The rifle has evolved for the past few hundred years. In the first part of this article, we covered important technological milestones that were achieved at points in American history, usually wars. In this second part, we will discuss the various action types available today, cartridges and their nomenclature, and modern rifles and their accessories.
Manual Actions
The modern muzzleloader bears a large resemblance to its historical predecessors while having some important differences. Black powder has been largely supplanted by new formulas which are easier to clean, load, and do not leave corrosive fouling. Bullets have been updated with modern sabots to guide them down the barrel, yet not be so hard to load. Lastly, modern muzzleloaders are of an inline ignition design, with a breechplug with a hole separating the percussion cap (or upgraded to an actual cartridge primer) from the powder charge. All of these provide upgrades in power and reliability.
The trapdoor actions and rolling block actions of early blackpowder cartridge rifles are completely obsolete, and not seen in any modern rifle outside a replica.
Although primarily a shotgun and combination gun action, the break action is usable on rifles and represents about the most simple, inexpensive action out there.
Remington 760 pump action rifle.
Also primarily shotgun actions, the pump and lever actions exist in rifles. The reason they are rare is because of the centerfire primer and the spitzer bullet we discussed last time. Pointy bullets in a tubular magazine will put their points right on the primers of the rounds in front of them, and you could develop quite a situation trying to overload a tube mag and pushing hard enough to set one off.
A lever action rifle in .35 Remington (note the round tipped bullets)
Although some tube rifle rounds have pointed polymer tips, most are limited to rimfires like the .22, and pistol-round hunting carbines, like ones in .357 magnum and .44 magnum due to their round noses. Lever and pump actions favor tube mags over box mags, so they naturally tend to follow.
The granddaddy of manual rifle actions is the bolt (see title picture for a Remington 700), and it would not be an exaggeration to say that the vast majority are derived from the 1898 Mauser action. Bolt actions are simpler than levers, faster and require less movement than pumps, and work quite well with spitzer rounds and both internal and detachable box magazines. For a simple, inexpensive, reliable rifle that does not have quick follow up shots as a concern the bolt action is 100% the way to go.
Autoloading Actions
Most of the auto (or self) loading actions seen by the first World War, whether they were semi or fully automatic firing, were recoil driven. Recoil actions take the barrel back with the action a distance, and then unlocks from the action for the rest of the cycle and are common on pistols and machine guns, which have a shroud around the reciprocating barrel. There aren’t many recoil operated personal rifles for the fact of the extra weight of a shroud around the barrel for protection and to have a place to hang accurate sights. The Remington Models 8 and 81 are some exceptions.
Remington Model 81 with recoil action. Note the sleeved barrel.
Auto-loading rifles lagged a little behind their pistol, submachine gun, and machine gun counterparts until some usable actions were developed. The majority use gas operation as their method, and that was originally accomplished via piston operation. The principle is that a small hole in the barrel siphons off some combustion gas pressure and slams a piston in a bore attached to the barrel against an operating rod. This rod then recoils to the rear, and it drives the bolt to which it is attached rearward, accomplishing the chambering cycle with a spring returning it into battery.
Schematic of AK47 gas piston system
Pistons in gas guns have evolved from long stroke pistons that move a few inches to short stroke actions that move less than an inch and motivate a weight on the end of the operating rod. The M1 Garand, one of the original gas operated rifles, didn’t actually use a piston; the end of the operating rod served as the piston surface. Other piston guns include the SKS, AK47, M14/M1A, the FAL, and shotguns like the Remington 1100 and Benelli M4.
AR-15 Direct Impingement diagram.
Another gas action followed the second World War; that of direct impingement. DI guns have no piston drive, and instead siphon gas via a gas tube all the way back to the firing chamber where a “key” on the bolt is driven back by the gas pressure to accomplish the chambering cycle along with a spring powered return. Seen originally on the French MAS 44 and 49 rifles, this method is widely used on the M16/AR-15 platforms and derivatives.
A third auto-loading rifle action is the delayed blowback action seen mainly on the German G3 platform and derivatives. A normal blowback action, where the recoil spring is the only thing holding the action shut would be overpowered by any decent rifle cartridge. CETME and what would become HK developed a locking roller system to mitigate some of the force along with a retracting bolt system and fluted chamber to make the thing somehow work and not tear itself apart. It will throw your spent brass into the next zip code, however.
HK-91, delayed blowback action. Rubber buffer installed to save brass from damage of the violent ejection.
Cartridges
With a couple minor exceptions like the GyroJet (actually a rocket) and some of the new polymer cased efforts by PCP, cartridges have remained fundamentally unchanged for over a hundred years.
There are four parts to a modern cartridge, and the term cartridge, or round, refers to the whole thing. The bullet is the projectile that gets shot out of the barrel and is typically lead, with a copper jacket. Sometimes there is no copper jacket for an all lead bullet, and there are also pure copper bullets as well. A lot of Russian and Eastern Bloc ammo uses bi-metallic jackets of copper coated steel over the lead core to save money.
Bullets typically come in varying weights (measured in grain) for their caliber, and will vary widely in internal construction, tip material, and tail geometry depending on the application. Many bullets will fit in multiple cartridges; the bullets used in 30-06 Springfield are the same ones used in .308 Winchester or 7.62×51 NATO, but, oddly enough, the bullets in the Soviet round, 7.62×39, are of a slightly bigger diameter.
The case, commonly made of, and called, “brass,” is the single most expensive part of the cartridge. You should collect your brass whenever possible. Cheaper ammo, commonly surplus from the Commie countries, will have steel cased ammo that is not reloadable. Rimfire ammo is also not reloadable. The case also has a rim, either rebated (the same diameter of the case) or a traditional rim that sticks out around the edge and both of these are used to extract the spent case after firing.
The last two parts are the primer and the powder load. The primer is seated in a primer pocket on the head of the case.
Cartridges are named oddly. Usually the first number refers to either caliber (hundredths of an inch) or millimeters of bullet diameter. Most rounds are .22 inches to .50 diameter, so your calibers will range from things like 22-250 up to 50 Beouwulf, for instance. Your metric measurements will range from 5mm to 12mm, and give you things like 7.62×39, 9mm Luger, and 5.56×45.
Following the first number can be a number referring to a parent cartridge that this load was developed from, like the 22-250 Remington (derived from 250 Savage), the amount of grains of black powder were in the original load in really old cartridges like the 30-30 and the 45-70 Government, year of manufacture like the 30-06 Springfield (that’s ought six, as in 1906), or overall length of the loaded cartridge, like the 7.62×51 NATO.
Sometimes there will be no second number, and just the name of an ammo maker or something inspiring, like Parabellum. Some rounds will have multiple names; the 9×18, the 9mm Luger, and the 9mm Parabellum are the same thing, as is the .45 ACP and .45 AUTO. Sometimes a round can be developed by an ammo company, named after it, and later made by everyone, so you could have a Remington 700 rifle chambered in .308 Winchester shooting ammo made in that caliber by Federal Cartridge Corp.
Civilian Rifles Available Today
Common rifles out there include hunting style “sporter” rifles, mass produced surplus rifles that have been imported, civilian market “military style” rifles, and some older US military surplus rifles like the M1 through the CMP.
On the sporter rifle side of things, you’re mainly looking at bolt actions and some semiautomatics, with either internal magazines or flush fit detachable mags. Most of the big American and European calibers are available, and your big domestic brands are Remington, Mossberg, Winchester, Savage, Ruger, Kimber, and others.
Mosin Nagant 1891-30. In a world of AKs and ARs, it reminds people what a full power rifle cartridge actually feels like.
Imported military surplus these days is mostly Mosin-Nagants, which was the Russian/Soviet infantry arm before the AK-47. They’re good, cheap, loud fun, but you may have to open the bolt by smacking it with a board. Some “sporterized” AK-47 rifles, but mostly kits to build them off a receiver, come from the former Eastern Bloc countries, specifically Yugoslavia, Romania, and some Hungary. SKS’s (another Soviet semi-auto) are still available, mainly Chinese. There are still some Belgian FALs around, and there’s the Japanese Arisaka, among others.
Fusil Automatique Leger (Light Automatic Rifle) FAL made by Belgian Fabrique Nationale de Herstal. Semi-automatic versions are available.
“Military style” civilian rifles are often the exact military rifle, just made semi-automatic for civilian ownership. Everybody and their mother makes an AR-15 and they vary on price, performance and features. AR-10’s, the natively .308 Winchester version of the AR-15, are making inroads as well. The M1A, a civilian version of the M14, is also a good choice, and you couldn’t go wrong with an M1 Garand from the CMP, either.
Springfield Armory M1A Gas piston semi-automatic.
Accessories
With the advent of the Picatinny rail, you can put a lot of things on your rifle, but your accessories are really limited to three things: marksmanship aids, optics, and maybe a light.
No.
Traditionally, rifles had iron sights. Scopes came into the scene in the 1800s, and optics, by which I mean holographic and or electronic sights, started in the 80s and are big deals now. Battery powered optics usually are backed up with fold down back up iron sights. A “real scope” does not need backup irons.
Marksmanship aids are things like slings, monopods, bipods, handstops, etc. There are many differing schools of thought on how to hold and run a rifle, slings and vertical foreends are a big part of that, and I’ll devote some articles in the future to those.
Accessorized AR-15. Laser (below the front sight), backup, foldable iron sights, red dot optic, and a magnifier optic inline behind it on a swing out mount.
Shoulder stocks and foreends in general, colloquially called “furniture,” are often upgraded to suit function, the fit to the shooter, and his taste. Triggers are also upgradeable and tunable to a light match trigger or a heavy military trigger, or anything in between.
Evil features
The “evil features” originally were developed for the now-expired assault weapons ban, and they also dovetail into the sporting purposes definition for foreign guns. The original 5 Evil Features are: collapsing or folding stocks, pistol grips, bayonet mounts, grenade launcher mounts, and a flash suppressor or a barrel threaded to take one. It’s all a big joke.
Many states limit the size of the mags you can have, and often don’t allow you to detach them without a tool, like the California Bullet Button. Hi-capacity magazines are important for dealing with multiple assailants, so there is much controversy, and hi-cap mags can be considered a new Evil Feature.
I am the Sure Fire 100 round mag, destroyer of liberal minds.
Conclusion
The first article and this one, taken together, should get you a pretty functional grasp of the evolution of rifles to where they are today. I’ll build off the foundation of these articles into articles on specific genres of rifles, some specific rifles themselves, the care and feeding of these beasts, and how to shoot them accurately at range. Be safe.
Read More: The Fundamentals of Gun Safety
Your discussion on the types of bullets reminded of this I saw a while back. Would love it for home defense situations. Any thoughts?
That looks pretty hot. I’d be concerned a bit with over penetration. In a home defense scenario you usually don’t want to shoot your neighbor’s kids after the bullet passes through the thug.
Judging by the slow-motion on the video, it doesn’t look like it’d be any more dangerous as a regular bullet in regards to it passing through the thug and continuing on. If you completely missed, however….that’d be something worth testing.
For inside your house defense against burglers/rapists/murderers/Pauly Shore, it’s usually best to use frangible rounds. Delivers all the energy to the bad guys gooshy stuff and doesn’t travel far past him if it even exits.
Never heard of frangible rounds. Will need to look into it. Fortunately, everyone sleeps on the same side of the house down a single hallway so it’s really easy for me to simply secure my end of the house and shoot anything that walks down the hall. If I were to miss, it’d have to go through about 3-4 walls before it even made it outside.
These are RIPP rounds. I mentioned these awhile ago on one of Luke’s first firearms articles.
For me these rounds solved the issue between buying a .45 or a 9mm. I like the weight and mag size of a 9mm but the stopping power of a .45. When I was introduced to RIPP rounds I discovered that the wound channels created by this round are devastating. Its quite possible to hit a target in the shoulder and still have a fragment or 2 find its way to the heart or lung.
In my opinion these rounds are best suited for open warfare in the streets and not for home protection or conceal carry. If the RIPP round failed to kill your assailant his lawyer could argue that you intended an egregious use of cruel force on his client by using this round. Just saying, its that kind of world these days.
Non-the-less I ended up purchasing the 9mm. New technology in bullets and their ballistic patterns provide more variation for the shooter and his goals/needs.
I see what you’re saying about the legal ramifications, but if someone is in my house, can’t I simply claim I was protecting myself and my family against a possibly armed robber/rapist (threw the rapist part in there since it seems to get some pretty good traction with the right crowds)? Also, I thought the castle doctrine pretty much allowed you to use whatever force necessary. If the bullet is legal to buy, then it should be legal to use for defense.
A lot of it depends on the individual state laws. My wife’s cousin works for the metropolitan police force and I recently purchased a pistol for the house. I’m going to check with him about all of the legalities (especially with ammo like this).
Dead criminals cant hire lawyers.
My sentiments exactly.
Police Officer: “Sir, why did you fire thirteen shots into the burglar”
Me: “The magazine only holds that many rounds”
The first round was to stop him. The other 12 were to make sure the first one did its job.
If I remember correctly, here in the People’s Republik of Kalifornia, if someone breaks in to your house, you have to reasonably believe that you were in imminent danger of being killed or hurt before you respond with deadly force. So if someone sneaks in through a window and makes himself a bowl of cereal, best bet is to sit tight and wait for the cops.
Nope. I worked hard for that cereal and you won’t be taking food out of my family’s mouths.
Brings a whole new meaning to serial(cereal) killer.
But what if he just escaped war from his home country and is starving?!
Why didn’t they bring snacks for the road? Very poor planning on their part.
Because patriarchy?
Or do what most people do in that kind of legal situation, which is, put the butcher knife into his dead hand’s then call 911.
I think if you put a vote trump button on the intruder after shooting him and then say he broke into your house while you were getting sodomized and said “ewwwww” then, in California, it is legal to have shot him.
That’s an option too.
wow….that was bad even by my standards lol
Hey! It’s Wednesday…my jokes don’t start getting good until Friday.
Unabashed’s solution would solve the man’s problem with hunger.
Yeah, I don’t think it’d go over very well if he was holding a spoon.
I’d just tell them that he was about to transform into an evil version of The Tick and that I feared for my life.
Sounds justified to me. Never could get behind that cartoon. Just something about a blood sucking parasite superhero that irked me.
Bernie Sanders?
Was that the Tick’s secret identity?! Holy shit.
No, but that would be hilarious if it was.
What if the Bernster some how magically got elected president and right after his inauguration, he rips off his Bernie Sanders mask and actually reveals himself to be the Tick?
I would first proceed to shit my pants and then might actually like him a bit.
That would actually give him some charisma.
One of his government programs is to give away free TP.
If he turns out to be the Tick, then I might take him up on that offer.
Honestly way too cruel and essentially useless in hostage situations. Might as well use a shotgun if you’re hoping for a larger impact radius.
If someone breaks into my house with ill-intent, being too cruel is the last thing on my mind. Also, these rounds can be shot from a handgun essentially giving your handgun a similar punch to a shotgun.
I’d take accuracy over stopping power any day, but that’s just my personal opinion. If they bullet breaks apart after existing the barrel as shown in the video, how accurate would it be? Due to mag restrictions up here in Commie Canada, I’m happy with my 0.22 rifle, with a 110-rd drum mag attached. No recoil, deadly accurate at 50 yds, fast shooting!
I believe the bullet only breaks AFTER hitting the target, not before. To my knowledge, it operates just like a regular bullet, accuracy and all, while in flight. The end result is the only difference.
It appears to break on impact, prior to impact it spins at an elevated rate above what the rifling would have caused I believe. Which is good.
I’ll take a shotgun at a fraction of the cost, my personal opinion. Seems like it’ll do the same thing at the RIPP bullets.
Only problem with a shotgun is it starts spreading out as soon as it leaves the barrel. In a hostage situation as you mentioned earlier, the need for accuracy would be critical. The benefit of the RIPP bullets is you get the accuracy of a bullet with the stopping power of a shotgun shell, in theory at least.
Ya I suppose, and then having to replace drywall for quite some time would probably be the most annoying aspect of it haha.
Will still stick with my 22LR and not having to reload ever.
Nothing wrong with shotguns. Bit more unwieldy in close quarters than a sidearm, but they get the job done.
I’ll stick to my .22 shotgun with buckshot. If I have to deal with an intruder, all I want is a greasy stain left on the wall.
What’s the name of that rifle with the screen and the front half can bend 90 degrees to shoot around corners? I want that one!
Your .22 shotgun with buckshot?
Did I say something inaccurate?
I think that’s just a modified Glock with some fancy furniture, isn’t it?
Did you mean over/under or something? Shotgun barrel on top, .22 below? Or 22 gauge?
Essentially. Just found the website.
http://cornershot.com/
Still…would be great for home defense.
20 gauge shotgun….my brain isn’t running on all cylinders today.
Ah, that’s better, heh.
Haha, exactly. Even 0.22LR is still quite useful at 400 yds though, albeit significant bullet drop.
By .22 shotgun, do you mean it’s a double barrel gun (one being 22, the other being break-barrel shotgun)?
All the coffee in the world can’t help me today.
Read below…GoJ already caught my typo.
Meant 20 gauge shotgun.
C4. I swear by the stuff.
The pre-workout supplement? I actually have some in my backpack, hah.
Slug. Basically a .70 caliber round that’s built to punch the soul out of the living.
Yep. It puts the pep in my step when I’m having trouble staying awake and focusing. Plus, yeah, pre workout.
I’ve looked at these and read some reviews. Apparently the shards can’t go through bone and the base of the bullet can, but is smaller than your typical hollow-point. If it was me, I’d just get some Winchester Ranger SXTs.
https://images.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fpicturearchive.gunauction.com%2F9567013951%2F10752060%2F45-ranger-t-series-3.jpg_thumbnail0.jpg&f=1
Hmm, those are interesting.
I will go over “next gen projectiles” in an upcoming ammo article, but my recommendation is, in a pistol, use whatever your local or state police use. This is Massad Ayoob’s advice. It will usually be available, and you don’t look like a nutbag using something weird. If you ever shoot someone, and get prosecuted, ammo choice could be used to paint you as bloodthirsty. “It’s what the city police use, and I’d figured they’d know best.” is a great way to kill that argument stone dead. Federal Hydra-shok or equivalent, Winchester Ranger SXT as said below, or Speer Gold Dot are good standbys.
Sound advice. Thanks.
Many states limit the size of the mags you can have, and often don’t
allow you to detach them without a tool, like the California Bullet
Button.
There really aren’t that many states that have those limitations, especially the later one.
Great article, although I’m biased right up front and out of the gate about firearms.
You can imagine the plight of New Jerseyans that look forlornly across the Delaware to PA where there are basically no limitations at all.
There’s another bill floating around to limit mags from the current 15 to seven rounds, and another one to ban AR’s all together (no grandfathering).
The only thing between those bills and reality is the big guy.
New Jersey has been fucked for a long time.
I think Colorado tried to limit mag size and their legislators got thrown out of office. I do know Cali has them, and I assume Hawaii and New York and possible Massachusetts (not sure).
CCW is a practical impossibility in NJ. About nine million residents, and about 1,000 permits issued. Utah, FL, VA and other states issue non-resident, which works outside NJ in many places but not NJ itself.
But hey, they’re looking into ensuring the right for legislators and judges. Who says they don’t plan in advance?
I’ve never understood why people in New Jersey put up with that shit, but they do. Same for New York. The absolute arrogance of their lawmakers is breathtaking.
Several of my army buddies live in NY state, and they hate the restrictions. A lot of them say as the city goes, so does the rest of the state. Whatever asinine laws NYC comes up with quickly dominates the state, with several outright wishing to kick the city out of the state itself.
People on the right have a harder time organizing in the same way the left does. We rely on the ballot box a little too much.
I do think you’ll see civil rights defenders organize better in the future. If you live in NJ and can’t tell your back is against the wall you’re clueless.
As far as I can tell, New York state has somewhat rational acceptance of firearms. Most of my family who lives upstate new York have a bunch of different handguns, shotguns and rifles. I think for rifles, or at least certain kinds, you can pretty much just buy them at wally world so long as you pass background check.
It is in the NYC limits that the law is insane. It is basically illegal to think about guns with mandatory minimum sentencing.
I remember when I was in my mid to late teens is when they passed a law that all toy guns had to have bright orange and shit so they wouldn’t be confused for real guns. I remember thinking how lame the kids were running around with their shitty toy guns
The law in NYS counts less though. Loads of people will buy guns second hand from sources which aren’t exactly sanctioned but use them on private property.
I have cousins who will take their quads into the woods and fire assault rifles at ply wood targets they make. Doesn’t matter. They are on private property and the nearest neighbor is a mile a way.
You’re pretty much spot on. The right still believes all they gotta do is vote the right person into office and everything will fix itself. If we lose the vote or the candidate doesn’t turn out to be who we hoped for, we just go “aw well, maybe next time.”
Plus, we have jobs, so we can’t insta-mob a place at any hour of the day or night.
You mean “can’t”. Yes, it’s hard to go protest somewhere for hours on end when you work a full-time job and have 3 kids to take care of. You know…being responsible and productive and all….
Also…
It’s my considered opinion that urbanization is the killer of self-reliance, and that includes the job of self-defense. If you’re living in a concrete jungle, paying taxes, and the local cop-shop is half a mile or less away, you’re less inclined to worry about defending yourself with appropriate tools than if you live on a farm where the sheriff MIGHT be half an hour away and you need to defend yourself and your family. Look how urbanized it is between Boston and DC, and look at the insane gun laws. Need I say more?
I think to a degree you are correct. It is very easy in certain parts of urban cities to forget what it means to need to protect yourself. However, this doesn’t count for all areas. The neighborhood in Brooklyn that I am from (just beginning gentrification now) was basically a demilitarized zone. Police didn’t come there. The area was ruled by gangs. Everyone knew one another. It was pretty fucking bad. I was also not just a minority but pretty much the only white person….bad enough I was a mouthy little fuck….getting into some form of fight was a given when you went to the park or if you stayed out after dark.
If I grew up, however, in a situation like I live in now I could see that the idea for protection would never be necessary.
My cousins upstate never had the need to protect themselves like I did. They went to a school where every student knew each other and all their parents knew each other. If there was trouble everyone in town would know about it.
They have a theoretical knowledge of how to protect themselves and they are armed to the teeth and know how to use their weapons with a hunters accuracy, but the day someone invades upstate new York is still pretty far off.
All things being equal: they are all far better prepared to defend their home but I would be, I believe, better prepared to defend my self.
There is truth though, I will admit, that in my huge concrete urban jungle I have grown spoiled. If mad max shit comes I am just gonna kill myself. I can’t live without groceries being delivered, let alone hunting for food anymore.
I think it’s the fact that upper NJ is essentially a borough of NYC. I’ve been to central (i.e. rural) NJ and it seems no different than rural PA or DE.
Yep – I live in northwest NJ. Wish we were a PA county.
The seeds of non-self-reliance were sewn long before the urban setting became a war-zone. A hundred years ago, the move to any large city exchanged a lot of DIY tasks for the convenience of paying taxes for the services you were responsible for on a farm – policing included. It’s really only been the last 50 years that cities started serious degeneration to war zones (like Detroit currently is), but the seeds of gun control were planted, and blue-pill-takers were perfectly happy to surrender freedoms for tax-paid services that can’t be taken for granted in a rural setting.
Now? Yeah, self-defense in a city is a serious need. But decades of liberal rule and proto-SJWs have seriously influenced public opinion, which gets amplified by the education / brainwashing bureaucracy, which makes the concept of self-defense a non-starter for blue-pill takers, feminists, and SJWs – because “guns are evil!” And when they’re the majority, they can make life tough for self-reliant types.
Most of this is fair enough.
There are other skills though. It isn’t a one for one trade higher taxes for higher levels of convenience. Other than higher taxes there is an exaggerated cost to pretty much everything. This requires a level of intensity with work that is not common.
I put up with certain stresses daily that would be crushing to most people. I don’t know if that prepares me for anything other than an early grave and a cynical outlook, but I imagine that it gives me some set of talents that are specific to not just an urban life, but one with a high stress level life style and career.
In the end, I imagine that there are all sorts of benefits and all sorts of disadvantages to living just about anywhere. While I am totally inept at a great many things, I probably have a skill set that someone who has lived a more rural life couldn’t even begin to learn.
As for the guns are evil…I don’t know. I have been here my whole life and have never really encountered that attitude from individuals. The city is obviously heavily regulating guns for their bullshit reasons. I imagine some people are just agenda pushers while others have legitimate concerns — for instance, in an uneducated urban area having guns which are easy to obtain leads to people having them they don’t have respect for the gun itself and certainly no respect for life. I agree that massive and restrictive legislation isn’t the way to deal with that…but I don’t know how to deal with it in a better way either.
Basically, for most of my life, guns are just a non issue in NYC. They are far too hard to get legally and the consequences for illegal ones are far too great. Has it lead to less murders? Probably not. Less gun murders, sure…but as it turns out, bats and knives and automobiles can also kill people.
I pretty much avoid politics other than to lulz them. I am sure that it is a valid point that I am lacking in a lot of things that would make me a useful companion if I ever needed to disconnect from society and live off the land. I am rolling the dice on the fact that I will never be in that situation.
Ever been to Jersey? It’s full of brainless zombies.
Lol very true, although brainless zombies is starting to describe the majority of the Western world
I went there for a wedding a few years back and left feeling unclean.
Hawaii does not have a magazine restriction, but they do have statewide registration.
What would you think of a society in which each free man has the duty to own a firearm and regularly train with it, in case of invaders ?
I think I live in such a society. heh
Well, not a legal duty, but we’re all supposed to be in the militia by default (able bodied men) and expected to train, and judging by the fact that we have 110+ million gun owners, I’d say were pretty close to that standard now.
And militia men would have some kind of local privilege, which would encourage men to enlist. Like the right to vote in town councils.
The Heinlein model? Yeah, that would work.
Great, now I just have to convince my fellow countrymen that this is the way to go.
Or just move across the pond…just saying…
No, I would miss the potential civil war, my appointment with History !
Well to be fair…I think we’re right behind you in regards to having a civil war.
Or the statu quo could remain because we’re too soft to do anything. Like Lolknee pictures it.
That’s why an invasion of the United States would be nothing short of suicide.
Dude, speaking of rifles. What is the most powerful rifle you can own in France ? Our laws are still pretty free here, in the red states at least. And even in Canada you can own an SKS. (my most powerful firearm).
I love France, and am looking for a place to retire outside the USA. But I do not want to live in a place where I cannot at least own a WW2 bolt action rifle. And a few shotguns and handguns. I have about 15 or 20 firearms, but I think I could live with about five or so.
(I will probably eventually get an AK-47 or AR-15 as a present for my son if he becomes an officer in the US military. But that is more than I will need as I am not really a survivalist-more of a prepper lite.)
I think France is better than most in Europe. Also, big question, very big question.
Would the right wing in France, like Marine Le Pen, support free gun laws ? Or is that even an electoral issue.
In the USA, I always vote for the pro-gun candidate.
Sorry, too many questions. But any answers you have, I would appreciate.
Or how about for all of those who say that no guns is safer. Have them display a sign in front of their house that says “owner owns no guns”.
The poor morons in California will freak out if they ever find out that the deadest rifle of them all is a bolt action. In the hands of man who knows what he is doing. He can kill at a half a mile (or a lot more) laughing at bullet proof vests while doing it. Kill, escape, only to do it again. Thank God those who are good with rifles tend to be peaceful souls.
A deadeye with a bolt-action rifle or a sniper rifle can be far more deadly than a crazy with an “assault” rifle. One bullet through the head of the latest tyrant that came from who knows where can change the world more so than the latest terrorist shooting up his/her work. The terrorist will be quickly dispatched by the cops, whereas the sniper might never get caught and be able to take out the next tyrant.
Many bolt action aficianados in the fine state of CA, please go whistle Dixie & unfuck yourself.
Poor guy living in the land of morons, but the majority of the voters of Californian are morons. You guys vote for gun laws that never drop your crime rate, never have saved a single life. The votes are made based on fear not facts. Much like your states laws regulating sex in college. Useless feel good crap, put together by ignorant control freak, fools. No yours is not a fine state, outside the the geography and weather. As most of the your businesses, which are leaving the state, will tell you. And as a huge percentage of your native citizens will agree as they rent a Uhual and leave the not so fine state of Cal to others. The rarest thing in the state of California, is a resident,who has a California birth certificate.
pretty sure heterosexuals are illegal in California. Also pretty sure there is a testosterone threshold that blocks excessively masculine men from entering the state.
Judging by all the people who leave that state. I would say that if they have any testosterone in them they run
I thought I was the only one that noticed that about Kalifornia
Lol, must not have ever been north of SF or away from LA. Whatever happens in CA sweeps across the US a few years later. Keep living your life according to gun laws yee haw
I was born and raised in Southern California 3rd generation. My family’s Industries or agriculture Trucking and construction. I know the entire State like the back of my hand. I know that States history better than 90% make that 99. politically it’s ruled by San Francisco and Los Angeles nothing else matters. Yes I do feel sorry for everybody else. Its full of some great people and some great places. But they are an absolute minority
California banned most carry. Ohio has liberalized most carry in the same time period (liberalized meaning freed-up). Cali ain’t the center of the universe.
You really care that much about the law when it’s time to concealed carry? Ohio vs CA? Dude i expected better
From California and the state can go fuck itself.
Its not. I laugh at the delusional ass hats who live here. I am stuck because I am stationed here. When I leave I am dumping my residency.
Actual Rule in NY state immediately Following the NY SAFE ACT: You can only own a 7 rnd Mag…then it was altered and became , you can own a 10 Rnd Mag but you must go by the honor system and have no more than 7 rnds in a 10 rnd mag…I think now you can fully load a 10 Rnd’r (WHOA!). Though I’ve stopped following it, it’s so ridiculous here. My once Glorious AR -15 is now Neutered with an AR-15 Spur (Compliant Pistol Grip Mod) and I have a Thread Cap Drilled Tapped and Welded, so it will never come off, and the Evil Threads will never be exposed. No Forend Grips or collapsible/folding stocks either.
That shit sucks man.
My StG-58 is fully non-“compliant” in the NY sense. In the OH sense it’s just another rifle that anybody can own. Heh. Same with my Tommygun. I even have a Ruger 22/45 Lite with a threaded front end to attach the suppressor I’m going to be buying for it here shortly.
Must be nice…..I’ll probably move out of this state at some point.
If I felt like wasting a hefty sum of money, I can even go to the gun shop and purchase a full auto M2 with 2000 rounds of ammo. Seems a bit exorbitant though.
Consider buying through a gun trust. The ATF just recently neutered the anonymity and ease factor, but it does allow other people/family to use the suppressor.
That’s Pretty Damn Awesome. That would be a lot of Money. But serious Firepower no doubt.
Thought about it, but I’m not entirely sure I’m happy with what the ATF did.
Nobody is happy with what they did. They solved a problem that didn’t exist in the first place. There have been like two homicides with NFA weapons and one was a police officer killing an informant. But they get to say that they are tough on “loopholes.”
Exactly.
Rather than a neutered AR-15 go with an SKs set up with a bandolier filled with 10 rnd stripper clips. That rifle is designed and purpose built with a fixed 10 rnd magazine. Also no threaded barrel and fixed wooden stock.
I was thinking about getting a Ruger Mini 14. I’ve got so much money invested in this AR15 (Initial Price and new NY SAFE ACT compliant parts, new Barrel, pistol Spur, new forend for the new barrel , thread cap, Front sight) that at this point I have to keep it. I’m hoping NY eventually comes to it’s sense’s. SKS would be good though. I was also thinking about getting a Springfield M1A, or a Browning BAR MK3 .
The M1A can be loaded from the 5 rnd stripper clips and you can just leave a 10 rnd or 5 round magazine fixed in place. Just a work around for the magazine issues.
Actually in NY you don’t need a fixed mag, as long as there is no pistol grip on a Semi-auto. They do make some AR’s with fixed mags, but those AR’s have a Pistol grip, so by law they need a fixed Mag. My AR , has the “AR Spur” (Compliant modification), so I can still own detachable 10 rd mags. The NY SAFE ACT Is confusing and unnecessary , but that’s NY under Gov Cuomo.
Just get yourself a shotgun with an 18 inch barrel that holds 7 or 8+1. And slugs are good out to 100 meters. Buckshot will tear someone in half at close range. I was trained on and deployed with an M4 so the AR platform is familiar to me but my go to gun in an emergency is my shotgun.
A little off topic here: Take a look at today’s NY Daily News headline about brussels. Just thought I would wind up you.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nydn-front-pages-2016-gallery-1.2482879?pmSlide=1.2572756
California also has a loophole to that magazine ban. If you run the evil features, you’re only allowed ten rounds. No evil features, and you can have a 30 round mag.
Honey Badger is wise
The real credit belongs to calguns.net. Lots of good information over there given by good people.
Have you seen the legal loophole against “automatic firearms”?
The bump-fire stock. Spring mechanism in the stock allows the user to turn a semi-auto into a full auto using the momentum of the firearm.
http://www.tacticalshit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Bump_Fire_Systems__BFS_Bump_Fire_Stock_System_Full-Auto_Simulation_Rifle_Buttstock_for_Tactical_AR-15_and_Kalashnikov_AK-47_AKM_Rifle_Carbine_SBRs_9.jpg
Yeah, I’ve seen bumpfires at the range. Not sure what I think about them. Probably fun but I’m more into practicing what I’d need in a real life situation, or tuning a gun, than simply ripping open a couple of magazines on full auto.
That reminds me. My martial arts school is teaching a force-on-force simunitions course in April. Can’t wait.
Waste of ammo
Its an unreliable uncontrollable stupid flimsy piece of crap
Yes, exactly.
If I’m going to lay down fire, I want it to be at least mostly accurate.
I actually own one. Got it at a good deal. I ran it on my M4 for a while, it has been off since 2013. It is fun for about 2 range trips. I actually can hold it on target 25 yards away while standing while it is going as close to full tilt as it will go.
Man I’m so jealous. Glad to know it good tho. I can see how it would become uneconomical.
Remember: it’s George Soros who funds violent mobs.
It’s George Soros who funds anti-gun groups that want to ban the high capacity magazine.
That’s no accident.
One individual standing up for his rights with some high capacity magazines can repel a mob.
The globalists pay a lot of money to brainwash and indirectly control (through the media and academia) those mobs. So a fellow with a rifle and 50 bucks worth of ammo is to globalists what a cross is to a vampire.
Exactly; well said. Soros is but one of the scumbags, but definitely the face of evil for sure; there are many other low key psychopaths like Soros, or at least in the same network, but Soros is their ambassador, so to speak. The CFR is full of these maniacs.
It’s truly mind-boggling to the point of disbelief as to how many different groups this dark occultist piece of shit supports, in one way or another … from “black lives matter” to “refugee smuggling gangs” to “planned parenthood” to fierce “anti-gun lobby” … the list goes on and on.
A jewboy, trying to undermine white Christian civilization?
Hard to believe……
Reason enough for me to get my first piece.
Great stuff. Looking forward to hearing about maintenance/cleaning of hardware. There seem to be as many ways to do it as people actually doing it.
You are correct in that assessment. I will do a cleaning and maint article soon.
For military bolt actions rifles, don’t forget the Enfield, staple of the British military from the Enfield Mk 1 up to the Mk 4 of WW2 renown. Surplus Mauser 98Ks, and similar actions (Mauser 24/47, M48 from Yugoslavia) can be found as well. If you’re into history of guns, you’ve got the French MAS36 of WW2 (if you can find one, it’s usually in great shape: seldom fired, dropped once!) and the Italian Carcano. My fav is the Swiss K31 – made like a Swiss watch. Supposedly, the Swiss still match-shoot the K-31 at 300+ yards with open sights! When my eyes are cooperating (I’m getting older), I can put 3 rounds in a dime-sized hole at 100 yards with open sights and NOT using a bench-rest. And of course, still out there are 1903 Springfield bolt-action rifles from WW1 and 2.
The AK action is probably the single most reliable semi-automatic gun
action in the world – designed to be used in dirty, dusty, muddy, muck
and snow and other adverse conditions. Besides the AK-47 and AK-74, the AK action can be found on Saiga shotguns and more ‘civilian’ rifles (including .308 Winchester caliber) – but thanks to trade issues with Russia, they’re hard to find now.
It used to be a lot more fun to have a Curio and Relic collector’s license; there were a lot of surplus firearms classified as C&R that were being imported. The supply has dried up considerably, though, and deals are harder to find.
And of course, if you have odd calibers (like 7.5×55 Swiss), you should reload, as new ammo can be pricey. I hope we’ll see an article on reloading ammunition soon. (Or should I write one in my copious amounts of spare time?)
I’ve got about 30 gun articles on my running to-do list and I usually write 50% gun articles. I’ve written 7 gun articles so far, and I get one a week. I do plan to take an initial pass at reloading as a section of a basic ammo article (we’ve had basic pistol, shotgun, rifle x2, carry, and safety so far, so I need to do a basic ammo before getting into more serious reloading stuff just so the readership can level up a little first) then I’ll do an article just on reloading.
Is there any particular subject you or anyone else wants hit first in the area of firearms?
We could always bring back the carrying of swords. Then I would feel better about winning street duels.
Screw that: I am going tactical tomahawk
http://www2.knifecenter.com/item/SOGF01T/sog-f01t-tactical-tomahawk-black-nylon-sheath
Nothing says “maybe this isn’t the guy to fuck with” than walking around with a tactical tomahawk.
I have the SOG throwing knife set. If I miss with one, it’s OK! I got 2 more tries.
Throwing knives seems dangerous lol
I think the sheer impact of realizing someone is holding a tomahawk gives a psychological advantage.
I do have a few nice folding knives. Most of just for utility. But the Cold Steel Ti-Lite VI looks like it would be an effective weapon. I just don’t imagine I will ever be in a position to need a weapon again…and I am happy about that.
Nobody ever really thinks that they need a weapon, until they need one. Given how all of these crackpots have been picking new and unusual targets as of late for mass shootings, I figure it’s just best to be safe and go armed everywhere. Only time I’m not carrying my piece is when I’m drinking or asleep.
fair enough. I will get the tomahawk. It’s only like 30 bucks.. I do like knives. They come in handy. I’ve always wanted a Chris Reeve gentleman’s pocket knife but could never justify the heavy price tag.
Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.
I simply cannot get a legal gun in NYC. It would be impossible for me. I certainly don’t want an illegal one because it is more likely that I will use it to kill myself rather than go to prison instead of in self defense.
Understand. I was talking about the tomahawk.
There are coppers in the subway at random times and at random station that just pull people over and frisk them and inspect their bags. It was part of the same bill that made our official state slogan “The 9-11 related Tourism State”
Not one of them has ever, even once, pulled me over to the little folding table. Not sure why. Maybe I just don’t look like the type that is up to no good. Maybe it is because I am larger and in better shape than most of the cops who, here in new York, I find often look either anemic or fat. Maybe it is just luck.
That said, the first day I put that damn tomahawk in a shoulder sling under my blazer I am 100% sure I would be picked for random search.
You can’t carry that either? Fuck a duck.
Stop and Frisk – Violating your 4th Amendment Rights With Vigor!
But 9-11
Actually, I don’t know if I’m allowed to legally carry the tomahawk. When I bought a hatchet at the hardware store I brought it home.
Heh, yeah, so it’s a policy that would have done nothing to stop 9/11, but makes us feel good (well, at least the police feel good about it).
yup that’s the one
I did it. You can too. 1 police plaza, room 152
4,5 train should take you there. Bring money.
“..most of the cops who, here in new York, I find often look either anemic or fat.”
‘Affirmative Action’ hires, maybe? I bet that they scare the REAL criminals (LOL).
“…the first day I put that damn tomahawk in a shoulder sling under my blazer I am 100% sure I would be picked for random search.”
Completely agreed. By experience, I have found that ‘Murphy’ (he of ‘Murphy’s Law’) just LOVES to d*ck with people that way…
Since they banned guns in the UK and STILL have crime (usually committed with knives), they have been banning medium to large knives…
Guns are like parachutes. If you need one and don’t have one, it’s probably the last time that will ever happen.
That is well and fine for those that wish to leave the scene looking like a butcher shop during rush hour. I would prefer the duels of the rapier and saber.
If you really wish to be the basted that no one wishes to fuck with I would go with a war hammer. Blunt Force trauma and broken appendages just speak to a man differently.
Raper!!!! This site and its rape!
Any military guys on here fired a CheyTac Intervention?
No, but now I want to.
Right?
I wish. I think that platform is around $15,000 though.
$15,000? Shit!
That’s some serious gun porn right there. Damn. .408 Want…need!
Vastly over-rated, and might I add … almost junk. Accuracy International AWC (arctic warfare c) is all you need.
Let me give you a comparison: think of the AI awc as a SigP226 elite model, HK P30 or HK 45: extraordinarily accurate, extremely eliable, top notch, highest quality, made with utmost precision and pride. The CheyTac is like the Desert Eagle: pretentious, clunky, useless, low quality, and completely unreliable to the point of being dangerous; the only thing they got going for them is clever marketing, such as appearing in Jet Li movies, and appearing all “gangsta”. The Paddy Mayne’s of the world carry AIs … the Snoop Dogg’s love their CheyTac.
I buy some expensive guns, man, but AI shit is out there. Plus, anytime anyone references any of the Arctic Warfare stuff it makes me wonder if he is a CS fanboy. 🙂
Sorry, pal, and I may give away my age with this question, but what is CS? and what’s a CS fanboy? … “googling” CS didn’t give me much, as you can guess.
No problem. One of the original “modern era” first person shooter computer games was Half Life of Valve Software’s. A popular mod to the program was Counter-Strike (CS), an insanely popular terrorist/counter-terrorist themed shooter game, descendants of which are still played now, almost 20 years later. The infamous sniper rifle, nicknamed the AWP, was a mis-call of the game’s representation of what was actually the AWM. (Arctic Warfare Police vs Magnum.). The AWP in the game had a distinct boom and originally was a one-shot kill machine anywhere if the game considered that you shot anywhere in the vicinity.
It was such an influence on a generation of videogamers who are now mid 30s down to their 20s that most of the time anyone talks about AW guns, or the Desert Eagle pistol, they know of them from that game.
for No-Scoping right?
There are some pretty good clones being made today. DSA Arms makes excellent FALs and AR’s. PTR Industries makes great HK91 clones. FN makes all kinds of cool shit in the U.S.
http://www.ptr91.com/
http://www.dsarms.com/
Luke, thank you for another great article.
Kinda partial to the AR platform, but it irks me that gun shop/show gurus want to point lil ole me to pink guns & accessories just coz I have boobs.
And yes, SureFire 100 rocks once you get the knack of loading the mag.
My wife has explicitly stated that if I ever buy her a pink gun, she’ll shoot me with it, heh.
I like her already!
You prefer the purple furniture and accessories then I take it? heh
Black. Maybe FDE.
But libs tell me the black is more evil and also racist. Usually while muttering some Freudian BS at me.
They are masters of projecting their own faults onto others. When a leftist tells me something, if I don’t openly laugh at him, I either flip him off and walk away, or just pretend I didn’t hear and keep walking. My patience for those fools is spent.
Are we twinsies? I do that too.
I’ve built a couple of AR15s based on 80% lowers. Unfinished aluminum lowers with standard black for stock/upper/sights. If I get a little spare change I’m going to build an AR10 with every part a different color- a franken-gun. Why? No real reason other than the concept amuses me.
I find building rifles is very similar to building computers. Figure out what you want it to do, than buy the components that line up with the objective.
Ima walk it back a bit… a friend just got herself an AK with plum Magpul furniture. Kinda awesome.
You’re welcome. Not sure which way to go next, ammunition needs an intro level column, but I kind of want to do something on concealed carry mindset first.
If i may, CC mindset please. Emphasize not printing, not constantly, unconsciously patting to make sure it is there.
CC mindset it is, although a satire article I wrote may get published first, depending on our illustrious editor.
All hail mighty editor!
Gun nuts are a pretty sad assed crowd when you dig into it, man doesnt need much more than a pistol for concealed carry, bolt action to hunt long range, and a 12 gauge for everything in between. Dudes get into pissing away money on what really is a surrogate activity. Ammo/accessories/mods/background checks…all adds up. You can have your AR-15, I’ll just buy an 1858 New Army .44 cash, with no id needed. Have fun playing GI Joe
Look at you, how highly opinionated you are because of your superior intellect… Who said that everyone wants more than a pistol for concealed carry? I dont recall that even being a relevant school of thought, let alone popular enough to be criticized… I would agree with you on your second critique about “gun nuts”, if wild game animals were a threat to the security of our free state and it required a well-regulated militia armed with Grampas 30.06, his 12ga duck gun and great great grand pappy’s wheel gun passed down since the gold rush days to keep them in check. Hello Mr. Intellectual, the 2nd amendment isnt there for hunting or sporting purposes and it does not pertain solely to personal defense against crime. It is there so that the people of this nation can preserve the freedoms we have, by force if necessary. Part of being prepared for that requires “playing GI Joe”. Unlike you, who apparently likes to play Cowboys and Indians. Although, your opinions seem to suggest you are from a place where its a crime to posess a weapon that would allow you to preserve your freedom, so in order to keep from offending your state-programmed sensibilities I’ll refer to your game as Cowpersons and Native Americans…
Wow dumbass, looks like I offended your world that is guns. I have a few hi powers, bolt action target rifles, etc. Have fun with the zombie revolution, or whatever youre jerking off about in that rant. Blowing all your time and money on optics, ammo, solvents, targets, range time, reloading, etc etc seems like a past time of broke ass fools hiding from real life. I carry and have weapons around, and can say wholeheartedly gun nuts are fucking fools. You probably think the NRA is something other than a money sucking, political scam organization also. Wake up idiot.
Actually no lol my main objective here was to get a rise out of you, I suspected it would be quite easy… I digress, I read a lot of your other posts on other articles and honestly, we dont disagree on a whole hell of a lot, afterall we both read ROK which makes us fit a certain mold… I dont really fit your definition of a gun nut, I only own what I need. 1 musket for early deer, 2 enfield no4s for regular deer (1 for wife), a 1911A1 for self-defense, a 20ga shotgun for whatever and a basic AK for the possibility of an emergency, just because I want to have more than my dick in my hands if something happens. I do reload, but only .45 ACP and .303 British because they are expensive to buy. I dont need to blow money on range time, I just dont miss lol. And I absolutley HATE gear queers man, tell me about it… No amount of attatchments will ever replace eyesight and fundamental skill, thats why I like to hunt traditional blackpowder, 1 shot, no scope, round lead ball, make it count. And another thing, the militia movement was a good and wholesome American tradition until we entered the 21st century, now its just gun nuts as you put it and gear queers as ive put it, “playing GI Joe…” Now if soneone could make it socially legitimate again, that would really be something… But the illuminati controlled federal government would never allow that. Ill also add that the NRA is worthless… its just a gun club that has gotten in bed with the republican party. I did read something you said about driving a taliban-esque toyota? As versatile as small trucks are and as good as Toyotas are, trust me I love them, I still opted for a full size Ram with the HEMI. When you spend as much time in a vehicle as the average American does, having a vehicle thats tailored to your wants and needs is pretty important, so with that to each their own, I just dont understand why you had to compare yourself to the taliban. Its every day Joe like you and me who represent America, not the clowns we elect to embarass us in front of the rest of the world… Be proud to be a REAL American dude.
Regardless of my opinions, you are the one here espousing your own and trying to defend them. You have spoken no truths here, you have only been opinionated. So either win the debate that YOU started with the entire discussion board, or shut the fuck up and quit trolling. This country was founded by a “last stand of patriots” to quote you directly. It is with a “last stand of patriots” that it will either die or be saved. Anyone who is a REAL American, will gladly die before their weapons are removed from them. Pussies like you have no values or beliefs to stand up for which means you also have no ambition and THAT is why you are perfectly willing to just accept things as they come to you. Just like the lamb who literally stops running and lays down as soon as the wolf touches them, then they sit completely still as the wolf begins eating their flesh while they’re still alive. You are prey and shame comes with the fact that you choose to be.
America will be lost to guerillas, yes, and the white gun passionate crowd is a stain on the white race. Youll see most with bro trucks, shit tats, an unshaved face and many dollars via a false VA claim. Wake up, youre the prey with a mind easily seduced by patriotism.
Fuck I was ready to grab a beer for you until you went hemi dodge on me
False VA claims my ass, there are veterans out there with REAL problems who dont get shit from the VA while lazy ass welfare bums collect 3 times the money for absolutley nothing. Just so you know, I drive a nicer truck than you could ever afford from moms basement washing windows for a living, I have good tattoos and my beard makes you look like a pre-pubescent. My mind isnt seduced by anything, I believe in a world where I call the shots in my own life, not some greedy beaureucrat The way America was intended to be is that world, not sone guerilla won communist shithole which you obviously envision. If thats what you like then move out of moms basement and go to China you tool.
Ever been in the military? Think all guerillas are commies? Know what a period is?
Yeah i know what a period is, but beer and “being seduced by patriotism” makes me forget sometimes. Not all guerillas are commies, us militia men were guerillas during the revolution but far from commies. Yeah i was in the military briefly, and i was medically discharged. No, I dont get anything from the VA, they said its because I am 4F that i dont qualify for benefits. Now I work for the state I am native too, in a similar capacity that is not the militia or the national guard (which isnt a state organization either way, as much as they lie about it) Whats wrong with a HEMI? Im not your typical fanboy, I like my Dodge HEMI because compared to all the other options available to me it was the best truck for the best deal and it really is a sweet ride. And no its not bro’d out lol i was when i bought it but i made a point of changing it back to standard cosmetics. I hate blacked out trucks it looks stupid, people should spend money increasing performance not ruining the paint. Honestly man, i think all yourr doing on here is just trying to piss people off, if be lieing if i said it didnt entertain me lol
Right, because western governments are totally to be trusted and absolutely have our best interests at heart. Tyranny and revolutions could never happen nowadays…right?
Dear God how could anybody be this stupid in an age where every lie and falsehood committed by our government can be readily found with just a few keystrokes?
Roid raging cops are brutalizing people. The oligarchs who rule over us are intentionally flooding us with millions of Jihadists. The IRS is targeting people for their religious beliefs and political beliefs. And you don’t think we are going to have a use for the AR’s that we’ve bought in the millions? Dude it is too late in the game to be that dumb.
STFU idiot, guns are cool but guys who think they have an appointment with history with their AR are just like the roid raging cops…eager to kill someone. Real men are the same with their tools and guns, enough around the house to fulfill their need. Guys who let their gun hobby fill their life are pathetic losers.
The only thing worse than a fool is a fool who thinks he’s intelligent. That would be you.
Fools tinker away with their guns, America will rot from within. There will be no last stand of patriots. Have fun with that!
That is called projecting yourself onto others. You want to be a coward fine, just don’t expect anybody to follow you as you lick the hands of your masters. I’ve wasted enough time on you.
Haha typical gun faggot response. Met hundreds of you and outshot them also, you sound just like the fuck in the military who tries to correct the Sgt instructor twenty times during a BS fundamentals class about the AR. Im a coward for calling gun aficianados losers?
The classic cowboy duo is a lever action rifle for hunting and a revolver for daily carry, both in the same calibre. I like having more than just the bare minimum. I have a few rifles with different actions, mostly in 22 rimfire and .30 cal, and a small selection of flintlock guns in 12 ga and .50 cal.
Sounds solid. Men with their ARs are like girls and their Barbie dolls
The “pistol cartridge lever guns” are a relatively new thing. Most lever guns back in the day were rifle cartridges. Ammo commonality is a good thing.
And half of the AR15s owned in the US belong to veterans and former police officers. Obviously “gun nuts” who the state, and yourself, should fear.
Police officers are sleaze, AR-15s are fucking gay, get an AK or an M1A
Ironic post given your comment about “losers” giving out gun info & getting in pissing matches…
Thanks for your enriching insight. Good luck.
Not all gun nuts are guys!
I am a gun nut, and consider use & collecting a serious hobby. Should I what, collect dolls instead? Leave the stereotyping to the anti gun zealots. Gun girls (& boys) aren’t the problem or the enemy.
That is all.
/end rant
Get a life, invest your money, produce something…..guns have their purpose, but people who hand out useless info on firearms and get into pissing matches are usually losers. Go to a gun show and look around, hobby of professional masturbators
You mad, bro? Coz a chick likes guns? Sad, really.
I kinda like a .22 for some of the in between stuff so I’m not spitting out lead shot while eating my hasenpfeffer . It’s also nice to have a .223/5.56mm to have fun with as getting the crap kicked out of you by a full powered ’06 in the summer heat while wearing a t-shirt isn’t much fun. Finally a specialty shotgun or two is nice if you both hunt and shoot in trap/skeet/5 stand league as the constant changing of barrels, constant cleaning and not being able to mount a scope for rifled slugs kinda sucks.
I have a 223 ackley in a bolt rifle, agreed
Single men need to spend money on something!
Yeah, oil stocks to sell covered calls on.
Yes, sell some covered calls and/or get an M3 & smash guts. Gun fascination is a passion of the crowd that drinks fucking sweet tea.
9×18 is not the same as 9mm Luger or 9mm Parabellum. 9mm Luger/Parabellum is 9×19. 9×18 is a product of cold war Soviet ingenuity, it is for the Makarov design of com-bloc pistols loosely based on the German PPK. The reasoning for the negligence between the two was so that in the event of the Cold War going hot, Soviet ammunition could not be used in NATO weapons. Otherwise a solid article.
You are correct.
I’m suprise to not see the winchester modle 94in either article. First rifle to utilize smokeless powder and a lever action, one of the most versitle rifles on the market.
It’s dropped in and out of production. It’s a good rifle.
After you advance down the path of firearms, consider the satisfaction of building your own rifle. Sites like AKFiles and AR-15 have a wealth of information and supportive communities. As a plus, you gain deep knowledge as well as insight into firearms that most owners take years to amass.
And it turns out not to be that hard. I’ve done it. Although, building an upper made me a tad nervous as regards barell installation. Not difficult, but you want it right or the boomstick go boom wrong way!
With Scalia gone and a possible communist on the way, there is one reason to consider a WW2 bolt action. They are less likely to become banned than the AK or AR-15.
I am a bolt action kind of dude because of heritage. Plus they are arguably more rugged (although AK is rugged).
But I love my Mosin Nagants and Japaense Arisaka.
They can try and ban them. I will be sure to turn mine over bullets first.
I have owned both an SVT40 semi-auto and a Mosin-Nagant 91/30 and I found that the semi-auto jammed quite a bit if I fired too quickly and did not leave a few seconds between shots. The standard for British soldiers in WWII using bolt-action rifles was 6 shots per minute, which is still a considerable rate of fire. Overall, I enjoyed shooting bolt action more than semi-auto, but my favourite action of all is flintlock.
“The M1A, a civilian version of the M14, is also a good choice,”
The only choice. Go with the National Match or Super Match if you can find one.
I think my next gun is the loaded M1A with the precision stock.
The marines qualify shooting an M16 at a man sized target at 500 yds and used to do it with a “standard” M14. I don’t think the extra weight is worth it; it’s already a few pounds heavier than an AR. The regular M1A will be plenty accurate and cheaper too.
Depends on what you want.
True, but the average gun that gets bought never gets fired because so many people get the wrong gun.
The NM M1A weighs the same as the Standard M14– difference is the rifling and the glass bedding. Super Match same but the barrel is 1 lb. heavier.
Also, I cannot speak for the jarheads, but furthest target I shot at in the army was 300 meters with iron sights. M16A1 max effective range is 460 meters IIRC. Throw in air moisture and wind I find it hard to believe anyone could hit a target at 500 meters with a M16. M14? Yes. (I did hit a man-sized target at 400 meters with a G3 ((HK92- 7.62×51)) once.)
My impression was that they still used a 20 inch barrel on theirs which helps at the longer range. The M16A2 I believe?
M16A2 was a big improvement over the A1. When I first went from the Marines to the National Guard, they gave me an A1 – it was like a toy and no adjustable sites. Glad when we got the A2’s into our armory.
The Army does not teach decent shooting techniques to most soldiers. I was in a tank battalion – they couldn’t shoot at all (except through the sites of an Abrams).
M16A1 was always subpar… I always thought the M14 with synthetic stock would have been optimal.
Had alot of former marines in my units and it was clear from what they told that the marines spend probably at least x3 time more on the range. The army is about quantity, not quality, in hindsight. This is where the army NCOs can really inhance honing up basic marksmanshp (and other) skills… but that all rides on the unit leadership.
The “treadheads” are lost outside of their tanks. I was attached to 2nd AD during the first Gulf war. Though their thermal sights are fantastic.
Could be. If a marine confirms, then I would believe him. The M16A2 were just being rotated in when I was getting out. In fact, the first A2 I ever saw was during Desert Storm being carried by a marine. I spoke to some British infantry and they were showing off their L85s with SUSAT. They said they could hit targets at 500 meters (if it wasn’t too windy).
The Marines are transitioning to the M4 and already all qualification tables are shot with a RCO. I was one of the last generations to qualify with iron sights their whole career.
FN-FAL rocks too. M1A1 has range out the wazoo though.
The FAL is one of the few guns mentioned in the article I DON’T own. Want one, though.
FAL will be by next purchase. Had the FN paratrooper version in my hands and shot a bullseye (iron sights) with it at 100 meters. Kick myself 20 years later for not buying it.
I was going to buy a DSArms FAL – then I realized I live in New Jersey.
Heh. You can always get out of Jersey.
There’s multiple choices for a battle rifle, enough I’ll do an article on them, but, as to the M1A, the standard is a 2MOA rifle, as is the loaded. The Match rifles are sub-MOA. The bedding job they do, by the nature of the rifle, gets hurt each time you pull the action out. I mainly do three position field shooting, so a 2MOA rifle will usually outshoot me outside of a bench. My standard M1A works for me well enough. Someday I may get a NM one. My most accurate .308 right now is a FNH FNAR, that sucker is about .5 MOA. Scary, complicated rifle.
I would say it comes back to what you are comfortable with and where you have amassed your experience. I am in my late 40’s. My M1A NM has a standard Leupold on it and I am quite content with the results, though I would not mind looking at other options— if I can ever find the time.
I had an impulse purchase of the first M1A SOCOM when I saw it on a store shelf. Best firearm decision of my life, ton of fun to shoot, durable, easy to handle, top notch.
Envious I am.
I can’t think of a more evil restriction than requiring a magazine to be unremovable except with a tool.
Damn good article.
One style of firearm that packs a hell of a punch but has been largely ignored by the gun-grabbers is shotguns. A pump-action or semi-automatic shotgun will give you more firepower at close range than a high-capacity rifle. Shotguns are also versatile. Pretty much any game animal in North America or Europe can be brought down with one. Modern technology has made shotgun slugs accurate out to as far as 200 meters. And they are ideal for home defense.
I own multiple AR’s in NATO calibers. I will be building an AR47 soon as the 7.62×39 is far superior than the 300 AAC in 200 plus yard shooting. I will be buying some more bolt rifles as well. I live in Komiefornia and wanted to ensure I had the guns I wanted before the guns I needed.
I would add if you cannot shoot iron sights at 100 yards you should practice until you can instead of buying an optics. Sounds like a joke but you don’t need a $2,000 AR you probably need a $600 AR and $1400 in training.
Any plans to go over calibers and performance? Maybe point people to the resources that do. I am a big fan of picking the round that meets your needs. Not everyone wants a dinosaur killer. Personally I stick with NATO ammo and Russian for those end of times scenarios.
Anyone has any experience with the Tavor TAR-21? Are bullpup configurations really better?
Best bang for buck is the Savage Bolt. Highly used by SWAT and competition shooters as well as hunters. Great package in 308, 30-06, 270 or 6.5 configuration. Couple with nice Leopold Scope, or if on a serious budget a Nikon or Bushnell and with practice, 800-1000 shots are very attainable with good ammo. Youre around $600, less if used off of gunbroker et al
Those wanting an unregistered, off-the-grid rifle should look into building your own AK47 or AR15 using an un-milled lower receiver.
Most only require a jig, router, and drill press, as well as common gunsmithing tools to build/clean.
The benefit is you know your rifle inside out, you can perform cleaning and maintenance, and no one knows you have it.
*Caution* Spend a good amount of time firing hundreds or even thousands of rounds through these self-made rifles to ensure they will work when you need them to.
Search terms: 80% lower, AR15/AK47 build kits, lower receiver kit
http://80percents.com/