Future Rifle Owner

Greenflyfarmer said:

MacQ,

What is your shooting experience to this point?

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Main experience comes from rifles and skeet shooting. Shot some handguns before, but I cannot purchase one until I am 21. I like something that it dual purpose; a rifle that can be used for home defence as well as target shooting, hence the AR15.

I should have also added that this project would be done with a friend that has done this multiple times before, and has all the proper equipment and knowledge.

Where I am located, if you build a firearm from a 80 lower, then there is no requirement for it to be registered, to me it is more of a novelty that anything.

I'd like to add a few words of wisdom.

In the ATF's eyes, YOU must be the one doing all of the work to the 80% receiver to complete it. That means you have to do all the set up and machining work.

This is just the strict interpretation. I'm not saying you can't ask for a little help if you machine yourself into a corner.
Consider it an exercise in personal education. Take your time and be patient. You'll learn quite a bit in how to run a milling machine.

Wear your safety glasses, be safe, and, most importantly, have fun!

Lastly, if you're wanting to make one lower, buy two 80% blanks. Worst case, you can try again right away if you make a mistake. On the bright side, you could end up with two functional receivers.

Kilroy08 said:

I'd like to add a few words of wisdom.

In the ATF's eyes, YOU must be the one doing all of the work to the 80% receiver to complete it. That means you have to do all the set up and machining work.

This is just the strict interpretation. I'm not saying you can't ask for a little help if you machine yourself into a corner.
Consider it an exercise in personal education. Take your time and be patient. You'll learn quite a bit in how to run a milling machine.

Wear your safety glasses, be safe, and, most importantly, have fun!

Lastly, if you're wanting to make one lower, buy two 80% blanks. Worst case, you can try again right away if you make a mistake. On the bright side, you could end up with two functional receivers.

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We would be sure to follow all the laws, neither of us wants the ATF knocking at our door at 3am

The AR is "Less than ideal" as a home defense weapon. And as far as I know no rifles are registered. In fact I don't think any firearms are. That would constitute a database which is unconstitutional. As to whether or not you must undergo a background check to legally acquire it that is a different matter.

I agree with the consensus: get a rifle to shoot for now and have fun with it. Then if you want a hobby, build your next one.

With something like the M&P15 Sport II you can get the rifle, optic, light, etc. for under $1k easily.

I commented about the ar types earlier because that was the way the thread seemed to be headed.

Honestly if this is to be your first rifle, I would think your best bet would be a good bolt action. You will shoot slower and not waste as much ammo as with a semi auto. Put a good scope on it, such as a mid range Leupold or Nikon. and learn to shoot. I honestly have more fun and enjoyment out of shooting single shot rifles than the semi auto types.

Yeah, I'm in the traditional crowd too, more likely to push 22's then bolts as good ways to be very accurate very inexpensively. A great option, buying or building.

But maybe the new way is the AR. You could also reload very easily. If you build and reload you'll be plenty sophisticated and very accurate with good technique. That's very admirable.

My one and only AR I made from a stripped lower, but a finished no hand guard BCM upper. Was no biggie to do.

Greenflyfarmer said:

Yeah, I'm in the traditional crowd too, more likely to push 22's then bolts as good ways to be very accurate very inexpensively. A great option, buying or building.

But maybe the new way is the AR. You could also reload very easily. If you build and reload you'll be plenty sophisticated and very accurate with good technique. That's very admirable.

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AR's are an easy way to go. I got my first, a Colt heavy barrel back in the mid 80's with detachable carry handle. I was at the range one day and it was outshooting another gentlemen with one of the Browning bolt actions Later I got another and eventually sent the upper off to a gentleman with a company at the time named Accuracy Speaks. He was into big time Camp Perry type competition so knew what to do. He put a real bull barrel on it an free floated handguards and that made it into a real target gun. I have one bolt action that will outshoot it, a Rem 700 varmint special. AR types are so much easier to work on due to the modular design . I have built several, some with gas piston vs the standard direct impingement types. It makes for a much cleaner running gun. The hardest part to me is getting the barrel nut torqued and lined up properly, but with the upper receiver clamping blocks and a good barrel nut wrench it is doeable. The lower receiver, ie, the actual serial numbered gun is the easiest part., basically add the desired quality of trigger( a good trigger will make for a good shooting gun), magazine latch, safety, buffer tube, spring and buffer and stock and it's ready to go. More parts than an upper but much easier.

Floyd Eye said:

The AR is "Less than ideal" as a home defense weapon. And as far as I know no rifles are registered. In fact I don't think any firearms are. That would constitute a database which is unconstitutional. As to whether or not you must undergo a background check to legally acquire it that is a different matter.

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I am pretty sure California either already has a database for some firearms that needed to be registered and are in a database. I believe they also just expanded that list of firearms that needed to be registered recently.

Boro62 said:

I am pretty sure California either already has a database for some firearms that needed to be registered and are in a database. I believe they also just expanded that list of firearms that needed to be registered recently.

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Maybe not at the federal level but in Hawaii everything needs to be registered and everything needs a permit to acquire as well.

Boro62 said:

I am pretty sure California either already has a database for some firearms that needed to be registered and are in a database. I believe they also just expanded that list of firearms that needed to be registered recently.

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Well, I don't want to get into an area where I will be breaking any rules here, but I am reasonably certain that is unconstitutional.

I apologize and will delete this post if I have broken any rules saying that.

I am going to pick up another rifle soon. It will be a Mossberg 435 .30-30.
Priced at less than $400 new. Made by an established USA manufacturer and of such a design/caliber that it shall serve well as a functional sporting rifle (which my AR platform rifle does not...actually I wonder why I still own it???).

I suppose the criteria for the "best" rifle should be..."what are you going to use it for?"

I gotta say that a good lever action rifle is SO much easier to carry all day and doesn't get those horrified looks that an AR gets when in public. I carry a Rossi 92 in .357 Magnum mostly when hunting or just out in the woods. It's good for anything that has a heartbeat and is within 150 yards of me. I have downed lots of game, varmints, and a few predators with it and as of now have never needed a second shot. So for me it fits the need and meets the desire to have a good rifle ready nearby.

With a 16" barrel the whole gun is just under 32" long. Weighs 5 pounds, and holds 10 rounds. Plus reloading for it brings the cost per shot below .25 cents. You can't get anywhere near that unless you reload the 5.56. Plus you'll be carrying three to four pounds more weight which doesn't seem like much until you have been hunting all day and then it feels like a ton.

Not to mention that the 5.56 is not that great of a hunting round for deer and larger animals. Just some points to consider, I have an AR but it mostly collects dust while my lever action is with me most of the time.

dionesius3 said:

I gotta say that a good lever action rifle is SO much easier to carry all day and doesn't get those horrified looks that an AR gets when in public. I carry a Rossi 92 in .357 Magnum mostly when hunting or just out in the woods. It's good for anything that has a heartbeat and is within 150 yards of me. I have downed lots of game, varmints, and a few predators with it and as of now have never needed a second shot. So for me it fits the need and meets the desire to have a good rifle ready nearby.

With a 16" barrel the whole gun is just under 32" long. Weighs 5 pounds, and holds 10 rounds. Plus reloading for it brings the cost per shot below .25 cents. You can't get anywhere near that unless you reload the 5.56. Plus you'll be carrying three to four pounds more weight which doesn't seem like much until you have been hunting all day and then it feels like a ton.

Not to mention that the 5.56 is not that great of a hunting round for deer and larger animals. Just some points to consider, I have an AR but it mostly collects dust while my lever action is with me most of the time.

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So glad I ran into your post! Been wanting to hear some love for the Rossi 357 for a long time, as I love shooting 357 revolvers, and may be able to convince the lovely and fearsome woman I live with that it would be oh so practical to have a rifle chambered in 357. How's the fit and finish on that Rossi?

jkingrph said:

I commented about the ar types earlier because that was the way the thread seemed to be headed.

Honestly if this is to be your first rifle, I would think your best bet would be a good bolt action. You will shoot slower and not waste as much ammo as with a semi auto. Put a good scope on it, such as a mid range Leupold or Nikon. and learn to shoot. I honestly have more fun and enjoyment out of shooting single shot rifles than the semi auto types.

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Big +1 here. I love my Romanian training rifle in 22LR. Its almost too much fun to shoot. And I use just the iron sights on it and it makes even me look like a good shot!

Is that a national law that you must be 18 to own a rifle or is it just that you must be 18 to purchase one? If the latter, can't your parents purchase one for you now and just keep it in their name until you become of age?

I realize I come from a much earlier era, and Texas at that, but I recall that just about everybody I knew as a boy at least had a .22 rifle by the time they were in third grade. Is it much more restrictive now? Even for a .22 or a 20 gauge?

Federal law requires you to be 18 y.o. to purchase a long gun and 21 y.o. to purchase a handgun. At age 16, I had my dad buy me my first handgun, a S&W Highway Patrolman with money I got by selling my Biancchi bicycle.

FarmerTan said:

So glad I ran into your post! Been wanting to hear some love for the Rossi 357 for a long time, as I love shooting 357 revolvers, and may be able to convince the lovely and fearsome woman I live with that it would be oh so practical to have a rifle chambered in 357. How's the fit and finish on that Rossi?

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Well it depends on when the Rossi was made actually. Ones from the late 1970's were ugly in fit and finish but performed pretty much flawlessly. Ones made from about 1981-1995 and marked with either LSI or Interarms as the importer tended to be better finished but could be spotty in operation and reliability. New Braztech guns started out a bit rough and have steadily improved. It's still possible to get a lemon, but they are rare. I have an older one and a five year old one and both have been perfect for me. The finish of the metal and wood work is not Winchester or Browning level, and you MUST completely clean and deburr the action if you buy a new one. Rossi/Taurus tends to send guns with quite a lot of left over metal shavings locked in packing grease. So cleaning the action and thoroughly breaking in the action are mandatory.

I took mine out of the box, used non-chlorinated brake cleaner to completely degrease and clean it then reapplied proper gun grease and lube where needed and proceeded to sit in from of the TV and cycle the action over and over for the next hour and a half.
By the end the action was perfectly smooth and the gun was ready to test fire.

By the way if you want a gun already broke in and with near perfect wood etc.. There are several over $1000 versions out there. I prefer to keep over half of that money and do the final breakin and stock refinish myself!