Possible first time buyer... need input.

[cstone]

Mosin-Nagant for a truly old school military weapon.

Before you choose a rifle, decide on what you want to do with it. Distance to target. Availability of ammunition and magazines. If you go AR, you should build your own lower and shop for a complete upper. Good luck finding one. Anything you find will be over priced or on a waiting list.

Do you already have a good semi-auto .22lr rifle? For the money, these are the best all around shooting you can find. Good luck finding ammunition.

[Blockhead]

I don't know about getting an "assault rifle" but highly recommend every shooter be introduced to and own "the greatest battle implement ever devised", i.e., the M-1 Garand. $625 plus $24.95 S&H from the CMP -- may cost you an additional $25 to join the Garand Collectors Association or other club (CO AR-15 is apparently a registered club with the CMP but I've never received any "proof of membership" I could send them).

The CMP will also sell you Greek surplus .30-06 ammunition (steel core, packaged loose in steel .30 caliber ammo cans) for $98 plus $11.95 S&H or new manufacture Hornady .30-06 for $230 plus $9.95 S&H per case of 200 rounds or $425 plus $19.95 S&H per case of 500 rounds.

You've got a picture of Clint as your avatar, get the rifle he held in "Gran Torino".

Great advice. Hearing that "ping" will bring a smile to anyone's face.

[jackthewall81]

What do you want to do with your weapon?

[jackthewall81]

Great advice. Hearing that "ping" will bring a smile to anyone's face.

That is the one rifle I need more than anything in the world. An M1 Garand. Wouldn't mind a m1 carbine either...

[Fmedges]

That is the one rifle I need more than anything in the world. An M1 Garand. Wouldn't mind a m1 carbine either...

I love my garand, but my carbine is a very very close second. It might not have the same stopping power, but damn is it fun.

[rockhound]

just before the true banic stared i sourced parts for a RRA 9mm, carbine,

for a true newbie a 9mm might be a nice start, ammo is getting harder to find, but is still cheaper than 223 and there are a few online that are not too badly priced. I lucked out and got top of the line for normal pricing, but i just made it. the parts are no longer available from RRA (at least for now)

it is a shorter range weapon, but for defense or plinking it would work, coupled with a tactical 10/22 a nice range of weapons that wont kill the pocketbook

[Great-Kazoo]

Haven't seen one question addressed, what price range for a GTG AR you looking to stay in?

[Dingo]

I am thinking of buying an "Assault" rifle. I have never owned one and reading the post on here I get so confused... uppers... downers... lowers... barbiturates… opiates… etc... LOL
Ez

I think it comes down to personal preference in what you intend to do with it eventually. My opinion (JUST MY OPINION... LET'S NOT START A FLAME WAR) is the following:

AK-47 - is very unlikely to ever break/jam/wear out to unshootability. They have an excellent reputation for reliability under adverse conditions (humidity, sand, not being cleaned for thousands of rounds). And replacement parts are still cheap, even if the guns themselves are currently overpriced. The downside is that you will never get great accuracy from an AK chambered in standard 7.63x39. The round and the gun itself do not lend themselves to match-accuracy. In today's panic market, expect to pay between $900-$1500.

AR-15 - I've owned two (Bushmaster Dissipator and a Rock River m4) and sold both due to reliability issues. They need to be cleaned/lubed frequently to stay reliable, some are questionable with steel-cased ammo, and it's a matter of when, not if, the bolt wears out. I've heard different numbers on round counts for that happening. The upside is, if you get a reliable one, the accuracy potential is incredible, particularly with some easy mods like getting a free-floating handguard (just a handguard that doesn't contact the barrel). They're also like "Lego guns" in that your average person can easily modify/replace/upgrade every part on them, without being a gunsmith. Price today: between $1200-$3000

SKS - lots of people go this route for a budget gun. They typically fire the same round that an AK does, and it is possible to modify them to accept hi-cap AK mags. Some of them come ready-made to a use AK mags from the factory. They're not as light and portable as a typical AK, (due to the wood stock, heavier receiver) and typically have sub-par accuracy. I've owned several of these over the years and never had any reliability issues. They're just not my gun of choice. Plus, if you're bony like me - the steel plate one the buttstock necessitates a recoil pad of some sort. Your clavicle will thank you, even with a relatively low-recoil round like 7.62x39. Price: $400-800.

If I had to make a choice between all three for a "do-everything" gun, I would grab an AK-74. It's an AK-47 chambered in a round which is similar to the 5.56 (What most AR-15's shoot), but is vastly cheaper. You get the benefit of a lighter/faster round, which is purported to do excellent tissue damage (I couldn't qualify that - haven't had to shoot anybody yet. :-) from the reports in Afghanistan, and is VASTLY cheaper than 90% of the rifle ammo out there. (1080 rounds can still be had for $250ish). The downside is that most of the ammo is corrosive, meaning that if you don't clean it in between shoots, it can degrade the internals/barrel of your gun. A simple spray-down with Windex after shooting will neutralize this problem.

[josh7328]

Man you have bad AR luck. I've owned 3 for many years and thousands of rounds with only 1 malfunction. I broke an extractor on a 6.8. All of mine were lower end guns too. DPMS, CMMG, and Olympic Arms. I had an uber reliable SKS once too, but the AR's accuracy spoiled me and I sold it.

I think it comes down to personal preference in what you intend to do with it eventually. My opinion (JUST MY OPINION... LET'S NOT START A FLAME WAR) is the following:

AK-47 - is very unlikely to ever break/jam/wear out to unshootability. They have an excellent reputation for reliability under adverse conditions (humidity, sand, not being cleaned for thousands of rounds). And replacement parts are still cheap, even if the guns themselves are currently overpriced. The downside is that you will never get great accuracy from an AK chambered in standard 7.63x39. The round and the gun itself do not lend themselves to match-accuracy. In today's panic market, expect to pay between $900-$1500.

AR-15 - I've owned two (Bushmaster Dissipator and a Rock River m4) and sold both due to reliability issues. They need to be cleaned/lubed frequently to stay reliable, some are questionable with steel-cased ammo, and it's a matter of when, not if, the bolt wears out. I've heard different numbers on round counts for that happening. The upside is, if you get a reliable one, the accuracy potential is incredible, particularly with some easy mods like getting a free-floating handguard (just a handguard that doesn't contact the barrel). They're also like "Lego guns" in that your average person can easily modify/replace/upgrade every part on them, without being a gunsmith. Price today: between $1200-$3000

SKS - lots of people go this route for a budget gun. They typically fire the same round that an AK does, and it is possible to modify them to accept hi-cap AK mags. Some of them come ready-made to a use AK mags from the factory. They're not as light and portable as a typical AK, (due to the wood stock, heavier receiver) and typically have sub-par accuracy. I've owned several of these over the years and never had any reliability issues. They're just not my gun of choice. Plus, if you're bony like me - the steel plate one the buttstock necessitates a recoil pad of some sort. Your clavicle will thank you, even with a relatively low-recoil round like 7.62x39. Price: $400-800.

[ezgoinrob]

I think it comes down to personal preference in what you intend to do with it eventually. My opinion (JUST MY OPINION... LET'S NOT START A FLAME WAR) is the following:

AK-47 - is very unlikely to ever break/jam/wear out to unshootability. They have an excellent reputation for reliability under adverse conditions (humidity, sand, not being cleaned for thousands of rounds). And replacement parts are still cheap, even if the guns themselves are currently overpriced. The downside is that you will never get great accuracy from an AK chambered in standard 7.63x39. The round and the gun itself do not lend themselves to match-accuracy. In today's panic market, expect to pay between $900-$1500.

AR-15 - I've owned two (Bushmaster Dissipator and a Rock River m4) and sold both due to reliability issues. They need to be cleaned/lubed frequently to stay reliable, some are questionable with steel-cased ammo, and it's a matter of when, not if, the bolt wears out. I've heard different numbers on round counts for that happening. The upside is, if you get a reliable one, the accuracy potential is incredible, particularly with some easy mods like getting a free-floating handguard (just a handguard that doesn't contact the barrel). They're also like "Lego guns" in that your average person can easily modify/replace/upgrade every part on them, without being a gunsmith. Price today: between $1200-$3000

SKS - lots of people go this route for a budget gun. They typically fire the same round that an AK does, and it is possible to modify them to accept hi-cap AK mags. Some of them come ready-made to a use AK mags from the factory. They're not as light and portable as a typical AK, (due to the wood stock, heavier receiver) and typically have sub-par accuracy. I've owned several of these over the years and never had any reliability issues. They're just not my gun of choice. Plus, if you're bony like me - the steel plate one the buttstock necessitates a recoil pad of some sort. Your clavicle will thank you, even with a relatively low-recoil round like 7.62x39. Price: $400-800.

If I had to make a choice between all three for a "do-everything" gun, I would grab an AK-74. It's an AK-47 chambered in a round which is similar to the 5.56 (What most AR-15's shoot), but is vastly cheaper. You get the benefit of a lighter/faster round, which is purported to do excellent tissue damage (I couldn't qualify that - haven't had to shoot anybody yet. :-) from the reports in Afghanistan, and is VASTLY cheaper than 90% of the rifle ammo out there. (1080 rounds can still be had for $250ish). The downside is that most of the ammo is corrosive, meaning that if you don't clean it in between shoots, it can degrade the internals/barrel of your gun. A simple spray-down with Windex after shooting will neutralize this problem.

Thanks Dingo.. this is the kind of info I was after.
I had no real restrictions just wanted to know more about each so I can make an informed decision.
I am kinda leaning towards an AK47. But as you all have said and after researching they are going for at least 3X what they were before the election.
I understand Ammo is hard to get right now but I am sure in time that will ease... or I hope at least. Plus they arent really wanting to ban ammo just weapons so I was wanting to get one before the ban happens (if it even does).