First I would like to thank all of you for your input. This is a great forum and you guys are the best!

After due consideration I purchased a Mini Thirty. There are apparently some AR-15 and AK-47 variants that supposedly are legal for sale in CA. I haven’t confirmed that with my FFI dealer. In order to comply they have blocked magazines with 10 round max capacity and some other limiting features that I don’t understand. At least the Mini Thirty is a straightforward, CA legal rifle with (from what I have read) a solid reputation. The ammunition is relatively cheap and I prefer the 30 cal. Bullet to the .223 in the Mini-14.

Once again, thanks for your thoughts. They were very useful in this process.