Tuesday, February 02, 2016

When In Doubt, Buy an AR

After last week's imbroglio, FIELD AND STREAM's David Petzal went out and bought an AR. I commend him on his choice, a Sig Sauer 716 DMR. It's one heck of a rifle. I've shot several, and it is an act of will to keep Ye Old Visa in my wallet. At SHOT this year my friend Allen Forkner had a 716 set-up, and at the hundred yard line it was nothing but Big Fun. The 716 is a great 7.62 AR, but at 12.6 pounds without a magazine, a tiny bit beefy (although Sig's had it on a diet for a couple of years).

I think if I was Mr. Super Hunter, I might go for something a bit lighter that I could carry in the woods without a team.. My own Ruger SR762 clocks in at 8.6 pounds w/out magazine.Not svelte, but I've carted it around a lot and it is stone cold good for 1000 yards. The new DD5V1 is lighter than that, and it is a Daniel Defense, so it's going to deliver (and one may be delivered to to my house).

I think Dave might have been better served by one of Billy Wilson's tactical lightweights in .458 SOCOM. That was my goal whenI began to build my .458 SOCOM (think 45-70 Dave…that might help you visualize) off a Wilson upper. Short, light, easy to handle, hit's like a pretty substantial skid of bricks (300-gr bullets at just under 2000 fps). I built mine on a Wilson lower. Right now it's got a Leupold 1.5-4X on it, but that will be replaced with an Aimpoint T1 and a 3X magnifier. I can bring the whole thing in under 8 pounds. I'll take it into the Smoky Mountains for boar later this year, as soon as I can get off the crutches.

My goal is to add an Aimpoint 6x magnifier and take it to New Mexico for elk…yes, I'll film it because I know how you guys like to see me suffer. LOL!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

"After last week's imbroglio, FIELD AND STREAM's David Petzal went out and bought an AR."

The Dumbo Zumbo of the 21st Century: Fudd steps in it big-time; backtracks quickly to try and save his job.

Anonymous said...

This is a ? about a past post. What holster(s) do you use with your G19/ RMR? Thanks

Michael Bane said...

Plain old boring Blade-Tech Eclipse most of the time. Am experimenting with Rob Leahy's Simply Rugged leather holster for a bit more comfort.

mb

Anonymous said...

Look at the new Mega SF-MATEN. Very nice 7.62 AR in a medium size!

Anonymous said...

So its Ok to ridicule folks who don't want an AR? Lets call 'em names, try some public shaming,(EWWWW A FUDD) that should win over people to our side. You people doing this are DEAPLY STUPID . If somebody JOINS OUR SIDE in this "cold civil war" shouldn't we try to win MORE allies? And I still hate AR's. Don't own one .Don't want one. I guess that my "any other gun" other than the great god gun AR(Armilight Ackbar y'all) makes me a Fudd too.

kmitch200 said...

Anonymous @ 8:21 - It's not the guys like who don't want an AR. Free country and all that...
It's the so called "gun guys" who hold a national platform that think anyone who wants or owns an AR is some SEALDeltaOperator wannabe who are detracting and bringing down the perception of "real" gun guys that like bolt guns with walnut and blued metal.
Those people some call Fudds, (I call the assholes), because they are too stupid to realize that THEIR favorite guns are just as much in the crosshairs of the antis as EVERY OTHER GUN AND GUN OWNER!
If they are too "DEADLY STUPID" to realize that gun owners/buyers drive this business and it's advertizing then they should fall by the wayside. These idiots aren't the enemy of my enemy we should tolerate, they are the enemy of myself and my friends.

I hunt with my ARs in both 5.56 & 308. That alone should be enough to satisfy the hunters who write for hunting magazines but apparently it's not.
Fuck them.

Publicola said...

Anon,
The asshat over at F&S didn't mention AR's in his Fudder-than-thou piece. He lamented the "militarization" of the shooting world and the scarcity of firearms not made for "the Latter Days" as he so cheerfully put it. His beef was with semi-auto rifles being more sought after than whatever he thought was better suited for the sporting life. & in no small part was he disdainful of the uncouth peasants who thought having a rifle capable of using defensively was a cool idea.

I don't care for AR's. For reasons sundry & sound I just never liked them. I've written posts about it here & there, some serious, some (hopefully) humorous. We've all made jokes about the proliferation of the word "tactical" as a marketing adjective ("tactical long johns" are what sent me over the edge). But what I did was express dislike for a product or a word that I thought was overused. What Petzal did was to treat an entire culture as if it were an unpleasant smell wafting in through some unattended window.

What Petzal's attitude does is reinforce the notion that the Right to Arms is about hunting. He made no calls for legislation, but the premise behind his snobbery underpins most efforts to proscribe anything that doesn't have a "sporting use". Many of us (including Mr. Bane) have made favorable comments or entire posts about some O/U or SXS or a bolt gun in a chambering that starts with 4. We've also done the same concerning arms with a more martial origin &/or purpose. We've hunted & shot in competitions, sometimes with the same rifles. We're not trying to separate ourselves culturally from the Fudds. They're doing a splendid job of that on their own. & we really wish they'd stop, as we are all kinda in this together.

Publicola said...

Mr. Bane,
Speaking on behalf of those of us that self-identify as Operating Rods, I must respectfully disagree with the title of this post of yourn. I find that when confusion sets in & the world seems uncertain yet a purchase must be made, it's difficult to go wrong with a Garand.

They're powerful enough for anything on this continent (& by replacing a barrel a .35 Whelen Garand can do well on all the other continents), accurate enough for most & can be made moreso; they're reliable, sturdy (if you forget your camp axe a Garand can be used to buttstroke a tree right down) & it utilizes proper bayonets (don't bring up the M5 - that's nothing more than proof that communists infiltrated our Department of War!). Plus, there are various options for adding optics. They can be had full size or in a carbine version with as little as 16" of tube, with various shapes of stocks made out of different flavors of wood to suit your preferences. & being a Garand, its barrel glows blue when Marxists are close (& its times like that when you have to be extra careful).

Besides, why do you think Obama stopped the re-importation of Garands from South Korea? We all know it wasn't because they're the weapon of choice for gang bangers & liquor store robbers. It's because they've already been used successfully to stop authoritarians & socialists & communists on 3 different continents & a bunch of islands. & I don't think any of us need any more reason than that to steer us in the right direction.

When in doubt, buy a Garand. Cause it'll make Progressives sad.