Posted by
Catmman on Tuesday, November 03, 2009 3:08:28 PM
In response to a comment on my retirement.
You're right. Now I can freely voice and vent my opinions, of which I have many. There are some definite developments in the Air Force in particular which helped make my decision to retire. One of the big reasons I did retire was - I simply couldn't stand any more of the BS. There will be more to follow in forthcoming posts.
As to the Barrett .50 rifle. It's a fine weapon, but very pricey. For the civilian, there are numerous examples of .50 caliber rifles from numerous companies for several thousand dollars less than a Barrett. I only had up close and personal dealings with a Barrett once and it was pretty fun to shoot.
As to "assault" style weapons companies. There are so many companies manufacturing AR-15 style weapons and parts they are almost too numerous to count. Most of them produce decent products. Colt, S&W, Rock River Arms, DPMS to name a few. What are you looking for? Complete rifles, parts kits, uppers, lowers? Most AR type rifles you would buy from a local dealer are from reputable companies. Also, most AR's you would see at a gun show (if you have those where you live) offer models from reputable companies. Of course, the more 'famous' the company (S&W for example) the higher price you're going to pay. A S&W M&P AR is going to go for $1,000 and up while a DPMS AR rifle might be had for $600 and up. It all depends on configuration, caliber, accessories, etc.
If you're looking to 'build' your own platform, I think it's important to get your parts from a reputable source. Brownells sells parts for everything and anything having to do with firearms, but sells many different parts, kits, etc. specifically for AR type rifles. The parts are quality and cost a bit more, but Brownells is a first rate company.and I've never had any problems with them. Of course there are others, Brownells is just a personal preference for me.
If you're looking for something other than an AR, then you're looking at AK clones from various manufacturers (overseas usually - China, Russia for example.) Most of these can be had for $400-$700 here locally (in San Antonio) at our monthly gun show. Perhaps an SKS type rifle like the Chinese Type 56? The SKS is a decent shooter (in my experience) no matter where your is manufactured though quality varies. The Chinese rifles tend to be rougher in tolerance and less than attractive in appearance as opposed to their Russian counterparts, but if your simply looking for a shooter, does it matter? Plus like the AR's, there are tons of companies which offer dress up kits and accessories for both the AK types and SKS's to change their appearance, thereby making them more deadly using liberal logic.
Ruger offers the Mini-14 and Mini-30 rifles for a decent price pretty much everywhere.
There si the Springfield M1 or other M-14 style rifles. These are all expensive, but the quality is second to none. As an option, if you were looking for an M-14 style weapon, the Chinese make one (or at least they did) from Norinco I think. My father in law has a few he got years ago. They aren't nearly as pretty as the US models, but again, decent shooters.
It's neat you were a CCT. I've been in the 342d Training Squadron since I PCS'd down here to Lackland; the 342d being the squadron which handle the majority of the AF Special Ops training, indoc courses, etc for CCT, PJ's, etc. I have been CATM since 2001 when I retrained. Originally, I came in the AF as a Security Policeman (Law Enforcement specialty). With the career merger in 1997, LE went away. It wasn't until I was 'marooned' at FE Warren working the PK missile field that I needed a "change of pace".
Hope this post helps. I know it's a bit vague but it's a pretty broad subject.
Thanks again for the comment and the congrats!