Gun Talk
urbino
Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 4,517
Didn't there used to be a gun thread around here somewhere? Couldn't find it.
Anyway, I could use some input from youse guys, as many of you are more up-to-date in your gun knowledge than I am. (Mine's about 20 years old.) I think I'm going to get a rifle. It's a Just In Case gun. Not a self-defense Just In Case gun, but a society-crashes-and-a-man's-got-to-feed-hisself Just In Case gun.
I've long been taken with the 6.5x55 Swede, though I've never owned one. It seems like the perfect combination of killing power, accuracy, and recoil. The kink is, of course, there aren't just scads of rifles chambered for it. Ruger 77, CZ American, Winchester 70, and Tikka T3 are the ones I know of. (Aside from the single-shots, like Blaser.)
Anybody want to chime in on any of that? The pros and cons of those rifles? Other rifles I'm not aware of? The pros and cons of the 6.5x55 Swede? Other cartridges?
Anyway, I could use some input from youse guys, as many of you are more up-to-date in your gun knowledge than I am. (Mine's about 20 years old.) I think I'm going to get a rifle. It's a Just In Case gun. Not a self-defense Just In Case gun, but a society-crashes-and-a-man's-got-to-feed-hisself Just In Case gun.
I've long been taken with the 6.5x55 Swede, though I've never owned one. It seems like the perfect combination of killing power, accuracy, and recoil. The kink is, of course, there aren't just scads of rifles chambered for it. Ruger 77, CZ American, Winchester 70, and Tikka T3 are the ones I know of. (Aside from the single-shots, like Blaser.)
Anybody want to chime in on any of that? The pros and cons of those rifles? Other rifles I'm not aware of? The pros and cons of the 6.5x55 Swede? Other cartridges?
Comments
You know, just in case those deer and rabbits start growing bulletproof fur and the squirrels start shooting back.
Springfield M1A: .308 caliber, tried and true dead to right reliable, highly accurate at impressivley long ranges. Ammo is varied and plentiful. Recoil is suprisingly light(heavy gun and smooth gas action makes takes a lot of bite out of it). Drawbacks is it is a bit pricey(1800-2000), not practical for small game...wel...you could but it would be kinda messy. I own one and absolutley love it, if the world went to hell, this would be by my side
AR-15: .223 caliber, very reliable, hardly any recoil and a pleasure to shoot. Very accurate and can be made extremely accurate for not much money. Large enough for light skin large mammals, very practical for small game. I wouldnt shoot anyone with ball ammo, but with ballistic tips...bring em on. Can be had from 800-1400....nicely equipped. Another one i won that i wouldnt be without.
Remington 700: 270 caliber. This caliber will handle anything small to big. Proven accurate gun, and staunch reliability. Drawback is you need a scope, bolt action isnt practical for defense.
Browning Semi-Auto 243 caliber. Killer little rifle. Another cartridge that will handle anything. The older ones had highly reliable actions that are kind of hard to come by but theyll take an awesome amount of abuse. Open sights or is drilled and tapped for scope rings. Highly versatile, accurate and fun
Id have a few of those along with a ruger 10/22 and a remington 870 12 gauge. 10/22 being suited for small game and 870...hell you name it. Defense, ducks, small game, upland birds or take large game with a slug. A true workhorse. I've had mine dunked in the mud, wiped it off and it kept on firing. Best of all its only 300-400 ish bucks for a super mag that takes 2 3/4- 3 1/2" shells
im going to see if i can find that 30 round clip for it
should be fun.
The .308 is definitely my runner-up cartridge, Jet, for all the reasons you mentioned. It has a big advantage over the 6.5x55 in terms of availability (both rifles and ammo), but the Swede's extreme sectional density gives it the advantage in terms of ballistics (from what I can tell). Maybe there's another cartridge that's been used (very successfully) as an elephant gun and has roughly the same recoil as a .243, but I don't know of it.
I saw something a while back about the military maybe going to an updated M-16 chambered for something called the "6.5mm Grendel," specifically because of the 6.5's combination of extreme penetration and low recoil. Anybody know anything about that? How different is that cartridge from the Swede?
While we're on the subject of the venerable .308, anybody know if the snipers who killed those pirates were using .308's? I know it used to be a favorite of military snipers, but dunno if it still is.
Funny you should mention the BAR, Jet. I've given some thought to eventually getting one in .338 Win Mag, just to have a bigger bore on hand. I was thinking BAR for the reason you mentioned -- the gas operation's recoil reduction. OTOH, I'm not really sure what I would use it for.
Agree with you on the 12-ga. Didn't ask about it because, well, there's just less to talk about. While there are, of course, very fancy ones, a 12-ga. is pretty much a 12-ga.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrett_M82
Scroll down the page a bit and check out the picture comparing the .700 Nitro Express to a .45 ACP round.
I'd love to get myself a m4 carbine. that's my dream weapon, I miss my old one, it's stupid that I had to give it back.
The big selling point for the 6.5, from what I saw, Feebs, was that it will go through common urban obstacles that the 5.56 won't, and still kill whoever's on the other side. (Basically, the same thing that made the Swede a useful cartridge on big African game, back in the day, despite it's relatively low power -- it'll penetrate through thick hide and bone and still hit hard when it reaches the vitals.) Meanwhile, it still shoots very flat and has light recoil.
You lost me a bit on that last turn. What's this about you needing some peace and quiet and buying online? I'm lost.
Jet - I really like .22 target pistols in general. They are fun to shoot, very accurate, and have practically no recoil. I have a couple of friends who got their wives turned on to shooting using the .22. And since you already have all the high-caliber stuff, a .22 wouldn't hurt your machismo at all, lol.
Before you go with a 9mm or a .40 though, have you looked at a .357 sig? I personally like those just becasue of versatility. I personally prefer the .45 or a .357 Magnum, but you already have your bases covered there.
Make the gun non-rust metal (stainless) and synthetic stock.
Make the cartridge something that is readily available like Win 308, 30-06 or 270.
If it is a "just-in-case" gun you want to be able to find ammo and you don't want to worry about rust.
Any of you guys ever heard of the term having a gun done "birdsong". I have a tactical op gun shop very close to me. Its supposedly a coating that special forces uses to rustproof their weapons. Supposedly you have this done and put say a handgun in a bucket of water for days and never worry about rust. This would be a very good thing in a "survivalist sense" for a gun. Any insight from you military guys or gun guru's ??? The guy was telling me there are two colors flat black and a dull green...
My favorite .22 autoloader is my Whitney Wolverine (pictured below). Olympic Arms makes a copy of it in polymer.
I attended a great training class this weekend, we did point shooting (not using the sights) at ranges up to contact (your forehead actually in contact with the target), and shooting while moving (both you and the targets in motion at the same time). Challenging and a real world application.