Mega Rad Gun Thread

[BootlegPopeye]

I have to go comfort my Mosin now and assure it such a fate does not wait in its future.

I've done several gun restorations where I was able to successfully desporterize milsurp firearms. I'm willing to do it as long as I have a barreled receiver at the minimum. You would not believe some of the abortions I was able to bring back from the brink, sometimes using rare parts for their shit-tier bubba trash builds. I've seen things like a 'sawed off' Gewehr 43 (to date this is the only restoration I did where I replaced the barrel - with an original but obviously non matching one), also saved an American Westinghouse Mosin-Nagant someone decided would look great in a fiberglass stock and a walmart quality scope. In addition, was able to save some former drill rifles that had their barrels improperly plugged - M1917s, M1903s (both A1s and A3s) and 1 M1 Garand - though parade rifle rebuild opportunities aren't as common as they were 20 years ago.

To anyone thinking of 'sporterizing' milsurp - don't. We are long past the days of 60 dollar M44s. I was able to buy those sporterized rifles above for about 1/4 the cost of what an unmodified version of the rifle is worth. Any 'conversion' you do no one but you will like, and when you sell it, you will take a loss in almost every case.

Just as an example, in a quick search I found this idiot's 'guide' -

https://www.instructables.com/Sporterize-a-Military-Surplus-Rifle/

..I wouldn't give you more than $100 for either of those rifles now (he destroyed the barrels, making them pretty worthless to me), and neither would 90% of other buyers.

 

[Club Sandwich]

Yes. Everything listed has the potential to kill you. From the opposite end of the gun, not the muzzle.

quality control issues and literally dangerous to own and operate are two different things. PSA, et al are not on the level of Vulcan Arms or the early single heat treated M1903 or questionable Chilean Mauser .308 conversions. it's where the one or two parts where the QC really matters that it gets dangerous.

Century is kind of on another level of incompetence, though on their assembled guns rather than imported ones. mixing up .308 and .311 bores, incorrect safety assemblies that allow over-travel. PSA having questionable understand of how a piston is installed on the bolt carrier and channeling Vulcan/Hesse in grinding down a part or peening it to fit rather than correcting the out-of-spec part...

IO had and continues to have very poor workmanship where the rifles just do not hold up with even moderate use (or existence), but paperweights are not strictly dangerous thing... which is what highlights the real issue with IO and some Century Arms AKs and PSA stuff: cast trunnions.

the problem with these AKs are that they used to use (and might still be using) cast trunnions, a part that is almost always forged and you can't really get away with casting it due to how it's mated to the barrel and receiver (which must flex). this eventually (over time and repeat use) leads to failure of one or more parts as they cannot sustain the repeated fatigue and peak stress of both the receiver and barrel at the same time (like when shooting), while a forged part would. any AK made from parts kits or improperly can have this issue and needs to be questioned or examined individually.

some C308 rifles have similar issues with bulged receivers from improper roller size or bolt gap... oh man the sort of horror stories i've had in my shop trying to clean up when some officer buys a clone HK gun and it "doesn't feel right when shot".

listen to that gut instinct, stop shooting, and examine things! if in doubt send it to someone who knows their stuff, because some issues are just "break in" , others are a parts swap for your ammo, some are just replacing a parts kit part or something surplus or making a fine tuning. others are a kaboom waiting to happen.

 

[White Devil]

quality control issues and literally dangerous to own and operate are two different things. PSA, et al are not on the level of Vulcan Arms or the early singel heat treated M1903 or questionable Chilean Mauser .308 conversions.

Century is kind of on another level of incompetence, though on their assembled guns rather than imported ones. mixing up .308 and .311 bores, incorrect safety assemblies that allow over-travel. PSA having questionable understand of how a piston is installed on the bolt carrier and channeling Vulcan/Hesse in grinding down a part or peening it to fit rather than correcting the out-of-spec part...

IO had and continues to have very poor workmanship where the rifles just do not hold up with even moderate use (or existence), but paperweights are not strictly dangerous thing... which is what highlights the real issue with IO and some Century Arms AKs and PSA stuff: cast trunnions.

the problem with these AKs are that they used to use (and might still be using) cast trunnions, a part that is almost always forged and you can't really get away with casting it due to how it's mated to the barrel and receiver (which must flex). this eventually leads to failure of one or more parts as they cannot sustain the repeated fatigue and peak stress of both the receiver and barrel at the same time (like when shooting), while a forged part would. any AK made from parts kits or improperly can have this issue and needs to be questioned or examined individually.

Russian AKs have been using cast rear trunnions for decades. Cast trunnions aren't the issue, it's cheaping out on the metallurgy, QA, design. Everything. I have seen clips of PSA AKs blowing apart as bad as CAI AKs. IO AKs are on a whole other level of shit by themselves.

 

[Club Sandwich]

Russian AKs have been using cast rear trunnions for decades. Cast trunnions aren't the issue, it's cheaping out on the metallurgy, QA, design. Everything. I have seen clips of PSA AKs blowing apart as bad as CAI AKs. IO AKs are on a whole other level of shit by themselves.

not talking about rear trunnions. i disagree on the design - the metallurgy is sometimes inappropriate, but not crap. QC is marginal and a big F. i'm talking cracked barrel trunnions due to fatigue stress causing cracks that would eventually blow out a chamber or lead to an out of battery detonation. pictured is a PSA cast trunnion.

 

[White Devil]

not talking about rear trunnions.

View attachment 2149341

I mean yes, using a cast front trunnion is fucking retarded as opposed to forged. I was just pointing out both don't have to be forged anymore.

That being said, PSA designs theirs in house and they cut corners every way they can. I'd love to compare their TDP to a Russian one.

I'm not even sure what the fuck CAI designs from, I'm guessing a drunken monkey being allowed to play with CAD.

 

[Club Sandwich]

TDP to a Russian one

i have 14 AKs of different types as a reference library of sorts, all use forged trunnions except a very recently made Molot AK-9, which is cast trunnion. i would kind of figure that mass manufacturing would mean they're all forged, but i do know Albanian AKs are sometimes cast trunnions as are late production Type 56 rifles. a lot of the AKS-74s as well. those are the only ones that seem to be regularly cast.

 

[White Devil]

i have 14 AKs of different types as a reference library of sorts, all use forged trunnions except a very recently made Molot AK-9, which is cast trunnion. i would kind of figure that mass manufacturing would mean they're all forged, but i do know Albanian AKs are sometimes cast trunnions as are late production Type 56 rifles. a lot of the AKS-74s as well. those are the only ones that seem to be regularly cast.

I've only ever owned 7.62 and 5.56 AKs, so I don't really know much about 74s except that the whole poison bullet thing is a myth and really due to Afghani's lack of medical anything. I don't think I've seen any Albanian AKs at all though, so that's interesting.

I would imagine 74s are cast due to lower pressures?

 

[Club Sandwich]

74s are cast due to lower pressures

possibly. i'm leaning towards they were trying to get investment cast trunnions working properly in the 1970's on a lesser issued variation of their service rifle and ironed out the details over time, but for whatever reason kept forged trunnions for the majority of the AK-74 production run. the AK-74M is all investment cast trunnions and some MIM parts in certain models too. probably independently lowering cost while keeping things in specification. Ruger does investment casting (as do a lot of old GM places) and when done right, it's functionally identical to a forged part.

 

[MrJokerRager]

Well I managed to get a sling for my AR. It looks way more asthestically pleasing.

@Club Sandwich or @Particle Bored thanks for the Sparrow Dynamics grip idea as I can get my thumb on the other side for a grip. I think I will keep it featureless as fixed magazine is just too much work.

I still need to install a flashlight and I am looking for a good laser light combo or good light. I wonder what brand is the laser light combo sold in the Battlefield 3 and 4 games.

Also anyone here of some dude from Kentucky blow up his rifle?

 

[Club Sandwich]

I still need to install a flashlight and I am looking for a good laser light combo or good light. I wonder what brand is the laser light combo sold in the Battlefield 3 and 4 games.

weaponlights are generally used for positive identification of your target, however the downside is that you are now pointing a loaded weapon at a target you might not want to shoot. LASER devices generally are used in a constant offset (the beam is parallel to the bore) or converging (the beam intersects the approximate flight path of the fired shot at a known distance) manner. a LASER is useful if you are not able to use your normal sights, or if you need to track where a weapon is pointed as part of a team. the light is pretty useful, although i would encourage you to have a non-weapon mounted light you can just look at things with. the LASER is a little more specific and debatable usefulness - in very close quarters (across the room distances) your light or point shooting should be sufficient to stop the man-sized threat. at farther distances where a LASER is more useful than a light or point shooting, you may not be in a situation that would win a court case.

that being said, there are three options:

1. some people use a low-cost scope ring and flashlight and simply mount them to a rail section. a 1" weaver scope ring, and a streamlight poly-tac light is inexpensive and reliable enough to use on a low recoil rifle, maybe not a shotgun or something with a weird recoil impulse (roller delay, gas delay, et c).

2. use a surplus or good quality dedicated weapon light and don't use a LASER at all. this is a very common scenario and a surefire M600 can be had for under $300 depending on sales. get one and a tail switch of your choice (or use the tail cap button it comes with) and you have a quality weaponlight. another option might be to mount a pistol light to a rail, but that can be awkward and depend on your grip.

3. if you want a combo unit, i would suggest something like the Viridian X5L-RS as a "base". it's a bit more than the M600, but it's a quality light and LASER unit that is easy to use, robust enough for patrol duty or hunting in scrub, and will work on most weapons including shotguns or .308 rifles.

3a. mentioning another option which i don't recommend to people unless they already are quite familiar with their intended use, are Steiner DBAL, Eotech ATPIAL, and similar LE grade devices. military "full power" ones are floating around too, but fetch a pretty penny.

videogames often make up weird things for weapons, but i think the ones you had in mind are the L-3 AN/PEQ 2 or PEQ-2A, or the aforementioned DBAL and ATPIAL devices.

Also anyone here of some dude from Kentucky blow up his rifle?

a lot of people in this forum, on other forums, in my shop, in my friend circle, and my work circle won't shut up about it. it seems to be a popular topic.

 

[Badungus Kabungus]

Anyone here is a fan of .270 Win? This weekend I learned it will drop a black bear instantly, as if it got struck by lightning.

 

[Club Sandwich]

Anyone here is a fan of .270 Win? This weekend I learned it will drop a black bear instantly, as if it got struck by lightning.

it's an extremely popular hunting round; maybe second to .308 or .30-30. 7mm-08 is a bit flatter shooting and popular as well. some old school popular rounds also include the .243 Win and .25-06 (when .257 Roberts was too expensive to get brass for in the 60's) after 6mm rounds surpassed .257 as a general purpose medium game cartridge.

choosing a good game round generally means optimizing for your budget and the hunting you're going to do. once you figure that out, you simplify logistics to the least expensive cartridge that works for the most game you are hunting that you have a rifle for or will be able to settle on (meaning fewer guns you need to carry around or maintain). example: if you have bear and deer in your area, a .270 Win is a solid choice. if you want to include big horn sheep or do hill to hill shooting among rocks, then 7mm-08 might work better in that situation. if you have no bear in your area but want to get lucky with boar, a pointed soft-point (where the bullet has had the nose flattened with exposed lead, which "mushrooms" on impact with bones and dense hide or muscle) .270 Win will work, but a .45-70 will be safer to hunt adult boar with unless you want multiple hogs (either doing culling or because you want all the bacon) in which case PSP .308 Win in a semi-auto carbine would probably be more ideal.

 

[Badungus Kabungus]

it's an extremely popular hunting round; maybe second to .308 or .30-30. 7mm-08 is a bit flatter shooting and popular as well. some old school popular rounds also include the .243 Win and .25-06 (when .257 Roberts was too expensive to get brass for in the 60's) after 6mm rounds surpassed .257 as a general purpose medium game cartridge.

choosing a good game round generally means optimizing for your budget and the hunting you're going to do. once you figure that our, you simply logistics to the least expensive cartridge that works for the most game in your area that you have a rifle for. example: if you have bear and deer in your area, a .270 Win is a solid choice. if you want to include big horn sheep or do hill to hill shooting among rocks, then 7mm-08 might work better in that situation. if you have no bear in your area but want to get lucky with boar, a PSP .270 Win will work, but a .45-70 will be safer to hunt adult boar with unless you want multiple hogs (either doing culling or because you want all the bacon) in which case PSP .308 Win in a semi-auto carbine would probably be more ideal.

Good information, thanks. I've been looking at the BAR Mk. 2 Safari with open sights in .270, fits the bill for the game and terrain here. Set up with see-through rings and a x4-12 optic with a BDC reticle. Open sights should still be usable for short range, for when that bear walks out of the brush 20 yards away. It'll be for deer, bear, elk, and maybe moose. Not too many open areas, it's mostly woods and bogs. Shots are 250-300 yards max.

 

[waffle]

Well I managed to get a sling for my AR. It looks way more asthestically pleasing.

@Club Sandwich or @Particle Bored thanks for the Sparrow Dynamics grip idea as I can get my thumb on the other side for a grip. I think I will keep it featureless as fixed magazine is just too much work.

I still need to install a flashlight and I am looking for a good laser light combo or good light. I wonder what brand is the laser light combo sold in the Battlefield 3 and 4 games.

Also anyone here of some dude from Kentucky blow up his rifle?

Lasers suck, especially on rifles. They seem cool until you realize that they basically don't make one that's bright enough to see out side in the daylight. Learn to point shoot to 25m, or get a surefire flashlight and then learn what the POA/POI is based off the center of your flashlight beam.

Anyone here is a fan of .270 Win? This weekend I learned it will drop a black bear instantly, as if it got struck by lightning.

.270 is a fine deer/elk/black bear round, but if you reload or want to shoot past 300yds 280 rem is a way better round. there just aren't a lot of good bullets in .270, but .280 is 7mm so there's shit loads of good bullets.

 

[White Devil]

My opinion is you shouldn't be wasting your money on lasers if you haven't wasted your money on NODs first. Other than that, it's just a fucking gimmick.

For civvie use, owning either is almost pointless but it's called the Bill of Rights, not the Bill of Needs.

 

[Meat Target]

lashlight and I am looking for a good laser

Laser sights can get you into bad shooting habits. You want your focus to be on the front sight and superimposing your sight picture on the target, not on the target itself.

Think of it like trying to hit a baseball: are you more likely to get a hit if you are keeping your eye on the ball and seeing it make contact with the bat, or if you're looking at the outfield where it's going? Same principle.

 

[Bananadana]

LAYY Lmaoaser sights can get you into bad shooting habits. You want your focus to be on the front sight and superimposing your sight picture on the target, not on the target itself.

Think of it like trying to hit a baseball: are you more likely to get a hit if you are keeping your eye on the ball and seeing it make contact with the bat, or if you're looking at the outfield where it's going? Same principle.

Definitely. Kinda reverse-powerleveling here, but whenever i get a laser on a gun, i start to get lazy when it comes to aiming and hipfire / semi-hipfire a lot instead of acquiring a proper sight-picture. If you ask me, then this 100% turns into a bad habit as soon as you have to use a weapon without a laser. (which tend to be far more common)
Sticking to non-laser guns means that every shot will be a tiny bit of proper training and improve your shooting skills, as opposed to getting lazy and relying on the laser instead of your skills to properly aim. Sounds kinda tryhard, but imo, shooting is the kind of hobby/skill that really benefits from actually trying hard to improve yourself instead of relying on crutches/"cheating".

 

[TerminalTryHard]

The federal registry is open if anyone would like to leave comments about the ATFs latest shenanigans.

Definition of “Frame or Receiver” and Identification of Firearms | Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

On May 7, 2021, the Attorney General signed ATF proposed rule 2021R-05, Definition of “Frame or Receiver” and Identification of Firearms. The goal of the proposed rule is to ensure the proper marking, recordkeeping, and traceability of all firearms manufactured, imported, acquired and disposed...

www.atf.gov

 

[Dick Justice]

Speaking of the ATF, I hear they're up to some shenanigans with arm braces and 80% lowers again. What's the deal?

 

[MrJokerRager]

Are solid core or solid roundhead or FMJ or whatever the fuck they called, shaped like a dick bullets better than hollow points for self defense?

And is it also okay to mix the bullets as my current ammo can is too small to hold boxes so I said fuck it and mixed in all my available rounds of 5.56 and .223 with each other.

Also I noticed the hollow points cost more as well per bullet compared to a regular target practice bullet.