Hamilton gun show this weekend.
Came >this< close to picking up an Arsenal SLR-95 for……$650. In fact, I’m kinda tempted to go back and get it. But, no, instead I consoled myself with picking some magnificent Hensley & Gibbs bullet moulds (four- and six-cavity) for the .38, .44, and .45 Keith bullets. Oy, the quality….oy, the craftsmanship….oy, the wieght! But, seriously, wonderful moulds.
Went looking for a holster for the Ruger 5058 and brought it with so I could try on holsters. I had at least three people ask me what the gun was, marvel at how it was ‘perfect’ with it’s round butt and full underlug, and did I want to sell it. Uhm..no…finding it was kind of a bigfoot-riding-a-unicorn event to begin with, so I’m not terribly likely to sell it.
Also picked up some reloading dies and that was about it. AR’s were well represented at the show, but the AK selection was a little thin. Found an M1 Garand for $750 which is the cheapest I’ve seen one in probably ten years but while they are a fun gun to shoot I think they are stupidly impractical for my needs when there are 20-rd detachable mag .308 rifles all over the place. “But..but…walnut! Steel! Iwo Jima!” Yeah, so what? You dont think every one of those guys in WW2 would have pitched their 8-shot, ten pound Garands into the ocean to get a gun that was about a pound lighter, held 2.5x the ammo, had better ergonomics, and could mount an optic?
Most interesting thing at the gun show? I ran into the folks from Blue Line Coatings and said hello. They were talking to some people and mentioned “Oh, this is the guy who had that HiPower we told you about”. I had the Watergun with me so I let them hold onto it to show people while I walked the floor. Again, if youre in the region and want some coatings on your gun, give ’em a holler.
Only other gun I saw that tempted me was a Ruger Scout rifle that had been coated to ‘coyote’ and had its Scout rail replaced with a full length rail from XS. Was really tempted to pick that thing up. But….I’ll instead just order the rail for my current Scout.
And that was about it. Gun show, fun show.
i need to go to a gun show…been several years since i’ve been to one…they have them in the dfw area all the time…they are always so crowded and you can’t find parking…
Holster for that .44 is a wise thought. That is meant to be carried, not just a range toy.
Garand -ever heard of the conversion by Schuff named the Mini-G ? A Tanker conversion shrinking up the package. More magazine capacity ? Same firm make the BM14, utilizing M-14 magazines.
http://shuffsparkerizing.com/shuffs-bm14-garand/
Seems like re-inventing the M14….which suffers from virtually all of the Garands shortcomings except for capacity.
Anom,
Or just buy an M1A1 and be done with it. No conversion necessary.
Getting ammo for Garands isn’t cheap or easy any more.
At my old job our boss wanted to organize a WWII shoot. A collector had all the guns but the log jam was on garand Ammo. The supplies have dried up. Dudes are getting over a buck a round for the stuff.
Thankfully I had a spam can or two of the stuff in my basement. That collector gladly offered to buy the rest of what I had before I named a price (I was nice and it was very fair).
I think the AKM market is going away slowly. The logistics in the US clearly favor the AR platform. So practically the AK makes little sense.
Also their biggest selling point used to be cheap guns. I recall buying a $420 WASR and a $800 Olympic Arms AR in the 2002-2003 era. A budget AR cost twice as much as a budget AKM. Now budget AKs are typically 7 bills new while that gets a fairly decent basic AR (Ruger, S&W, Stag). For the price of a mid range AK new you can get a BCM/ Colt/ FN type legit professional grade AR.
You make a very good point I had not thought of before. With current pricing of both, ammo and guns, there is no financial reason to choose the AK over the AR. I suppose the only factors left are caliber preference and perceived reliability of the operating system. But price? Yeah, I can buy AR’s cheaper than AK’s.
I much prefer 7.62×39 over 5.56 – but as mentioned, a cheap AK is now over $600, while you can buy the parts and build your own AR for $300 to $350 (I recently bit the bullet and built my first one).
Yes there are larger caliber AR’s available, BUT the ammo costs more and looses range quickly.
For the price of an AK, and sometimes less, I can get a Century C308 Cetme clone in .308 – with more hitting power and longer range than an AR, and ammo that costs the same or less than large bore AR ammo (e.g. .350 Legend up to .50 Beowulf).
Jonathan, Colt made some versions of the AR in the Rooskie 7.62 caliber. Their mags were not good, though. There is an aftermarket mag maker that has designed a replacement that is full-auto rated. Can’t recall the name, and my old ‘puter is still not healthy, yet.
Might be parts available for converting your AR to that caliber.
If you need 7.62×39 capability, ar uppers are avaliable,just need mags and 30 seconds.
My Dad went ashore at Peleliu and Okinawa with his trusty 03 Springfield which he clung to even after the war when his regiment was on its way to China. He said it took a direct order from his company commander to loose it from him… In Korea though, his preferred weapon was the BAR. Pictures of him and his platoon show almost half of them were armed with them. Don’t know how they collected so many but they came in good use when they were surrounded by the Chicom for almost a month on Hill 67. Old classics never die, they just get more EXPENSIVE!
Regards
For that Ruger holster, you might check it for fit in a longer barrel Redhawk holster of the type you want. Then, consider cutting off the excess barrel length from it. If an IWB type, leaving it a bit longer may help with comfort and stability. I doubt I have a single holster that has not been modified in some fashion. Even the custom or semi-custom ones.
Wasn’t sure if you would see this if I added it to the original post #6639.