It's not a moral issue to me.
I just think the gun shoots very, very well the way it is.
Since I wanted to try the thing out ASAP, I shot it at a nearby indoor range that's open 'til 9PM. I hung a little cardboard box, the kind that holds 50 .22LR cartridges inside a larger box sold as a "brick", from the target holder and ran it to the back of the range. I hit it consistently, offhand, mostly dead-center, with iron sights in low light. I was shooting relatively quickly for what I was doing.
As far as pointing, remember, I've put thousands more rounds through shotguns, at moving targets, than I have through rifles, in the past couple years. Many, many thousands. I appreciate pointing.
Of course, I also use my whole upper body as a result. A gun that's too short and/or too light is a liability.
The last game I shot before the seasons here ended was a cottontail. I shot it with a 49" long 8 lb. Remington 1100 (I was out for quail, but didn't find any in shooting distance). It was about 20 yards away. It popped out of the brush, I saw it, shouldered and pointed my gun, and I fired one shot. It rolled over dead instantly from a bunch of #6's in the head. That's a gun that weighs 1.5 lb. more and has 9" on the 39A. And I'm not some Sporting Clays champ, either.
Rapid, accurate target acquisition is not necessarily facilitated by a too-short gun. Yes, you can get too long and too heavy, and some guns just don't handle quickly. However, the 39A at 6.5 lb., 40" OAL, and with excellent balance, is nothing near too heavy, too long, nor too sluggish. At least for me.
Can you find one to try with a short barrel?
(Kicking myself daily for passing up an old but 99% condition 39 carbine with a nice peep sight added to it for $300. At the time, I thought, "Man, 300 bucks! It's nice, but for a .22, that's too much for me." Oops.)
I just think the gun shoots very, very well the way it is.
Since I wanted to try the thing out ASAP, I shot it at a nearby indoor range that's open 'til 9PM. I hung a little cardboard box, the kind that holds 50 .22LR cartridges inside a larger box sold as a "brick", from the target holder and ran it to the back of the range. I hit it consistently, offhand, mostly dead-center, with iron sights in low light. I was shooting relatively quickly for what I was doing.
As far as pointing, remember, I've put thousands more rounds through shotguns, at moving targets, than I have through rifles, in the past couple years. Many, many thousands. I appreciate pointing.
Of course, I also use my whole upper body as a result. A gun that's too short and/or too light is a liability.
The last game I shot before the seasons here ended was a cottontail. I shot it with a 49" long 8 lb. Remington 1100 (I was out for quail, but didn't find any in shooting distance). It was about 20 yards away. It popped out of the brush, I saw it, shouldered and pointed my gun, and I fired one shot. It rolled over dead instantly from a bunch of #6's in the head. That's a gun that weighs 1.5 lb. more and has 9" on the 39A. And I'm not some Sporting Clays champ, either.
Rapid, accurate target acquisition is not necessarily facilitated by a too-short gun. Yes, you can get too long and too heavy, and some guns just don't handle quickly. However, the 39A at 6.5 lb., 40" OAL, and with excellent balance, is nothing near too heavy, too long, nor too sluggish. At least for me.
Can you find one to try with a short barrel?
(Kicking myself daily for passing up an old but 99% condition 39 carbine with a nice peep sight added to it for $300. At the time, I thought, "Man, 300 bucks! It's nice, but for a .22, that's too much for me." Oops.)
. He considers his legislative assault on firearms one of his greatest achievments while in office and proudly assures the public that "Australia won't have a "gun culture".
