Dear Abby:

Been trying for years to work up a relationship with 223 & EBRs.

Had a Ruger mini14 for 20 years & somehow just never warmed to it...nothing wrong, just somehow didn't fit anything I wanted to do. Put all of (maybe) 150 rounds through it.

Buddy talked me out of it, took it home & made us both happy.

I've been looking at the various current AR15s etc lately. S&W M15 seems nice enough in theory, and I like the notion....but holding them is like hugging the ex.....just ain't enough good there fer me to make it worth doing....

Looked at the big brassy SoCom style, I like cal .308 well enough. But my M77 Ruger International seems to be enough for what I need it for.

Have held/shot/tried to conjure up desires over a wide range of the EBRs. I just can't get over their lustful ways spreading brass everywhere they go, and always mewling for new magazines and to be thoroughly bathed and cleaned every time they're taken out for a little fun.

Can't seem to find what I'm looking for in the EBRs.

I prefer the charms of the more genteel Buffalo Bore single shots, & the 1873 lever carbines. Even nursed a short torrid infatuation with a Marlin stainless 30-30 but the owner wouldn't give it up. Like the 45-70, and have slow danced with a few 45LC lever guns.

I just don't connect with 223 I guess.

So Dear Abby.....whatever can I do to find True Love ???

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Dum vivimus Vivamas

Been there, Done that, Same result!! Couldn't connect.

One of these days I'm going to pick up a bolt action or single shot in .223 and, at least, give the round one last chance.
(Besides, I've got a whole ammo can of loaded rounds to use up.)

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Dean
SWCA #680 SWHF #446

I like scratched wood EBRs. Goes with my decor.

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God spelled backwards is dog.

As for my self, I wouldn't have anything in .223/5.56 on purpose. I have a Yugo M-70-ab2 underfolder (AK) in the caliber that rules the world's military. I have also recently put a scout/red dot set up on a 94ae 16 inch winchester .357 Mag. I'm still fiddling around with it, but it looks like it will be "fun." Flapjack.

Sir, try a Garand. If that doesn't get your heart rate up, then semi-auto rifles just aren't for you.

Hope this helps, and Semper Fi.

Ron H.

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Wishin' don't make it so.

Dear M657.

No matter what they say size does matter. So if you have your heart set on something black, go big.

Bushmaster - Product Catalog - Hunting Rifles

Your friends will all understand. Secretly they all have been fantasizing about doing it too. So just enjoy...

Abby

I if a larger bore rifle is in the mix, you'll be hard pressed to beat either a Springfield in either the " scout-squad" or "socom 1" configurations.

Skip the 5.56's, buy a good FAL, and feel immortal.

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

Is that why the communist abandoned the 7.62X39 for the 5.45X39 or can you get the M70 in the 21 soviet now?

And by world's military, do you mean thugs and terrorists?

Have a look at a Mini-30 or SKS. No matter how ya slice it, the 5.56/.223 is still a .22.

7.62x39 milsurp is dirt cheap too.

Appreciate the comments Dear Abby. Please continue your efforts to educate me on such matters.

"7.62x39 milsurp is dirt cheap too."

that's a plus....what all do you use this round for? I had an SKS 'Chinese Sniper' with scope, etc. Horrid inaccurate unreliable regardless of what I've read about 'em.

. I'd rather go for a 30-30 lever carbine.

It's hard to find the 308 SoCom out at the range. Nearly all of 'em that ain't in the cowboy matches are in the EBR fan club out there. There is a strictly BP muzzle stuffer group, been there done that, ready to move on.

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Dum vivimus Vivamas

This was what I was going to say.

Tim

I have brd, can't get enough AR's.

I have a couple SKSs for TCB inside of 50 yards. They are most assuredly not target rifles.

They are fun at the range tho.

Here in The People's Republik we are limited to 10 round mags and mag locks. To me the SKS with 10 rd stripper clips made more sense than an AK with 10 rd mag & mag lock.

That Yugo milsurp ammo is dirty, nasty & corrosive. Performs OK tho.

FWIW both my Norinco & Russian models have been 100% reliable so far.

The "big guy" beat me to it. Just buy an FAL. It will do every thing you need it to do and then some.

FAL's are a bit long for a car gun, as is the M1A. M4 profile works pretty well from a vehicle, and has way more punch than a squirtgun like the MP5 and other pistol-caliber guns.

The AR platform has killed tons of bad guys. So have the AK variants.

The AR's are purpose built guns. You build them up for a specific purpose. You can have as many uppers as you desire. JMO.

(Yeah, I know about the para-FAL, but it's still not as good from inside a vehicle as an M4, IMO)

I think that the SOCOM is the best compromise in portability and power. It's alot easier to field than an M1A or a Garand in my view. Packs more of a punch than an AK and is almost as car-friendly as an AR.

My Sons put the SOCOM through the paces...





The Old Man takes his turn at the "Fire and Advance" stage...

I have most of them...

Mini-14, M1A, M1 Garand, M1 Carbine, semi AR15, semi AR22, AK47 and 74 clones, Galil .223 and .22, FALs, .308 ARs and a bunch of other rifles, shotguns, and handguns.

Dear Abby - I am powerless over firearms; I'd rather buy a gun then pay alimony; is there anything wrong about that?

I'm planning to visit the remains of Fort Quitman sometime before the hot weather returns. I's about 50 miles from El Paso, in a very deserted area, uncomfortably close to the Mexican border. My M4 will feel very comforting on my shoulder, and my 625 mountin gun will feel the same on my hip.

For true EBR satisfaction, nothing beats the BAR....







Accept perhaps a Lewis Gun...





Both would be very comforting indeed when that close to "The Ditch"....

went to local dealers today; almost no 308 anything except 1 Rooger Scout Rifle for $699 "only 40 rounds thru it".....liked it a lot but way too much like my favorite International 308.

Everybody has EBRs coming out of every orifice here. And tons of old bolt rifles.

I can't find a SoCom anywhere local.

Somehow those FALs seem like steroidal EBRs.

Sebago Son: appreciate the photos. You got the same 'enhanced tactical t-shirt' that I wear....
How'd that 1911 magazine work out for ya?

Still looking, Dear Abby....

__________________
Dum vivimus Vivamas

What's not to love?


(NJ legal XM15-E2S: fixed stock, 16.5" unthreaded barrel, and no bayonet lug, flash suppressor, grenade launcher, flamethrower, plasma beam, disrupter, phaser, atomic accelerator or death ray)

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Buy American
Vote Responsibly

Cosmo,

Yup, note how that bulge in the front covers my layered body armor....

That magazine is tucked nicely into the butt of that 1918 manufactured 1911. Perfect. Was one of the best deals I've made this year... (or was it last?)...

Drew

The best cure for a lonely heart is another lonely heart.
Having been in the doledrums a time or two in my life and not careing to experience another useless hangover I found my solution in pawn shops.
I just want a no frills relationship when in these moods so I just pick me up a cheap little .22 that only wants to be held.
Love those fast little semi-auto rifles whose only desire is to dance with you. They can get the blood flowing and make you forget your last love lost.
Blessings

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TEXAS, by GOD

If the "exhaust" goes back into the chamber area, I don't want it, what ever caliber it's in, but if its a .223/5.56, I don't want it anyway. If you must have one, I'd suggest one of the emerging group that are gas cylinder opperated, as opposed to "direct impingement." As to accuracy in AK's etc, not all of them are created equal, some are down right scarry accurate. There are some good right ups available, along with what Col. Cooper said regarding the 5.56. Go safely. Flapjack.

amazingflapjack,

Perhaps you would be so kind as to explain something to me. I hear this exhaust in the chamber mantra all the time. Please explain to me exactly how the AR pattern rifles accomplish this amazing feat. Just how to they inject propellent gases into chamber?

Honestly, there may be some question as to whether the FAL is the best battle rifle ever made, but it FEELS better than anything else. Also, it doesn't recoil much. When I look up that new-fangled word "ergonomic" in my Funk & Wagnalls, there's a picture of an FN LAR (American for commercial FAL).

I understand where you are coming from. tried several but finally did find one I liked, a Galil [Golani] clone. It has great sights and even though it's a varmint caliber, it's a very good little rifle.

I had AK's and SKS' 10-15 years ago, sold them for AR stuff. Had seven AR's and they were ok, wife bought me a Russian Siaga 7.62x39 and I converted it to standard AK stock/grip and love it. Sold all AR'S except for MP 15/22. Only 223 I have is a HB remington varmint rifle. I don't miss the AR's at all. One day I was shooting I below zero weather and every AR I had choked. The Siaga never skipped a beat.

my SOCOM has my Mini/AR guns collecting dust.
burning up a couple hundred rounds in a snubby .308 will definitely put a smile on a guys face.

No amazing feat to it. And they don't exactly "exhaust" into the chamber. But they do kinda take a dump where they eat. There is no gas piston so the gas simply travels down a gas tube and directly pushes the bolt back after disengaging the locking lugs. This dirties up the action more than a piston gun but if you clean your gun it's no big deal. Other examples of dump where they eat guns would be the G-3/Cetme/HK91, though they have no gas system of any kind. They are simply roller delayed blowback actions. BTW, I am very fond of this latter design and i tend to keep two H&K-91's handy. They are my favorite EBR's

The specific statement I am referring to is it puts waste gas "in the chamber". Every proponent of the piston driven AR spouts this same fallacious argument. I want to know exactly how it is done. They cannot explain it because it simply does not happen.

Go back to the picture in post 22. In that picture you see the bolt carrier through the ejection port. Just above the dust cover spring there is a dished out area on the bolt carrier in which are drilled two holes. When the case is fire the propellent gas pushed the bullet down the bore until it passes the gas port. A small portion of the gas goes through the gas port into the gas tube and into the bolt carrier key. The gas then goes into a chamber in the bolt carrier sealed on one end by gas rings on the bolt. The expanding gas is then vented out of the action by way of the two holes previously mentioned.

There is absolutely no way possible for the gas to reenter the chamber. Very little of the gas that exits the barrel through the gas port even enters the action. Once again it is vented out of the bolt carrier through the ejection port and out of the action. The vast majority of the fouling found in the action of the AR gets there the same way it does in the piston driven version. It comes out of the expended cartridge case as it is pulled from the chamber. Carbon particles fall from the case mouth and the outside of the neck/shoulder area and into the locking lugs. Larger chunks are carried farther back into the action where they are broken up and ground into fine dust by the moving parts mixing with the lubricants to get further distributed around the inside of the action. Just like they do in any other semi-automatic, bolt action, lever action, pump action, so on and so forth.

The only area of a direct impingement AR that accumulates carbon from the gas used to work the action to any significant degree is the tail of the bolt and the front inner chamber of the bolt carrier.

4 rounds at 100 yards, Savage 16FCSS (.223 bolt action, sporter barrel) Black Hills 69 grain SMK HPBT. Made me smile.

__________________
Bob

I like 308s too!

Dear Abby-will i insult the others ifen picking favorites? Socom open sights or 16 in SA58 for that close up comfy feeling.

Course get a little weak after all that up close loving and need to retire to a more comfortable fully supported (bipod and gut supported prone) longer range relationship out to 500 postal. The sweet little RRA 308 operator fills the bill.

A special bonus for being as politically incorrect as possible, as judged by amount comments/reactions at the range. Especially by some of the hunters who infrequent the range prior to hunting season.
1-that don't look like no hunting rifle
2-that target looks like a siloutte, quick cover up the younguns eyes
3-whadda mean that 308 shouldn't be used in my awe inspiring 300 super duper?

The commonly available semi's have gotten incredibly more accurate over the years, and ain't nothing like playing tunes on the steel at the range, for the musically /culturally inclinated mind ya.

Doesn't mean am not appreciating the levers capability, especially the short ones in carbide die friendly open sighted 44s.

I bought an AR-15 and two uppers (20" and 16") for purely utilitarian purposes.

Back in the '90s, I was getting death threats from neo-Nazis in usenet who didn't like my talking about [among other things] their interest in young boys.

I went to the Medina, Ohio gun show and bought a used Eagle lower and 16" and 20" A-2 uppers from a company called Sherluk. The 16" was always 100% reliable. The 20" needed a little work, but it's now 100%.

I already had a Garand and an Ithaca 12ga., but felt the need for something with a high capacity that could be more easily maneuvered.

Where I lived at the time had limited street access, and unless you were willing to risk getting bogged down in somebody's lawn, you had to zig-zag back and forth across my field of fire, perfect conditions for a light recoilling, large capacity rifle.

Every time I'd go to a gun show, I'd shop for magazines. When I bought the gun, I bought two ammo cans full of 5.56x45mm ball.

I figured that between that AR and my other guns, no matter how things ended, I'd give a good account of myself.

It's going on twenty years later and the big talk stayed exactly that.

I no longer have a place (or the time) to shoot a rifle. My current home is a lousy place to use a rifle for self-defense, so it and the shotgun sit in the safe.

I think the bottom FAL, a basic Imbel semi-auto kit, will fit in a car or pickup truck. If I changed to a folding stock it would really be compact.

If not, I could use one of my Sterlings; either the carbine or pistol, both using the same 34 round magazines:

very nice collection cwo4

Dear m657;
Brother I know what you mean! I fired all sorts of hi-tech wiz bang stuff while in the Navy. So you'd think I'd have an itch for an M4orgery of an M-14. But alas I just can't warm up to them either cause one doesn't come with the "fun" switch and the other isn't a real 14!
I bought an old M1 and love that thing dearly! If you can see it you can hit it with this old warhorse! But I still needed something for inside 100yds. I tried SKS, AKs, and Minis', then one day I took an old Standard Products M1 Carbine out for some "quality time" and it filled the bill nicely!!
I still want a lever gun just because I think there cool. But the M1 Carbine is this guys go to gun for "goin to the dance"! Dale

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"Long live the S&W 3rd. Gen.!"

M1A's are sweet, but Garands & Levers are Special! Here is a 308 Tanker version that also hits anything you can see, and a 45 LC Trapper. These are fun at the range or in the field. I hope to never need a high cap mag on my own home turf.

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July 4, 1776 not Jan 30, 1909

The long and short of it; my Tanker "fantasy" Garand is chambered in M2 .30 US, aka .30-06 instead of .308

Springfield Armory, INC. M1A

Pair of Inland M1 Carbines, Italian returns bought from CMP