Best readily attainable rifle with light optics for under $500

Originally posted by Anuubis
reply to post by treemanx

 

Another decent AK are made by DSA, but they are a little spendy compared to foriegn jobs. And absolutely stay away from the Chinese model AK's and SKS's.

I agree. I have known a few people that have owned the Chinese models, and they are "OK", but you money is much better spent elsewhere on these guns.

The problem is, there are so many different countries that have manufactured these rifles, its hard to find the ones your after. But if you keep your ear out for good deals, your bound to find the good ones.

If you buy an SKS, one aftermarket upgrade I would recommend would be the detachable mag well. The original magizine hinges out, and is fastened to the gun itself. You have added versatility to your SKS by upgrading to the detach mag well, giving you the option of higher capacity mags and faster re-load times.

reply to post by treemanx
My brother in law has a Romanian SKS that i put a quick change mag well in for him because he is gunsmithing illiterate. It is so much nicer being able to rapidly reload the weapon.

Originally posted by Anuubis
reply to post by treemanx

 

My brother in law has a Romanian SKS that i put a quick change mag well in for him because he is gunsmithing illiterate. It is so much nicer being able to rapidly reload the weapon.

Yeah, I had a friend recently that bought a tapco telescoping stock, and upper reciever scope mount conversion on his SKS, but he barely knew how to take the rifle down to change the parts out. I pretty much did it for him, but tried to teach him along the way.

I think the MOST important thing for ANYONE looking at getting into owning firearms is this: KNOW YOUR WEAPON! ANY gun you own, you should be able to disassemble, clean, and reassemble quickly and efficiently. You should all know your weapon inside and out.

Yugo or Russian SKS's are much better than the chinese ones. Get a railed receiver for like 20 bucks and a cheap 30-40 dollar scope (I'm a good shot with mine without a scope; IMO they have great sights) and the rifle itself is still only 200-250 for a good one. So 250-300 for a good reliable versatile gun. 7.62x39 is a good cheap calibre that will stop an intruder or bag a deer.

Romanian AK's are out there for 500 but you can just get a 30 round mag for an sks for 20 bucks.

[edit on 3-3-2009 by CapsFan8]

[edit on 3-3-2009 by CapsFan8]

7.62x39 @ $142 per 500.
Wolf brand steel throwaways, but hey.Cheap. 7.62x39 would be my personal choice, just because almost every country with an army produces the ammo for it, and it is usually much cheaper than american only calibers, and those only used for specific purposes.
A good all purpose round for everything except small game, for which I would purchase a nice 22lr---ammo also very cheap, and possums and squirrels taste excellent when you are starving.

But you start off with a major handicap, and probably a fatal one by living where ownership for honest law abiding citizenry is a major hindrance.
Once you jump through all the hoops, take your courses, get backround checked, fingerprinted, put on several lists and always popup on "the list" when stopped by police of any sort, all it takes is for one zealot to proclaim "all guns are now banned here, to stop the violence and killing" and you honest, law abiding citizens will be the only ones they are taken from.
You see, the criminals aren't on any ownership lists.

If you truly wish to exercise your second amendment, move to somewhere that it is still honored.

reply to post by treemanx

I've been trying to get him to get a Tapco stock for his. He's seriously thinking about it after handleing my mini-14 with one. He know's how to take all his weapons apart and clean them but he just wanted me to do it because i am a gunsmith in my spare time.



[edit on 3-3-2009 by Anuubis]