My first "Black Gun"

[Ripsnort]

I get that, but both have their virtues. The first semiauto rifle I ever bought was a Chinese Simonov with both a milled receiver and a chromed barrel. I bought a couple thousand rounds of Chinese AP Ammo in these big sardine tins at the same time. It was really cheap and cheerful and you can literally put hundreds of rounds through it, get it dirty, roll it in the mud and it will keep working. You can buy 30 rounders for it or even drums, or, if you like, use the ten round strip per clips. 7.62x39 is lighter than 7.62x51 nato and more stable than .223, if not more lethal.

Later, I added weapons, A LaFrance FN, a bushmaster h-bar, etc, but eventually I made myself buy a folding stock milled receiver Bulgarian AKS. If I had to have 1rifle, that would be the one. It's light, lethal, reliable, surprisingly accurate, and it doesn't have a creepy Chinese trigger or lots of difficult little parts to lose like the second piston in the Simonov or the little pins in the AR bolt and carrier assembly or the little adhpjustable gas block on the big FN. I wouldn't mind finding a nice Valmet in '51 or '39, just to get truly western build quality in an AK design. The only drawback, imj: no hold back on the carrier.

PJ, Nef collects SKS rifles. Probably the biggest collector that I personally know of these rifles.

[Rich46yo]

In 1967 "perfection" was found in the M16A1. Shooting 55grn projectiles at over 3100 fps out of 20" barrels it had devastating performance on bad guys. It was reliable and easy to shoot, and very accurate out to practical ranges. So why would I change that? Mine started off life as an Armalite with a 16" tube and after a few adjustments it was brought up to A1 spec with an A1 barrel and forearm, just like the Black Rifle of my youth.


I did however bow to modernity by attaching a collapsible stock to make it easier to get it in and out of a vehicle.

[DaveBB]

The best "black gun" is one that can reliably shoot 5.56mm at muzzle velocities over 3000fps.  Heckler and Koch HK416 is probably the best at this.  It has been offered on the civilian market for some time now.  And coincidentally, it is the weapon used to kill Bin Laden.

[Ripsnort]

In 1967 "perfection" was found in the M16A1. Shooting 55grn projectiles at over 3100 fps out of 20" barrels it had devastating performance on bad guys. It was reliable and easy to shoot, and very accurate out to practical ranges. So why would I change that? Mine started off life as an Armalite with a 16" tube and after a few adjustments it was brought up to A1 spec with an A1 barrel and forearm, just like the Black Rifle of my youth.
(Image removed from quote.)

I did however bow to modernity by attaching a collapsible stock to make it easier to get it in and out of a vehicle.
(Image removed from quote.)

Nice rifle. I was stalking the used pre-ban Colts but it was tough finding one under $1000. I missed a Rock Island Auction on one by a measly $50 in April(They post "Prices Realized" after the auction) 

[Rino]

     H&K stuff is nice but rather expensive IMHO.  I was looking at Colts, but decided to go with
a Windham Weaponry carbine instead.  I liked the backstory of how the former owner of
Bushmaster decided to go back in business after the 5 year non-competition agreement when
he sold to Freedom group.

     I have absolutely no complaints whatsoever.  Nice gun, about $850 I think.  I wanted a fairly
plain jane M-4 type..so I went with the MPC.



https://www.windhamweaponry.com/

[Slash27]

After much debate between going pure entry level (Smith and Wesson MP15, DMPS Oracle AR15) or mid-level entry (Colt LE6920) I decided to go with the latter!
Not sure if it's a "Deal" or not, blue book says a 100% (NIB) is $995 so I assume I got it for just a tad under ($835 with shipping, my FFL guy charges me nothing).

Flame me or claim me, did I do okay? I hope black guns don't become an addiction, I already have plenty of long gun antique and pistol addictions.

Here are the details:
Brand New, in the Box, Colt Defense LE-6920 AR-15 Carbine. Matte Black Anodized 7075-T6 Forged Receiver, 16.1" Chrome Lined M4 Style Barrel with 1-7 Twist, A2 Flash Hider, M4 Hand guards, Mil-Spec 4 position Adjustable Stock, Mil-Spec Pistol Grip, Flip Up Rear Sight, A2 Front Sight Post, H Buffer, Colt Bolt Carrier Group, 30+1 Capacity, Overall length of 32-35.5" with a weight of 5.95lbs. Comes with 1 (30rd) Magazine and Lock.

Got 4 more 30 Magpul Pmag 3rd gen on the way. Should be about 7-10 days before it arrives. Pic upon arrival!

Are black guns addicting?

Solid buy. Those 1-7 twist like the 62gr ammo and as far as an optic check out the Aimpoint PRO. Hard to beat the price and quality plus the battery life is insane.

[Ripsnort]

Solid buy. Those 1-7 twist like the 62gr ammo and as far as an optic check out the Aimpoint PRO. Hard to beat the price and quality plus the battery life is insane.

RINO, nice piece. Heard nothing but good about those in researching.

Slash, Aimpoints are on my radar, matter of fact at the top.
For now, I'm just going to practice with iron sites. I've never used a scope for hunting in my life, or plinking. I equate it to 'cheating' But now that I'm old, I understand the need for scopes. 

[FX1]

Rip, try out a red dot asap. All of my rifles and most of my pistol dont have iron sight. Today's optics and battery life allow for a dot that is always turned on. It will make you into a better shooter and allow you to keep both eyes open. Also in low light its a must. With a flashlight iron sight will blur out but a red dot will still have a perfect round dot in front of your face.

We pig hunt at night and if someone shows up with just iron sight i will quickly hand them another gun.

[Slash27]

RINO, nice piece. Heard nothing but good about those in researching.

Slash, Aimpoints are on my radar, matter of fact at the top.
For now, I'm just going to practice with iron sites. I've never used a scope for hunting in my life, or plinking. I equate it to 'cheating' But now that I'm old, I understand the need for scopes. 

Don't fight it!

[Rino]

     I remember thinking after I bought my first 17" monitor, "I'll never need anything bigger than
that."  Then I bought a 19, thought the same thing.  Then a 22", now I have a 25".  I'm not
even bothering to think I won't need anything larger anymore    I'm 53 now, and the eyes just
ain't what they used to be.  Search your feelings Rip, go to the Dark Side 

[WaffenVW]

Just wanted to add that the lower velocity and lethality of the carbine barrel lengths can be compensated for by using expanding/frangible ammunition. Illegal for the armed forces but perfectly legal for civilians (mostly). Has the added benefit of reducing the risk of over penetration, which is important in a home defense application.

[Ripsnort]

Just wanted to add that the lower velocity and lethality of the carbine barrel lengths can be compensated for by using expanding/frangible ammunition. Illegal for the armed forces but perfectly legal for civilians (mostly). Has the added benefit of reducing the risk of over penetration, which is important in a home defense application.

Good to know.
This one won't be home defense, there are 4 other weapons-types that are ahead of it for home defense. This will be for target and varmints in Montana when I visit my brother.

[colmbo]

Very first thing, is give it a good going over and cleaning.  Lubing it properly is something many skip, and then have issues if they run the rifle hard (like 3 or 400 rapid rounds hard sort of work/training).  Good video on AR15 lubrication -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzVr7JXVxH4  .  A lot of guys will clean their AR, but not lube it very well, there are a few important places you NEED to have proper lube, lots of products, but the Walmart hi temp bearing grease as in the vid has always worked best IMO.  8:30 or so, most important part of the vid/lubrication starts there, but watch the whole thing if you haven't taken one apart before.

I have to wonder how well the grease works in cold weather.  I'm not talking 40 degrees, sub freezing and sub zero weather is what I mean by cold.  As a paratrooper here in Alaska we learned that if it's really cold the gun won't work if heavily lubed.  Of course I'm talking about the days of LSA.

[Ripsnort]

So, my plans are to use this initially as a 100-200 yard paper cutter, not a tactical.
I'm keeping my eyes open in the local pawn shops/gun stores for a good used scope.

I have my eye a new Vortex Optics Crossfire II 1-4x24mm Riflescope with V-Brite Reticle but then again, I keep looking at the Leupold VX series, not sure how I'd justify that cost to the CFO of the household though.

[FX1]

I am a huge vortex fan these days. If your just range shooting take a look at a 3x9. For paper shooting groups my 1x4 wasn't cutting it.