My First "Black Rifle"

TJm15.38

TJm15.38

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My first black rifle was not an AR platform. Through Gallery of Guns I ordered an Arsenal SGL 21-61 pictured here. I received the rifle in late 2012 after it was delivered to a local dealer. These rifles originated in Russia as a Saiga, semi-auto sporting rifle. They were modified by Arsenal Inc. out of Las Vegas to make them compliant with the law at the time (922R of USC 18). Therefore, this rifle has a Russian Izhmash stamped receiver, Russian internals, Tapco two-stage (US) trigger and Russian chrome-lined barrel. The stock, furniture and supplied five round magazine are all US parts. The optic and mount consists of a first-generation Vortex SPARC and an early RS Regulate side-receiver mount. The rifle most closely resembles the AK-103 series in 7.62x39 which has been widely exported by Russia to other countries. The AK-103 was, obviously, a fully automatic version and had a folding Warsaw Pact-length stock. The stock on this rifle is fixed. These AK "clone" rifles are well constructed and capable of 2 MOA accuracy with a cold barrel at 100 yards. Function is typical of the AK types; completely reliable with the cheapest of ammo. Funny, I didn't buy another "black rifle" until 2015; a Colt M4. Show me your first "Black Rifle."

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I used a Mossberg 500 12 ga. for deer hunting for many years. When they came out with a rifled barrel I upgraded. At he same time my old stock was getting a little weather beaten from the cold and snow, so I replaced it with a black plastic stock with a pistol grip.

That was about 1980.
 
My first "black rifle" was a Beretta model 70 .223 that I traded off many years ago because of it's poor accuracy. They are collector's items now and I wish now that I had kept it.
 
Congrats, Arsenal is one top notch rifle. First heard of Arsenal some 20 years or so ago. Guy at my gun club had one in 5.45x39?
The receiver was forged.

The prices have really taken off.
 
My first was a WASR AK that my son gave me for Christmas one year. I gave him a Winchester 1894 short barrel rifle. I think he won. I put it in my safe with my Winchesters and look what happened. Colt 6920 LE, FN/FAL, 1911 and it got worse from there.

Vu5O2AQ.jpg
 
Mine was in August 1996, Vance's had a sale and a AR-15 A4 (full length stock, 20" H-bar type barrel, with a removable carry handle) made by the old Bushmaster Company, for about $900 OTD. They also had a sale on Winchester 223 45 grain @ 3700 fps in 40 round boxes for $5.99/40. I bought the gun, ammo, riser block and rings and went home and mounted a Veri-X III 6.5-20x40mm Adjustable Objective scope and went to the club to sight it in. The best 5 shot groups were singles holes, the worst were 1/4" at 100 yards!

The ammo sale lasted for the rest of the month and I bought another 2000 rounds! One day while shopping, I spotted a customer with the in-house gunsmith. The customer just about to sign a yellow form on an AR like mine. I walked over and said in a gruff voice "I want to talk to you about that AR You sold me!", "What kind of accuracy it that thing suppose to get?" He hung his head, the customer dropped the pen without signing, and he responded with "Most people are getting 1 to 2 inches with iron sights." I said, "I'm getting 1/4-inch scoped groups of a rest!" His response was, "I can fix that if you like!" and the customer grabbed the pen and signed, along with asking for 100 rounds of the type ammo I used. Still have the gun, and it still shoots great! Also have a home build 300 Blackout (M-4) and a Wind River AR-10 in 308. I also still have 200 rounds of that ammo.

Ivan

In 2002, When #2 son came home from the USMC, I gave him his second "Black Rifle". His first was an FIE copy of the Nylon 66. The gun I gave him was a used Savage 110 Left Hand, heavy barreled bot action, in a cheap plastic stock. It had some cheap Philippine scope (6-18x40mm) on it. I zeroed the scope with the 45 grain Winchester, and it got 1/4"@ 100 groups, so I included 200 rounds of ammo. A couple of years later he traded it in on a STAG left-handed M-4.

ITB
 
I think that when it come to "black rifles', aka modern sporting rifles, it's a very personal choice. That choice depends upon what looks and feels good to the buyer, the purpose for the rifle, and the buyer's budget. My first AR pattern rifle (a Clinton-era assault rifle ban version, ca. 2000) was an Olympic Arms PCR-00 A2 carbine in 5.56. I tricked it out to be more of an M4, but it still has the original 16" barrel with welded flash hider. I still have it and it's an outstanding, accurate, and dependable shooter. Years later I added a SIG MPX Gen II (9mm) and tricked it out. Next was a used Romanian Cugir WASR-10 (Century Arms, 7.62x39) that I got for cheap. I polished and upgraded the innards and refinished the wood, and added a muzzle brake, etc. And lastly, this past Christmas I build a Palmetto State 8" .300 BLK pistol with Silencerco Omega 300 suppressor. I think that I've got my bases covered for shooting fun, and just in case the worst should ever happen. Enjoy!
 

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Mine was a lightly used 16" Colt AR; a police officer friend talked me out of it to build himself a patrol/duty rifle....... used that money to buy a limited edition Bushmaster 14" barrel w/ fixed flash hider and ACE fixed stock.

This was in the mid-90s when the AR choices were the "ABCs"; Armalite, Bushmaster and Colt
 
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I got my Norinco SKS in May 1994 while a senior in HS. It's actually an unissued 1967 production milspec gun and is still outstanding.The Norinco MAK-90 came next, probably in 1995, but was a hunk of junk (bolt would derail while shooting). The AWB and being active duty Army put a clamp on more tactical procurement for the next few years. In 2008, I got my lefty Stag M16A4 clone and Kahr 1927A1. The rest is history...
 
My first "Black Rifle" or "Mouse Gun" or "Matty Mattel" was an M16A1 in 1970 (had a M-14 before that). About 1983, traded the A1 for an M16A2.
Have had to purchase my own after 1993. Have had a couple of AR's and a FN FAL. Now I have a older DPMS (milspec) with a Nikon 3-9X scope on it. It came with a fixed stock and standard handguard. A friend who is a gunsmith swapped the fixed stock for a collapsible one with a handguard with rails (did it for free with extra pieces/parts he had accumulated over the years). Purchased Iron Sight for it. Don't shoot it very often.

I have a Savage M11 with a black stock in .223. Since it is all black, I guess you could call it a black rifle too. It also has a Nikon 3-9X scope on it. Shoots better than good with ammo it likes.
 
My first was a Saiga Sporter with a 20" barrel in 7.62x39. Atrocious trigger and way overgassed. Traded into a WASR-10 that was much nicer.
 
TJm15.38 said:
My first black rifle was not an AR platform. Through Gallery of Guns I ordered an Arsenal SGL 21-61 pictured here. I received the rifle in late 2012 after it was delivered to a local dealer. These rifles originated in Russia as a Saiga, semi-auto sporting rifle. They were modified by Arsenal Inc. out of Las Vegas to make them compliant with the law at the time (922R of USC 18). Therefore, this rifle has a Russian Izhmash stamped receiver, Russian internals, Tapco two-stage (US) trigger and Russian chrome-lined barrel. The stock, furniture and supplied five round magazine are all US parts. The optic and mount consists of a first-generation Vortex SPARC and an early RS Regulate side-receiver mount. The rifle most closely resembles the AK-103 series in 7.62x39 which has been widely exported by Russia to other countries. The AK-103 was, obviously, a fully automatic version and had a folding Warsaw Pact-length stock. The stock on this rifle is fixed. These AK "clone" rifles are well constructed and capable of 2 MOA accuracy with a cold barrel at 100 yards. Function is typical of the AK types; completely reliable with the cheapest of ammo. Funny, I didn't buy another "black rifle" until 2015; a Colt M4. Show me your first "Black Rifle."

View attachment 730431
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How is the Tapco trigger on your AK? I have a Hungarian AMD with the Tapco trigger and it is very light when compared to a standard AK. When I hand it to an AK owner to shoot I tell them about it and their eyes usually still get big and they respond with "whoa".
 
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