GUNS!!!!!!!!

[Loon]

Going to buy a rifle for hunting in AK. This will be my first go at big game hunting, I hunted small stuff as a kid. Pretty much decided on .338 win mag, it seems to be big enough for anything AK will throw at me. I haven't been able to get out and fondle the various brands to see which I like best. Remmington, Savage, and Ruger are on my list to check out. Any opinions/advice on which to pic?

[AKPogue]

Going to buy a rifle for hunting in AK. This will be my first go at big game hunting, I hunted small stuff as a kid. Pretty much decided on .338 win mag, it seems to be big enough for anything AK will throw at me. I haven't been able to get out and fondle the various brands to see which I like best. Remmington, Savage, and Ruger are on my list to check out. Any opinions/advice on which to pic?

Why the big caliber? What are you intending to shoot?

[Alaskan Rover]

While I don't personally own one, I would say my favorite all-around gun (be it rifle, or shotgun or muzzle-loader) would have to be the Kalashnikov AK-47.

I have seen and handled more than a few of those rifles during my time working for five years in Russia's Far East Siberia. They are very common amongst the people in Siberia, and easy to acquire by these people. They use them for hunting, protection and literal "highway robbery". They make use of very easy to find 7.62mm rounds, and are decent at single-shot mode. A GREAT remote-region bottle plinker!!

The absolute BEST thing aboute the kalashnikov is that it is INCREDIBLY RUGGED! It will continue to work well under all sorts of conditions offensive to guns, including the odd sand storm. They continue to work in remote, sandy places like Tajekistan and parts of Pakistan when most Rugers and such would have seized-up long ago.

I don't even know if they are available in this country, but Kalashnikovs are probably one of the most rugged, reliable and simple rifles ever designed, for remote, bush use. It might not have supreme accuracy in terms of long-range MOA, that some western rifles may have, but all around, it is a GREAT nearly indestructable rifle.

EDIT: What the fuck is wrong with the thread that the pages are like 18 miles WIDE!!! I have to scroll WAY right just to see what people wrote.
It's because the fricking pictures that people post!!! People gotta make sure that the images they add aren't so fucking HUGE that they fuck up the whole page for everybody else. I mean, damn, if it's a huge picture and you know it is, just downsize it in MS Paint or something before posting it....it's simple.

[Loon]

Why the big caliber? What are you intending to shoot?

Moose, Bou, Sheep, Blackies, and Brownies.

[Phall]

Loon,
http://www.kimberamerica.com/products/rifles/8400/

Kimber makes some fine rifles, my Uncle has a .308 and it is a blast to shoot, and very very well made.

On another note, got to fondle a Never before fired Mauser action Husqvarna .30-06 at my moms boyfriends. Monte Carlo stock, a true thing of beauty, that and his Winchester pre-'64 Model 70

[HotCarl]

Yeah,havin that .22 is soo fun for plinkin. And cheap! I feel like a better shot already. Lovely fuckin shootin range Ljenkins. I could hangout there for a while. I'm gonna have to bring my purple paco pad up to the hills next time too....

[AKPogue]

While I don't personally own one, I would say my favorite all-around gun (be it rifle, or shotgun or muzzle-loader) would have to be the Kalashnikov AK-47.

I have seen and handled more than a few of those rifles during my time working for five years in Russia's Far East Siberia. They are very common amongst the people in Siberia, and easy to acquire by these people. They use them for hunting, protection and literal "highway robbery". They make use of very easy to find 7.62mm rounds, and are decent at single-shot mode. A GREAT remote-region bottle plinker!!

The absolute BEST thing aboute the kalashnikov is that it is INCREDIBLY RUGGED! It will continue to work well under all sorts of conditions offensive to guns, including the odd sand storm. They continue to work in remote, sandy places like Tajekistan and parts of Pakistan when most Rugers and such would have seized-up long ago.

I don't even know if they are available in this country, but Kalashnikovs are probably one of the most rugged, reliable and simple rifles ever designed, for remote, bush use. It might not have supreme accuracy in terms of long-range MOA, that some western rifles may have, but all around, it is a GREAT nearly indestructable rifle.

You just have to make sure if you buy an AK that you buy one that is from a decent country. There are some countries that make AK's that aren't worth the metal that they are made from. Also mounting optics to an AK is one of its shortcomings.

[AKPogue]

Moose, Bou, Sheep, Blackies, and Brownies.

Well if you are hunting for that than a big caliber is a way to go. Savage has a good reputation for building quality weapons at a good price.

[Skipig25]

just added another one to the collection. benelli nova 12ga, 26"

now for my arm to heal so I can actually hold it

[Stone-Free]

just added another one to the collection. benelli nova 12ga, 26"

now for my arm to heal so I can actually hold it

Probably the toughest shotgun ever.

I've used mine as a paddle, had it completely submerged in water and mud, have over 800 rounds down range with it, and generally beat the living shit out of it. Not one malfunction.

Swap the stock piston for the mercury piston. It will be a pounder heavier, but save your shoulder.

[Skipig25]

good to hear. that's what the guy at the shop said too. I'm gonna shoot it first to see what it feels like though.

here's our (my roommate and I) current collection as of my new purchase today.



.250 savage
.22
12 gauge x2

pretty fun to shoot, we mostly plink cans, skis, marker bindings, and throw trap, although we may go slay some ducks this season.

next purchase for me will probably be a remington 700 in .308, although that won't be for a while

[Jer]

Going to buy a rifle for hunting in AK. This will be my first go at big game hunting, I hunted small stuff as a kid. Pretty much decided on .338 win mag, it seems to be big enough for anything AK will throw at me. I haven't been able to get out and fondle the various brands to see which I like best. Remmington, Savage, and Ruger are on my list to check out. Any opinions/advice on which to pic?

Rem 700 is pretty much the benchmark for high powered bolt rifles - can't really go wrong with them. Lots of guys love Savages and they are great rifles for the pretty cheap price. Ruger makes great handguns and the 10/22 is very cool once you take the trigger group apart and polish everything and actually the #1 (single shot falling-block) is pretty kick ass. If you have the $$ I vote for the Sako G Wolf. Sako bolt actions are so smooth it's like having a semi-auto and the triggers are glass.

Rover - AKs are cool and all (I and a bunch of other guys on here own them), but I'd never hunt with one unless I had no other option. Especially in Alaska - 7.62x39 is basically a .30/30 as far as ballistics go.

[TNKen]

One of the little guys Baby Browning in .25 Auto

[Jer]

Also Rover - what's up with the "Kalashnikov AK-47"? I figured a wordie like you would have caught that the "K" in "AK" stands for Kalashnikov.That's like saying "Kalashnikov Avtomat Kalashnikov Forty Seven". Very unbecoming. Shame on you. Dude.

Ok - enough stoke kill, now for some stoke. Chono-ed some loads and killed some water jugs last weekend at the BC range:

Some rifles:


Dan with the new big butt:


Kalasnikov Avtomat Kalashinov Forty Seven M70AB2:


No ticks!!! The snow probably scared them away.

[Loon]

Rem 700 is pretty much the benchmark for high powered bolt rifles - can't really go wrong with them. Lots of guys love Savages and they are great rifles for the pretty cheap price. Ruger makes great handguns and the 10/22 is very cool once you take the trigger group apart and polish everything and actually the #1 (single shot falling-block) is pretty kick ass. If you have the $$ I vote for the Sako G Wolf. Sako bolt actions are so smooth it's like having a semi-auto and the triggers are glass.

I went to a shop and fondled about 7 different brands of rifles that are available in .338 win mag. Jer's words rang true and the Sako is just on another level, but seeing how I don't have $1,700 to throw down on a rifle I am looking at the Tikken T3 Lite, synthetic stock, stainless barrel. I was pretty disappointed with some of the other brands especially the american brands. This is just from picking them up and working the action, some of them feel sloppy, some feel like the catch, and others just felt chintzy.

The guy at the shop said that because the T3 lite is so light weight that .338 win mag is down right abusive to shoot. So now I am considering dropping in caliber. I had originally wanted a gun that can handle anything up here (AK) (Griz). However I have no desire to hunt griz but theres always the chance of running into one. ah well

Thanks for all the words gun nuts. I did not have a chance to check out the savage

[TNKen]

My Sako TRG-42 is a work of art, very well made.

[Alaskan Rover]

Also Rover - what's up with the "Kalashnikov AK-47"? I figured a wordie like you would have caught that the "K" in "AK" stands for Kalashnikov.That's like saying "Kalashnikov Avtomat Kalashnikov Forty Seven". Very unbecoming. Shame on you. Dude.

I just happen to like the word "Kalashnikov"...it just has a good ring to it. Sounds like adventure in far off places. The glint of something shiny up in that pass to the left...you're being scoped, drop and roll. However I'm not too fond of the numeric acronym "AK-47"...just doesn't have that good ring to it, so I feel cheated when I say it.

So, I would prefer just to say "Kalashnikov", but there are lots of different Kalashnikovs, the 47 is just the most famous of them, so that would be confusing...hence 'Kalashnikov AK-47'.

Here's a pop test, Jer: In which AK rifle model produced does the "A" NOT stand for "avtomat"?...and for bonus credit, what DOES the "A" in that particular model stand for?

Micky Kalashnikov is still alive and kicking....he seems as durable as the guns he designed!

Notae bene: That AK leaning against the tree looks more like a modern variant of the AKMS...I mean, it has a side-folding stock, instead of a down-rotating stock like on a lot of the folding 47s. Of course, they're all pretty-much all children of the 47 anyway...even the 74. And the 108 that the Russian Army uses now is basically a hippy-dippy fancy version of the old 47, just configured for the 5.56mm NATO rounds instead, and some sort of fancy dampening system and reconfigured shell ejection...just won't last like an old 47, me thinks. New and improved shit never does.

EDIT: That IS a downward rotating stock on that thing. Sorry. Don't know what I was thinking. You sure that thing is not a AEK-971 or derivative thereof??? I just don't get 47 from it. It looks so different from the kalashs that I've shot in Siberia.

[Gripen]

Here's a pop test, Jer: In which AK rifle model produced does the "A" NOT stand for "avtomat"?...and for bonus credit, what DOES the "A" in that particular model stand for?

AK-107 and the A stand for Alexandrov, a co-designer.

[TNKen]

The .338 is a compromise between the .308 and .50BMG. My TRG 42 weighs around 11 lbs, then add the muzzle brake, bipod, scope and rings, and ammo, so I figure around 15-16 lbs. And it thumps you pretty good.

Best advice is not to go super lite, and make sure you get a ported barrel or muzzle brake. If you are just out plinking, take a small sandbag to put against your shoulder to shoot from. Works great. If you're hunting, chances are you will never notice the recoil.

[khakis]

I don't know jack about hunting grizzlies, but I would think if you weren't married to the .338 you would have a lot more (and more cost-effective) options with a .300 win mag or 7mm mag. And wasn't there an email going around a few years ago where that guy put like ten rounds of 300 in a grizzly that was charging him? If that was true, then I can't imagine that .338 would have done it in one shot, so maybe a smaller round in semiauto would be better than a big daddy bolt action.

[TNKen]

Here's the ultimate Grizzley handgun. Just don't miss.

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_XX2lIT1tQ"]YouTube- Nuke50 - Nuclear handgun and ammunition[/nomedia]

[Alaskan Rover]

AK-107 and the A stand for Alexandrov, a co-designer.

Correct! The "AK" appelation in that gun was sort of a inside joke between the two and Kalashnikov joked about calling it the KA-107, but Alexandrov would have none of it, and demanded the "A" stand for Alexandrov. The joke was really on Alexandrov, though, as most outsiders just continued to think that the "A" stood for "Avtomat". Kalashnikov was a smart guy. He was also a pretty decent chess player, as could be seen in the above "joke".

But, alas, that pop quiz was for Jer....so you don't get the prize: An 18 month old Hostess Twinkie, green and black with mold.

[Jer]

It looks so different from the kalashs that I've shot in Siberia.

Maybe it's the rad kick-ass camo job. The Yugos have a longer handguard and the flip up grenade sight. Man - I really wanted that Twinkie...


Loon - Tikka's are nice shooters. I don't really dig the newer stocks and the plastic mags and stuff, but you have to cut costs somewhere - a magazine is just a cartridge holder, the iron is absolutely top notch. For the price, I like them better than Savages. The second rifle from the left in my photo is an older model Tikka (595). I don't know a whole lot about big-ass magnum calibers like a .338, but a .300 Win Mag or a .300 WSM would do fine for all the game you listed besides maybe the griz. T3 comes in .300WSM, I'm not sure about .300 Win Mag. The WSM will kick slightly less than the Win Mag. Like Ken said - a muzzle brake will reduce the recoil noticably - just make sure you wear plugs AND muffs while zeroing it.

[Gripen]

Maybe it's the rad kick-ass camo job. The Yugos have a longer handguard and the flip up grenade sight. Man - I really wanted that Twinkie...

Sorry, couldn't resist. I bequeath it you Jer. I am not sure it would get through customs anyway.

[Jer]

Sorry, couldn't resist. I bequeath it you Jer. I am not sure it would get through customs anyway.

That's ok - I strongly suspect AR's Twinkie is a ruse. Everybody knows Twinkies don't grow mold.

We should start talking about shitty guns. Everybody's owned one at one time or another. When I was 15 or so I had a Sears Roebuck 12 ga that was given to me by a relative who didn't hunt. The thing weighed about 15 lbs and had one of those early "vari-choke" things on the muzzle - it looked like about 6" of barrel-shroud with screw-in choke tubes. Really balanced the gun well. Thing shot like it was run over by a tracked vehicle as well. What a POS. I gave it to somebody - I can't even remember who - by the time I graduated highschool. Yes douchebags - that was somewhere around my 30th birthday.