Firearm Hobbyist Catch-All

Thin_J wrote:
AnimeJ wrote:

Speaking of DPMS, how are they quality wise? My local wally world has a DPMS AR-15 for $600.

I bought one several years ago now. It shot just fine. I eventually sold the upper to a coworker. He stills takes it to the range every couple months so far as I know it's still kicking. Don't know about the lower, as I sold the rifle I put together with it about a year later.

For $600 it isn't going to be super tight or have any extra fun bits, but it'll shoot straight.

Yea, I'm not looking for something crazy, just a solid range gun that I can teach my kids basics on.

The model at Wallyworld you speak of is the DPMS Sportical. Good rifle, but as Thin_J said it is a bit loose. It is likely a straight MilSpec build. Good rifle though. I looked at DPMS when I was looking for my original AR. I only went Bushmaster because my local dealer had them in stock at the time.

Remember the mantra on Arfcom* has always been stick to the ABC's. They later changed it to ABCD. Armalite, Bushmaster, Colt and DPMS. I will also say that is no longer as true as in the past. Most all commercial rifles are equal quality. There are parts that leave a bit to be desired, but the completed rifles are usually good quality.

If you are looking for a plinker, then loose is not an issue. If you are looking to shoot matches or hunt then you may want to spend a couple hundred more for a different rifle.

* take everything from Arfcom with a big grain of salt and maybe some whiskey. Good advice, but there are plenty of tacticool whack-a-doodles over there.

Yea, eventually I'll want to build something tighter, but that'll be a build, not a buy. Thanks again for the info

That is the whole fun of it and why I ended up with 4 of the damn things. I bought my varmint rifle first, but it was too heavy for plinking. I built a carbine. 223 amm skyrocketed in 2008 so I built a dedicated 22lr. I then wanted a 300bk so I built another. I am now looking to sell the varmint and the carbine. Oh well. More toys.

$600 for an off-the-shelf AR-15? Have the prices really come down so low lately?

Gorilla.800.lbs wrote:

$600 for an off-the-shelf AR-15? Have the prices really come down so low lately?

Well, this one seems to have.

Gorilla.800.lbs wrote:

$600 for an off-the-shelf AR-15? Have the prices really come down so low lately?

I think a lot of companies are coming out with cheaper AR's. Smith and Wesson makes a $600 M&P Sport.

Gorilla.800.lbs wrote:

$600 for an off-the-shelf AR-15? Have the prices really come down so low lately?

Pretty much.

Just about every swinging dick decided to get into the AR-15 business.

I am seeing the same thing happen now as it did in 2004 at the end of the ban. Lots of new vendors and lots of new development. Prices will go down, but it will take a while. If it continues this way the end user benefits greatly. Had it not been for the '94 ban we would not have the number of compact pistols we do now. We would still be stuck with Colt as the only good AR platform.

I do miss $99/1k for surplus 5.56 though.......

Thanks, Obama!

Paleocon wrote:
Gorilla.800.lbs wrote:

$600 for an off-the-shelf AR-15? Have the prices really come down so low lately?

Pretty much.

Just about every swinging dick decided to get into the AR-15 business.

At that price range Ruger may finally decide it's time to discontinue the often maligned Mini 14/Ranch Rifle. The Mini 14 has been improved over the years but at this price level I can't see it competing at all with a deep discount AR platform rifle.

ringsnort wrote:
Paleocon wrote:
Gorilla.800.lbs wrote:

$600 for an off-the-shelf AR-15? Have the prices really come down so low lately?

Pretty much.

Just about every swinging dick decided to get into the AR-15 business.

At that price range Ruger may finally decide it's time to discontinue the often maligned Mini 14/Ranch Rifle. The Mini 14 has been improved over the years but at this price level I can't see it competing at all with a deep discount AR platform rifle.

Except for A-Team aficionados.

<_<

>_>

Paleocon wrote:
ringsnort wrote:

At that price range Ruger may finally decide it's time to discontinue the often maligned Mini 14/Ranch Rifle. The Mini 14 has been improved over the years but at this price level I can't see it competing at all with a deep discount AR platform rifle.

Except for A-Team aficionados.

Hey! The A-Team was text book "truth in advertising" for the mini-14. Fire hundreds of round, episode after episode, and never hit a damn thing.

In my pursuits of all things NFA I have looked at the Ruger KA 556 several times. It is one of the few full auto guns that is still almost affordable. When ammo was cheap I would have saved up for one. No way I get a FA 556 when ammo is $10/box on a good day.

I've not done any research to support this, but I would imagine that Ruger's ambitions for the AC 556 would mean a better barrel and tighter tolerances. For over 30 years of production, the civilian mini-14 had barrel heating problems that reduced accuracy during use.

Prices on hardware has come down but not ammo. I suspect we will see more increases as the last lead smelter in the US has closed.

The coworkers are pushing hard for me to get my CCW and I am thinking that a tiny .38spc wheelgun might not be a terrible way to go. I looked at a SW airlight with trace grips over at the Gander for $549 used. Looks decent enough. Since the only other direction I would choose to go in would be a USP Compact (at $1100 easy), I figure this might be the way to go.

I don't think the purpose of the AC was accuracy. They had a pretty hefty handguard/cooler on them but I have seen videos of them with the wood stocks smoking for mag dumps. I have read the newest generation of Mini is fairly accurate. Even if it is a complete tack driver I am not interested for their current price point. Back before the '94 ban they were $400 and an AR was $800. Made sense then, but not now when they are the same price.

I have read that Herculaneum was closing. I am curious though, Doe Run is still open. They mine and recycle. I am sure they could set up to smelt as well. Either way this does not bode well for the shooting community.

I'd agree the current generation mini-14 isn't too bad. A modern, stock rifle using iron sights at 100 yards will keep a 4" plate dancing all afternoon long. However, current pricing is just not competitive.

I followed up Edwin's post and found a Reuters article on the Doe Run Company's decision to close Herculaneum, the last primary lead smelter in the US. DRC has extensive operations throughout the Americas so they're still in business. Same old story, different industry.

Good point on the mini, they are still fun. I have a neighbor that uses a Mini-30 in 762x39 to hunt pigs on his deer lease. He has a cheap 4x scope on it and easily kills pigs to 100 yards or so.

That is not good news about Doe Run. The company I work for sell quite a bit of spare parts and service work to them. Crap.

Paleocon wrote:

The coworkers are pushing hard for me to get my CCW and I am thinking that a tiny .38spc wheelgun might not be a terrible way to go. I looked at a SW airlight with trace grips over at the Gander for $549 used. Looks decent enough. Since the only other direction I would choose to go in would be a USP Compact (at $1100 easy), I figure this might be the way to go.

Ah! Sounds like you've got your gun safe situation squared away.

Paleocon wrote:

The coworkers are pushing hard for me to get my CCW and I am thinking that a tiny .38spc wheelgun might not be a terrible way to go. I looked at a SW airlight with trace grips over at the Gander for $549 used. Looks decent enough. Since the only other direction I would choose to go in would be a USP Compact (at $1100 easy), I figure this might be the way to go.

My far and away favorite carry is my S&W 642. Super light, works great in a pocket holster or IWB. Only downside is reload speed which, for me, is glacial. But that little revolver has helped me again and again to follow rule #1, i.e., "Have a gun."

I've found speedloaders a little bulkier than I'd like to carry, so I usually run with speed strips. Not so much for "speed" but for "keep a pocket full of ammo somewhat orderly..."

I carried a USP compact (.40) for a while. It was a decent pistol. Much bulkier than the 642. Every once in a while I pine for one in .45, but I always manage to resist the urge. My 1911's are pleased by this.

The 1911's get carried once in a blue moon. These days it is 642 or G19.

Paleocon wrote:

The coworkers are pushing hard for me to get my CCW and I am thinking that a tiny .38spc wheelgun might not be a terrible way to go. I looked at a SW airlight with trace grips over at the Gander for $549 used. Looks decent enough. Since the only other direction I would choose to go in would be a USP Compact (at $1100 easy), I figure this might be the way to go.

You might also look at SW 442. Full shrouded hammer, DAO and +P rated. I feel the trigger is a bit stiff, but that is fixed in 5 minutes with a Wolff spring kit that costs $14. The whole thing will fit in a pocket or as Naked said in a IWB very easily. Instead of a speed loader you might look at the strips that hold 5-6 rounds. Not as bulky as the loader.

Paleo's gun safe? I thought I saw a news blip about a wide, heavy load headed into NC that was slowing down traffic. Glad you may have sorted the issue out.

I've heard good things about the S&W Model 640 with Crimson Trace grips.

I carried the Sig Sauer p238 before moving to CA. It was extremely comfortable IWB and the thin profile of the gun made it concealable under a t shirt. It was actually fun to shoot at the range too. Something most carry guns can't say.

I bought two 7-round extended magazines. Reloading was much smoother with the Sig than other .380s I tried. I had some reservations about a manual safety on a carry gun, but I spent a lot of time at the range working on the draw to hopefully overcome that.

Not sure how you feel about the .380 but I was pretty happy with this gun as a CCW.

ringsnort wrote:
Paleocon wrote:

The coworkers are pushing hard for me to get my CCW and I am thinking that a tiny .38spc wheelgun might not be a terrible way to go. I looked at a SW airlight with trace grips over at the Gander for $549 used. Looks decent enough. Since the only other direction I would choose to go in would be a USP Compact (at $1100 easy), I figure this might be the way to go.

Ah! Sounds like you've got your gun safe situation squared away.

I wasn't able to get the big safe down here, but a work buddy told me he would lend me his mini safe and I will likely just bolt it to the floor in the walk in closet. I figure I can pull the bolts at the end of the lease and you won't be able to see the holes for the carpet.

I am looking at both the 442 and 642. I figure if I need more than 5 rounds, I have a situation a pistol won't fix.

I did, briefly, look at the FN FNX 40. It looks like a straight up copy job of the HK USP (controls are nearly identical), but the fact that it doesn't come in a compact pretty much put an end to that flirtation.

I'm thinking of trading in my Kahr CM9 and a Tisas 1911 for a Sig 938, that gun just feels great, and I want a 1911 with a rail at some point, so no need to hold onto the Tisas. Any thoughts o armed goodjers?

Also, Chiappa .22 uppers, really not bad if you can get them around 250, I'm running mine on a ATI poly lower, super fun gun.

Paleo, what would you be willing to pay for a used USP Compact .40?

Anyone see the new Sig P227 .45 in the wild yet?