i think my next purchase is gonna be an M1 Garand

8/28/2012 12:33:35 PM

Anyone have an XL650?

8/28/2012 12:44:52 PM

^^ Enjoy that heavy bitch of an awesome rifle.

8/28/2012 12:54:07 PM

^^^

I'd like one as well, Let's try to get a 2 for 1 special...

8/28/2012 1:12:09 PM

i was thinking i'd like to take a road trip to the CMP store (idk if i'd do north or south) and pick out my own service grade.

if we're talking .30-06, i'd rather shoot a heavy gun like the Garand than one of these featherweight hunting rifles that kick like mules.

8/28/2012 2:38:28 PM

update: earlier in this thread I asked about advice on my first pistol purchase. I went to the shooting range and have tried several pistols. Here are my first impressions:

Glock 17 9mm: enjoyable to shoot, accurate, however did not like not having an external safety
Ruger sr9 9mm: very accurate, liked how it felt in my hands and external safety + other features
Springfield XD .40: had trouble with accuracy, all over the target. I want to try the 9mm, I like
H and K 9mm: I like the form fitting grip, however, out of my price range.

Next time at the range: I think I will try the sig 9mm, Springfield xd 9mm...not sure what else to try.

8/28/2012 8:42:21 PM

^ CZ P-01

8/28/2012 9:05:04 PM

Try the M&P in 9mm. They are available with an external safety if you really want it.


I would not let external safeties be a decision maker personally.

8/28/2012 10:17:27 PM

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/11480190/

Wow

8/28/2012 10:56:31 PM

i will avoid external safeties for the rest of my life i think except, perhaps, a 1911

[Edited on August 28, 2012 at 11:03 PM. Reason : ^ i will also avoid that guy]

8/28/2012 11:03:03 PM

I think it is a good idea to have a first pistol without an external safety, keeps you from relying on a safety and makes you really practice proper gun handling. Personally, I hate external safeties on anything I am going to use for SD, one more thing to worry about.

8/29/2012 12:01:28 AM

Yeah i'm pretty sure i'm going to get a 3" single stack 1911 for C&C when i get my permit...

8/29/2012 7:49:50 AM

Quote :

"Next time at the range: I think I will try the sig 9mm, Springfield xd 9mm...not sure what else to try."

Beretta 92FS. It is 9mm as well

8/29/2012 9:36:20 AM

I like the safeties on my XD40 (trigger and backstrap safeties). Gives me comfort knowing it's a bit harder to screw up and it's quick enough for defense situations. I wish the LCP had something similar (yeh, I'm a fan of having some type of safety).

8/29/2012 9:58:04 AM

the LCP has a very good safety. it's that long, heavy, DA trigger pull.

8/29/2012 10:26:06 AM

http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/11480088/

Morrisville bans guns in parks.

8/29/2012 10:29:46 AM

I'm glad you guys have seemingly well operated ranges in your areas, and they offer services and access to weapons that I do not, but I can't help be very thankful I live on a fairly large farm and can just redneck it up any time i please and just start shooting targets. My only gripe would be that I have to work with relatively non-uniform elevations and, though I do a good job of adjusting for bullet drop, without some reasonable survey equipment, there is going to be at least some gueswork involved in determining the flatness of a shot

I mean, I do the simple trig, but even for small samples, the problem is that the measurements actually have to be even MORE precise I'm a smidge obsessed with predictable shooting rounds when I'm loading. I can admit that.

8/29/2012 11:49:40 AM

the peter....

isn't a 92fs kinda... huge in comparison to the others?

8/29/2012 12:36:41 PM

it's about the same size as any other full size 9mm

8/29/2012 12:43:14 PM

yeah i guess a 5 inch barrel is a 5 inch barrel i was just thinking most of the xds were 4.5 or something thus felt a little smaller then the 92 fs and 1911 etc. they also feel significantly lighter than the two of those.

8/29/2012 12:53:21 PM

they're both made of steel...

8/29/2012 8:18:14 PM

Quote :

"All this ordinance will do is lower the risk that someone will make a mistake they can’t take back"

Since when is defending your life or someone elses a mistake?

8/29/2012 8:45:55 PM

finally used the RCBS Chargemaster combo tonight to load up some 30-30 test batches

holy shit that thing saved me so much time

8/29/2012 9:03:33 PM

It is pretty legit, so glad you talked me into that one.

8/29/2012 10:53:12 PM

http://www.thepilot.com/news/2012/aug/22/pinehurst-repeals-concealed-weapon-ban/

pinehurst realizes stupidity and repeals ban on guns in parks

8/30/2012 6:52:44 AM

the comments on that one are a shitshow. glad to see the council responding to public input though

I wonder how long it will take Morrisville to make a similar decision

8/30/2012 8:39:59 AM

i suspect there are enough yuppies who are afraid of guns in Morrisville and support their ban

with all the joggers who get raped and/or murdered, you'd think more of them would want to protect their 2A right, but whatever.

8/30/2012 11:05:53 AM

I'm awaiting the first violent crime in a "banned" area in Morrisville to email back the mayor there and ask how the ban is working - her reply to an original email about the ban was snarky.

8/30/2012 11:11:13 AM

i'd be interested in reading your email and her reply... PM if you prefer

8/30/2012 11:15:40 AM

Picking up a 4.5 in XDM in .45 acp tomorrow

Found a good deal and with all my reloading components that I already have I figure I might as well (have enough brass, primers, powder, and bullets to make like 750 rounds)

8/30/2012 11:51:05 PM

Finally went out and put some rounds through my SCAR17. Holy crap the irons on this thing are so much better than AK iron sights. Got decent groupings at 50m (2"-3"), but practice could make that a lot better.

Feels good man.

8/31/2012 12:25:05 AM

What are you thinking about doing for optics?

8/31/2012 7:21:48 AM

I'd love to get an Elcan SpecterDR 1-4x (maybe 1.5-6x), but they're ridiculously expensive. Then again, so was the SCAR...

I need to do some optics research. I've only ever owned AKs and shot with the irons.

8/31/2012 12:54:03 PM

getting a bpm ar-15 and 2 more receivers

8/31/2012 1:08:24 PM

^^Save your money and just get an ACOG, unless you have a need for a multi-use 1-4x power optic.

I run a Specter on my mid-range upper, because we don't have ACOGs anymore, but it's just so damn big and still fairly delicate.

8/31/2012 1:45:52 PM

Wouldn't you want higher power optics on the SCAR? I thought the whole point of a .308 battle rifle was the ability to really reach out past 300+ yards. Isn't .308 overkill for a CQB rifle? Or am I just weird for wanting to engage targets at 400 yards with more than 6X magnification?

8/31/2012 2:03:35 PM

^ yeah might as well have a well built ak if you're staying under 200yrds.

8/31/2012 2:05:04 PM

^^So get a 1-6x Combat scope with BDC. I'm just trying to discourage him from spending Elcan money. I run an Elcan because it's available.

Higher power optics aren't always better. On my long-range gun, a Mk13 .300WM I have a 32x Nightforce scope. I never dial it past 12 because you tunnelize your field of view so bad, also it's hard to shoot favors and holds like that.



[Edited on August 31, 2012 at 3:43 PM. Reason : optics]

8/31/2012 3:41:34 PM

cartridge doesn't determine magnification, intended use does.

8/31/2012 3:53:34 PM

^ True

8/31/2012 4:17:03 PM

Probably a "do everything" gun. The Elcan is a pipe dream (I've seen a few on SCARS on the FN forums and heard good things about them), but I'd like some sort of 1-6x scope ideally.

I admittedly know little about optics, however.

8/31/2012 5:00:24 PM

Quote :

"^Save your money and just get an ACOG, unless you have a need for a multi-use 1-4x power optic. "

Quote :

"Higher power optics aren't always better. On my long-range gun, a Mk13 .300WM I have a 32x Nightforce scope. I never dial it past 12 because you tunnelize your field of view so bad, also it's hard to shoot favors and holds like that. "

i hate to disagree but i use the higher end magnification for precision shooting. I'll crank it up for ranging but with in 500 yrds i back it down to 12-14x for shooting esp when there are multiple targets.

I'm not crazy about a fixed 4X when for the same money you could have a quality variable power. 4x is not great for up close or for precise long range, but it is acceptable Min of Man for out to the 600M mark. which is what it was designed for, decent all around, good quality, tough and reliable.

Optics should be fitted to the purpose just like the gun/round is.

[Edited on August 31, 2012 at 5:06 PM. Reason : cuz]

8/31/2012 5:05:10 PM

a good 1-6 would be a good choice tho... esp if you can get a true 1 power

8/31/2012 5:14:57 PM

any of y'all cast your own bullets?

i was looking at lead bullets for some plinking loads for the .30-30, but they don't save all that much over jacketed. then i remembered my dad has a bottom pour electric Lee pot that he uses to make fishing sinkers and jig heads, but we only have to cast them about once a year and we're good. seems like i can get a 2 cavity Lee mold pretty cheap and use one of the Lee bullet sizers in one of my single stage presses. it'll swage on the gas check and then i can just tumble lube. we've got a bucket full of wheel weights. looks like i could be casting my own for less than 50 bucks.

8/31/2012 6:38:14 PM

^^YMMV. Depends on 1st or 2nd focal plane scope.

8/31/2012 6:50:58 PM

If you are going to do any ranging 1st is the only way to go. I just crank up the mag for being able to range more accurately. The more space the target takes up in my fov the easier it is for me to range.

8/31/2012 7:44:33 PM

Agreed

8/31/2012 8:26:26 PM

Quote :

"any of y'all cast your own bullets? i was looking at lead bullets for some plinking loads for the .30-30, but they don't save all that much over jacketed. then i remembered my dad has a bottom pour electric Lee pot that he uses to make fishing sinkers and jig heads, but we only have to cast them about once a year and we're good. seems like i can get a 2 cavity Lee mold pretty cheap and use one of the Lee bullet sizers in one of my single stage presses. it'll swage on the gas check and then i can just tumble lube. we've got a bucket full of wheel weights. looks like i could be casting my own for less than 50 bucks."

I don't cast but have friends that do. Personally I wouldn't bother getting into casting unless:
1 - You're just looking to shoot a high volume of mediocre accuracy loads
2 - You're a super nerd with shittons of time to experiment

You can get great performance out of cast loads but it requires a lot of load development and bullet production tweaks.
I wouldn't go with tumble lubing. It's a mess. A lubrisizer would be better.

If you're someone who fits in #1 then you should buy bullets already made, develop a load, then just buy the mold to replicate that bullet. It could save you time and money. On the other hand, there are a lot of used molds floating around and selling the ones you don't like should be easy too.

9/1/2012 3:37:02 AM

I too will be making a trip to CMP south to buy an M1 Garand.

9/1/2012 5:50:53 AM

I have a friend who casts. We use cast for .30-30 mainly. That Marlin you got from me NRR shoots great with cast loads. Super super cheap, *if* you have the equipment paid off.

9/1/2012 8:39:27 AM