Posted on 07/25/2011 11:48:10 PM PDT by West Texas Chuck
If I ever get gainful employment again, I plan to buy a rifle. I don't consider a 5.56mm to be a proper battle rifle, call me a doofus but I want a .30 caliber firearm with a shortish barrel. No AKs, that might come later.
I have all the handguns I need, as far as She Who Must Be Obeyed knows anyway. Might pick up another or two along the way, but I want a long gun. Don't know squat about semi-auto rifles, but I am a good learner.
Yeah, I prefer a 357 lever for hogs - some 158 grain JHPs at 1700 FPS from the Rossi carbine work REALLY well for that purpose...
If WT Chuck is looking for something general purpose (hunting, long distance shooting, protection), a 308 is a decent caliber. If it’s mainly plinking and occasional hogs, then a 357 is good. If it’s mainly 2 legged varmit repellant, the 5.56 is a great candidate!
Cetma,
Nice H.K. knockoff .308
fairly inexpensive, accurate and what a whollop.
I’d point out that someone has finally started making faceplates for riot headgear that is 5.56 proof, but it looks like it will be a long time before something practical that’s also 7.62 NATO proof and can absorb enough of the shock that the user’s neck doesn’t get snapped.
Before someone trots out the paranoia flag, there have already been shipments of LEO-intended armor lost to theft and hijacking, plus the cartels in Mexico have been rumored to be using such armor - and we know that crap is spilling back across into the US. Some people have already experienced armored non-LEO invasions of their homes here in the US.
Might just be that individual weapon. The RFB uses a different trigger system from any other bullpup and it’s supposed to eliminate that problem.
Of course, it didn’t help that the SA80/L85 the Brits used is an unreliable pile of crap that even H&K tried to fix and failed to totally succeed at.
The CETME is the predecessor to the G3. It was designed first, by the same team.
Problem is, it tends to jam in sandy conditions in the field. Both the CETME and the G3 destroy the brass they are fed (forget about reloads, the fluted chamber ends any thought of that) and they tend to be very nose heavy. Also, most US CETMEs were Frankenrifles put together by Century Arms, and we all know they weren’t the best to do such a job... Headspace problems are common, sadly.
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kel-Tec_RFB
“To avoid sloppy trigger pull typical of firearms modified into bullpups, the RFB utilizes a floating linkage bar between the sear and the hammer, allowing the sear to remain above the trigger.”
Also, this is what Keltec said when someone enquired as to the trigger system:
‘The RFB’s Trigger group has also been designed from the get go to be a match trigger. It includes components for adjusting take-up, over-travel, and Trigger spring tension.
The Standard model which is being produced has non-adjustable components which replace the adjustable ones in their optimized positions. These will be able to be changed out for adjustable ones at a later date if the customer desires, but the Standard RFB is guaranteed to have a trigger pull between 4.5-7.5 Lbs, with minimal take up and over travel. We have yet to encounter another bullpup with a trigger that is even in the same league. The RFB’s trigger is better than most conventional semi-auto rifles, as anyone who’s handled one will affirm.”
So either it was fitted with badly adjusted parts, or it was just a bad one. The ones I’ve shot exhibited no such problem.
Like the M1A for several reasons, main reason it will shoot anything you load into the mag. Had way too many problems with other people’s AR10 platforms on being picky on what it would shoot.
The SOCCOM 16, for me, was a disappointment and a bigger disappointment for my brother who I talked into buying. What a mistake. Front heavy and feels off balance in CQB drills and forget about anything over 300 yards. Great at raising the dust in front of the target.
My M1A NM can ring 500 yard 12” plates all day long with the peep and a rest. I have had both shoulders worked on and never had a problem with too much kick from the .308
But like stated earlier in other posts, you have a personal choice to make. Good luck
Thanks for the info!! My guess is badly adjusted since even the guy I was talking to said it might be able to be adjusted out. I wish I had the money to buy one because it looks like a really handy weapon. I'll go read some reviews and such. When I was interested in it before it was still really new. Now it's been around a while and the news both good and bad should have come out. Thanks again.
Regards
The fluted chamber does not damage the brass in any way.
Headspace is not an issue.
Bolt gap is, and it is easy to check.
Its also easy to rectify.
Lots of folks are recommending the M1A and I’ll be the first to say that it’s a damn fine weapon. That being said given your situation I’d have to recommend an FN-FAL.
Gimmick. Like the triamese AR rig or the water-cooled double M-16 that they got some Navy reservists to prostitute themselves over. I know - Simply doing your job well doesn't sell TV time. But, Hollywood doesn't actually get the job done.
The 308 one of my favorite subjects. As a hunter I’ve never had a use for this round, theres too many out there that out perform it. I’d always said I’ll never have a rifle in 308 but that was until the hog invasion on the big ranch. My regular truck gun is a Steyr Pro Hunter in 243 with a Ziess Conquest 3x9. I use it mainly for coyotes (taken 42 so far this year) It’s handloaded with 70 grain Nosler Ballistic tips at about 3600 fps. I ran into a sounder of about 12 hogs on the back side of the ranch and could only get 2 before they made it to the brush, the big boar I had to shoot twice. It was at that point I decided I needed a bigger caliber but mainly more fire power. My Panther Arm LR-308 with the 24 inch bull barrel arrived about a month later. Mounted another Zeiss Conquest 3x9 and took it to the range to sight it in. Is it heavy “damn right” but I’ve never shoot a more accurate semi-auto. My first day out with it I ran into a sounder of 8 hogs, only one made it’s escape. Since then I’ve take another 17 and the population seems to have dwindled down for now, but they will return. The 308 is still not my favorite round but it seemed to be the ideal round for my needs at the time. I’ll still use my 257 and 300 Weatherby’s for deer and elk but the 308 is my designated hog caliber.
Myself, already having an AR-15, I would go for AR-10, it’s familiar, and it’s proven. Like another poster said, attachments are a breeze.
Oh! and the only modification I’ve made to this rifle was to replace the stock trigger with a Timney competition trigger. The stock LR trigger leaves much to be desired.
Check the G3/CETME boards. The fluted chamber and associated ejection IS an issue. Most spent casings from an unmodified rifle of this type should *not* be reloaded.
These are the fairly typical leftovers from firing a G3 or CETME-type that’s working properly.
http://www.snowflakesinhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/weird-308-damage-1.jpg
http://www.snowflakesinhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/weird-308-damage-2.jpg
The fluted chamber and resulting violent extraction of the action results in nice, reliable, positive ejection, but it’s hell on the brass and renders it unsafe to reload.
You can put a port buffer in the thing and that will cut down on the amount of brass that’s totally destroyed, but anything that looks like the two pics above (which most will without a port buffer and even a significant minority will even with a buffer) needs to be tossed instead of reloading.
My colt ar-15 does that, nice rifle, match bar, bit heavier because of that, but man can she shoot (well assuming the shooter can too). I love that thing, I’m only sad because I haven’t had enough cash to go the range lately heh.
The old Canadian battle rifle, great rifle, long range, heavy, and did I mention accurate? Fantastic rifle, takes a bit of skill.
Is this supposed to at least have the potential of being a fighting rifle?
A wound from a 5.56 beats an empty .308 every time.
What about a Romak 3 (7.62 x 54R)? It is sometimes called a long-range AK.
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