RIFLES

… strength: greatest power and distance, a.k.a., muzzle-velocity and accuracy, you could hunt full grown elephants with big riffles

… weakness: potential to be too powerful in close quarters, high-powered bullets can travel a very long distance

… opportunity: perfect for hunting mammals, target practice, protection, and certain elements of warfare/battle

… threats: many popular semi-auto rifles are always under legal threat from ignorant and hypocritical politicians and agencies that they control

 Of the three most common types of firearms owned by American Citizens--the rifle covers the greatest distance, bullets expelled by most rifles travel at greater velocities with better accuracy than shotguns or pistols, with some exceptions. There are many different ‘types’ of rifles to consider too, the ‘type’ of rifle is referred to as the ‘action’, take the bolt-action rifle for example, you pull the bolt backward to rid the chamber of an empty casing that’s in the chamber of the barrel, then you lock the bolt into forward position to load a fresh new ‘round’ in the chamber, once the round is expelled/fired you repeat the process for any follow-up shots. There’s also lever-action rifles, you know, the kind mostly used in old western films; there are also single shot break-open actions, and semi-automatic rifles as well, they all use different mechanisms to trigger/fire live rounds, expel the empty casings/shells/brass, and finally to load new rounds… oh, there are different ‘operating systems’ that accomplish these tasks on semi-automatics, I’m only familiar with the gas-operated (pneumatic), or the spring powered blow-back (inertia driven) systems. Depending on muzzle-energy some rifles can have quite a ‘kick’ (equal but opposite reaction) on the user’s shoulder, a powerful and heavy bullet will wake you up in hurry, and possibly dissuade one from future use, unless you are using a riffle that has some sort of ‘shock-absorption’ recoil feature such as the buffer assembly in the E. Stoner ‘ArmaLite’ based operating system, the energy reducing spring greatly softens the kick as well as assisting the loading/chambering of the next round, it’s a brilliant engineering design to say the least, it effectively does two things with the use of one spring.

 No one… I repeat, NO ONE uses anything but semi-automatic rifles when competing in a 3-gun event, even if you’re nostalgic and really want to use a double-barrel shotgun, a revolver, and a lever-action rifle they make ‘Cowboy Competitions’ for you, they are sooo one-hundred years ago, but fun nonetheless. The world changes and mostly evolves, and so have firearms; which is probably why semi-automatic rifles rule the day… they can soften the blow to your shoulder, and save time from having to repeat the same loading/shooting/reloading motions for hours on end with the aide of ‘magazines’… if you were to take semi-automatic to the next level—the military level—then a full automatic machine gun is by far the most efficient for spraying targets, but they lack accuracy due to muzzle-rise, and they also consume too much ammunition in a hurry, fine if you are trying to hit moving targets and spending the tax-payer’s money like the military, but not so fine if you are on a limited income, because ammo isn’t cheap… what may seem like exhilarating fun to some folks is crazy expensive and not very useful to others, but machine guns are weapons of war, and that’s not what we are focused on for this article, we are focused on commonly-owned civilian firearms.

 I’ll tell you what, I’ll just level with you, I’m not going to talk about any other rifle or operating system other than the ArmaLite model 15, aka ‘AR-15’, because they are incredibly versatile/practical and cost efficient, and it’s what folks in 3-gun events use. AR-15s are used in three-gun events because they are logical and awesome and easy to shoot, which is probably why the armed forces use special militarlized versions of them today called M-16s, or M-4s, you could legally purchase one of those today for about fifteen to twenty-thousand US dollars or so, and a whole lot of paperwork, fees and waiting time, or you could just go to the Afghan e-bay and buy one of the one’s left behind by the Biden administration, but trust me when I say that machine guns such as those serve a very specific purpose in battle, but they aren’t the most practical firearms for civilian use other than the fun-factor… a consistent AR-15 with a decent crisp semi-auto trigger is plenty useful and fun for civilian shooters without the machine-gun nuances.

 The versatility of the AR-15 is brilliant, one of which is the ability for the user to change bullet type/size in less than a minute, in fact you have to buy multiple rifles to shoot different calibers in most other types of rifles, but not the good old AR-15… there are two pins that join an AR-15 upper-receiver to the lower-receiver, the user simply pushes the pins from one direction to the other direction and can change the top to another one that shoots another bullet size depending on the user’s wants and needs. Most AR-15s come from manufacturers chambered for the 5.56 NATO round, and once you buy that rifle you can purchase different upper receivers if you want to hunt something as small as a squirrel or rabbit, and within a minute you can change the configuration to be able to hunt adult bear. Here are a few examples of the various cartridges/bullets that you can shoot from a standard AR-15, listed from small to large:

 .22 LR: that’s right, the little .22s that boyscouts practice on can be fired from an AR-15 with a barrel/bolt/magazine change… the barrel, bolt, and magazine are the main parts that you change if you want modify your existing upper-receiver to shoot different bullets, personally speaking i believe that every gun owner should own at least one gun that fires 22lr, and i think it’s a no-brainer to build or buy an upper-receiver chambered in 22lr, they are cheap/economical rounds to practice and have fun with, and you can hunt small game with them too, they are not very loud compared to larger higher velocity rounds. The image and link below offer great components to base a solid 22lr dedicated upper:

 5.56 NATO:  Or .223 Win.  These rounds are easy to find and typically not very expensive. As far as hunting is concerned this is more of a coyote/wolf sized round, many states don’t allow you to use this sized round for deer, they want a larger bullet for that, but for a rancher that deals with coyotes this is probably your go-to round. This is the most popular round used by the US military, and anyone else that buys surplus, I’d prefer shooting heavier weighted .223 Win rounds for cleanliness and accuracy concerns (and better suited for reloading too), but the NATO rounds are sealed and can store longer under worse conditions. Consider an upper-receiver chambered in .223 Wylde for an AR that will handle the size and pressure of a 5.56 but in a chamber that is supposed to offer better accuracy which you typically get from .223 Winchester… 223 Winchester specific barrels should never be used to fire 5.56 NATO rounds, but the 223 WYLDE can fire both 5.56 and .223 safely and accurately:

 6mm ARC: this is the round for folks that like to shoot long distance, the ammo manufacturer that champions this round claims 1,000 yards long. Most other calibers you can get away with using non-magnifying sights to aim at your target, if you are going to make use of the distance potential of this round you should expect to buy a scope with some decent magnification. The rounds are relatively new, which makes them a bit hard to find, and top-dollar, which gives you good excuse to buy re-loading equipment and take that up as a hobby too… but if you like to shoot a long distance this one will really test your skills:

 .300 BLK: The ‘Three-hundred Blackout’ round fires bullets the same size and similar velocity as the old 30-30 lever-action rifles that were widely used by folks a few generations ago, and some folks still love them today. Thirty caliber high velocity bullets are considered ethical to harvest adult deer. You can buy different weight rounds that travel from sub-sonic velocities that are easier on your ears and more suitable for home protection; and you can easily find bullets engineered for hunting that travel a couple of thousand feet per second, perfect for deer sized animals. The .300 blk rounds were meant to use the same magazines as the 5.56 nato rounds, so for building your own .300 blk upper-receiver you only need the special size barrel and bolt, consider the image and like below:

 .458 SOCOM: the big-boy cartridge of the AR-world. Similar to other cartridges, this round was designed for certain military needs, but it probably has more useful civilian applications than it does military needs, it’s your large game round that you could harvest buffalo, moose, and bear. Similar to how the .300 blk is the semi-auto answer to the old 30-30 rounds, the .458 SOCOM is the modern-day semi-auto answer to the 45-70 cartridge used by North American big-game hunters. Similar to the .300 blk rounds, the .458 SOCOM comes in various bullet weights and designs, as well as velocities, they are a very versatile round. An AR-15 can be a pretty light-weight rifle, and it wouldn’t be a great chore to strap a .458 configuration over your shoulder in bear country. These rounds were also designed to use in standard AR-15 magazines, but certain designs work better than others, and they also recommend an upper receiver with a slightly larger ejection port for better reliability with these rounds:

 It’s worth noting that i have nothing to do with the company in the advertisement-looking pictures and links, no one pays me for anything, but i’ve been a satisfied customer of theirs for years now. AR-15s are incredibly accurate, economical, versatile and much less scary than angry liberal politicians and their cult followers decry… they have been safely used by millions of citizens for several decades now… ‘America’s Rifle’ is not a ‘weapon of war’ like many angry, fear-mongering DNC-type liberal/ignorant politicians preach whenever their strategists deem it’s time throw a tantrum… in fact, bolt-action rifles have been used by US Military snipers for over a hundred years now, and angry liberals aren’t calling them ‘weapons of war’, that’s simply a phrase for fools created by fools, so let’s move on past rifles…

PISTOLS

… strength: the most concealable and light-weight firearms

… weakness: these are the shortest distance shooters in the firearm line-up, you can’t accurately shoot very far with most pistols

… opportunity: great for personal defense/protection in public places as well as the woods

… threats: if it’s magazine-fed you can count on ignorant and hypocritical politicians doing their very bestest to outlaw them too.

 Semi-automatic pistols are the only type that folks use in 3-gun events, but there are other types of handguns too, revolvers are the other other most popular type. I could go on an on about various semi-auto pistols, but over the years i’ve become sort of a ‘Glock guy’, mostly for cost and reliability considerations, and they are more accurate than their critics comprehend. Since this post is more or less an apologetic for AR-15s, and that there is plenty of civilian usefulness for ARs, i’m not going to get in a whole lot of detail about pistols and shotguns really. But here’s what you should consider when shopping for your very own, it should NOT be a caliber/mm that you can’t physically control well, and have difficulty hitting targets with, a gun range with a decent pro-shop ought to have various calibers and pistols to try, you want one that you feel confident with, and enjoy shooting… don’t buy something big if you can’t control it.

 Since I have an appreciation for Glocks, i’ll mention that—similar to changing upper receivers on the AR platform—you can change the ‘slides’ on and off Glocks very quickly, and with slightly different magazines and barrels you can go from shooting .357 Sig bullets, to .40 S&W bullets, to 9mm bullets in under a minute. I have an appreciation for versatility of simply changing a few simple/accessible parts, and be able to shoot a different cartridge. Besides 22-caliber, 9mm is the most common and easy to find rounds in the USA. 9mm is a very controllable round without a lot of kick-back, and they are adequate for self defense with proper ammunition, I wouldn’t want to be stuck with only 9mm in back country with large predators, but for self-defense in most public domain they are decent without being very heavy or bulky, and for sport-shooting they are not very expensive compared to other major/popular calibers.

 It doesn’t really matter what size caliber pistol that you buy, if it’s primarily for self-defense then consider the largest caliber that you feel comfortable shooting fifty to a hundred rounds per range session, if .22 magnum or .22 lr is all that you can honestly handle then by all means get yourself a good reliable one, but you should be extra-picky about what rounds that you use for self-defense, they ought to be high-velocity or better, and i wouldn’t expect one single shot in stopping an approaching threat, you might have to empty your whole magazine to stop a threat with little .22 LRs.

 Some manufacturers make very ergonomic and comfortable handguns (H & K P30 and VP-series pistols), others don’t (Glock). I don’t love the feel of Glocks, but they are comfortable enough, and I can control them very well for hundreds of rounds at a range session and not regret it afterwards… remember, price, reliability, and simplicity to maintain are the biggest factors that keep me going back to Glock, but they are not the most comfortable grip and trigger guard combination for everyone’s hands. Just make sure you find one that feels good, has a decent reputation for reliability, and you can shoot pretty well… eventually you are going to have to clean it too, so make sure that you have a basic understanding of ‘taking it down’, or ‘stripping’ the receivers so you can clean the parts that need it, YouTube is a great resource for learning how to disassemble and clean your firearms. That’s it, it’s all that I want to say about pistols, simple enough.

SHOTGUNS

… strength: modern shotguns can shoot huge bullets/slugs for large animals, and various size pellets for smaller game

… weakness: n/a

… opportunity: great for personal and property defense, as well as hunting almost anything large and small

… threats: if it’s magazine-fed and hold’s more than a few shells you can count on ignorant and hypocritical politicians doing their best to outlaw them too.

 Semi-auto shotguns are the only types that folks in three-gun event really use, but pump-action, and break-open designs are widely bought and used by many people today. Semi-autos offer the fastest follow-up shots, so if you want to consider home, property, and life protection then a semi-auto with the largest magazine capacity that you can legally buy is probably your best option, never assume that you’d be subjected to only intruder at a time, many deviants pack together to victimize others so you might have to fend-off a group of intruders. Many shotguns are designed to swap various length and types of barrels, I love a reliable gun that is versatile like swapping barrels, my buddy swears by his Browning A-5 as a versatile soft-shooting semi-automatic 12-g, and I won’t disagree with him. I personally love a Benelli M-4 for defense and sport, they are a gas-operated system with a great sight-picture and ergonomics. For hunting considerations you want to consider a shotgun that has various chokes for the most versatility, if you can swap the smooth-bored barrel for a rifled one then you can humanely harvest very large animals at greater distances with appropriate ammo.

 I’m not much of a shotgun guy really, so i won’t go on about the usefulness of them, I’ve harvested some large game with them in the past, but don’t shoot them very much anymore since the pump-gun that i have is pretty harsh on my old shoulder, and purchasing a softer-shooting semi-auto is a financial pipe-dream at this season in my life. My apologies if I didn’t provide enough decent introductory information on shotguns, they are the firearm type that i have the least amount of experience with, but know that the usefulness of such a tool is hard to measure, as you can harvest almost anything that flies or runs with the big ‘scatter gun’.  It’s safe to assume that you require a shotgun, they are often big and heavy, but exceedingly useful.

… in closing, please consider investing in the extremely versatile, accurate, and relatively inexpensive AR-15 at your earliest convenience… and while you’re at it, a decent simple reliable high-capacity magazine-fed semi-auto pistol as well… and lastly, don’t forget about the big-bore scatter-gun… to be stuck without any of these incredibly useful tools would be irresponsible, unless you live in a DNC-run ‘safe-space’, where unicorns and fairies occupy your dreams, but predators roam your streets/environment.  Those who choose to live in reality should make sure that they can protect themselves and close family members, and put some protein on the table as well… God Bless. — ct

References

* Luke 22:36 - He (Jesus) said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.

** Types of firearms include, but are not limited to: pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun, receiver, frame, and firearms that are neither handguns nor long guns (rifles or shotguns), such as firearms having a pistol grip that expel a shotgun shell (pistol grip firearm) or NFA firearms (machinegun, silencer, short-barreled shotgun, short barreled rifle, destructive device, or “any other weapon”)

Good resource: https://www.prageru.com/video/why-americans-are-buying-guns 

Thanks for reading, buy your guns before liberal fools disarm America…