U boyz do know how Porsche decided to paint their cars Sepia don' U. It seems that they were cleaning out a shed in back of the factory when they found a bunch of left over paint from WW2. Being the cheap Krauts they are they decided not to waste it.

:)

Stamped receivers transmit a little too much recoil for you?

I just don't buy junk

2 years with 0 bonus = 1 rifle...

Soviet Avtomat Kalashnikova variants:

Type 1; AK-47; Stamped receiver; 1947 - 1951 (very rare now)
Type 2 & type 3; AK-47; Milled receiver; 1951-1958
Type 4; AKM; stamped receiver; 1959 on

AK-74; Soviets began replacing AKM rifles in 1978 with the AK74.

Technically the term AK-47 only refers to the Type 1-3 rifles. Type 4 rifles are AKMs.

http://k41.pbase.com/v3/65/217165/1/...46.ak_anim.gif

http://www.izhmash.ru/eng/

Rock River Arms makes top notch AR's also (along with match grade 1911's). I put a midlength flat top together (bought the unassembled components) for about $600 (I later added a A2 style carry handle/sight for now, but I will probably put a tactical red dot on it eventually). Here is a link from RRA showing the reatil price of one like I built.
http://www.rockriverarms.com/item-detail.cfm?ID=AR1294X&storeid=1&image=mida2407.gif &CFID=35791876&CFTOKEN=56481299

Armalite, Colt, Bushmaster and Rock River Arms all make quality stuff. There are other brands who make AR stuff also and some of them are not always considered high quality. Spend a few hours looking at AR15.com and you will get a feel for what is good and what is not.

A crappy pic of my RockRiverArms AR 15

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1172503744.jpg

I agree Tim, I really like my RRA. I posted a picture of it on here somewhere, I can't seem to find it on my pc right now...

Bill

Im currently having a Krink AK74 built from Bulgarian parts by a neighbor who does absolutely world class AK's and other assault guns.Not cheap, but much nicer to shoot than a 47.

You ought to check out the optical sights such as the Kobra from Kalinka Optics-I ended up with a PK-AS. Really neat, inexpensive red dot sights good out to 400m or so.

Thanks, Pat...and others. I'm narrowing it down.

BTW, I bought a cheap .410 o/u for christmas and my son and I are hooked.

I'd just offer, in addition to Pat's recommendations, that a good .243 or .270 are fine varminting rounds (and the .270 you can go for much bigger game) but may be cheaper to fire on a regular basis than what might be more "exotic" calibers like .257 Rob or 6mm.

The bolt-action 6.8 SPC I just bought could not be better for my use, as a very fast/flat/lethal round but, until reloading dies get cheaper, it's not going to be easy on the wallet.

I'm not an AR-15/M-16/M-4 fan, so I'll keep my trap shut on those. But .... DPMS is fantastic from what I've heard. S&W is making an M&P version that's been very well reviewed.

Keep in mind that if you're varminting, the .223 is still a great (and cheap!) round -- up to coyote size, maybe larger. I'm holding out for the Ruger Mini-14 Target (heavy barrel) due to hit the market this fall. Or maybe a heavy barrel M77 in .223.

But $2500 in the last 2 months on guns (and an alfa to restore this spring) has me not in the gun market for a while.

JP

The .223 is available in the Remington Model 700LTR and the Ruger M77 Mark II Target is as well. Both extremely accurate.

Neither of those will be as versatile as a rifle in .243 Win, 6mm Rem, or .257 Roberts because you can deer hunt with these calibers. This is why I own more than one rifle.

What do you guys think of 7mm-08? I like the caliber so much on paper that I almost took up hunting so I would have an excuse to buy one. A .270 is way overkill for a varmint rifle, but it sounds like a really versatile rifle calibers.

That's a very versatile round. A 140 grain Nosler Ballistic tip boattailed bullet is particularly efficient ballistically so it shoots fairly flat with good retained energy. It's a little hefty to shoot varmints all day, but you can do that. If you want more power and reload, you can have most 7mm-08 rifles rechambered into .284 Winchester which comes very close to duplicating the 7mm Rem. Mag. Take a look at the 7mm Remington Express (formerly 280 Remington), it's quite interesting, but uncommon. Then there's the 260 Remington which is the .308 Winchester case necked down to .264 caliber, giving you 6.5mm Swedish ballistics in a short action. So many interesting calibers, so little time (and money).

Amen.*

JP

*Not that I mean to imply the existence of God, nor the divinity of any Prophet, including but not limited to Jesus Christ. Or that everyone should hate all Muslims....

Who needs a "versatile" rifle?? The "versatile" rifle is quite possibly the only real indication of the arrival of the anti-christ himself. Or quite possibly conceived by a gaggle of women in some devious plot hatched to keep their husbands from buying more rifles. "Honey, why do you need another gun?" "Same reason you need another pair of shoes..."

Forget versatility. Buy 'em because they are fun. I own the most often touted, most versatile rifle caliber on the planet - the ubiquitous .30-06 - and never load it with anything but 180 or 200 grain Partitions. My "needs" (some actually legitimate...) are filled with other calibers, in other rifles. Current inventory (and I'm sure I'll forget some) includes .22, .223, .220 Swift, 6.5 Swede, 7mm Remington Magnum, .30-06, .375 H&H Magnum, .40-70 Sharps Straight, .45-70, .45-100, .458 Winchester Magnum, .45, 50, and .54 cailber muzzle loaders, and at least an equal number of pistol and revolver rounds. Single shots (my favorites), lever actions, bolt actions. Open sights, peep sights, scopes. Jacketed bullets, cast bullets, black powder, smokeless powder. There's room for one and all.

Screw versatility; I can match caliber, bullet weight, sighting systems, everything to exact conditions of light and weather. I can match size and make-up of any critter that crosses my path; probably even gender. ;) I have this down to a science... :rolleyes: Of course it seems every time I see that coyote running down the draw 500 yards away I've got that open sighted .458 in my hands... or when that 30 inch mulie stands up in front of me I have that .223 with the scope cranked to 32x... But I'll get it figured out one day. I just need to get another, more "versatile" rifle.:D

Note to Washington area Pelicans: When la revolucion comes, rally at Higgins' joint.

No .308? No M-14? Sheesh.

JP

There's always cold beer there, too.

Quote:

No .308? No M-14? Sheesh. JP

Yes, a notable (and embarrassing) gap. I did have an original Colt AR-15 (no forward assist, 14" twist, etc.) at one time. The semi-auto centerfires are not very handloader friendly, though, with the rate they go through ammo and the rate of loss of the fired cases. I just got tired of grubbing around in the gravel and bushes looking for the strays.

A more suitable one for me was an old Chineses SKS I used to have. A local gun shop used to have them rather uncerimoniously crammed into cardboard barrels, like so many grape stakes. Asking price was 90 bucks for a "good" one, but it kind of went like this:

"How much ya want for this thing?"
"Ninety bucks. Looks like a good one."
"Yer kidding. It's a piece of *****."
"Eighty bucks."
"Let me dig around for a better one."
"Seventy bucks."
"O.k. Got any ammo?"
"Just some cheap ass steel case Chinese garbage. Not reloadable, half of it wont even go off."
"Perfect. Gimme 5,000."

Then off to the gravel pit; yee-haw. Blaze away to our hearts' content; no concerns about finding spent brass. Or hitting anything. Mountains of mercuric primed cases left to leach into the water table... those were the days.

I do have to say, however, that new Springfield Armory SOCOM short M1A looks like it might have to come home with me someday. It's just too cool not to. It's probably pretty versatile, too.

I almost bought that SOCOM II (not for the quad rails, which I would've replaced with the SAGE rails & stock system -- hot!) but b/c of its revised gas operation mechanism.

It's been very well reviewed for its new design (better, evidently than the SOCOM or the Scout) but for those ducats, I have my Remington 700 6.8 SPC AND CZ-75 SP01 AND S&W Performance Center .357....

Nonetheless, I will wind up with one at some point.

JP

An M1A is on the list, just not this list, at this time. I'd love to have one in .308 and .30-06.