Desperately need help with firearms decision

[Half-Cocked]

This is by far the most expensive hobby / interest I have enjoyed.

I purchased a replacement dust cover with 3 pica mounts. I am also toying with the idea of buying hungarian surplus wood furniture to replace that ugly poly.

For 1000 bucks you would think century could have Come with magpul but sadly no. I mean it's a US built AK right they're saving money by not paying the import tax. I just hope my mantra is not going to be should have bought a wasr.

Curse of the most expensive paper shredder on the planet.

 

[jacobsdad]

I built an AR for the same reason I built a 1911. Because I wanted to.

 

[exarcher]

7.62x39 rifles are not cheaper however, (),,, I have 2 ak/47's and no Ar-15s at present. I had a colt accurized match rifle with stainless barrel for years, but sold it.) AK prices have gone out of sight compared to when i bought 3 for ~ $400 each. , Ar's can still be had relatively inexpensively because of the glut created during obama years. and the reliablity issues are with cheap steel case laquer coated ammo... buy brass ammo & ar is reliable enough to be use by the us military til this day!. Average shooters will never shoot under conditions that an AK "May" be more reliable. ... i won't be throwing mine down in the mud & trying to shoot it, & won't buy steel cased ammo ever. I've been buying guns for better than 40 years and have read the reliability concerns.(since when i was a kid during vietnam war) , most of which were created by the dirty ball powder used in early ammo clogging gas tube.... Stick powder , chrome lined barrels and adding forward assist fixed that. One can't go wrong with either rifle as far as i'm concerned.. A man should have what he wants! ;>)

Since this post, i have purchased an ar "pistol".. turns out it is perfect for the grandsons to shoot! very little recoil, the red dot/laser combo makes it easy for them to hit their target, & they love shooting it.. i added an o ring to the extractor spring, & have had everything i can put in it run flawlessly. (o ring makes extractor hold tighter & eliminates the "jams" you hear of. & is easy fix).. Its easier to clean than my AK's too.. These things are great! (& i was neutral on them before) It's no wonder they are so popular.. & the "dims" keep pushing people to buy them! (now back to black powder)

 

[exarcher]

I would of except one thing. I never really cared to own an ar. That is until they said I potentially couldn't have one. Matter of fact you could probably quote me as saying the ar is a glorified .22.

After actually handling one though I have to say kudos to the moduler design and flexibility of this rifle. I still think it's extremely complicated with a bunch of small parts to make something simple happen.

Maybe someday I'll buy a 350 legend upper for it.

i bought my ar pistol just because of biden's threat, (& fact that i read retired FBI/cia and navy seals view them as absolutely the best home defense weapon)... now its one of my favorite firearms! They are just plain fun rifles, & the grandsons love em! I can see why they have become the most popular firearm in usa,, The left's demonization of them has assured their popularity and support! i hope to have a couple more before i leave this realm!

 

[Half-Cocked]

I have to say they have proved to be pretty fun to shoot

 

[valkyrierdr]

The .223 or 5.56 is an under powered ground hog round. this crap about high powered rifles always makes me mad. It was adopted because the military didn't want to spend a lot of time teaching city boys how to shoot. In Viet Nam we expended 175,000 rounds for every enemy killed. I have an M1A in a real caliber. The 7.62X39 is a good cartridge for under 400 yards in a good rifle and 100 yards in an AK platform. The Palmetto is a good company. The AK design is made to work under the very worst conditions, that is not good for accuracy.

 

[eekjellander]

The .223 or 5.56 is an under powered ground hog round. this crap about high powered rifles always makes me mad. It was adopted because the military didn't want to spend a lot of time teaching city boys how to shoot. In Viet Nam we expended 175,000 rounds for every enemy killed. I have an M1A in a real caliber. The 7.62X39 is a good cartridge for under 400 yards in a good rifle and 100 yards in an AK platform. The Palmetto is a good company. The AK design is made to work under the very worst conditions, that is not good for accuracy.

Was not about teaching city boys anything ,it was a way to carry more ammo ! What you did with said ammo was up to the shooters ability .I laugh when you said under powered at our 800 yd range they move gongs nicely and there claim to fame was to get around Geneva rules by getting squirrely on impact /a leg hit might end up in yer ass . Your real caliber weighed more which in that environment meant little @ bow and arrow range , who ran short lost the fight in most cases . Guys were killin stuff with shot guns ,and not for nothing subs like stens/Thompson 45 s back in WW2/korean war accounted for big body counts with those pistol rds again at bow and arrow range . That AR round is still in use by most LEOs/and lots of service guys /Mercs and not to mention the most favored round for self /home defense and general all around Great gun for beginners and great in 3 gun comps /Ed

 

[brushblind]

Don't want you to go off half cocked on me but I'd recommend a nice contemporary made flintlock because of the high price of ammo and scarcity (all part of the plandemic)! You can't beat the fun factor of good old BP rifles!

 

[Bad Karma]

i bought my ar pistol just because of biden's threat, (& fact that i read retired FBI/cia and navy seals view them as absolutely the best home defense weapon)... now its one of my favorite firearms! They are just plain fun rifles, & the grandsons love em! I can see why they have become the most popular firearm in usa,, The left's demonization of them has assured their popularity and support! i hope to have a couple more before i leave this realm!

I don’t know what the ex feebs and retired seals favor but I’ve had a fairly long working relationship with the AR design and it’s most common cartridges. For its intended uses it’s a brilliant and potent combination. There are many options for the platform and caliber some great and some not so much and as a primary defense weapon an M4 style carbine is hard to beat. If intended for use inside the home I would suggest getting a top quality suppressor.

 

[valkyrierdr]

Was not about teaching city boys anything ,it was a way to carry more ammo ! What you did with said ammo was up to the shooters ability .I laugh when you said under powered at our 800 yd range they move gongs nicely and there claim to fame was to get around Geneva rules by getting squirrely on impact /a leg hit might end up in yer ass . Your real caliber weighed more which in that environment meant little @ bow and arrow range , who ran short lost the fight in most cases . Guys were killin stuff with shot guns ,and not for nothing subs like stens/Thompson 45 s back in WW2/korean war accounted for big body counts with those pistol rds again at bow and arrow range . That AR round is still in use by most LEOs/and lots of service guys /Mercs and not to mention the most favored round for self /home defense and general all around Great gun for beginners and great in 3 gun comps /Ed

I used to be an avid ground hog hunter [every day] The ,223 is a .222 mag. It was the second smallest ground hog rifle cal. that you could buy. I shot a .22-250 or .25-06 for real long ranges. Any serious ground hog hunter wouldn't consider that cal. for over 250 yards. You are right, the "reason" listed to justify the change in caliber was so that they could carry more ammo. I served. No one liked the gun, we were not given enough training with it. We fired 100 rounds in basic training. If you didn't already know how to shoot, you were screwed. It may hit a target at long distance but at 250 yards, it won't even anchor a ground hog unless you hit him in the head.

 

[eekjellander]

I used to be an avid ground hog hunter [every day] The ,223 is a .222 mag. It was the second smallest ground hog rifle cal. that you could buy. I shot a .22-250 or .25-06 for real long ranges. Any serious ground hog hunter wouldn't consider that cal. for over 250 yards. You are right, the "reason" listed to justify the change in caliber was so that they could carry more ammo. I served. No one liked the gun, we were not given enough training with it. We fired 100 rounds in basic training. If you didn't already know how to shoot, you were screwed. It may hit a target at long distance but at 250 yards, it won't even anchor a ground hog unless you hit him in the head.

I got a 100LB + gong that says otherwise @700 yds /Ed

 

[valkyrierdr]

45 years Experience shooting live game, 4 years in the military, versus ringing a gong at 700 yards??? Ask anyone who has had to trust their life to a rifle, if they think the 5.56 is adequate.

 

[eekjellander]

45 years Experience shooting live game, 4 years in the military, versus ringing a gong at 700 yards??? Ask anyone who has had to trust their life to a rifle, if they think the 5.56 is adequate.

 

[03mossy]

Alright that’s enough. Take the bickering to PM’s or even better just let it go and agree to disagree.

 

[Pathfinder60]

I used to be an avid ground hog hunter [every day] The ,223 is a .222 mag. It was the second smallest ground hog rifle cal. that you could buy. I shot a .22-250 or .25-06 for real long ranges. Any serious ground hog hunter wouldn't consider that cal. for over 250 yards. You are right, the "reason" listed to justify the change in caliber was so that they could carry more ammo. I served. No one liked the gun, we were not given enough training with it. We fired 100 rounds in basic training. If you didn't already know how to shoot, you were screwed. It may hit a target at long distance but at 250 yards, it won't even anchor a ground hog unless you hit him in the head.

Then you weren't using the right load/bullet because I've smoked many a Buckeye hayfield/beanfield whistle pig at that distance. Speer TNT 50gr. smokes them real well...blows big freakin' holes in them...and out of my 22/250 Ackley improved they'd vaporize them.

 

[Bad Karma]

45 years Experience shooting live game, 4 years in the military, versus ringing a gong at 700 yards??? Ask anyone who has had to trust their life to a rifle, if they think the 5.56 is adequate.

I have... I do.

 

[Half-Cocked]

Guys I am turning into an AR guy. The AK I own I will probably sell. it's just not that fun for me. Why is it so expensive to get anything chambered in 7.62x39 anyway? The ammo is cheap gun is not. Not a lot of bolt action either. Ruger makes one cz used to. But $550? What happened to the cheapo sks?

I really like the fact that I can have a couple of lowers around and multiple complete uppers shooting different calibers. 350 legend 22 300 blackout 6.5 Grendel 762x39 and theres probably some I'm missing.

As far as cartridges and their effects on ground hogs I dunno. However there's that old argument about shoot what you know and shot placement being more important than FPE etc etc. And there's multiple ways to skin a cat. Best to not talk in absolutes.

Some people talk about hunting deer with 223. Is it a good idea hell I don't know I've never seen one shot with the 223. Is it better to shoot a deer in the head with an easily placed 223 rather than miss with a 450 Bushmaster yeah I guess so. Again I don't know never seen a deer dropped with the 22 or 223.

And finally to the other poster who said black powder is more fun I would agree. The AK is overrated in my opinion.

 

[Half-Cocked]

I have to say they have proved to be pretty fun to shoot

Direct contradiction to your last post half cocked you're a mess stop spending money!

 

[eekjellander]

Guys I am turning into an AR guy. The AK I own I will probably sell. it's just not that fun for me. Why is it so expensive to get anything chambered in 7.62x39 anyway? The ammo is cheap gun is not. Not a lot of bolt action either. Ruger makes one cz used to. But $550? What happened to the cheapo sks?

I really like the fact that I can have a couple of lowers around and multiple complete uppers shooting different calibers. 350 legend 22 300 blackout 6.5 Grendel 762x39 and theres probably some I'm missing.

As far as cartridges and their effects on ground hogs I dunno. However there's that old argument about shoot what you know and shot placement being more important than FPE etc etc. And there's multiple ways to skin a cat. Best to not talk in absolutes.

Some people talk about hunting deer with 223. Is it a good idea hell I don't know I've never seen one shot with the 223. Is it better to shoot a deer in the head with an easily placed 223 rather than miss with a 450 Bushmaster yeah I guess so. Again I don't know never seen a deer dropped with the 22 or 223.

And finally to the other poster who said black powder is more fun I would agree. The AK is overrated in my opinion.

I have shot a few with the 223 however, the best deer killer I own is a 6mm x 45 in the AR platform 12 twist shooting Nosler Partitions up to 80 grains over Accurate 2015 . BC on those 6mm are awesome /Ed

 

[Bad Karma]

Guys I am turning into an AR guy. The AK I own I will probably sell. it's just not that fun for me. Why is it so expensive to get anything chambered in 7.62x39 anyway? The ammo is cheap gun is not. Not a lot of bolt action either. Ruger makes one cz used to. But $550? What happened to the cheapo sks?

I really like the fact that I can have a couple of lowers around and multiple complete uppers shooting different calibers. 350 legend 22 300 blackout 6.5 Grendel 762x39 and theres probably some I'm missing.

As far as cartridges and their effects on ground hogs I dunno. However there's that old argument about shoot what you know and shot placement being more important than FPE etc etc. And there's multiple ways to skin a cat. Best to not talk in absolutes.

Some people talk about hunting deer with 223. Is it a good idea hell I don't know I've never seen one shot with the 223. Is it better to shoot a deer in the head with an easily placed 223 rather than miss with a 450 Bushmaster yeah I guess so. Again I don't know never seen a deer dropped with the 22 or 223.

And finally to the other poster who said black powder is more fun I would agree. The AK is overrated in my opinion.

A Chinese type 56 followed me home. (it’s papered so has collector value, definitely NOT a cheap sks!) I shot it a little bit, stuck it in the back of the safe and don’t really think much about the design as a war weapon. They go bang reliably. That’s about it. I have an old fashioned notion that the whole point of shooting is hitting...