I'm considering a nice rifle in 2007

[686]

Let me tell you my situation in a nutshell.

I don't have a "good" rifle. I have a Norinco SKS and I have a Marlin Model 60. They're both tons of fun, but you know and I know these are not exactly the cream of the rifle crop for effectiveness. I can't see my SKS making a 300 yard shot no matter how good the shooter is.

I've long wanted a rifle that I could be proud of, that I could accessorize to my heart's content. Basically one good rifle to be the centerpiece of my firearms collection that could handle hunting, home defense, or any SHTF situation.

My research has led me to an FAL type rifle, specifically I am considering a Bushmaster .308 for this eventual purchase. My goal is to buy this rifle before Bush leaves office because I think the next president will ban most rifles like this and their accessories.

The reasons I like this rifle are several but here's the big 3:

#1. I like the .308 caliber. It's powerful enough to take down anything on this continent imho. It's also sold any place ammo is sold. It would be very easy to purchase lots of practice ammo and have large stores of ammo for an emergency.

#2. This rifle uses detachable FAL type magazines, meaning I can use normal capacity magazines.

#3. I think it will do anything and everything I ever want a rifle to do. If I get this, any other rifle I buy will be a backup or for fun.

I thought about an AK-47 type rifle, but I think this is worlds better. I considered an AR-15, but I'd rather have the .308 than the 5.56 or .223 calibers.

I thought the Saiga might provide a low cost alternative, but they're no longer importable it seems.

Also, in the long term, I could basically only buy rifles in the .308, 7.62x39, and .22 LR calibers. I think these 3 calibers would do anything I ever wanted a rifle to do. If I go with an AR-15 I'm going to want a .308 eventually anyway so why not just go straight there? The AR-15's fexibility is also lost on me. I believe in buying a purpose built gun that does exactly what I want it to do out of the box.

I'm not even close to making this purchase yet. I'm going to have to purchase a real gun safe first and I plan to buy a better carry gun after that. Does anyone have any experience with this product or one like it? What are some similar products I could/should consider?

 

[natedog]

Just a note, Bushmaster doesn't make a FAL type rifle. It is a AR-10 (.308 caliber AR-15) that takes FAL magazines.

 

[nipprdog]

I thought the Saiga might provide a low cost alternative, but they're no longer importable it seems.

they idn't get banned from import. NEA quit importing them due their deal with remington.

internet rumor is that that someone else will pick up the Saiga line.

and I think that will happen since the Saiga line is a good seller.

 

[goon]

You can still find the Saigas around. Don't discount your SKS too much though. I have consistently hit 300 meter steel pigs with my brother's Norinco SKS, at least until the barrel started to get hot.

 

[natedog]

Anyways, .308, .22, and an intermediate caliber is a good setup. I'd get 5.56mm instead of 7.62x39mm as an intermediate round, though. If you get the Bushmaster AR-10, and an AR-15 carbine, you can get quite a few of the parts to interchange, manual of arms is the same, and they are both very accurate. 5.56mm is generally more accurate than 7.62x39mm (because of the platform, and 7.62x39mm ammo is generally low quality), has lass recoil, better trajectory (read: range), and is just as, if not more, lethal.

 

[artherd]

Can't go wrong with an AR in either 5.56 or 7.62. The Bushie or Armalite .308s should be quite useable past 600yds.

 

[jrobb45]

The DPMS .308 AR's are real nice and substantially cheaper than a .308 Bushmaster. My neighbor has a .308 DPMS and i've seen it shoot sub moa.

jrobb