Exultate Justi

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Along the lines of my last silly post (below)

I've been remiss in failing to mention the new addition to the family arsenal:

Yep. I've finally got one. It's a vanilla-plain (but I like it) A2, 20" model chambered in 5.56mm, with a Bushy lower, and what I've learned to be a Colt upper. The barrel assembly is the standard chrome-lined Bushy 1-in-9", as well. It looks to have been assembled right before I bought it "used" via Auction Arms. I got a great deal on it, and, if it had ever been shot before I bought it, you sure could have fooled me. Absolutely pristine. I wanted something w/more bells & whistles, but the scratch wasn't there for it, and besides...the great strength of the AR is its modularity. I'll likely still snag a collapsible stock, just to have one, but as for the flattop? I like it, but I'm not likely to have the dough for any kind of optic at any point in the near future, so I might as well stick with, and learn the A2's excellent iron sights. I like the muzzle velocity on the 20" barrel, too, in relation to the more popular 16". There's a big difference out past 100 yds.

The AR joins my 1911 - a Series 1 Kimber Classic Custom in .45ACP (of course):

As well as my Remington 1100 in 12ga, and my Ruger 10/22 in, well, .22LR. I think that, barring some gift from the belevolent firearms gnomes of outer kapow-ville, I'm pretty much as stocked-up as I'm ever likely to be. I own guns for three specific reasons:

1. first off, I just enjoy shooting. I enjoy the challenge, the fact that I have to get outside, and the feeling of accomplishment that one gets from dusting a clay bird on the fly, or from punching the X ring at a significant distance.

2. Self/home defense. It really shouldn't be necessary to point this out, of course, but I - and not the police - am ultimately responsible for the safety and well-being of my family. Should someone break in, etc., it's nearly impossible to have police at your door inside of 5-7 minutes, unless you happen to live inside the precinct station. As for me? I'd rather not be helpless in the face of such a horrid - if remote - possibility.

3. Political expression. Yep. Especially with the AR - also known as my Evil Black Rifle. It's even got the flash hider and bayonet lug. Zounds! I own it because I can.

There are other reason, to be sure - ranging from the somewhat practical, to the downright silly, but these are the main points.

Now, given my four-gun collection, one might assume that I'll soon be one of those folk w/10 or 12 in the gun safe. Not so. Granted, if someone gave them to me...

My goal, all along, was to have guns that cover three main ranges - close-in, medium-, and long-distance. With the shotgun, I've got the close range stuff covered. With the pistol, I'm good to around 20 yards. With the AR, I can, thus far, hit a man-sized target at around 120yds. I wanted to have weapons with which I felt comfortable, that I knew well enough to strip and repair whatever might break, and that I could become reasonably proficient with. In these particular models, I've found my collection. Granted, the .22 doesn't fit in there, but it's just plain fun (and inexpensive), and it doesn't intimidate The Wife™ to shoot, so there's another bonus.

I don't need much (anything, really) else, because I don't hunt. This is where my pseudo-granola side comes into play. Dominion over creation? Sure...I'll buy that. Misuse of it? Not so much. I guess Id not call myself an environmentalist, perse, what with the ideological baggage that comes with that particular territory, but I would say that I'm something of a conservationist. That's another post for another day, though.

As I've said before, I'm not a fan, morally, of sport hunting. If you're OK with it, you have at it. Me? I don't like the notion of killing something just because I can. Doesn't sit right. If I'm gonna eat it? I'll take it. Given that I don't like venison, however, and I'm not too huge a fan of elk, I'll likely stick to clay birds and paper targets, though I might be convinced to give pheasant hunting a go (I like pheasant).

Now...if only I could afford ammo.

Labels: firearms, Second Amendment, shooting, wheee

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 4:11 PM |

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