1gewehr

Post the pictures and we'll give it a good try? If you haven't already looked here, it's a pretty good primer on the Rolling Block. Amazing service longevity from 1865 - 1918. Especially considering that it spanned from the muzzle-loading era into the smokeless repeating rifle era. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remington_Rolling_Block_rifle

The original AR10 was designed and built by the Armalite division of Fairchild Aircraft in the late '50's. production was moved to Artillerie Inrichtingen in Holland, About 8000 rifles were built in several configurations. The last and largest purchase was by Portugal to arm their paratroopers. These rifles were used to great effect in the wars in Angola and Mozambique until they ran out of spare parts and had to re-arm with the G3. Later Mark Westrom bought the Armalite name and the rights to manufacture .308 rifles. these rifles have no interchangeable parts with the original AR10s and use the AR15 fire control and modified M-14 magazines. This company still owns the rights to the name 'Armalite' and also 'AR-10'. Eventually, other companies started to produce .308 rifles using the Stoner system and features. While many shooters generically call these 'AR10's', they cannot have that name due to the Armalite copyright. The original Dutch-made AR10's are the only rifles that can claim non-Spec-Ops combat use as they were issued and used by soldiers in Central America, Africa, and a few even showed up in Vietnam, Typically the countries that had them quit using them when they wore out from use. MY AR10? It's a Portuguese model built on a semi-only receiver. Then only reason it doesn't go to the range with me every trip is the afore-mentioned shortage of spare parts. It's an amazing rifle!!!! http://www.ar10.nl/Portuguese.html What else do you want to know?

Keep in mind that early Colt AR15s are now C&R. Anything made in 1966 or earlier is a C&R. LOTS to choose from there!

Very nice pistols with a good trigger. Do not dry fire it. They break firing pins when you do. New-made firing pins are available, though.

Look all you like. It doesn't matter where you get your appetite as long as you go home for dinner!

There's been a good but of discussion about this ever since the first steel cased ammo showed up about 20 years ago. Usually with pistol ammo the problem is associated with two factors. First, steel cases don't expand like brass, so gas blows back down the side of the case because of a poor seal. Second, the ammo is pretty dirty. So you get a lot of powder residue building up in the chamber. It seems like the lower the chamber pressure, the worse the problem. I saw a lot more buildup of cr@p with .45 than with 9mm.

Hmmm, reminder to self: Don't type with my foot in my mouth. Doh.

What are you using for magazines? I've thought about a 10mm AR, but the lack of larger mags stopped me. I've heard that M3 Grease Gun mags work with 10mm. Anyone know for certain?

What about shooters with their own guns? Will there be spots on the line where we can shoot? Or this a spectator and rental event only?

I'd be inclined to go with a classic. American firearms from the 1920s through about 1970 were the finest quality mass production arms ever made. You really can't go wrong with a Colt revolver or 1911a1 or S&W revolver of that period. For outside the box, an early FN made Hi Power or WWII Luger might be a neat heirloom.

What does HE like? Really, what will he appreciate the most? Is he an experienced shooter? Then go with something in a useful caliber. Will he appreciate an heirloom? You might look at a really nice Colt Trooper III or S&W M66. But your first gun is something you will always remember. Mine was a No. 5 Lee Enfield .303 I bought in a Canadian hardware store for $40 when I was 16. I sold it when I moved back to the US as importing it wasn't worth it. But I soon bought another when I turned legal age in the US.

I would imagine that gunsmiths offering the conversion have figured out how to keep things from breaking by now. Just keep in mind that getting a 230gr bullet up past 1200fps and near 1000 ft/lbs requires living with sharp recoil, a heavy pistol, muzzle blast, compensator, hand loading ammo, etc. This is not a new concept. I believe it came out about 1998 or so.

I looked into this years ago. Ultimately decided against it. Lack of factory ammo, requirement for a muzzle compensator, and reports of cracked slides put me off it. I don't like compensators on carry guns as they emit a jet of flame, usually right into your line of sight. Bad idea in low-light situations. I have a full-size and commander-size 1911 in .400 Corbon. Not really in the same class, but I like a practical 600ft/lb handgun that you can actually carry and buy factory ammo. Just my .02.

Shoot, a little JB Weld and it will be good as new!! Seriously, Dillon has always treated me very well in spite of myself. I'll be very surprised if you they don't make it right very soon.

Favorites: Sig P210 (not a fan of Sig Sauer) CZ75, CZ75B Sterling SMG Colt 1911A1 High Standard Victor Spencer M1865 No.5 SMLE.303 AR-15

For Sasquatch, go with the .458. For anything else you're likely to find in TN, the 6.5 Grendel can handle it. There is inexpensive steel-case ammo for plinking, or really high quality ammo for getting out as far as you can shoot. With handloading, the variety of projectiles is staggering. BTW, I've got over 600rds of the 100gr steel-cased ammo through one of my rifles, and have been very happy with it. Very consistent for cheap ammo.

I absolutely LOVE the original Remington 51 .380! That made me curious when Remington announced the new 9mm. I'm glad I didn't waste my money two years ago. I'll wait a while before I look at the new release. Remington's quality has been so poor in the last several years that I'm still wary.

It's difficult to find a better carry .380 than the little Keltec P3AT and its copies. Get a pocket holster and it can be with you no matter what you wear (except a Speedo :-( ).

DPMS is selling .308 rifles under $1000. My first choice would be an FAL, but might be hard to do at your price. Probably some CETMEs still out there. Mags and parts are cheap.

SKS was common in VC hands. The reason is very simple. The Chinese had huge stocks of them, and were already upgrading their own troops to the AK. Likewise the US gave away massive amounts of WWII weapons during the '60s. The AK was pretty rare in VN until Tet. As time went on, more and more were seen, especially in the hands of NVA regulars.

There is a LOT of info on 6.5G ballistics. Look on ar15.com. There is a section on 6.5G. Lots of data on stickies. Likewise, at Alexander arms there is plenty of information. The 6.5G is superior to the 5.56 from comparable barrel lengths at any distance. The 6.5G and 6.8 are very similar in effectiveness. There are factory 6.5 loads that outshine the 6.8 at longer range, and 6.8 factory loads that are more effective from short barrels (14" and under).

Get an aluminum one. The plastic ones have had problems with the front takedown pin hole. As far as forged v cast v machined, who cares? The lower is not a stressed part on the AR. Perhaps one of these days I'll see a lower where that would have made a difference. In 35 years of shooting M16s and AR15s, I have yet to see a lower where one type was better than another except for appearance. For the price of the Aero lower, you can get two cheap ones. Shoot one and hide the other if it makes you feel better!

British ammo has a good reputation. I've still got a bunch of WWII .303. The POF was made in a plant the Brits built and is supposed to be decent, unlike their .308.

British SMLE normal fodder is 174gr FMJBT. PRVI ammo is the best bang for the buck these days.

Had production started here? Which models?