My Rifle

The Great California Rifle Scare of 2013 had me scrambling to buy up all the rifles I thought I would want for the rest of my life. Go get them, my wife said, and I did. The scare turned out to be a lot of hot air, but I ended up with a gun safe, and rifles to fill it.

I walked into the store, hoping to pick up a Saiga 7.62, having had a good experience with an SKS years ago, but those were impossible to find, I was told. So instead, I bought something else I had researched, the AR7. It's a Henry Survival Rifle that breaks down and fits into the stock, along with three, seven round magazines (it comes with two).

The Henry works and all, but it's not something I get excited to shoot, due to how the barrel is off center and it's a pain to clean. You shoot it by not just putting your cheek on the stock, but rolling it half way over. It's an odd duck. It's also picky on the ammo, requiring just a couple brands to avoid jams. CCI Mini Mags are what I buy. Hope you can find Mini Mags in your survival situation. I would have bought a Ruger 10/22 Takedown model, if I could do it again. Oh, and when I went to pick up the Henry, the Saiga was on the gun store wall. Timing.

Next came the rifle I still consider my go-to rifle, you know, for the zombie apocalypse, or whatever other coded phrase you might want to use to refer to killing rampaging people you wish to dehumanize. My Mini 14 ranch rifle is chambered in .223/5.56, works every time, and is devoid of such things as "bullet buttons" and other restrictions. It's featureless. It has iron sights... made of plastic. It sits in the safe with a bunch of loaded 10-round magazines, as a comforting reminder whenever I have a problem with the AR. It's ok. The real rifle is in the safe. Have fun with your toy.

I built the next two rifles at the same time, with expert help. I've got an AR in .22 LR and one in 5.56. I also have another lower hanging around for any potential projects. The .22 LR has a 16" CMMG upper receiver, with an M4 flat top, and a Stag lower. It's got  Mag Pul furniture, along with a Raddlock bullet button, Falcon magazine well cover and a Hogue grip. The rear sight is a Daniel Defense A1.5. It's also got a Badger Tactical Latch and a KNS Precision non-rotating pin kit, since I had problems with the pins on the other AR, which I'll get to.

The .22 LR initially had a lot of feed problems until I bought a Better-Mag adapter to use Smith & Wesson magazines. I had to ditch all my Black Dog magazines. Since then it has been flawless, except for the usual issues with the occasional dud .22 round. It eats anything, unlike my AR7, which requires hot load, CCI Mini Mags. It shoots straight, unlike the conversion kit my friend bought for his AR in 5.56.  It's one of the most expensive ways to build a .22, but in theory, you're getting a lot of AR training, with lower ammo costs. As it turns out, I really just prefer to shoot the other, real, AR.

Finally, my main gun, the no compromise (or few compromise) rifle is my AR in 5.56. This was a "best of breed" build, at least what I could learn on the Internet and from friends with more experience. It's just now starting to work properly, all the problems ironed out.

It's got a Spikes Tactical lower receiver, again with the KNS pin kit. The upper is Bravo Company: BFH 16" Mid Length (Light Weight) Upper Receiver Group with Centurion Arms C4 12" Handguard. The folding sights are Troy Industries M4 front and DOA rear. The Mag Pul furniture is a bit upgraded, with a STR stock with an enhanced rubber butt pad extension. It has a Hogue pistol grip, a Falcon magazine well cover, and a Raddlock and Badger latch like the .22. The Raddlock is expensive for a bullet button, but it can be turned into a magazine release with a screwdriver. That's ideal for training out of state or when the law is overturned.

The bolt carrier group had serious problems starting out.  It would jam hard in the rifle and would take considerable force to open the bolt. The rifle didn't work at all on the initial build. The Fail Zero nickel boron BCG just would not work with the Bravo Company Upper, but it took a while to figure out. I sent the upper back to Bravo to check out, and they sent it back, saying all was well.  I eventually replaced it with a standard Bravo BCG. The Fail Zero sits in my spare parts box. I should probably contact them, but at the moment, I'm enjoying a working rifle.

The problems with the BCG were ongoing until replacing it, and when that was resolved, I had another problem. The fire group pins walked out at the range, disabling the trigger. It wasn't a fun time, but eventually it all got resolved with the KNS kit.

To top off the rifle, literally, I bought a very nice Trijicon ACOG 1.5x16 (TA44SG-10) sight that's ideal for pinking at 50 yards, attached to a Quick Detach Larue LT105 ACOG mount. It's pricey but cool. What else? I had a Mag Pul AFG (Angled Fore Grip) that I dropped because it was interfering with bench shooting. I'll likely buy a snubby grip later, if I take tactical classes. I haven't put on the La Rue sling yet, again, because I'm not training with one. Finally, I painted in the lowers, which I like with the safeties, but wouldn't do again for the logos.

The future: I've got a generic AR lower that I'll one day build into something, either a super budget rifle or something off the wall in a hard to find caliber. Just because. I also plan to buy a .308 rifle, either an off the shelf bolt action rifle or an AR-10 build. I haven't decided.

5.56 Reloads at 50 yards using the 1.5x ACOG.