Chemgeo

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Gen II

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Sorry Y'all, chambered in 300wm. Edited the title

scope: https://vortexoptics.com/viper-pst-gen-2-5-25x50-ffp+reticle-EBR-7C~MOA rifle: https://www.budsgunshop.com/product_info.php/products_id/15012/tikka+t3x+lite+.300+win+mag+24+stainless+3+1 Asking $1200 for the setup. Has about 40 rounds through it, never got around to learning long range shooting. It's a great elk setup, backcountry rifle, or platform for precision shooting. Tack driver with good ammo, I have ~20 rounds or so of factory hunting ammo I can throw in. Would sell separately for $600 each, but I would keep the scope mount. Don't bother with lowballs, you know this is a good deal. Pregnant wife, you know the story.

I don't know about for hunting, but for defense, none of the 7.62x39 ARs on the market are consistently what I would consider 'duty grade' reliable, and it mostly comes down to the magazines and receiver geometry just very often being a problem. If you want 7.62x39 I would recommend getting an AK, a mini 30, basically anything built for the round. 300 BO is probably just a straight better option for an AR platform in a similar round. That said, 5.56 is fine for hunting deer with modern ammo inside 100.

I have a tikka t3 in 300wm, and it's really an excellent rifle. You can pay more money for a bolt action, but for the vast majority of people, that money is wasted.

Are you talking about a standard 5 or 6 position adjustable buffer tube, or the buffer tube from an A2 style non-adjustable stock? If the latter, I don't think so.

Like with anything, you get what you pay for to a degree, and there are diminishing returns on the higher end. DPMS produces guns to a price point, on the low end, outsources most of their parts and production, and hits a target price by compromising on materials and QC. That might sound bad, but it isn't the end of the world if your gun is going to shoot coyotes, paper targets, then live in the closet. You might even get several thousand rounds out of it with no major issues, but it is not a duty grade weapon. For a first AR, to do civilian things, it will probably be just fine.

Hammer fired all metal frame handguns are just so cool.

When I was living out west, I just shot on BLM land or national forest. Here it seems like wind rock is the only public range around, but their longest range is 100 yards, and it's up hill, so zeroing is a little off. Is there any place I'm missing?

Oak Ridge Gun Club has a 1000 yard range, but a lot of the other stuff you listed can be hard to find in private ranges that are (understandably) concerned about user safety and their insurance premiums haha. Best bet is to find a friend with land, that's what I'm trying to do currently. Just saw you're in Chatt. so that would be quite a hike for you.

It's a great one Hoping I can contribute to discussions here. I have a lot of experience with the AR market and can hopefully give some informed recommendations for gear selection, but I also really enjoy shooting pistol, shotguns, bolt actions, you name it. Outside of shooting, I like trout fishing and weight lifting, so if you have any tips on where to fly fish, I'd sure appreciate it.

AR manufacturers are a dime a dozen. What I look for in an AR is a combination of material selection and quality, good fit/finish/machining, a track record of reliability/qc/support, and then enhancements like altered cam pin path, ambi controls, etc. With any pump in price, I expect more from each category. Aero (up until some recent QC issues) produces a very solid, basic gun with the right materials and finishes, and is a baseline that I compare other rifles against. I don't see anything unique from Head Down that makes me think they are producing a better rifle than Aero. With all of the manufacturers on the market, they need to demonstrate why they are worth their asking price over a competitor. For the price of a head down, you can get an LWRC DI, which has a CHF fluted barrel, full ambi controls on the lower, a semi monolithic upper, an enhanced bolt carrier, and excellent fit/finish.

From what I understand, the lever mechanism puts more strain on the case itself. Lever action shotguns often have reliability issues because the plastic shotgun shell deforms under load. Pump actions seem to place less stress on the case. But I could be wrong about that.