Smoking Barrels - LTT's Unnofficial Gun Club!

[XGoodGuyFitz]

3 minutes ago, EjectedCasings said:

M16 in Vietnam failed because they changed to ball ammunition, didn't chrome line the barrel (which led to corrosion in the Jungle environment). They also didn't issue cleaning kits and tauted it as "self-cleaning". This wasn't a fault of the design, but of the bureaucratic government that tried to cut corners.  Any firearm will perform poorly if you don't take care of it, and the Kalashnikov isn't exempt. People who say that the AK is indestructible obviously don't know much about them. 

 

I think people should accept what the AK platform is: a cheap, cost effective assault rifle. That being said, it does the "cheap, cost effective" part very well. For its price it performs very good. However given the choice between the two I would always take an M16/M4 platform over an AK. 

id take an m4 over an m16 tbh, 

[FakeATF]

7 minutes ago, xXFitzXx said:

id take an m4 over an m16 tbh, 

Considering the M4 was designed after the 1986 Federal Assault weapons ban, i'll take what I can get 

[XGoodGuyFitz]

3 minutes ago, EjectedCasings said:

Considering the M4 was designed after the 1986 Federal Assault weapons ban, i'll take what I can get 

you're a big brain ngl 

[FakeATF]

Thoughts on the M1A/M14? I know that it's kind of a divisive rifle, some love it, some hate it. What's your take on it and why?

 

Me personally,I love it. I have the "accurized" Super Match M1A, and it's laser accurate. The iron sights are among the best I have used on any firearm, and .308 hits hard. The rifle is pretty weighty, but that helps to soak up recoil, so it's not all bad.

 

However I have no experience with the M14, but I can imagine how useless it would be on full auto.

[XGoodGuyFitz]

1 minute ago, EjectedCasings said:

Thoughts on the M1A/M14? I know that it's kind of a decisive rifle, some love it, some hate it. What's your take on it and why?

 

Me personally,I love it. I have the "accurized" Super Match M1A, and it's laser accurate. The iron sights are among the best I have used on any firearm, and .308 hits hard. The rifle is pretty weighty, but that helps to soak up recoil, so it's not all bad.

 

However I have no experience with the M14, but I can imagine how useless it would be on full auto.

Ive never shot one, and i dont know much about them,  but they look cool ig 

[Real_PhillBert]

7 minutes ago, EjectedCasings said:

Thoughts on the M1A/M14? I know that it's kind of a divisive rifle, some love it, some hate it. What's your take on it and why?

 

Me personally,I love it. I have the "accurized" Super Match M1A, and it's laser accurate. The iron sights are among the best I have used on any firearm, and .308 hits hard. The rifle is pretty weighty, but that helps to soak up recoil, so it's not all bad.

 

However I have no experience with the M14, but I can imagine how useless it would be on full auto.

The M1A/M14 is a solid rifle for it's time. 

 

Personally I find half of the interesting part of the M1A is around the 7.62x51 NATO adoption and how the US basically duped the rest of NATO into adopting the 7.62x51 cartridge and FAL, then at the last minute the US said, "Nah man, I'm good" and selected the M14 over the FAL. 

 

IMHO the FAL is/was a better rifle, but the reign of the 7.62cal "battle rifles" was so short lived it really wouldn't have made a difference anyway. 

[FakeATF]

13 minutes ago, Real_PhillBert said:

The M1A/M14 is a solid rifle for it's time. 

 

Personally I find half of the interesting part of the M1A is around the 7.62x51 NATO adoption and how the US basically duped the rest of NATO into adopting the 7.62x51 cartridge and FAL, then at the last minute the US said, "Nah man, I'm good" and selected the M14 over the FAL. 

 

IMHO the FAL is/was a better rifle, but the reign of the 7.62cal "battle rifles" was so short lived it really wouldn't have made a difference anyway. 

My father had a FAL, and he said it was one of the more unreliable guns that he had.

I never shot it for myself though, so I can't verify his statement. Maybe it was something wrong with that particular gun.

 

As for the adoption, it is interesting how the US basically rechambered the FAL from .280 British. They really pushed the whole "battle rifle" idea in the beginning of the era of the assault rifle. Battle rifles' fates were sealed the moment the StG 44 rolled off the production line. What is strange to me is how they tried to replace nearly every single gun in service with the M14. There was no way that it would be a suitable replacement for both the Grease gun and the 1918 Browning at the same time. I have no idea what they were thinking.

 

Edit: Looking at the unit cost of the STG 44, it cost 70 RM, which is about 600 USD, comparable to the amount that the U.S. Army purchases modern M4A1s for.

[bcredeur97]

Hey gun ppl! Idk why but I’ve been following this thread and never taking part. Never really had any input I guess lol

 

i don’t actually own a gun. Though I’ve shot a few things here and there. Most interesting thing was an AR15 

 

ive recently grown an interest to maybe buying a safe and having a gun. No real reason other than just to have one because I can (and I’ve always thought they were cool but just never something I shelled out money for) 

 

what should someone start with? I like the carriability of pistols but I remember being surprised at how much less accurate they can be, also to me they just seem more dangerous.

 

at the same time an AR15 I feel like is a bit too much for me, kinda want something in between? Like a PDW or something 

 

but I may have entirely the wrong logic so well... I guess that’s why I’m asking here lol

 

also I’m in the US. As I understand it I can own a gun and open carry. I’m not sure on the laws regarding transporting them and all that tho. I got some reading to do 

[atxcyclist]

8 minutes ago, bcredeur97 said:

Hey gun ppl! Idk why but I’ve been following this thread and never taking part. Never really had any input I guess lol

 

i don’t actually own a gun. Though I’ve shot a few things here and there. Most interesting thing was an AR15 

 

ive recently grown an interest to maybe buying a safe and having a gun. No real reason other than just to have one because I can (and I’ve always thought they were cool but just never something I shelled out money for) 

 

what should someone start with? I like the carriability of pistols but I remember being surprised at how much less accurate they can be, also to me they just seem more dangerous.

 

at the same time an AR15 I feel like is a bit too much for me, kinda want something in between? Like a PDW or something 

 

but I may have entirely the wrong logic so well... I guess that’s why I’m asking here lol

 

also I’m in the US. As I understand it I can own a gun and open carry. I’m not sure on the laws regarding transporting them and all that tho. I got some reading to do 

 

I started out with a .22LR bolt action, still have it and I've got maybe 50k rounds through it. Great training tool and (usually) pretty inexpensive to shoot, though when I bought it a 525 round brick of .22 was about $8. I always recommend someone go with a .22LR rifle as a first gun, the recoil is basically non-existent and even a cheap rifle is fairly accurate. As far as a safe, it depends on where you live. If you live in Louisiana, that's going to be a fairly easygoing state for transport laws, just realize that while the southern part of the US is really laid-back, some other parts are not when it comes to transporting a firearm, especially without some sort of reciprocal carry permit.

 

Assuming you bought a .22LR rifle and wanted something else as well, a 9mm pistol is a good addition.

[FakeATF]

7 minutes ago, bcredeur97 said:

Hey gun ppl! Idk why but I’ve been following this thread and never taking part. Never really had any input I guess lol

 

i don’t actually own a gun. Though I’ve shot a few things here and there. Most interesting thing was an AR15 

 

ive recently grown an interest to maybe buying a safe and having a gun. No real reason other than just to have one because I can (and I’ve always thought they were cool but just never something I shelled out money for) 

 

what should someone start with? I like the carriability of pistols but I remember being surprised at how much less accurate they can be, also to me they just seem more dangerous.

 

at the same time an AR15 I feel like is a bit too much for me, kinda want something in between? Like a PDW or something 

 

but I may have entirely the wrong logic so well... I guess that’s why I’m asking here lol

 

also I’m in the US. As I understand it I can own a gun and open carry. I’m not sure on the laws regarding transporting them and all that tho. I got some reading to do 

Honestly, ArmaLites are not a bad place to start I guess, but it depends on what you are doing. Hunting? Get a rifle that fits your states hunting laws and your needs. There are lots of options. Competitive shooting? Personal/Home Defense? Range days with friends? Collector? A little plinker? There are all sorts of things that influence your decision when it comes to purchasing a firearm. Ruger 10/22s are most people's first guns. .22 LR is cheap and it has basically no recoil. It's quiet and you can shoot it in your backyard provided you don't live in the suburbs. It all comes down to what you want though. If you drop 2 grand on a civilian legal semi-automatic M249S and never shoot it because it's too heavy, that's a waste of money. All of the suggestions you see should be taken with a grain of salt, and you should make your own decision. 

As for ARs, The recoil is actually very light compared to most other guns. I don't really understand what you mean when you say that it's too much for you. 

[bcredeur97]

8 hours ago, EjectedCasings said:

Honestly, ArmaLites are not a bad place to start I guess, but it depends on what you are doing. Hunting? Get a rifle that fits your states hunting laws and your needs. There are lots of options. Competitive shooting? Personal/Home Defense? Range days with friends? Collector? A little plinker? There are all sorts of things that influence your decision when it comes to purchasing a firearm. Ruger 10/22s are most people's first guns. .22 LR is cheap and it has basically no recoil. It's quiet and you can shoot it in your backyard provided you don't live in the suburbs. It all comes down to what you want though. If you drop 2 grand on a civilian legal semi-automatic M249S and never shoot it because it's too heavy, that's a waste of money. All of the suggestions you see should be taken with a grain of salt, and you should make your own decision. 

As for ARs, The recoil is actually very light compared to most other guns. I don't really understand what you mean when you say that it's too much for you. 

Mainly just a personal/home defense thing. I don’t do any hunting. I just want a gun in the house that’s there if I need it. 

 

reason I said not an AR is I think I want something smaller/compact. But not quite as compact as a pistol. Wondering what’s a good middle ground? 

[george357]

14 minutes ago, bcredeur97 said:

Mainly just a personal/home defense thing. I don’t do any hunting. I just want a gun in the house that’s there if I need it. 

 

reason I said not an AR is I think I want something smaller/compact. But not quite as compact as a pistol. Wondering what’s a good middle ground? 

I suggest looking into PCC's or Pistol Caliber Carbines. 9mm ammo isn't very affordable right now but since you want both personal/home defense and smaller than AR these would be my suggestion to look into.

[Real_PhillBert]

6 hours ago, bcredeur97 said:

Mainly just a personal/home defense thing. I don’t do any hunting. I just want a gun in the house that’s there if I need it. 

 

reason I said not an AR is I think I want something smaller/compact. But not quite as compact as a pistol. Wondering what’s a good middle ground? 

In general I usually suggest a .22LR rifle of some sort as a first gun since they're generally affordable, ammo is cheap and everywhere, usually light weight, low recoiling, and generally unintimidating to a first time gun owner; however .22LR is not exactly a wonderful personal or home defense cartridge. It's certainly better than a lamp, but on the low end of firearms. If you decide this is a good route for you, I'd recommend a Ruger 10/22, or Savage MK2; both are great rifles that are affordable and readily available. 

 

Handguns are where I spend the vast majority of my shooting, but as you've noticed they're MUCH more difficult to be accurate with compared to rifles. Pistols tend to exaggurate anything you're doing wrong with your grip, trigger or sights, which makes them even more challenging for people newer to shooting. But the upsides are that they can often be carried, which is a big advantage when it comes to personal or home defense. If you decided this is a good route for you, well there's a ton of great options so I'd probably recommend you find a gun store that rents guns, and rent any from a major manufacturer (Glock, Sig, FN, S&W, HK, Springfield or CZ) that feels decent in your hands. Those companies all make excellent guns that will serve you well, so you really cant go wrong with any of them. Just dont be cheap and buy a Taurus, Kel-Tech, SCCY or anything like that. However ammo can be tricky to find right now, this usually isn't a problem but times are weird right now. 

 

Rifles tend to be much easier to shoot than pistols, and usually pack a bigger punch. There are a lot of good rifles out there, but with the current almost ubiquitous take-over of the AR-15, I'd have trouble recommending anything else. 223/5.56 can be tough to find right now though, again this usually isnt the case, but weird times we live in. 

 

I personally am not a giant fan of shotguns, but I have to admit that if you're only going to own one gun, the utility of a shotgun is really hard to beat. I know you said you dont hunt, but even without that, you can shoot skeet/trap, blow up milk jugs, shoot slugs etc. Plus from a home defense perspective, a 12GA is hardly a bad choice. Also 12GA shells have been very readily available throughout all the craziness, so ammo can actually be had. Another plus is that IMHO the humble shotgun is the least likely gun to get hampered by regulation any time soon. So there are a lot of upsides, the only real downside is that they can have a lot of recoil compared to the other options. If you decide this is a good route for you, a Remington 870, Mossberg 590, or Benelli Nova are great inexpensive options. For a few more bucks the Beretta 1301 is a great choice that's semi-auto. 

 

Pistol caliber carbines have been mentioned, and kind of span the gap between a rifle and a pistol. They're generally a rifle like configuration that shoots a pistol caliber. They're generally fairly light, low recoiling and easy to handle. These have been gaining a lot of popularity in the last few years. The Ruger PC9 is a great choice in this area for a reasonable price, or the Ruger Charger PC9 which is really the same thing as a PC9 just technically a pistol because of stupid laws. The Sig MPX is another great option that's a bit more tacticool if you're into that. Then the HK SP5, which is about as cool as it gets, but expensive. Very expensive compared to it's competitors. 

 

If I was you, I'd probably do a Ruger PC9. Once ammo becomes readily available again it'll be cheap to shoot, and fun to plink with while being more substantial than a .22LR rifle. A perfectly good option for general plinking or home defense. 

 

Hope this helped a little. 

[Real_PhillBert]

FINALLY! After 219 days, I got a shipping notification for my LaRue barrel for my 12" SBR project. I ordered the barrel August 3rd. 

 

I honestly think my current pending suppressor transfer is going to happen faster than this, But I'm gonna stop bitching since it'll be delivered soon.

[atxcyclist]

9 hours ago, Real_PhillBert said:

FINALLY! After 219 days, I got a shipping notification for my LaRue barrel for my 12" SBR project. I ordered the barrel August 3rd. 

 

I honestly think my current pending suppressor transfer is going to happen faster than this, But I'm gonna stop bitching since it'll be delivered soon.

LaRue is about 4 miles down the road from me, would be thrilled to check their facility out some day. I'm fairly certain they don't give tours though.

[Rybo]

On 3/9/2021 at 10:10 PM, bcredeur97 said:

what should someone start with? I like the carriability of pistols but I remember being surprised at how much less accurate they can be, also to me they just seem more dangerous.

Rifles are almost all more dangerous than handguns.  Nowadays it's not a huge difference, but you're more likely to find a long gun that's not drop safe than a pistol.  What is drop safe?  It means that it has an internal safety that prevents the striker from hitting the primer unless the trigger is pulled.  That is, if you drop the gun while it's loaded, it can't go off.  Shotguns generally are *not* drop safe, so you would be ill advised to store it loaded.  

 

Furthermore, long guns just shoot bullets faster.  Faster bullets mean bullets that penetrate further.  This isn't universally true, of course: shotguns don't generally penetrate very well because their ammo is typically pretty slow moving.  But if you fire a long gun at a house, odds are good that it'll go through the whole house, whereas a pistol caliber will be stopped within a few walls.  

 

Having said that, long guns are a great first firearm (as others have said, I'd recommend something in an AR platform.  Personally given the ammo situation I'd go for an AR chambered in .22lr), especially if you don't immediately plan on using it for home defense or concealed carry.  However, training opportunities are much more difficult to come by.  To really train with a long gun, you have to have LONG ranges -- a .22 can be shot comfortably out to 100 yards, but a .223 goes out to 300+ yards and hunting calibers go out even farther.  What this means is that if you go to a range, you're not likely to get a bay dedicated to you.  There's going to be a range that will have to "go cold" every once in a while so people can walk out and put their targets up/collect their spent targets.  A pistol, on the other hand, is typically trained within 25 yards -- often within 10 yards, so it's very easy to go to your local indoor range, have a bay all to yourself, and run drills.  

 

Thus, I'd recommend a pistol chambered in .22lr.  I'd recommend the Ruger Mk IV.  I got one recently and am unequivocally happy with it.

[Real_PhillBert]

8 hours ago, atxcyclist said:

LaRue is about 4 miles down the road from me, would be thrilled to check their facility out some day. I'm fairly certain they don't give tours though.

Mark is seemingly always posting pics of new equipment on IG, they must be expanding like crazy in the last four or five years. Based on the IG pics, it looks like a pretty cool shop. It would be sweet if they did tours, but I would be surprised if they did. 

[vf1000ride]

17 hours ago, Rybo said:

Thus, I'd recommend a pistol chambered in .22lr.  I'd recommend the Ruger Mk IV.  I got one recently and am unequivocally happy with it.

I went and got myself a Mk IV pistol after they came out, love that little pistol.  The ability to open it up with the simple push button is so much nicer, I cleaned and sold my Mk II version almost immediately.  No more fighting to get that silly thing back together.

[Rybo]

6 hours ago, vf1000ride said:

I went and got myself a Mk IV pistol after they came out, love that little pistol.  The ability to open it up with the simple push button is so much nicer, I cleaned and sold my Mk II version almost immediately.  No more fighting to get that silly thing back together.

Hoo boy.  Speaking of which, I need to clean mine.  It's had nearly 500 rounds through it since the last cleaning, and I don't put much stock in the cleanliness of rimfire ammo...

[Tristerin]

Still from a recent firing video - Flamethrower rounds (same as Dragonsbreath) below - shot at a flatscreen 4k TV that was recently dropped and cracked..  Going to the Gun Show this weekend in Wash MO and my goal is to find a single shot 12ga. around 10 rounds of 50BMG and run them through it (with a string on the trigger and me tucked behind steel lol) to blow it up.  If it doesnt blow up Ill stick mud in the barrel and fire the final round which should split the barrel in a few places

EDIT (also why I just upgraded my entire vlog hardware this week - I need better stills!)

 

[XGoodGuyFitz]

2 minutes ago, Tristerin said:

Still from a recent firing video - Flamethrower rounds (same as Dragonsbreath) below - shot at a flatscreen 4k TV that was recently dropped and cracked..  Going to the Gun Show this weekend in Wash MO and my goal is to find a single shot 12ga. around 10 rounds of 50BMG and run them through it (with a string on the trigger and me tucked behind steel lol) to blow it up.  If it doesnt blow up Ill stick mud in the barrel and fire the final round which should split the barrel in a few places

EDIT (also why I just upgraded my entire vlog hardware this week - I need better stills!)

 

how muhc does a dragonsbreath round even cost

[Tristerin]

1 minute ago, xXFitzXx said:

how muhc does a dragonsbreath round even cost

$20 for 3 of them right now.  Prices are CRAZY for ammo and firearms.  Used to get 3 for $8 years ago.  I bought 6 for $40 at this show.  Also shot some Flechette rounds, cubics, 0000 buck, and tracers that day out of the 12ga. (my goal at that show was to pick up all of the exotic 12ga. I could and video doc it)

[bcredeur97]

@Real_PhillBert @Rybo thanks for the advice. Seems like the AR platform is just to good to not get really. I am kind of worried about it being banned first though. Rybo mentioned an AR chambered in .22 LR which seemed interesting, could one get an AR that could do both .22 LR and .556? Just swap some parts and be good for either? That sounds like it would be pretty useful.

Honestly seems like the best thing is to have a mix of many different things xD Shotguns, pistols, AR's, maybe a longer range rifle. Not really anything that fits all purposes. 

I'll keep all this in mind if I do decide to pull the trigger and get something. 

[XGoodGuyFitz]

12 minutes ago, Tristerin said:

$20 for 3 of them right now.  Prices are CRAZY for ammo and firearms.  Used to get 3 for $8 years ago.  I bought 6 for $40 at this show.  Also shot some Flechette rounds, cubics, 0000 buck, and tracers that day out of the 12ga. (my goal at that show was to pick up all of the exotic 12ga. I could and video doc it)

ohhh whats the tracers look like? 

[Tristerin]

10 minutes ago, bcredeur97 said:

could one get an AR that could do both .22 LR and .556? Just swap some parts and be good for either? 

Yes

Thats exactly how it works

 

You swap out the bolt with a .22LR bolt...viola .22lr.  Well you need the .22lr magazine variant (typically in 25 round capacity) for the AR.  It takes me less than 30 seconds to swap my AR 22lr conversion kit.  1 push pin bolt, remove charging handle, remove bolt, pair charging handle to .22lr bolt insert - ready to fire.

 

5.56 is the military name for the round

.223 is the home name for the round (there is a SLIGHT SLIGHT SLIGHT difference however)

.22 is .003 slimer than a .223 thus it works.

 

You cannot shoot 5.56 out of a .223 specific barrel.  Want to get a barrel in 5.56 NATO so it also fires .223 and .22lr.