Do you own a firearm?

I have more than a few Good weapons for special purposes.

22-250 remington semi automatic

Though I do not own guns I do shoot. I support the right to bear arms.

It seems a lot of people are paranoid. Why do you need a gun to protect yourself? I don't live in America so it might be different, but in the UK there's a simple solution for muggers / attackers - punch them and punch them again and so on until they no longer want to attack you. Sooner or later everyone will own a gun, and then what? We'll have to invent new methods of self defence......

waiting for the backlash from gun-lovers......

I don't own a gun...

It's illegal here in Holland... And it's very hard to obtain a license.

I thought a Glock was ceramic and not plastic...

I'd love to own a Glock 21 or a H&K MP5 preferably silenced... I too have business to take care of... there's someone that deserves to die... he f**ked me over and cheated me out of my computers... the bastard...

I do own a nice katana though... I can manage with that...

Peace,

MrFreeze

A barber was shot in the head, I just read on BBC news,

wow, I can't wait for Guns to be legal, it'll be so much fun........

Which one is best? All depends on what they are to be used for.
Some of these mentioned sound like the dream weapon the poster will never have. Because of laws or finances, or whatever. Some sound like the average shooter's everyday type of weapon.
For me the best (meaning favorite) is a modified M16.
I have found it to be the most dependable, most acurate (at distance), easiest to carry in the field (all types of weather, dirt, sand, etc.) I'll not get into the modifications. Parts/ammo are not a problem for me. My second choice is my Russian made AK47 for some of the same reasons plus others. With the addition of my MI .45 I have found that I have all the firepower that a lone operative will ever need for any situation that could arrise, including an attempted supression of the population.

Pyro:

Kudos again on the Garand, you have an incredible weapon that is totally functional, very accurate, and just will not fail you, that is also piece of American History.

As far as ammo for it, the Federal Red Box Government load is the standard milspec load for the Garand. Also, there is currently a good deal of both Dutch and Korean military surplus ammo on the market for decent prices, most of it already packed on Garand clips. My experience is that the Dutch ammo has superior accuracy.

TC:

I will certainly sing the praises of the AK as pertains to durability and reliability. However, as pertains to accuracy, I may be an accuracy fiend, but a 6-8 inch group at 100 meters just doesnt cut it for me.

A standard M1A (M14) is capable of 1.5" or less group at 100 meters with milspec ball ammo, and with match ammo considerably smaller groups.

As far as the AR-15/M-16 family, I would agree that taking proper care of the weapon goes far towards increasing the reliability, and indeed, if I actually owned one of these weapons, I would likely take far better care of it than was done to the weapons I did shoot (although my experience with these other weapons was such that I will never be interested in owning one).

The M1/M1A/M14 family is built to such durability and reliability that even occassional periods of misuse/abuse/lack of proper care does not put the weapon out of service. Indeed, the M14, and the M1 before it served in virtually every environment in which humans have fought armed combat, and it rightfully developed a reputation for reliability and durability in the most extreme conditions.

My main beef about the current crop of "assault weapons" is that we are going backwards in terms of ability with our shoulder weapons.

The main gripe I hear about these "dinosaurs" of rifles is that they are too big, too heavy, and dont hold enough ammo.

The standard rack grade M1A (M14) is 9.2 pounds, which is about 3 pounds more than an AR-15 and 2 pounds more than an AK. It holds 20 rounds while the others hold 30.

www.springfield-armory.com...

For that additional 2-3 pounds of weight, you gain at least double the effective range (both 5.56mm and 7.62X39mm top out at 300 meters, which is VERY optimistic, vs the 7.62mm NATO just reaching its stride at 600 meters, and still realistically useful to 1000 meters) and 2.5X the kinetic energy of the bullet (1100 ft pounds for the 5.56mm and 1600 ft pounds for the AK, vs 2600 foot pounds for the 7.62mm NATO).

As far as the diffence in ammo capacity, well, I would argue that you likely DO need the added capacity for some of these newer assualt weapons, as they just DO NOT have the energy/penetration to get the job done with 1-2 shots, therefore you will likely have to keep pouring fire on your opposition. In some cases, accuracy of these weapons are such that they are employed as "spray and pray" weapons.

"Don�t shoot fast, shoot good."

Clint Smith, Director, Thunder Ranch

i own aproximately 150 guns. 50 handguns, .22 cal through .45 cal. 75 shotguns, .410 gauge through .10 gauge. and about 25 rifles most of which are 30-06. i also reload most of the ammo for them.

I own a S&W 357 model 19 purchased in 1976 and use it on a regular basis. I DO NOT advicate the ownership of assult riffles and the like. Crimes with a firearm should carry stiff sentences, the owner of the firearm is responsible to protect his/her family/children against accidents in the home, PERIOD! You own a firearm, own the responsibility that goes along with it.
JOEF