Combat guns and plinking guns and just having fun
I remember all of those times I spent arguing with people on gunboards about which gun was better and which guns were pieces of junk. I started out collecting many of the Soviet era military style rifles, namely the SKS rifles. There are some fun accessories from Tapco that can make even an old relic like an SKS into a more modern looking rifle, but even if it’s not an AK, you can always customize the firearm to your liking. I wouldn’t expect to use an SKS for house to house clearing, but if you got it for $200 and want to improve the fit to your liking, go right ahead.
One problem I have found with many of the semi-autos I owned was that the length of pull on the guns was very short. This was not something I go too worked up about with the plinking firearms I owned, but for a primary weapon, the rifle stocks you use on them should fit you like a glove. Customizing a firearm to fit you is an important step in learning how to effectively use a firearm. I have learned that the hard way with various rifle scopes that ended up putting a ring around my eye because the stock was so short, I forgot to adjust my bean and got a good thunk. There is nothing wrong with changing the butt pad on any gun you own to fit you. Just be aware that when you are wearing a heavy coat or winter clothing that LOP might need to be shorter, so don’t modify your stocks too much, and think about an adjusteable stock for just that purpose.
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.
I had the opportunity to get out to the range again this week. I tend to bring the same bullet weights with me to firing ranges whenever I’m shooting my ARs because there can be really big differences in bullet trajectory when shooting out to 600yds. There is also a very big difference between bullet drift with just a few extra grains of weight. I’ve pulled the trigger on 150gr FMJ bullets out to 500yds that missed targets just depending on whether or not I fired during a wind gust or not. It’s really a lot of fun to shoot distances because you find out that it’s not all about how well you hold a gun down and how well you pull the trigger. Timing is something that really plays a factor when shooting into the wind. I use to shoot at a range that had a wind that blew from right from 100-300yds and when you got out to the 400-600yds, the wind blew from the left.