are we living in the post rifle age?

[Telecaster]

This is why I sold all my screwdrivers except for one phillips head. I don't believe in slotted head screws.

 

[Donn]

Fudd Alert.

 

[Telecaster]

FWIW, I live in the suburbs and if I were sitting on the front porch and a gang of thugs rolled through the neighborhood randomly shooting at houses (as the news tells us sometimes happens, the truth of which is questionable), I'd grab a rifle, not a handgun. Anything more than about 15-20 yards away and in motion, and handgun sights are no longer optimal. Rifle sights and a good stable hold are better. But I guess the OP lives in Mayberry, or Lake Wobegon, where life is perfect.

 

[BB57]

yes but i'm talking more about the civilian context. i don't agree with taking anyone's rifles away, but i can sort of see what democrats mean when they say you don't need a rifle, they mean it in a general sense in the context of people living in the city

Just 1.5% of crimes are committed with a rifle. So….No, I can't see why anyone would want to take away rifles and try to justify it as an anti crime measure.

Even with the extremely rare mass shootings just 16% involve rifles. The other 84% are handguns.

 

[Jessie]

i want everyone to own a gun, something like the m&p shield is versatile and has enough options to work for everyone. i just think the whole "buy more guns, get a rifle, a carbine, a sniper rifle, a shotgun, a pcc, etc, etc is just a corporate scam meant to make you spend a lot of money on things you don't need. is there really any opportunity to carry your ar-15 in a place like los angeles other than at the range? whereas with an m&p shield, you can carry it anywhere and be safe

Need has nothing to do with your post. Neither does what you think I should have.
You do you.

 

[Greyman50]

Hummmmm, guess all the gun shows are full of "un necessary" guns? Every show I've attended in the last 5-6 years are slam full of all types of AR's.

 

[BB57]

aka are we in the age of pistols? are ar-15s and rifles in general obsolete in most american cities?


i'm very tempted to sell my ar-15 which is just sitting collecting dust. for home defense, i can use my full size or compact guns, for conceal carry i can carry my m&p shield.


so what is the point of the ar-15 for most people unless they're expecting to fight a war? i stopped believing shtf is going to be a possibility and it's just not financially responsible to keep these guns and bullets and training for the rifle.

I've never been a prepper or believed in SHTF zombie apocalypse scenarios.

But…I'm rethinking that. With all the BSC thinking, social media megaphoned extremist bile, and general lack of critical thought and ethics in the US now, we are on the verge of a modern civil war. It won't be an 1861-1865 set piece battle kind of war, but rather an insurgency along the lines of what we see in civil wars all over the globe.

I'm thinking evil black rifles that people bought just to have one, or to play with on the arrange, or bought just to see what makes them tick, are suddenly becoming a lot more relevant.

the reason i don't like extra guns is i feel bad when i can't focus all my training on one gun

Training for what exactly? There are lots of things to train for.

1) I had two work related events where a handgun was drawn to discourage a suspect. However in 36 years of concealed carry, I've only had a single armed citizen defensive handgun use, and I never even got it out of the holster before he figured out he was about to get shot, turned and ran. That's typical for about 95% of defensive handgun uses.

Still, I train with my concealed carry handgun and shoot the, quite well, but it's also important to develop other self defense skills that are often necessary to create the time and space needed to draw your concealed carry handgun in the event you ever need it.

2) I also shot bullseye competition for years. Shooting the full match requires a minimum of a .22 LR target pistol and a .45 ACP target pistol, and if you opt to shoot centerfire in a smaller caliber that's a third handgun to train with. I started shooting postal matches in the basement of the local police department, and it's still a sport well suited to city folk and indoor ranges.

3) I also shot practical pistol competition for years. I was never a race gun fan and shot what I carried, but if you go the race gun route that's another handgun to train with. At the time, I was a city boy as were most of the competitors.

4) I shot a lot of practical rifle competition over the years as well and when there are light rifle and battle rifle categories that's two rifles to train with. I've lived and shot in both rural and urban areas doing this and many if not most of the competitors were city folks. The AR-15 in many different configurations is a very good choice for the light rifle class, and other semi auto rifles like the M1A, HK-91, FN FAL, BM-59, AR-10 are valid choices in a battle rifle class.

5) I shot service rifle competition for years starting with an M1A but eventually transitioning to a service match prepped AR-15. There's two more rifles to practice with, as what is ideal for service rifle competition isn't always ideal for practical competition. Again, this is a sport where a lot of city folks compete, even if it means driving a few hours to a suitable outdoor range.

6) I shot metallic handgun silhouette for a couple years and that was another handgun (and two separate barrels for two separate classes) to train with. The competitors? Mostly city folks.

7) I shot smallbore three position and prone matches, and that was another rifle to train with. I still enjoy that. And the 50 yard format makes it indoor range friendly. The NRA headquarters range had a small bore league while I was stationed in the area. It doesn't get more citified than the DC area, a consistent top 5 metropolitan area when it comes to bad commutes.

8) When I lived out west I shot BPCR and that's an entirely different rifle to train with and master. Most were rural / local folks, but it had its share of big city die hard s who traveled long distances to participate.

9) Also when I lived out west I shot prairie dogs often at very long range. When I was young it was nearly all locals, but it's become a big commercial hunting activity with city folks flying in (rather than just over) to hunt them. That's at least one accurate rifle, and three is really what's needed to do it right for a number of reasons. One of my favorite Varmint rifles out to about 350-400 yards is a bull barrel AR-15. Properly set up and AR-15 is a superb Varmint rifle and it has nothing at all to do with being Semi-automatic.

10) I also did a lot of deer, antelope, small game and predator hunting. The AR-15 in a lighter barrel, but still precision format is a great predator rifle as well. The original M16/Colt SP1 AR-15 format is also in my opinion one of the best rifles ver invented for hunting jackrabbits. But out west deer and antelope usually mean a bolt action rifle in a reasonably flat shooting caliber suitable for ranges out to a .5 second time of flight (about 400 yards). That's yet another rifle in the gun safe. And again, there are a lot of out of state hunters who come from big cities to hunt.

When I lived in the Black Hills, I switched to a Pre-64 model 94 in .30-30. I never saw a use for the gun until I started hunting in heavily wooded mountains. The Model 94 is near perfect for that and that's another rifle to own and "train" with. Here in NC it's just as relevant whether you are out west in the mountains or in eastern NC where there are an awful lot of trees.

——

I have to be honest, when I hear someone say they just want to focus on training with a single gun, I get a very storing impression that they really do not understand the concept of handguns and rifles having "sporting purposes", or even what that means, and don't understand that different handguns and rifles - even AR-15s and other military style sporting rifles - fill different sporting purpose niches.

And when I hear people like you say things like that, I start seeing you as a potential threat as you are one of "those guys" walking around with a gun where the line between "ready for a fight" and "looking for a fight" potentially starts to blur. Folks like that don't do a great job of promoting the gun community as normal, responsible people.

i think in rural communities the priorities and different and cost of living is lower, so more funds can be invested in rifles, shotguns, etc

When I lived in SD I made $42,000 per year. That jumped slightly to $51,000 with the fed, but when I transferred to DC I jumped to about $100,000. But my standard of living didn't change due to the higher cost of living.

In other words, it goes both ways. Yes, rural states like SD have a lower cost of living but they are also usually low wage states. And trust me, Ford doesn't give you a lower rural state price on a new vehicle and Amazon doesn't give a SD discount.

So is there more discretionary income one place or the other? Ot really.

 

[pawngal]

aka are we in the age of pistols? are ar-15s and rifles in general obsolete in most american cities?


i'm very tempted to sell my ar-15 which is just sitting collecting dust. for home defense, i can use my full size or compact guns, for conceal carry i can carry my m&p shield.


so what is the point of the ar-15 for most people unless they're expecting to fight a war? i stopped believing shtf is going to be a possibility and it's just not financially responsible to keep these guns and bullets and training for the rifle.

That is your opinion. Opinions are a dime a dozen, everybody has one. Ours aren't the same as yours.
Many of us hunt. Can't shoot a deer or a duck with a a semi-auto handgun.
Many participate in organized shooting events that require different firearms.
Many, maybe most of us, do not live in "city" so no concern.
Try making your post on an AR forum!

 

[old tanker]

BB57, I hear ya! I too shoot more for the fun of it. Bullseye, IPSC, IHMSA, High Power, small bore, club matches or even payday stakes indoor range bets amongst the Wednesday night geezers.

Training, oh I did plenty of that too, with everything from small arms to tank guns. That career path even provided a couple of opportunities to engage moving reactive targets that shot back too. Even got some purple ribbon with a white border to show for it.

I really don't much care if shooting at steel cutouts with an 1885 Winchester and black powder loaded cartridges isn't tacti-cool or trying to figure what kind of sight picture it takes to hit a 200 meter gong with snubbie is a waste of time and money.

It's my time and my money and I'll waste it any way I like.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

When I quit hunting I sold most of my rifles.
Kept my LH Carl Gustaf 30-06 and the 22s.
Later Got the itch for a smaller caliber reach out aways.
Bought a Savage AXIS in 223.
It ain't purty but it shoots!

 

[TEXASJake]

There are many reasons to own a gun. Self-defense, sport, enjoyment, collecting, and of course, "because I want one and am allowed to have it".

For me, I have mostly pistols. I just love those S&W Revolvers so I have way more than I would ever shoot. It does not matter, I collect them like others collect things and that is just fine and dandy. I also shoot and collect Single Shot Black Powder Cartridge rifles. I like them, enjoy loading and the feel of hitting a "gong" way out there in the distance.

As for the "black rifles", "tacticool" and other firearms of that nature, I own several. They are accurate and easy to operate, and if I ever find myslef in a situation where I needed a gun, I would probably grab one of them FIRST. I subscribe to the old and wise words ... "Better to have and not need than need and not have". I have the income that allows me to keep a stable of "collection guns" and "oh ****" guns. I will keep both thank you very much.

 

[fatcat3]

Louisville, Los Angeles, Dallas, Minneapolis, New York, Chicago, Seattle, Saint Paul, Kenosha, Chicago, Colorado Springs, Portland, (OR & ME) Stone Mountain, Lancaster, Kansas City, Philadelphia,........ Just in 2020.
"i stopped believing shtf is going to be a possibility" OKAY

 

[glenwolde]

You don't have to "train". You can like, you know, shoot it for fun.

 

[quikdraw67]

As I stated before, OP is a troll. I wouldn't feed it anymore.

 

[Yaworski]

I'll give you $500 for it, sight unseen!

$501! .

 

[reddog81]

aka are we in the age of pistols? are ar-15s and rifles in general obsolete in most american cities?

At what point in time were you going out and using your rifles in the city? Rifles aren't any more obsolete than they were 20 years ago or 100 years ago.

 

[BB57]

As I stated before, OP is a troll. I wouldn't feed it anymore.

Normally trolls don't make a couple hundred posts before they start trolling something like this.

I read some of his posts in the past and some are a little out there but within the realm of normal. Very few are troll like and even then they just reflect somewhat odd, or perhaps myopic, points of view (like this "no one needs a rifle" thread).

But I see plenty of other narrow minded folks on the forum as well. Are we going go to call them all trolls as well?

How exactly does it work when someone derides folks for being a sheep for following a herd, but then wants to just dismiss anyone who disagrees with *their* herd as a troll? That's not an internally consistent approach to take.

 

[BAM-BAM]

aka are we in the age of pistols? are ar-15s and rifles in general obsolete in most american cities?


i'm very tempted to sell my ar-15 which is just sitting collecting dust. for home defense, i can use my full size or compact guns, for conceal carry i can carry my m&p shield.


so what is the point of the ar-15 for most people unless they're expecting to fight a war? i stopped believing shtf is going to be a possibility and it's just not financially responsible to keep these guns and bullets and training for the rifle.

Make the decision that's best for you and your lifestyle............ but please refrain from "trolling" us........ a lot of folks here don't live our lives in "cities"....... frankly from current events I'm trying to stay out of cities and frankly wouldn't venture into one without a handgun.......

 

[GypsmJim]

We recently had a thread about being a collector, accumulator or hoarder.

I started "acquiring" guns in high school when I was legally old enough. Handguns didn't begin until I was 21.

Much of my shooting in early years was with rifles because I had no access to a pistol range. Now I do. Now 85% of my shooting is handguns. I have some rifles that haven't been shot in years. So, why do I still have them?

Looking at both threads confirms it. I AM a collector!!

 

[smoothshooter]

In a way, yes.

Access to places to shoot at all, especially at distances beyond pistol range, gets worse every year.
As our culture becomes more urbanized, and more rural landowners deny access to people who want to shoot, this is inevitable.