Wow, I guess pics of my current projects are going to require some people to invest in Depends.
I just took $75 worth of parts and built a free-floated Gewehr 88 in about 10 hours of labor. Got to put sights on it yet, but it functions well enough. The stock is monte carlo, because the original was "functional" but also an uncomfortable club. The trigger was "functional" but I prefer not having creep. The barrel was "functional" but 29" is a wee bit long for anything practical.
And please do not even
start with the "OMG if you put 'high pressure' ammo in a Gewehr 88 it will explode and rip a hole in the space time continuum!" crap or I will LAUGH at you. I have four. Been shooting surplus 8mm out of them for 20 years. Never had a problem. Neither has the guy with 6. Deal with it.
(Of course, this ludicrous rumor is part of why I can buy parts so cheaply, so, yeah...it'll explode. Got to have a priest exorcise it under the full moon with a goat sacrifice...very hard to do. Better stay away from it
)
As to these comments:
frankly I've always opted to err on the side of caution and treat rifles modifed after '98 as firearms.
Well, the problem is that you CAN'T enter a pre-99 receiver into a bound book. Because it's not a firearm. So says federal law and the ATF.
I tend to think that just maybe he wants an antique because he is ineligible to buy a modern rifle, for one reason or another.
Wow, right out of Brady's play book. Maybe he wants something he can mail to a friend as a gift in an emergency? Maybe he's afraid of more gun control (I know, it's a stretch and I'm paranoid, but it MIGHT happen someday) and would like something with no sales or transfer record.
But "tactical" is not a good word, and I think we could do without it. When you come right down to the nitty-gritty, "tactical" means killing people.
Um, no. "Tactical" is a military term meaning "non-strategic." The kind of thing commonly carried in theater without needing higher command to authorize. Alternately, it means easily portable with the unit's organic resources. Rifles. Machine guns. Radios. Some radar.
I don't think playing Lee Malvo or the Ohio turnpike sniper does our image any good at all.
I missed the part where he suggested that?
If I were him, I'd be grossly offended by that comparison. In fact, I do believe you should retract and apologize, this being a PRO-GUN forum.
I have not forgotten that "assault rifle" was OUR term, used by AK-47 importers to peddle cheap guns.
You seem to have forgotten that it was a specific MILITARY term, not "our" term.
Ash:
Unless the bore is shot out, the old rifle, even if the stock is ugly, is every bit as effective.
Well, no. And in fact, a 36 Chevy works MUCH better with a modern V8. Fact.
The fact of the matter is that a sporterized rifle loses its value. FACT, there, FACT.
Well, that's a fact if it's done by someone who doesn't know what they're doing. And it's a fact if the original HAD some historical value, which parts guns do not. Otherwise, it's just an opinion, and only relevant when true IF I'm buying the weapon as an investment...and few guns from that era will EVER be worth enough to be considered investments. And resale value only matters if I plan to ever sell any of my guns, which I do not. It's also a personal matter.
As to sporterizing old Mausers and such, I suggest leaving them in 8mm...stuff is available by the PALLET and is CHEAP. Cheaper than .308, way cheaper than .30-06, easier AND cheaper than any oddball. It's a perfectly functional round. Consider what you could do with a cranked M1919 belt fed kit gun and ten old Mausers, all in 8mm...pretty danged effective fireteam, yes?