Experts Needed: What Type of Rifle Should I get? (Vanity)

Me | 1/28/10 | GauchoUSA

[GauchoUSA]

Next week, I am going on a short expedition into the Russian Northwest forest. My wife's cousins along with a couple more friends will go hunting, drinking and shooting...you know man stuff. I have been informed that we will be using the obvious AK 47 and they will even have a couple of Dragunovs. I am sure to come out with a great story out of it.

My question is, since I am sure to come back a weapons afficionado and I will have virtually no experience with an AR 15, for US purposes what should I set my eye on purchasing? I'm sure there are a lot of Freepers who are experts on both and I have a cousin who has an incredible collection of AR 15's and AK 47's along with wicked shotguns and even a marine stainless steel shotgun. I am not too keen on handguns so I was hoping to get my hands on a good rifle. What would give me more bang for my buck? If God forbid a revolution is to come how can I prepare Rifle-wise.

[GauchoUSA]

“Just added “banglist;bang” to the keywords.....that should bring the experts in.”

Thanks!

[randog]

This'll take down a squirrel no problem...

[USS Alaska]

with a couple more friends will go hunting, drinking and shooting...you know man stuff.

Yo, Pablo,

I'm drinking right now, but, hunting and shooting ...you know man stuff, don't mix.

If your going to be drinking, do man stuff... you know, lying about your sexual conquests, your ability to bench 300 lbs, etc.

If you are going hunting or shooting, leave the drinking to me.

But, if you want to hunt, shoot and drink...use a water pistol.

[GauchoUSA]

“buy a used one don’t go thur a dealer no P.W.”

I was actually leaning towards that

[NavyCanDo]

First a confession. I sold my AR-15 to pay for my Wife's engagement ring. I am still paying penance for that decision 16 years later. Not for buying the ring, but for selling that gun before it tripled in value. Your teasing will help pay off that penance earlier, so have at it.

As for the AR-15 vs the AK I would go for the AK. They were designed to be operated, broken down and cleaned by untrained peasants. Simple is good.

[Jim Noble]

"If a revolution should come, how should I prepare, rifle-wise?"

What do you see as your function in said revolution?

If you plan to go into battle against trained soldiers, armed with modern weapons, then you need a battle rifle so you can reach out and touch someone. M-1 Garand, AR-10, with a scope if you need one. My own view is that long-range combat against soldiers is a young man's game, not for me.

If you are planning to dispatch the inevitable zombies at less than 200 yards, then any .30-.06 or carbine should do you fine. Hunting rifles, as opposed to black guns, will attract a lot less attention. And, they're a lot cheaper than AR-15s.

Don't forget your shotgun. In fact, if you don't have one, get that first.

[umgud]

What would give me more bang for my buck? If God forbid a revolution is to come how can I prepare Rifle-wise.

For a revolution, the AR's or the AK-47's are just fine. I'd not use either for home defense unless I had a lot of property to protect and still wouldn't use them in the home. Do you want to hunt? Check your state's regs, some won't allow hunting with 223/5.56's.

[OneWingedShark]

Hmm, I really like mt PS-90, but it’s not really a long-range type rifle (better for close-quarters & room-clearing, IMO), the 5.7x28 mm round isn’t common which can be good and bad. (Good in that they aren’t in high-demand and therefore are more readily available.)

A .22 is quite common, accurate, and while not the best punch will kill varmints... even the two-legged kind... though such a small round doesn’t lend itself to going against body armor well.

If you want a ruin-his-day-even-if-he’s-wearing-armor Id suggest the standard 12ga shotgun — loaded with slugs and/or sabot-rounds. I fired a few slugs into an old hot-water tank [the old cast-iron type] and it left big old dents that left stress fractures/tears in the iron which was between 3/8ths and 1/4th an inch thick.

The 5.56mm NATO standard round {M-4, M-16, AR-15, etc} round is really common, and if there is any UN actions against us you can bet that’s what they’ll be using. It’s also what the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corp. use for most of their small-arms, so if they decide as an organization to be loyal to the Congress/President rather than the Constitution you’ll be able to find 5.56mm all over engagement-sites.

I’m sure you’ll be getting a lot of advice about other, bigger caliber rounds shortly.

[east1234]

I like my Ruger mini-30, hits harder.

[GoldMan]

Ruger Mini 14 - uses .223 ammo same as a M16

[GauchoUSA]

“Depends on how much you like the AK. It also depends on what you plan on doing with it. Plinking? 3-gun? Long range? 50-200 yrds only? What price range are you thinking? What part of the US will you be living in? What is your ammo budget like?”

A lot of questions. My price range is up to 2,000. I live in California unfortunately for the 2nd amendment. I am not quite sure how to kanban ammo yet.

[GauchoUSA]

“untrained peasants”

Sure fits my description...

[Mr. Lucky]

The default answer is: M-1 Garand

[Gaffer]

You sold a (probably Pre-ban) ‘15 for a Wedding Ring? Just what the hell were you thinking? I have a 1970 Colt SP-1, the very first issued version with no forward assist, nor shell deflector....I would sooner give up my car before parting with that. What do you think of that decision now?

[Gaffer]

I’m with you... Got four....either that or if you feel like taking it easy and spacing the shots one of my 1903s or 1903A3s

[Lurker]

Here's my two cents, and remember it's worth exactly what you paid for it.

For the money I don't think you can do better than an AK type rifle right now. You can pick up a package deal for less than $500 that includes a rifle, sling, oiler, bayonet, and extra magazines.

Everything but the most basic AR is going to cost twice that much when you include the accessories.

Take the money you save and put it into ammunition and practice at the range.

This way you have what is just about the perfect SHTF rifle, a big pile of ammo, and hours of practice under your belt.

And don't let anyone tell you that the AK isn't capable of accurate hits at 250-300 yards. While it won't win any Bullseye competitions it's 'minute of bad guy' accurate at those distances if you know what you're doing.

Or you could look at it this way:

For about $1,000 you can get a single AR rifle, a few spare mags, and a sling.

For that same $1,000 you can get one of the above mentioned AK's ($500 or so), a Mossberg 500 shotgun ($300 or so), AND a Ruger 10-22 ($200 or so). Now you've got a very nearly complete SHTF package of weapons.

So unless you're rolling in cash right now that's what I'd suggest.

As always this is strictly my opinion and your mileage can and probably will vary.

Have fun on the Steppes.

L

[Poser]

I have two answers, one a wise crack, the other serious.

First the wise crack: BFG9000

Now, a hunting rifle: Savage Model 14 in .308 Win

Or a Winchester Model 70

Or perhaps one like my Springfield '03 in 30-06

[Mr. K]

I just bought a 3-in-1 shotgun/rifle from Dick’s sporting goods.

The barrel comes off and you can replace 3 different ones so you have either a 20 guage shotgun, a .22 rifle, and also what lookes like and M-16 rifle shell and the barrel for that has a scope mount.

Not bad for around $150

[GauchoUSA]

“use a water pistol”

I’ll make a not on that. Unfortunately with temperatures well bellow -20 C water pistols will not work. Thank you for your concern. Drinking is for later.