Talk me out of.....or into!

Searching for a pew that will do what I need. Hunting, practice, reloading and a fun of course.

I've opted for a. 308/7.62x51

Reasoning is casing availability as its common, well more common than the recent availability of 6.5 Creedmoor.

Now, I've always wanted my own AR platform to play Legos with but thats a ton of moving parts as opposed to a bolt action. Having spare parts however tickles my fancy quite abit!

Maybe a suggestion for a different caliber, keeping in mind (that if I did own) lower caliber firearms are likely covered?

Lastly, I'm looking into building a range on a piece of property. The property is flat and that is a concern. Now there is a slight drop and I'm contemplating constructing a raised platform. 6 to 8 ft tall and the slope over a hundred yards at grade is about 2 ft. Will this build bad habits? I've always only practiced and hunted on the ground with firearms so my knowledge is insufficient. However I use bows from elevation.

Thanks for reading and taking part

a reply to: JinMI

I would love to play with your bolt action Lego.

Sounds awesome.

a reply to: JinMI

AR-10

a reply to: JinMI

As long as there is no one in your life that would get angry over such a purchase.

Dunham's here is selling AK-47s and there is no shortage of ammo in that department either. If you can get your hands on a reloader, you can make a Sunday out of it and stock up nicely.

a reply to: JinMI

not that your choice is wrong, but I like the 6.5 grendel. Standard AR15 lower, special BCG and Barrel, and mag. So you can build another 5.56 upper, use it with the lower, and you can get this link to sweetness, a .22lr conversion kit for the AR-15 so you can shoot cheap, but train with your trigger and optics.

But you do you.

a reply to: Bigburgh

I learned early...
And maybe I can help some folks here.



"Forgiveness is much easier than permission..."

a reply to: network dude

I had given the though of one lower and a variety of uppers. Problem is that I only wish to have a few calibers and reload for them.

Also, I know myself and if I get caught in the AR parts trap, it wouldn't be long before I had way more parts than rifle!

Thus my conundrum.

a reply to: JinMI

I would have gone with a Remington 700 series Tac21 26" in a 338 platform with a Leupold scope. Oh wait, I did lol. It's not the guy 100 yards away with the AR15 you have to worry about. It's that guy up the hill 2km's away that you can't see and you can't hear. Get a suppressor, lower the flash ;-)


If you want range 3kms+ and want to be able to shoot all day, the 338 lapau boattail is the right stuff. If you want to just destroy stuff, Barrett M107a1 50BMG 29" BlackWidow with steel core/flechette rounds. Or you could opt for depleted uranium but that's military use only.

Or you can do an AR that identifies as something safe lol


Cheers - Dave

a reply to: bobs_uruncle

Big guns = big ammo = big $$$$$/shot

While i have no argument in relative power and range with your choice, the economics far surpass my means especially over time......maybe.


Only reasoning behind the ar platform is customizable on almost every piece with a massive market generating the innovations.

Lucky, stuck with a 12 guage auto shotgun and .22 rifle here. Wanted to buy my wife a .38 revolver but guess those are impossible to find anymore, as well as the ammo where I am.

a reply to: JinMI

Try Thompson Center Contender single shot, many calibers to choose from. Or H&R Handi-Rifle.

I had a lot of fun fireforming 7x30 Waters from 30-30 and 32 Special brass.

165 grain spitzer boat-tail bullet in 30-30 was way cool too.

I haven't reloaded .308 yet but it should be as easy as 30-30, just more powder.

Even 44 Mag. is fun out of a carbine, and suitable for hunting.

---------
If your land is flat with no hill for a back-stop, you'll need to build a berm. Make sure the targets are placed so that bullets don't hit the ground and bounce over the berm.

originally posted by: JinMI
a reply to: bobs_uruncle

Big guns = big ammo = big $$$$$/shot

While i have no argument in relative power and range with your choice, the economics far surpass my means especially over time......maybe.


Only reasoning behind the ar platform is customizable on almost every piece with a massive market generating the innovations.

I know, leupold scope was over $4600us (3.5-25x56), I dropped 15k so fast. If you want customizable, get an M4! It's like a "Barbie" for men. The M4 has so many options and accessories it's crazy!

Cheers - Dave

a reply to: JinMI

you might look into a M1A

many people don't like them, but i'm kinda partial to them. wish i still had mine. they come in a wide variety with traditional wood and composite furniture, different barrel lengths, and magazine capacity. also come in 6.5.
the military still uses the M-14 today as a sniper rifle and Spec OPs
draw back they can be pricey.

here is the standard issue with wood furniture page.

M1A™ Standard Issue Rifles

and the socom page.
M1A™ SOCOM 16 Rifles

they also sell two scout models, match, super match and what they called loaded model.

If you're wanting to reload, good luck with primers. I've been able to find them, but it hasn't been easy. Though it does seem like they are starting to come back around a little more regularly with some of the bigger online stores. Sometimes I start thinking I picked the wrong time to start reloading.

On the other hand, powder, bullets, and brass don't seem to have been a problem.

originally posted by: JinMI
a reply to: bobs_uruncle

Big guns = big ammo = big $$$$$/shot

While i have no argument in relative power and range with your choice, the economics far surpass my means especially over time......maybe.


Only reasoning behind the ar platform is customizable on almost every piece with a massive market generating the innovations.

On the bright side of that, however, is that the big ammo right now is a lot easier to find than a lot of the more common smaller calibers. Hopefully that problem is short term, but as it stands right now it is a major problem. If you're buying a new platform/caliber, make sure you can obtain ammo for it before you choose it. I was at Sportsman's Warehouse a couple of weeks ago and they had a fine selection of .50 Cal ammo... for a reasonable $8-$11 a trigger pull. They also had quite a bit of Tula AK-74 5.45 ammo on the shelf, but they had little else.

This is not a good time to be adding a new caliber to your arsenal BUT if you're adding your first caliber or really, really want a new firearm, I'd almost suggest you run the circuit of ammo sellers in your area first and physically acquire the ammo before you buy the rifle. (You'll find ammo stores, unless you've built a relationship with the operator, automatically tell a caller "Oh yeah, we've got tons of ____ caliber ammo, come on down!" only to discover no, they don't have any of that ammo in stock when you walk into the door.)

originally posted by: deadlysyn
Though it does seem like they are starting to come back around a little more regularly with some of the bigger online stores.

Lucky bastard... I can't have primers or powders or live ammo shipped to Alaska, so the online sellers are worthless to me.

originally posted by: burdman30ott6

originally posted by: deadlysyn
Though it does seem like they are starting to come back around a little more regularly with some of the bigger online stores.

Lucky bastard... I can't have primers or powders or live ammo shipped to Alaska, so the online sellers are worthless to me.

I've been getting most of my supplies locally. My wife has a friend who owns a shop, so if I need something, she lets him know what we need, and when it comes in he puts it on hold for us. Last time I looked, primers were at about $115 a brick with a limit of 1 brick on MidwayUSA after factoring in hazmat, shipping, and tax, where the last brick of Large rifle I picked up locally were $76 after tax. It's still more than I want to spend considering I remember them being about $45 per brick before the shortages. And I think Benchrest or Match varieties were about $10 more, or another penny per trigger squeeze.

a reply to: pthena

Even 44 Mag. is fun out of a carbine, and suitable for hunting.

I have been looking at .44, or .357 Chiappa lever action rifles

a reply to: JinMI

I went to my gunsmith with the idea of buying my bride a firearm.

He looked at me like I was an idiot and said, "If your buying a firearm for your wife, I need to sell it to your wife, not you."

I shut my big fat mouth, nodded, and brought my wife in so the gunsmith could tailor the weapon to her and her needs.

I suggest that you, the OP, talk to your gunsmith and tailor whatever you want to your needs.

a reply to: vonclod

My son recently got a Rossi .357 20" barrel.
I've got one too, but it's all worn out. Only reduced loads allowed. I can't sell it because I can't trust people to stick with reduced loads.

.44 mag is much better for blowing up gallon jugs of water.

Good old '92 style!