Customized rifles and shotguns
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.
When I started shooting these rifles, I was lucky if I could hit a pie plate since my shooting expertises was at the novice level. I’ve shot within 2 inch groups with all of these weapons in the last few years with handloaded ammo so I know that my shooting skills had achieved there peak with these types of firearms. Another thing I had to do before being able to shoot these rifles comfortable is to upgrade all of the rifle stocks to longer lengths. I put on various rifle stocks on my SKS rifles, MAK90s and Romanian and Bulgarian AK styles weapons. I told some of my students that when choosing a Primary rifle or Carbine for Defensive training, don’t hesitate to customize the weapon to your personal comfort. Put the rifle buttstock on your rifle that you feel comfortable with and make sure you measure your length of pull. Many of those AK style weapons are too short for us taller types but it is possible to get longer rifle stocks that can get you closer to your comfort zone.
I must admit that I wasn’t into the idea of needing a semi-auto 22LR. The 22lr isn’t an effective defensive round and really mostly a plinking and training round. A bolt action with iron sights is still the best configuration for learning how to shoot. It teaches aiming and trigger control, but i think the Ruger 10/22 is still a fun gun to shoot with. There seems to a lot of big kids that like to shoot the 10/22 and there’s nothing wrong with a kid shooting them. I have a friend that put a heavy barrel on his and it’s a tac driver.
I have to admit it, I am a Mini 14 enthusiast. The Mini 14 has served me well and I always respected and understood the design limitations. The more I involve myself with the shooting world, the more I just sit back and observe gun owners and watch their skills with the firearms they choose to use. Gunboard squabble will never end when it comes to one gun over the other, but there is nothing wrong with modifying a less expensive semi-auto gun and using it as a defensive weapon.
There area a lot of good upgrades one can do to a firearm, a fighting rifle should be customized to fit an operator. Advanced Technology makes some quick and easy upgrades for your shotgun or carbine that can give you better grip or balance. Shotgun shell holders on the buttstock or riding side saddle is a practical tactical upgrade you can do on your remington 870. The fiberforce stock for the MAK90 is a way to legally get around some firearm bans and are a big step up compared to the stupid thumbhole stocks. Attach a rifle sling that fits yoru purpose from Blue Force Gear, they come in 1 point, 2 point and 3 point attachements. Minor firearm modifications make need to be done to attache rifle slings, but do some research on various rifle sling configurations to see what works for you.