Norco bank robbery and shoot-out

[Jeff22]

I bought my first AR-15 in 1977.

I got a steel 40 round mag for it a year or two later. I don't remember who made it.

I still have it someplace (along with all the other magazines I ever owned that still work)

[Gray01]

If more people read the book, hopefully more will realize that the cops may need rifles and armored vehicles and so forth.
From our point of view, he is careless with some terminology. He mentions "militarization of the police" and the increase in armored vehicles. I would have preferred that he had phrased that as more "more effective weapons and safety gear",..

Hopefully in one hand...

I think that horse has not just left the barn, it is now either mucilage or in the Phrench sewers. American humans did not envision the term "militarization of the police" when LEO's used a variant of the M1918A2 BAR.

In third grade we were taken on a field trip to the local State Police facility whereby we were treated, in rapt attention, to a live fire demonstration of an assorted ensemble of weaponry, to include that awful, fire-spitting "militarized" death dealer known as the Thompson M1928 submachine gun. After the demo we were permitted to swarm the line, vying to be able to retrieve one expended case, and the winners were indeed proud. Everyone, teachers included, had face-splitting smiles, and there was not even a glimmer of the idea that what had and was transpiring was anything except right and wholesome and good.

jnc36rcpd, we (as in the imperial "we") have not changed; it is a cultural shift that (I know...tinfoil hats...) I think has been engineered. Conspiracy? Probably not. But an orchestra can all play to accomplish the goals of the composition. Regardless, the end result is where we are, and the term "militarization" is now used as a bludgeon upon law enforcement. That is, after all, what occurs when one side is permitted to command the language and the definitions.

[TGS]

I think that horse has not just left the barn, it is now either mucilage or in the Phrench sewers. American humans did not envision the term "militarization of the police" when LEO's used a variant of the M1918A2 BAR.

From The Good Doctor and Mr. Hearne. Nothing else need be said:

https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....l=1#post244979

[Erick Gelhaus]

Well, I finished the book. And I see the author is now starting to make appearences at L/E conferences. I'll stick with jnc's hope that some lessons above the tactical may be learned.

[blues]

Well, I finished the book. And I see the author is now starting to make appearences at L/E conferences. I'll stick with jnc's hope that some lessons above the tactical may be learned.

Was it a worthwhile read? I've got a copy in my to be read file.

[Erick Gelhaus]

Was it a worthwhile read? I've got a copy in my to be read file.

Yes. With the caveat that the comments about fiction, artistic license, bias all appear to be accurate from my perspective. It was a significant event that is no longer well known in our world. There are during and after (especially after) lessons that are not yet internalized within our profession. Fixing some of the after issues will help others.

[Tom Givens]

I agree with Erick. The gun stuff is very inaccurate bullshit, but the account of the trial process and the aftermath for some of the officers has some value. These lessons have to be relearned every fifteen years, it seems.

[Ed L]

So, since I’m completely un-conversant on the state of after market magazines at a time before I started high school ... just how common were 40rd AR magazines in 1980?

I just noticed this question.

I don't remember seeing a 40 round magazine for the AR in 1980. I bought my first AR-15 in the fall of 1980. It was a Colt SP-1 with a 20" barrel and triangular handguards. It came from the factory with two 20 round magazines that were blocked to only accept 5 rounds, and needed to be disassembled to remove the blockers. At that time 20 and 30 round magazines were available in gun stores, with the 20 round mags being more common.

At some point in the early to mid 1980s I remember seeing 40 round magazines for the AR-15 advertised in some catalogs and such. But I don't remember ever seeing one in real life or in a gun store.

[Erick Gelhaus]

I just noticed this question.

I don't remember seeing a 40 round magazine for the AR in 1980. ... At some point in the early to mid 1980s I remember seeing 40 round magazines for the AR-15 advertised in some catalogs and such. But I don't remember ever seeing one in real life or in a gun store.

Thanks Ed.

[MistWolf]

...just how common were 40rd AR magazines in 1980?

I don't think I'm very much older than you as in 1980, I was out of high school only a short time. But my father, my uncles and their shooting buddies were avid gun guys and I hung out with and went shooting with them as much as possible. Dad even had a gunshop for a few years.

In California during that time, 40 round AR mags weren't particularly rare, but they weren't very common either. 40 Round mags could always be found at Pomona Gun Show. Dad, my uncles and their shooting buddies bought a few. Reliability was inconsistent and were considered a novelty item rather than proper gear. It wasn't long before they found their way into the junk drawer where they became misplaced, forgotten and lost. During that time, the most common AR mags were the twenty rounders. Thirty rounders were also available but they weren't as common. Thirty rounders were considered "untried" and the twenty rounders were the order of the day.