This thread is full of.... wow.
Two things have gone on here...
People have gotten bent out of shape because something that they have chosen is considered useless (foolish), and
Some people seem to assume that if something doesn't fit into THEIR life, it is useless (foolish.)
A recipe for disaster, I suppose.
From reading this thread, I'll have to conclude that my life is completely different than most of yours. *I* can see a use for a lot of things mentioned in this thread in my life.
And no... I don't mean if zombies come, or whatever. I mean the life of a rural Jr. High English teacher who uses his firearms in a completely ulitarian purpose.
I'll try to explain how a lot of things would have come in handy in my life if I had them-- or in some cases, was handy because I did have them.
I do want to say one thing though....
Some of us have limited budgets. For us, a rifle has to do more than one thing. And in my opinion, they SHOULD do more than one thing.
A defensive rifle to me is often also a hunting rifle. A truck gun is often a hunting rifle as well.
My bench rifle is a hunting rifle as well.
Anything related to hunting doesn't have a lot of application to many THR members who don't hunt. Therefore, anything useful in that regard may be meaningless in that light to them.
No offense to anyone, but YOUR lack of need, your lack of experience in something, or your ignorace of a situation does not equate to foolishness in others.
It does, however, equate to ignorance of that particular need in you.
For me, I have experience in hunting and rural land management that some of you may not have. Those experiences may uncover issues that you have not considered.
I'll explain.
A 3v or 6v flash light on a rifle with a barrel longer than 20 inches
I can shine a cheap wal-mart flashlight far enough to see a coyote in my yard 75 yards away. A light has a purpose if you have to shoot coyotes in your yard. If your rifle is a 20 inch one, you STILL need a light if you do that.
20 inches is a popular length for hunting rifles. If yours is 20 inches, it doesn't make the coyotes disappear. You still have to deal with them. A light helps.
Bright, polished stainless barrels
If you like a stainless steel barrel (I have one on one of my rifles), then you will likely end up with a shiny one. For a paper-puncher, who cares? They don't have to worry one way or the other.
For a hunter, it may be a good idea to get that shine knocked off with some bead-blasting. My LR-308 is having this done as soon as the season is over.
A bull barrel shorter than 20 inches
Bull barrels have a lot to do with stiffness and heat. A short barrel doesn't make those issues disappear. I can see how a person may want heat reduction and rigidity in a shorter barrel.
Remember... barrel length has to do more with velocity than accuracy.
A collapsible stock on a rifle with a bull barrel of any length
Why? I can think of MANY reasons why reducing the length of pull or overall length of the rifle is handy:
1) Less room taken up in a case
2) Different shooters on the rifle
3) Wearing heavier clothing on some days and less on others alters your LOP
What does the barrel profile or length have anything to do with this need?
A collapsible stock on a rifle with a barrel longer than 18 inches
See above. I've actually considered an adjustable stock on my 24" LR-308. It would be nicer on cold days of hunting and to have a shorter hard case for transport.
It would help when my wife shoots the rifle as well.
An A1 upper receiver that is not part of a "retro" rifle or a "truck gun"
I personally don't use A1 receivers, but some people never plan on optics on a rifle.
An AR15 pistol, the kind with a short barrel and no stock on the buffer tube
Someone answered this one on this thread regarding local laws. I personally have zero need for one, and I was kinda thinking like you were on it.
But hey... if that helps someone with local ordanances, I suppose you gotta do what you gotta do. I just don't need or want one.
Some one other thing that was mentioned....
I can see a VERY good reason for this.
Have you ever tried to close the bolt on a rifle quietly?
It is HARD to do on an AR.
Call me crazy, but I don't particularly like climbing a 25 foot ladder and getting into a little box with a loaded rifle on my back.
Because of this, I unchamber a round before getting into my deer stand. Once in, I have to reload the chamber. I drop the cartridge into the chamber, and close the bolt on it slowly. The problem is that there is not enough pressure to turn the locking lugs on the bolt.
For my LR-308, this can be a pain-- it's a slick side. I don't particularly like making the noise that I have to make when closing the bolt.
On my AR, I CAN get the bolt to seat quietly using the forward assist.
And all of this has ZERO to do with deformed rounds or debris-- or any other safety concern.
A bench shooter or paper-puncher would probably never see the need for quietly chambering a round. I do quite often.
I don't pick on you for being a 35 year old make-up wearing goth who carries his bench rest rifle in a ****ing coffin.
I suppose my Pelican 5160 case qualifies as a "coffin." It is 53 inches long and weighs 21 pounds.
I'll take that whoever wrote the above has never had a bungie cord break when transporting their rifle on the rack of a 4 wheeler. I have-- recently.
Nothing is quite like looking and seeing the hard case holding your $2,000 firearm bouncing on a trail.
I consider my Pelican as a "trunk" for my 4 wheeler. If something happens and it comes lose, or if I wreck (I HAVE), I don't find that my rifle has been harmed. Hell, I don't even worry if my scope got knocked off zero.
I've got scratches on my Pelican, and I have had to literally hose the mud off of it in the yard before I could bring it back in the house.
But again, this is not something that you'll think about if you don't do what I do with the rifle on a daily, weekly, or regular basis.
So let's accept that your life is not the life of others. Let's quit worrying about what others are doing with their rifles and spend MORE time thinking about what YOU need or don't need.
I'll only add this to this thread:
ANYTHING you put on your rifle that you don't have a real need for is added weight and throws the balance off.
ANYTHING you put on your rifle that is cheap, fragile junk is not only a waste, but WILL break when you actually need it to work the most.
Figure out what you need, and then use quality parts.
And then go use it instead of worrying about what others are doing.
-- John
