Best Rifle for this situation???

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welcome aboard!!!

there are tons of gret guns you could get that would fill your cup.

m-1 garand: reliable as heck, never did anything wrong. accurate is more than enough for deer but it does weigh 9 lbs and is kinda long, but it is a riflemans rifle and one of the best IMHO.

ak-47: its not the most accurate but it would be fun for shooting, cheap and compact. it might be good for deer out to 150 yards but i would try to keep it inside 100.

ar-15: great rifle, accurate, there one of the most reliable rifles i have fired my dads has gone through 2000 rounds, 1 cleaning at halftime and never failed to function or fire. its pretty handy and compact too. the only problem is, the .223 isnt the best deer round. it will surely get the job done.

mini-14/30: this gun may not be as accurate as you want but is verry light, short and it seems like it comes to your shoulder by its self. reliable too, but its only reliable with quality magazines so if you get one buy mags from a good aftermarket brand. the accuracy most people get from there minis aren't satisfactory for deer but if you put a muzzle brake or some other muzzle attachment and it will usually bring groups down to 2-3" at 100 yards.
 
Kentucky -
If the Bushmaster for $700 that you mentioned is all original, then it's probably worth it. Inspect the heck out of it before you buy (if possible), since a lot of folks turn ARs into "parts guns" for lack of a better term. They swap trigger groups, bolt carriers, firing pins - all manner of things to make the rifle shoot better. Little do they know that it's them, not the rifle, that shoots poorly in the first place. I've seen many problems due to this type of fiddling.

With respect to AR-10's:
1. The AR-10 from Armalite has a less-than-stellar history, especially when it's fan's readily admit things like, "I only had three malfunctions in each mag on average today." I personally would not buy any Armalite AR-10.
2. The BAR-10 from Bushmaster is a slightly different design that uses FAL mags, and is, by all accounts a fully reliable rifle.
3. What I've seen of the upcoming LAR-10 looks like an exact copy of the BAR-10, making it especially tempting to get for those of us who liked the BAR-10.
4. Keep in mind that I live in CA, and as such, am not trusted with LAR-10's, BAR-10's, or regular AR-10's, so my experience is limited to when I go out of state and use friends' guns.
5. Yes, .308 is more expensive than .223, but it might be cheaper than not getting a knockdown or kill when you most need it. I guess it depends on what you're going to need the rifle for.

Good (gun) hunting!
 
Happy gun Hunting buddy, here is my advice...

If u want semi-auto get an AK, nothing is any better, or cheaper.


If u want deer rifle accuracy, get one of those to.:scrutiny:

still less than a grand....
 
nplant made a good point regarding parts guns. It may be a parts gun built from cheaper off-brand parts that only uses a Bushmaster lower receiver.

You want to look for markings on the bolt carrier group that may indicate who made it - As of 2004, Bushmaster still did not mark their bolts or bolt carriers; but I don't know what their current practice is. I would also look for markings on the barrel and upper receiver as well. A Bushmaster barrel should be stamped B MP in front of the front sight base. If it is a relatively new Bushmaster, the rear lug of the upper receiver may have a Y lightly stamped on the back of it - though not all uppers will have this.

Older uppers may have forge marks that are specific to Bushmaster as well.
 
From all the suggestions above, I think a PTR-91 (HK G3 clone) in .308 would be a good choice. I am looking that direction later this year as well. It is under a grand and the magazines are cheap. I would not go for .223 for hunting myself. I have other options. I guess there are some quality FAL's for under a grand, but I am not sure what those are and who makes them.

2nd choice in my opinion is an M1 Garand. It is not compact, but it has plenty of power and ammo isn't too expensive from CMP.

These choices to me are the best for something that will also be useful hunting. You can hunt most anything in the lower 48 with .308 or 30.06.
If you need something cheap, go for an SKS with a Tech Sights upgrade or a higher quality AK like a Vepr that will give you better accuracy.

There are an endless number of options I guess. Everyone has their preference.
 
Saiga .308 16"

AK reliability, .308 punch and surprising accuracy. My first one would do 1.5-3" at 100yds, offhand with the open sights and SA surplus ammo. I only sold it to turn a big profit. I've just recently acquired another and am converting it to pistol grip configuration.

Link to saiga importer.
 
Unless youre willing to spend over 1k, AK is probably the best SHTF/deer rifle you can hope for. A good quality one will not be that expensive while still being much better than a run of the mill crappy AK. Accuracy will be satisfactory and reliability will be top notch with no trigger slap or creep.

This also lets you use the tons of cheap, high quality webbing gear and accessories that the soviets made but never got around to using. The soviets had millions of "special forces" troops during the 80s and a lot of the equipment set aside for them has entered the civilian market at low prices. The soviets didnt quite have ACOG levels of quality and features, but their optics are easily 1st tier for often 3rd tier prices. I wish they made compact 4x combat scopes in the style of their heads-up 1x sights.

You can accessorize a good quality one with optics, lots of nice mags and aftermarket furniture and still come in under 1000 bucks. And ammo is usually around 10c a round these days.

Milled or RPK receiver arsenal/vepr: 500-600 bucks.
PKAS or Kobra-100-200 bucks depending on which version you go with
mags- between 10 and 30 bucks each. This fluctuates a lot from year to year. Some years there will be craploads of mags entering the market from an old soviet warehouse overseas, other years there will be nothing and venezuela will buy up the whole market. I got my original RPK mags for 9 bucks each and a year later got a bunch of bulgarian RPK mags for 30. Dunno about the quality of the pro-mag waffle clones, but I imagine they are decent for the price. It at least keeps a ceiling on the price of 30 rders.
furniture: you can get all sorts of stuff from ace ltd that is as good as anything and costs under 200 bucks.

The only thing missing from the SHTF/deer rifle market is full auto and grenade launchers.
 
You mentioned hunting hogs. You'll be way undergunned with a .223. Don't even try it. Think about what you are actually going to use the rifle for. Do you really want a military rifle?

As far as hunting goes the "fast follow up" shots are useless. You see this in the marketing hype a lot, but it really is the last thing I consider. If you couldn't hit it on the first shot your sure not going to hit it on subsequent shots when it's moving and probably farther away.

For the price of an ar-15 you could get a nice bolt gun and optics to boot.
 
No knock on the 99, but when a man says he wants a military-type rifle, I have zero interest in discouraging him.

-MV
Click to expand...

Yes, but he didn't say that. He gave some parameters and then indicated he was open to all types of rifles. You just ASSUMED he was only after a military-style rifle.

The biggest strikes against military rifles is weight, size and power. A '99 or similar takedown hunting rifle can fit into a briefcase size package and weigh under six pounds quite easily. Military rifles, even the smaller ones such as the AK or AR, tend to get really heavy really quickly as components are added on.
 
I have been hog hunting since I was 12 years old. I have used everything from a 30-06 to a 20 Gauge single shot to .22 pistol to a bulldog. I have known people who have hunted them with knives and spears. If you have good dogs it doesnt matter what kind of gun you have, I have killed several hogs with a .22 rifle. For a hog gun you need something very compact and easy to carry, that is your main requirement.

If you are stalking then yes you would need something larger.
 
I'll try to make this my last question on the subject, how would you compare the accuracy of the FAL to the -47 and -15? I am looking specifically at a Imbel L1A1
 
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the fal is not as accurate as the ar-15 but it is a hellofalot more accurate that an ak-47. fals usually get around 2moa.
 
obviously over your limit but the socom has what you need. a bit pricey though. Not as pretty as teh scout model but still very capable. If time is not of the essence i'd save up and look for a used one.
 
I would have to say a .308 semi-auto is the way to go. An FAL clone, a G-3 clone, or an M1A. While I have seen M1As for less than a grand, I haven't seen them very often (if you can get one, remember to get a synthetic stock).

I like FALs the most. Good sights, highly reliable, easy to field strip. Approx. $500-$1000 depending on condition, make. Most are accurate to atleast 2 moa with match ammo, and 3-4 moa with milsurp

G-3 clones are sweeeet! The things never jam (although reloading ain't exactly a high feasibility from what I've heard), function in just about any circumstance, and the G-3 clones made with Century parts (other than CETME) I've had a chance to shoot are reasonably accurate (about same as FAL).

I like AKs and ARs but to me having a full powered battle rifle is a higher priority than a wussy battle carbine.

Get one of those 3, a good 2000 rounds in storage, and become one with your rifle.
 
Wow! I apologize for dragging up this old thread but I accidentally stumbled onto this old thread that was my first post in this forum. I am blown away when I read my old posts asking for some of the most basic information, and how naive I was.

In the last 21 months I have gone from a country boy, whose entire knowledge of firearms consisted of the few that my father and I owned to, whatever I am today (gun nut I gues :) )

In the past 21 months I have probably spent on average 2-3 hours per day on THR. I have read Boston's Gun Bible, Unintended Consequences (twice), Patriots, Enemies Foreign and Domestic, The Reconquista, Molon Labe(twice), and a few others. In addition to these "gun culture specific" books I have read Andrew Neapolitano's Freedom In Chains and Freedom in Exile, as well as David Maculloh's 1776, and several other related books.

At the time of this post my only firearms were a Maverick 88 and Marlin 60. Since then I have bought a S&W 459, three different AR-15's, an L1AL, a CETME, an 870, two different G17's, a 1911, a Taurus .357 snubby, a Marlin Camp 9, a Marlin 30-30, a Marlin 1894 in .44 Mag, two different M91/30's, a Kel-Tec Sub2000, and I may be leaving something out. (I dont still own all of those, but I have shot/used them)

In the past 21 months I have gone from not knowing what a 1911 was, to loving them and despising Glocks, to HAVING to own a Glock, to owning both! :) 21 months ago I was asking if an Ak could double as a sniper rifle, today I am consumed MOA and $800 rifle scopes.

In the past 21 months I have spent more money on ammo than firearms. (Unfortunately much of it is gone as well, but I am going to start reloading). I have spent hours driving across two states to many different gunshows.

In that 21 months I have taken two handgun courses, an AR-15 course, and been to two Appleseeds. I have actually gotten very involved in the Appleseed program, and introduced several new shooters to the "gun culture". I have also become VERY politically active and I believe all of my state Reps and Congress critters probably recognize my name and may even recall having spoken to me. I have joined the NRA, GOA, JPFO, and I have given over $100 to the Ron Paul campaign directly, (not counting what we are spending on RP promo literature and billboards here).

Looking back, it has been an incredible 21 months, and I cant believe it hasnt been longer than that. I can hardly remember the time when I wasnt consumed with the gun culture, when I wasnt constantly thinking about what my next gun purchase would be, (I REALLY want a Remington 700/Savage 110 in 308 and a shorty FAL), and when I wasnt firing off weekly (sometimes daily) note and letters to my reps.

Seeing how much I have learned in these last 21 months, both in "head knowledge" and experience I am really blown away by how much some of you guys with 5-10-30 or more years experience must have. I know that just like babies we probably grow the fastest when we are brand new, but still the experience must really add up.

Reflecting back on this thread is going to make me a whole lot less inclined to roll my eyes when I see someone post "dumb" questions in the future, or AR vs Ak etc...Some of us come into this just plain dirt dumb, and we dont even know how much we dont know! Much of what I now take for granted, and think about during each waking moment, was a completely foreign concept and language back then.

I would like to say THANKS to all of you guys who have been so helpful to me and others on here, and I hope to be able to help others while I continue to learn myself. This all reminds me of an old Gold City song, "What a Great Lifestyle!".
 
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There are many choices available to you, here's what I bought(have);

SKS - an absolutely perfect all-around semi-auto rifle. Probably the best value out there. It will do almost anything that needs done with a rifle.

AR15 - also perfect all-around rifle, but more refined and more expensive.

Saiga .308 (20") - dependable, reasonably accurate, and reasonable priced, gives me a longer range potential than .223 or 7.62x39.

Those are guns that are "all-purpose" to me, and should do well for what the OP has in mind.

There are particular applications that I have particular guns for, ie, scoped bolt action rifles for precision work, .22's for small game and plinking, riot shotguns for HD, etc.

I do not buy very expensive guns(over 1K), primarily due to the fact that I can have more guns to do different chores, with the same amount of investment. I don't buy cheap guns, but I do buy inexpensive guns that work.;)

For 1K, I would buy the following;

Yugo SKS
Mossberg 500A
Saiga .308
Marlin 60
Taurus 66 .357


but........that's me, YMMV.:)
 
Two come to mind, first off is a Mini 30 shooting the 7.62 X 39 which in effect is the ballistic equal of the 30-30 when using the 150g round.

Secondly, and more accurate would be a Browning BAR in the caliber of your choice. I'd look for a used one with a steel receiver. Very accurate and you pick the bullet.

Both good choices for your needs.
 
Just a quick side-track...

As of early '07 aquired a Bushmaster carbine (factory new), bolt is stamped w/ letters CM on the bolt and can be read without stripping the bolt group. Other than BMP on the barrel, and the logo on the lower and the tele-stock mine's clean... with the exception of "IF" cast inside the pistol grip. Figure that one out!
 
Entry level but good deals.. Try Wally worlds that sell rifles. There you'll find a Wood stock Mossberg in .308 with a decent (Not great) scope for $329, or if you have Dick's in your area a non accu trigger Stevens-Savage again in .308 and with a fair scope @ $319. I didn't like the nylon/glass stock, but performance wise it has to be the most accurate best bang for the buck.
(Deer or other wise)
KKKKFL
 
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