Improvements to get the feel, right!
I’ll be honesty with you, I would have a hard time given you very many references on places you should go to, to get the answers and avoid a bunch of bullshit when it comes to firearms and accessories. Gun forums have been around for almost 2 decades now, and even though some are better than others, there is always going to be a lot of BS and drama around certain products. One of the best analogies I have ever heard when it comes to firearms is that they are just like Golf clubs. Each firearm is good for its inteded purpose, but you don’t use a putter to drive a golf ball 400yds. I have family friends that were draft bait in WWII and Korea, and most of them though the M1 Garand was a reliable platform and most said not everyone could shoot them very well, because they were all issued the same gun with the same stocks. It’s amazing how much modification and stock accessories are out there now, even something like an M14 or M1A rifle can be converted to an adjustable stock. Everyones length of pull is different and if the gun is too short or too long, it’s going to be hard to get into a good firing position and be proficient.
Mapgul stocks and accessories are very well made and I have yet to had any of my AR15 rifles break on me. I’m not one to bash synthetic stocks, and there is nothing wrong with the fixed stock on an AR15, but they don’t work for everyone. Not only do people have to worry about finding rifle stocks that fit them, they have to think about what if I’m wearing a winter coat? What if I am wearing body armor and a tactical vest? Being able to adjust the stock on your Carbine or rifle by 1-2 inches can be a huge deal as far as comfort. The Magpul PRS stock will give you a great cheek weld and adjustability. My personal favorite is the Magpul CTR stock.
If you are thinking about buying your first gun for inside the home, there is no better option than a shotgun. Some rookie gun shopper may think a shotgun is too powerful, but the reality is there is no better defensive weapon that can be so versatile when it comes to projectile ballistics. The difference in bullet penetration between a shotgun slug and size 9 shot is tremendous. Both are incredible leathal at close ranges, but energy is lost very quickly which is an assett in close situations. Due to modern home construction, there is no better reasoning than to consider what happens to a bullet if it misses the target or if it happens to hit the target and still go on. There is a saying that there is a lawyer attached to every bullet that exits your gun if it is used in a defensive situation and this very true.
And the answer is no, we do not, so why do people expect us to be able to shoulder the same size rifles or grip the same size handguns comfortable? Even if you’re a guy, you’re not all built the same, and luckily the military has caught on to this. If I had a nickel for every WWII vet I know that made a comment on how big the Garand was and how many of them had trouble shooting one, I’d be rich. The M1 Garand is a very accurate and powerful rifle, but not everyone could hand them. If you field a rifle of the same caliber today, and allowed people to adjust the stock for their comfort, recoil issues go away.
There is another issue that I see come up when taking new students to the range. I usually bring various military style rifles with me to get people to adjust to recoil and realize the common military style weapons that exist in the world. Many of these individuals, after a day on the range tend to select the gun that fit them the best. When I first got into shooting rifles, I started out with all of the military surplus firearms that came into the Country in the early and mid 1990s. There may never be another time where Soviet style weapons are imported into this Country. The military warehouses got cleaned out after the fall of the Soviet Empire and American gun owners were the beneficieries.
After a few years of actually taking real fighting classes, one of the most common things every instructor told us was, “get a white light” on your fighting weapon. There are some handgun options where you can hold a flashlight while using a handgun and not have a fixed light on it which makes holster options very limited. The Section8 Tactical ultimate retention device is a good tool to use, but this isn’t recommended for using with a shotgun or carbine. I recenltly finished a training course where we used lasers for defensive purposes. The best tactical for using lasers is knowing when to turn them off. Yes, using a flashlight or laser is a giveaway, but spotlighting a threat and identifying it is paramount.
Ever since the gun community went from the A2 style AR15s to the M4 Configurations, the AR15 became the most modified and accessorized firearm in existance. I sometimes have to stair at some of these AR15 designs to tell if it is even a 5.56 gun anymore. The AR15s these days are the old style Direct Impingement guns and also various style pistol driven guns. There are plenty of lower grade stock accessories that look cool and tactical, but they won’t hold up to bad weather and rough play. The old “you get what you paid for” is still true today.
We’ve all seen skyrocketing ammo prices and a run on various styles of weapons. There was a run on guns and ammo as the economy started to tank and also a shift in the Political climate. Back in 2006 there was a hint that the now Democratic controlled Congress might get cocky and try putting another 1994 assault weapons ban in place and gun owners became concerned, then there was the Obama administration win in 2008. For those old enough to remember the political climate in the 1990s, we’ve seen this shift before.