Smith

One of the new Taurus .380 Revolvers might not be a bad idea. They are still small and comfortable to shoot and the .380 won't recoil as bad as the .38 spl. You will probably want to have some work done on the trigger, but it is the only thing in that niche ATM and for the money you won't feel as bad if she doesn't like it. It sounds like she would be a little recoil sensitive and if that is the case stay away from the little .380's (LCP, P3AT, TCP, etc.) Those things are miserable to shoot for any time for someone who isn't recoil sensitive.

He speaks the truth

Search will help, but essentially a Saiga is a Russian AK that they configure to be able to import under a "sporting" gun classification. It is fairly easy to convert them to a standard AK. They will take AK mags once you install a bullet guide and take a little material off the mag catch.

I think you will find the TGO community is pretty diverse when it comes to politics. That being said I hear A LOT from the Ron Paul people here. The problem with Libertarians/conservatives is we tend to get locked into these all or nothing stances. That is the reason Ron Paul will never be more than what he currently is. I like Paul on a lot of things and not so much on others. I can say that about most of the rest of the candidates as well. Believe it or not there are other issues besides 2A issues. As far as to the OP, Ron Paul can't get elected because there are not enough people to elect him. Even if there were such a thing as a completely fair, no fraud election he wouldn't make it into the top 3 ... on the Republican side. People who vote for Ron Paul are exactly why a guy like Romney and the Republic-rats continue to stay in power and lead these primaries. He is the Ross Perot of current conservative politics.

Keep in mind the MP5A5 barrels are threaded at the ends for the shroud. There doesn't seem to be any issues with that setup, so I can't see how shortening the barrel and threading it could be an issue.

... and OH! That AK is a sweet one! Aresenal does great work.

Trust my life to the PA? No, but then again realistically I don't plan on being in any life or death scenarios where the difference is my optic and I'm not backed up my a few Blackhawks. The PA's are nice but I really like the Vortex Strikefires or the Vortex SPARC better. I went with the SPARC. Lifetime warranties and they have proven to hold up under abuse.

That's kinda of a misnomer. Kydek actually touches the gun a lot less than leather but the few places it does it will wear. Leather wears a guns finish more due to the fact that it touches all over the gun and tends to hold in dirt, grit, and moisture that scratches the gun unlike Kydex. The thing is it wears the finish more evenly so it doesn't look as sever as Kydex. This is form my personal experience as well as what DM Bullard and Kevin at K&D told me. That being said how much you use your holster, drawing/re-holstering, and maintenance are the biggest factors in finish wear. That being said, those who have the VM love them and those who have the Crossbreed love them as well. I don't think you can go wrong with either.

Actually they are made by Walther (very good reputation BTW) under liscense from H&K imported by Umarex.

The HK's aren't "clones" as they are licensed and made for H&K. They are identical with the exception of the caliber. The GSG is a decent gun but it is definitely not on par with the H&K. Lots of plastic there. I know of a few guys that have SBR'd their H&K's, re-threaded, and added cans. Expensive way to go for a .22 SBR, but a lot cheaper than an MP5

The location of the ND is irrelevant. I've preached with a gun in the pulpit on several occasions, when necessary, and you couldn't have caught me in the office of the inner city church I pastored during the week with out it on me. Very sad story indeed, but people are people no matter where they are. You can legislate safety of thought.

Whatever you did, mine are working now as well. Thanks.

I haven't gotten any myself since the change over. I did have to reset my options to recieve instant notifications and re-enable my subscriptions, but it still doesn't seem to be working for me.

Wrong barrel, wrong chamber, wrong twist rate = keyholing. THe Tantals had this problem when Century tried to cut corners by using 5.56 barrels instead if using the correct 5.45 barrel.

The only guns I've heard that consistently have problems are DPMS AR's. Not a knock on DPMS, they just tend to be the ones I hear of having problems with Tula/Wolf/Golden Bear/Brown Bear/Silver Bear/etc. I've used it in a variety of AR's and AK's pretty much exclusively and I've never had a problem.

They are desinged to be made and serviced by 12 yr old boys in caves in third world countries. I'm pretty sure you wil have no problem with working on it. I love the simplicity of the AK and yes they are easy to swap funiture on. I really like the IZH-332 ( Saiga). With the new import regulations Izhmash is bringin them into the country with the front end already converted at the factory. At around $500, they are a bargain. The rear end conversion is very easy to do. Great way to get into a quality AK and still have the fun of converting it as well.

You blog says it is still being converted.

Wolf in sheep's clothing. I think of Elliot Carver in the James Bond film (not one of the best ) "Tomorrow Never Dies"

Bulgy Circle 10 mags are the best mags out there. Other than that com-bloc surplus and nothing else. For some reason US manufactures can't make a decent AK mag, including the Palm mags. I've heard nothing but bad things out of them.

Technically, they are all "parts kits". You can't import AK's into the country assembled. They will all have to be assembled or converted (Saiga's only) once they are in the country. Now it is true that some parts kits are better than others and some are missing parts that the builder will substitute US made parts in. Higher end AK's cost more because the parts kits or conversion are on virgin kits or have parts kits that have the bad parts weeded out. The cheaper builds aren't as picky or thorough thus the cheaper cost. Most of the kits that are sold come from countries that no longer use the '47, have surplus guns left over from the cold war, are from countries that have been required to lessen their military numbers through treaties or NATO stipulations, or no longer exists (i.e. Yugoslavia). They are not necessarily de-milled because they are beat up and used up. Many guns that were never used get de-milled for the above reasons.

Generally they will all work. Canted sights and gas blocks are the biggest issue usually. The better AK's will be better finished. The bolt rails and bolt/hammer interface will be smoother and not "catch" during charging and firing. The Yugo's and some Polish recievers will use a 1.5mm thick reciever where everyone else will use a 1mm thick reciever. It is debatable whether it makes a difference. Also, the good builders will heat treat the recievers correctly so they won't warp or twist. They will also use the correct barrel. There have been cases where builders tried to cut cost by using barrels with standard US twist and diameters instead of using the correct Russian specks. Century had a probem with this. They were using 5.56 barrels instead of the 5.45 to cut cost and they had bad key holing issue. The better ones will also have cleaner and straighter welds. Mostly asthetic but it makes a difference in appearance. I'm sure there are some other issues, but that is what comes to mind immediatley.

There are some little brackets that go across the forearm that need to be taken out. As the forearm comes back the little brace starts binding on the portion of the barrel where it starts to flair out at the reciever. I spent hours with the same problem thinking the littles braces were necessary. Poped them out and it was good to go. I'll try to get some pictures tomorow to show the braces.

No need to insult the guy and make him feel bad about what he has when there is no reason for it. Like Mike said, Maadi's and Norinco's are some of the best around if you know which ones to look for. They can be near the top or near the bottom. If his guns are working for him they are good AK's. If he gets Arsenals or the like he will notice the difference, but they are still a loose tolerance AK.

It's in your pocket.

Don't listen to the other guy. The only difference between a "good" AK and a "bad" AK is generally canted front sights, gas blocks, or a poor finish. All those are easily fixed. What most people look for is a "dimpled" reciever and time period correct parts and or original furniture. You are off to a fine start and as you get better AK's you will notice the difference in asthetics and finish work. That being said the order of what is best changes with who is stating it but here is the general way it goes. 1. Russian - Saiga conversions or the extremely rare and expensive imported Rusky AK. Aresenal, Legion, and many of the top builders use these. 2. Bulgarian - Aresenal, Legion, and many top builders use these. 3. Polish - Tantals (careful with Century builds) and standard AK47 4. Yugoslavian 5. Egyptian/Norinco (Chinese) depending on when they were imported. Otherwise send them to the bottom of the list. 6. Romanian Again the list order can change and speeks to the eveness of com-block AK kits. Century builds are hit and miss and many builds these days are using American recievers and barrels. Sometimes that is good and sometimes that is a bad thing. Like I said before, if the front sight and gas block are straight, the action is smooth, and it looks good to you it is a good AK regardless of the origin or builder.