1gewehr

Winchester M12. Pump-action artistry.

Thanks for the clarification about likes and intended use. Now we can all give you our unbiased opinions! All three of those weapons will meet you purposes. Surplus .30-06 is less expensive than surplus .308 right now. And CMP says they've got more Greek '06 on the way. the Garand is an excellent choice with good ergonomics, excellent sights, and a sleek design that doesn't catch on things as you slither through underbrush. Clips are relatively inexpensive, and a lot of '06 surplus ammo comes already packed on them. Spare parts should be a complete bolt and trigger housing. The M1A suffers from expensive spare parts. Other than that, it is also an excellent choice. You can sometimes pick up one of the Chinese rifles rebuilt with GI parts for a low price. Mags have come down a LOT! Chinese, Taiwanese, and GI mags are all running about $20-25 each. Do not bother with non-USGI spec mags. Again, an extra complete bolt and trigger housing will get you through most problems. The Armalite AR-10 would be my last choice. Mainly because it's limited military service has only been with snipers who really baby their weapons. On the plus side, the sights and ergonomics are excellent, and they have an excellent reputation for accuracy. The DPMS-style mags are a better design for an AR-style rifle than a modified M-14 mag, as well as being somewhat less expensive. And the DPMS rifles seem to be more affordable. A complete bolt and lower parts kit should provide all the likely spares you will need. You might consider the FN FAL. It is as accurate as a rack-grade M1A or Garand (~2-3moa), has excellent ergonomics, and a reputation for reliability and durability unmatched by any other .308 rifle. Spare parts and mags are quite inexpensive, and you don't have to worry about which manufacturers are best. ALL FALs were built under the supervision of FN in either Belgium, Brazil, Israel, or Argentina. An extra bolt and extra spring kit is all you are likely to need. If you can find a friend(s) who has all of these, take the time to go to the range and try them out. Your personal preference and wallet are probably the most important factors in your decision. Otherwise, all of these rifles will accomplish what you want.

These three rifles have some very different characteristics. Asking US to choose between them without knowing what you really want to do with it is like asking the government to run Healthcare. Tell us what kind of shooting you want to use it for, and under what conditions. Informal shooting involving cans, zombie defense, SHTF, invasion, practice for possible match use later, hunting, etc. What are the factors that influence your buying decisions and how important are they? Will you shoot mostly surplus ammo? Hunting ammo? Handloads? How important are military-style reliability and durability? Do you like to tinker with your guns? Do you like trendy accessories? How much do you intend to spend? Do you want to scope it or just use iron sights?

These are the handguns my wife has 'appropriated' for her exclusive use: HS2000 (Springfield XD) CZ-75B Sig P-239 Whatever you buy for her will be the wrong choice unless SHE decides on it. Just like you, she has her preferences. Someone who is a real Glock fan is unlikely to fully appreciate the gift of a 1911 and vice-versa. Take her to a gunstore that has a firing range. Let her handle all the rental pistols, and then shoot a few of the ones she might be interested in. Get whatever she likes best. Then, remember that women are allowed to change their minds!

During the Colonial days through the Revolution, the militia was not primarily for 'self-defense'. It was the all-purpose community workforce. When bandits roamed the highways, you called out the militia. If a courthouse needed to be built, the militia provided the labor. If a tornado ravaged the town, the militia cleared the debris, built shelters as needed, and collected food and supplies for the destitute. And when it became necessary to overthrow the British rule, it was the militia which provided the bulk of the manpower as well as the logistical support to accomplish that task. And every man was expected to show up with a working firearm, preferably of military pattern, as well as ammunition, and equipment. The Federal government has no control over the militia EXCEPT to provide guidelines for how it should be equipped. That is, to determine the minimum standards of armament, caliber, etc. When the Civil War destroyed the militia system, it destroyed a 1000-year tradition of citizens providing the main military and police force for the community and State.

Actually, the book is correct. The important part is this: "The Second Amendment properly read, protects right to bear arms only when they are kept to fulfill militia obligations, not when they are used for hunting, recreation, self-protection, or other purposes." Keep in mind that the 'militia'consists of all persons capable of bearing arms. And that the militia are to be armed with the arms in common use by by the military. So, if you REALLY want to obey the law, we should each own an M16 or M4.

Cool! Well they changed that since I lived there. About time.

One little strange thing about GA CCW is no ankle holsters are allowed. I always figured it was because the police didn't want to have bend over that far when they pat you down.

I use the nastiest ammo I can find (124gr golden Sabre) because I would rather have to face the uninformed liberal prosecutor than have my attacker on trial for MY murder (and possibly my families, too)!

Can you imagine the STANK on that poor gun and magazines from being sandwiched in all that fat? Good grief, that's one pistol I HOPE they destroy!

Why can't we impose this on our TN congresscritters, though? What if the State legislature passes a law stating that 'No person who has served two terms as a US Senator, or four terms as a US congressman, shall be eligible to run for that office again"? We can't clean up California, but we can make sure we don't have any 'dictators for life' from TN!

The 6.5 Grendel out of a 19 or 20" barrel is an excellent choice for a 'Designated Marksman's Rifle'. As the original poster stated, it would be perfect for shots from 0-700yards. And from 400 yards out it will out-perform any other caliber you can fire from an AR15 platform. The Wolf ammo is becoming available again. I would suggest that anyone who is getting into this caliber invest in at least a case of the ammo. Reloading is pretty inexpensive, but you've got to have the cases to reload. And buying the loaded Wolf ammo is not a whole lot more expensive than buying new cases from other manufacturers.

It only seems 'coy' because to them the issue was obvious. There is a reason that they allowed the Navy to be a permanent institution, but the Army is required to be re-authorized by Congress annually. A standing Army was seen as a potential tool that could be used to deny liberty to the people. Kind of like our Federal Law enforcement agencies are used. The Founders would be appalled that Federal Police are allowed to carry and use weapons that are denied to the general populace.

The culprit may actually be your "newly tweaked cheapo scope". With glass, you usually get what you pay for. Some of the 'cheapo scopes' are unsuitable for recoil more stout that a .22short. Your scope may not be securely mounted as well. See what kind of groups you get with iron sights at 100 yards. If you do better without the scope, you have the problem identified!

Here is the legal definition of 'militia' according to the US Code: <b><big>UNITED STATES CODE TITLE 10 - ARMED FORCES Subtitle A - General Military Law PART I - ORGANIZATION AND </big> <big>GENERAL MILITARY POWERS CHAPTER 13 - THE MILITIA</big></b><big> </big> <big>§ 311. Militia: composition and classes </big> (a) The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard. ( The classes of the militia are -- (1) the organized militia, which consists of the National Guard and the Naval Militia; and (2) the unorganized militia, which consists of the members of the militia who are not members of the National Guard or the Naval Militia. So, legally, almost everyone is already a member of the militia. And it is the 'unorganized militia' that the 2nd amendment addresses. After all, there is no need for the Constitution to guarantee a right for the 'organized militia' to have weapons when those weapons are issued by the government. All the documentation of the period when the Constitution was drafted and adopted agrees that the purpose of the 2nd amendment was to guarantee that the 'people' would be as well armed as any standing military. To my mind, that means privately-owned M4, M240, M249, 40mm, .50BMG, etc. The ONLY argument that the Supreme Court had against Miller in US v Miller was that nobody could show that a short-barrelled shotgun was useful for military service. Keep in mind that when Miller was heard, NOBODY was there to present a defense!!!

Gold is awfully LOW right now. What this article points out is that gold maintains it's value. The dollar does not. You can still buy the pretty much equivalent products today for an ounce of gold that you could a hundred years ago. In fact though, that new Colt SAA has a price of $1295.00. Add in the holster rig and 100rds of quality ammo and you're right at $1500. So if gold were actually $1500/ounce, it would have the same purchasing power as it did $100 years ago. As far as it being too much for the average person to have in his pocket, you're right. It always was. A hundred years ago, $20 was a week's wages for a moderately-skilled worker. I highly doubt many of those people were given a $20 double-eagle at the end of the week. The smaller $5 gold coins are much more common and $1 silver coins were made in huge numbers.

Holsters are very difficult to shop for. The only sure way to know what works is to wear it for a day or so. And determining what will 'print' and what won't is equally difficult as we come in so many different shapes. For me, I'm 6'2", 250lbs, relaitvely wide shoulders and not too much gut. I've had a Jackass shoulder rig for over 30 years that is easily hidden under any loose shirt or a jacket. It's comfortable, secure, durable, and well worth what I paid for it. Jackass was bought out by Galco, and the 'classic' is what they call my shoulder holster. I don't know anyone who has bought a Galco holster and was disappointed in the quality. You generally get what you pay for in holsters. Try out as many as you can to see what works for you. Store fitting will get you a good idea of what does or doesn't work. Sometimes you can get a bargain on eBay or GunBroker.

It's not hard to do. The most important tools are a large, strong bench vise and a receiver wrench. A Dremel is also pretty useful, though! Instructions are on the FALFiles as stated above.

I have a PT-99 with at least 4000 rounds through it. It's been rock solid reliable. My wife has a M94 .22 revolver with many thousands of rounds through it. It is the pistol she always takes to the range and lets everyone else shoot. I also have a M82 that has also been as reliable as I could ask. All were bought from 1990 to 2002. It seems that Taurus quality control is a part of the problem.

An excellent reference is James Rawles' book "How to Survive the End of the World (as we know it)". Lots of really good advice for normal times as well. I'd expect most cities to have 50% or more of the population to Die in Place (DIP). Whether by earthquake, fire, starvation or murder, there will be a huge death toll. Second, the avenues of escape will be along the interstates and major roads. If you are 40-50 miles away from a city and 10 miles from an Interstate, you are unlikely to see large numbers of refugees. Naturally, the further the distance, the fewer refugees. Being close to a place viewed as a refuge will expose you to a large number of refugees. Military bases, and undamaged cities will be seen as a refugee. Smaller cities near the interstate are not a good choice to live. Dickson, Murfreesboro, Clarkesville, Cookeville, and other such cities will see large numbers of refugees. Chattanooga is a natural choke point. It will be swamped. Especially if there are refugees from Atlanta. From the middle of TN, south of I-24 and north of I-40 are relatively good places to be. There are also some areas between I-40 and I-24 that are not bad. City folk tend to try to get to another city, but will spread out from major traffic routes. In TN, the biggest danger of large numbers of refugees is from Memphis and Atlanta. Nashville and Knoxville are less likely to have large numbers leave, but probably will be seen as a refuge. West TN is likely to suffer incredible damage in an earthquake as the geology there transmits energy quite well. Memphis is a death-trap in almost any kind of disaster.

IF you need to bug out, there are some basic principles to keep in mind. 1) You won't be alone. Many others will thinking the same thing. Major roads will be clogged, fuel will be hard to come by. 2) Keep a low profile. With large groups of panicky people, it's best to look like you don't have anything they want. 3) Have a plan. Know where you want to go, what routes to follow, and alternate plans if roads are impassable. 4) The less you carry, the less you could lose. Remember the 'panicky people'? Expect to be robbed. Pre-positioning your supplies will allow you to be more agile and give you a lot more options, including hoofing it if necessary. All told, our old Nissan pickup is our BOV. It's ugly, not a 4WD, and won't be loaded down, so it won't attract attention. The dogs in the bed will keep potential hitch-hikers away. But it has relatively high ground clearance and pretty good off-road performance for getting around roadblocks. A come-along and rope behind the seats is a whole lot less obvious than a powered winch, and almost as effective.

I don't believe that either AIM or Centerfire Systems actually does any rifle builds. I'd give them a call and ask who did the build. It may be the same builder for all we know. Saving a $100 would buy a good bit of mags and ammo. I've done business with both companies, and always gotten what I expected.

You can't go wrong with GemTech or SRT. Both always have the among most effective suppressors on the market, and both companies will stand behind their product 100%. As stated above, the take-down feature is over-rated. Spray it down, let it sit and rinse. Or just drop it in an ultrasonic tank with the proper solution. I've got an old Triple X .223 suppressor (no longer made) that I just drop in a bucket of Ed's Red when it starts looking cruddy inside. Next day, I fish it out, swish it around, and blow it out with compressed air.

1) FN FAL - all purpose defense out to 500 yards 2) Witness 10mm - The heaviest pistol caliber I can accurately shoot quickly 3) Remington 870 - Sometimes you just need a shotgun 4) Taurus 94 .22 revolver - Kills squirrels almost silently with Colibri ammo. 5) Marlin 39A .22 rifle - Feeds any .22 ammo you can find, shoots accurately.

Lighter than an AK, and feels handier. The mags are alloy which also saves weight. They also tend to be more accurate than an AK. And the safety works normally. The folding stock makes a very compact package, but is a pain to try to shoot accurately. The trigger is better than an AK with no trigger slap. And the striker firing system seems to be smoother and faster than an AKs hammer. The mechanism is more complicated than an AK, and it probably wouldn't be as reliable under extreme nasty conditions. But I would much prefer to have the CZ over an AK for zombie-repellent.