to operate the charging handle maybe?

Not to bash a lot of folks favorite rifle but there's better things out there, plain and simple.

[Fishbed77]

Dangit, when are WE going to get a new rifle? Something with a piston that doesn't take 6 hours to clean, doesn't hate lefties, and require three hands to operate the charging handle maybe?

Not long.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individual_Carbine

That said, there should be no hurry. Honestly, though, there's not a rifle out there that's truly good enough to justify the cost of replacement of the M4/M16, but that's a topic for another day.

BTW, if your AR takes 6 hours to clean and 3 hards to charge, you are doing something wrong. Also, there are few infantry rifles that at more lefty-friendly than the AR system, with it's ambi charging handle, brass deflector, etc. The Beretta ARX-160 for sure, but not many others.

[rickyrick]

I thought that this was the one mini14 thread that would remain untainted by The M16/ar

[ThomasT]

I thought that this was the one mini14 thread that would remain untainted by The M16/ar

HA! Dream on.

[Little Wolf]

What is the barrel life of those old mini14s? How many rounds have you guys found does it take to put through them before the barrel is no good?

[4V50 Gary]

Be nice if Bermuda sold those guns back to us. Surplus Mini-14s would be a unique addition to a collection.

[Pilot]

Hwy, the A-Team had a lot of success with them (not that they ever hit anyone).

[tahunua001]

despite their relatively small size I would still happily call them a military force. I am surprised that they were actually using mini 14s though but it was probably the best they could afford at the time of negotiating their arms contracts, now that they are up they are probably looking for a more modern design. given the very strong british influences I would wager that they are looking at the SA80s very closely and it would be nice to see them get some... maybe someday those SA80s will become surplus and I can finally own one

Dangit, when are WE going to get a new rifle? Something with a piston that doesn't take 6 hours to clean, doesn't hate lefties, and require three hands to operate the charging handle maybe?

Not to bash a lot of folks favorite rifle but there's better things out there, plain and simple.

have you ever even shot and AR15 no less cleaned it? how bout carried an M16 into combat? adding pistons makes for even more BS to clean and despite the general "knowledge" that the M16 is hard to clean I haven't cleaned my ARs in years but if I had to I could strip each one down in about 30 seconds. oppositely I owned an AK for 3 years, I lost count of the times I had to clean that thing to combat rust whether I had shot it since it's last cleaning or not, I could not get that thing stripped in under a minute and back together took a good 3-5 minutes. any of the more modern designs like the ACR, SA80, FS2000, AUG, Tavor, all of these are more complicated to strip and put back together and none of them use a piston to my knowledge.
how many militaries can you say with certainty issue a piston driven gun to every member other than an AK47? the answer is none and that is because piston driven designs are a gimmick and nothing more.

I laugh because you talk to any grunt that has had boots on the ground and they all love their rifles and wouldn't change a thing, even though they poop where they eat, jam if they get a single grain of sand in their guns and are so horribly put together that you can reload, switch safety and clear weapon without losing sight picture and keeping positive control with the firing hand(I say all that facetiously). the only people that gripe about the weapons our troops are issued are the people that were around when the M16A1 was first introduced 40 years ago and mall ninjas that have never seen a second of actual combat experience.

[Bart Noir]

designs like the ACR, SA80, FS2000, AUG, Tavor, all of these are more complicated to strip and put back together and none of them use a piston to my knowledge.

Actually, all of those use pistons.

It would be cool to see the Bermuda Mini's on the US civilian market, but I don't think current US law allows them to be imported. I guess I am not sure, since they don't have the dreaded evil death-dealing pistol grip. Maybe they can be imported, just like "sporting" Saiga rifles from Russia.

This is the first thread that made me think about the Mini's accuracy in terms of military requirements. We hear how the earlier ones were not very accurate, but compared to an AK? Plenty of armies were and are satisfied with the accuracy of the AK. So maybe the Mini wasn't so bad.

Bart Noir

[nfafan]

I'd have to think at the expected combat ranges trained for today, vs. the Crimean Wars, the Mini-14 would do fine.

Yeah, I'd love to see pics of these guns!

[Art Eatman]

Bermuda Minis or a bunch of deleting...

[Come and take it.]

I wonder if the mini-14 in bermuda is similiar or identical to the ones used by law enforcement here in the US. That is to say the mini14 gb with bayonet lug.

[bdareg]

Hey guys happy new year and that, been a bit busy. As i said before we are not adopting the sa80 as even though it has been upgraded it is still not without issues. They are expensive and complicated and heavier than anything i've handled. Also the bull pup thing takes some getting used to. We are getting hk g36's this year. Our two specialist units will be getting the g36c. I understand the whole ar vs. The world debate as i am a gun enthusiast, but as a soldier a rifle is simply a tool. The most effective weapon is your brain. Shooting is a part of military skills but there is far more to it than that, particularly as a commander, so in reality as long as a rifle is reliable in my opinion it is good. More important than fancy weapons is mastering tactics and leadership, and understanding that the people are really the weapons, and that the rifles are merely tools.

[bdareg]

The next time i am at the armoury i will find out what fate awaits the minis.

[Alabama Shooter]

The G36 is a good solid rifle your unit should like them.

[rickyrick]

Hey welcome back bdareg.

[bdareg]

Just found out that our mini's will be executed by makita chopsaw, rest in pieces.

[tahunua001]

dang... it's pretty rare to be able to purchase a military surplus rifle that isn't a C&R... oh well, thanks for the update.

[sailskidrive]

I was in Bermuda about two years ago and while out walking around not far from Fort Catherine we spotted some Bermuda Regiment troops doing some kind of drill on the beach near a Dairy Farm

From a distance to me they looked like British uniforms, but carrying Minis.

[Fishbed77]

Just found out that our mini's will be executed by makita chopsaw, rest in pieces.

You need to speak up and save those rifles!

[4V50 Gary]

Chopped up? They could easily sell them back to Americans and recoup part of the cost of the replacements. Politicians.

[SPEMack618]

Can't have those military grade weapons of war on our streets, guys.

Gah. What a waste.