Guns thread

[UtwigMU]

Guns taught me the importance of showing up. I took part in all local pistol league (small town, old farts) matches that took place this year and finished in the top 3d. While my results weren't that great I was better than all people who came to less matches. I placed in the middle on the final match against people who shoot longer than I do.

I also went to steel challenge and one dynamic match.

[Dr Mordrid]

Not the lightest, not the smoothest, and for sure not the best trigger, but a reliable upper tier.

I'd do a lot of research before getting an AR because the options are almost bewildering.

Lined barrel? Yes.

Higher grade trigger? Oh, hell yes

Piston? more reliable in poor weather (dust, water, humid, heat, etc..) but it impacts balance and many are very propriatory, impacting parts availability

Etc.

[UtwigMU]

There are AR's and then there are AR's - meaning many makers with varying features and quality, with the best US makers being those who specialize in that platform. Commercial brands like FN, Ruger,, S&W, SIG and others are considered mid-tier.

Doc, any opinion on Colt AR?
The malfunctioning AR was Italian and my opinion is: Don't buy anything with moving parts from Italy.

[Dr Mordrid]

There are AR's and then there are AR's - meaning many makers with varying features and quality, with the best US makers being those who specialize in that platform. Most commercial brands like FN, Ruger, S&W, SIG and others are considered mid-tier.

Personally, my favorite weapons for big game are

.50 Thompson Center Hawken rifle (muzzle loader I've had for 50 years). 500gr bullet or 180gr round ball

.44 magnum Ruger semi-auto carbine

45-70 Marlin 1895 SBL lever action

300 Magnum Remington 700 bolt w/custom stock & scope

30-06 Remington 760 Gamemaster pump carbine

[UtwigMU]

I'm thinking of buying a semi auto rifle next. The other day at the range one guy showed me his AR-15. I go to the line to observe him shoot and it malfunctioned several times (both rifle and ammo were .223 Remington). So while the AR is lighter to carry and more accurate than AK, I started to lean towards AK. Especially as I saw how disassembly of AR looks like.

I also got a chance to try HK416 22LR (AR style) which with optics is spectacularly accurate - like turning cheat mode on in the game.

The reason for considering AR is someone is selling his Colt AR which from what I read is good.

But then if I go AK (7.62x39 is common here) which one? Rails are cool to have, so probably one of modern ones. We had AKs in the army so I'm familiar with it.

What do you guys think about ARs?

[Dr Mordrid]

We have a family range membership; outdoor rifle & muzzleloaders, skeet, trap, indoor pistol, indoor/outdoor tactical.

Michiganders hunt and practice a lot. Over 1 million with concealed pistol permits, about as many rifle/shotgun deer hunters, a primitive weapons season, archery season, small game seasons, etc.

[KRSESQ]

God, yeah, .22s are a hell of a lot of fun.

As a kid I set up a shooting range in my basement. But I could only get 12 or 15 feet from my targets, so I had to make my own targets. In no time I was putting bullets through dots as small as a fly.

Good times...

[UtwigMU]

I discovered the joy of shooting bolt action 22LR rifle the other day at the range.

It's like shooting a film camera, you have to focus and aim for every shot and the manual reloading process makes the experience more enjoyable. You fire around 1/3 of rounds you would with an autoloader in the same amount of time and you become completely focused on the technique and aiming. Takes your mind of stress completely.

The 22LR rifles are cheap (300-700), ammo is cheap, has almost no recoil, it's what they shoot at the Olympics and biathlon.