Originally Posted by C J

I've been shooting over 50 years and from the start I was shooting semi-auto guns. I learned to shoot first with dad's semi-auto shotgun. He was big on kids learning with a shotgun because there was little danger of killing your neighbor half a mile away. Then I learned rifles using a Marlin 60. This was the middle 60's so they were a new thing at the time.

Along the way I've shot a lot of semi-auto .22's. And I got into semi-auto center fire rifles when I bought my SKS 25 years ago. That thing was a barrel of fun and still is actually. I had a number of semi-auto pistols too. I have only owned one revolver in my life which I still own. There's just something about shooting a pistol in SA mode that's satisfying.

I didn't get into AR's until just a few years ago. I always figured my SKS was plenty enough of a battle carbine for me. I never really thought I would need such a weapon but the fact is they're fun to shoot. I wanted an AR for a long time but felt they were over priced compared to a lot of other guns.

I did own an AK and didn't care much for it. It was one of those kit rifle monsters that was built badly. But even when it was working it wasn't as accurate as my SKS and it dang sure wasn't as reliable. The ergonomics didn't really bother me on either rifle but the SKS is much better IMO. It isn't good by any means but it's better than the AK. I could have gone bubba on both but that seemed to mess things up often.

I do like the added power of the 7.62 X 39 round but the accuracy and the ergonomics of the AR make it far superior. I could go with a Blackout but I have the SKS and that thing will do some serious penetration. Too bad there aren't cheap hollow points for it like there has always been cheap ball ammo. It will shoot right through a lot of sizeable trees for example. The AR won't do that as well.

I have the AR's here in my room with me along with a few pistols. I won't be going back to counting on the SKS as much for that remote possibility I might need such a weapon. IMO they're great for sending a pack of coyotes running if nothing else. Plus they scare my neighbors which is a good thing IMO. It keeps the break in crews from wanting to come to my house. Word gets around in my neighborhood. I have one of the few houses that was never broke into at least not while I was living there. I've been on hiatus from that house for too long because of a job situation.

There is definitely room in the world for single shot rifles (own a couple of those) and wood with blue steel beauty. I have some of those too. I like all of them. It makes for an expensive hobby that way but it beats watching TV.

And BTW my son and his cousin decided they wanted to shoot my SKS on their own. I had trained them well by that time. My daughter too. They spent a whole day building swinging targets to shoot at. I didn't have the heart to tell them the SKS would tear up the wood they were using in no time. But they build a nice set of targets and they proceeded (along with my daughter) shoot the thing to pieces. Semi-autos are fun. My son was maybe 13 at the time and my daughter was only 10. But her brother would watch out for her. I knew that. I also watched them from where they didn't know I was there to be sure they were following the rules I had repeated to them over and over again. They didn't mess up once. They had shot that SKS many times by then and they knew what to expect including how dangerous the thing is.