Deerslayer_37

Ok, i have a question. I' m looking for a carbine size semi-auto rifle to get for just around the house. Whenever I walk back behind the house,(we live on 135 acres)I like to have a gun with me. Since my walks are too long to carry the heavy bull barreled .22-250 or even my mountain rifle .270 Win, I go without a gun. Seems everytime I do this, I see a coyote or oppossum or racoon just asking me to shoot them. As it' s not legal for me to carry a handgun until im 18, I would like to get something smaller than a long action rifle, but larger than a pistol.

I narrowed it down to two guns: M-1 carbine and SKS. The Ruger Mini-14' s and 30' s are too expensive for me at the moment(I need stuff for bowhunting yet). A guy at work told me to get a M-1 carbine. The SKS is more readily available, but is it as reliable? I know they' ve also got more wear, and a more ill-fitting stock(if I got one, I would restock it with a synthetic). So, should I opt for the SKS which has better power, or the M-1 carbine for it' s small size and large magazine???? Also, how much does an M-1 carbine cost roughly??? Under $300?

thanks,

slayer

Briman

You can still et unissued yugo SKS' s for well under $200 but they don' t have a chrome lined bore and are kind of heavy with the grenade launcher attachement. An M1 carbine is going to cost at least twice as much, but there is a manufacturer in Israel that is making new ones for about that price- IAI I think is the name of the company.

It was brought up on another thread, but you might want to look at a saiga rifle- they have an AK receiver built in a Russian arsenal and a light synthetic stock and come in a variety of small rifle calibers including .223 and 7.62x39. Best of all, they are a newly manufactured rifle that only costs around $160.

driftrider

I would suggest the SKS. I have one that is " sporterized" (read Klintoon friendly) SKS that has been parkerized in a medium grey with a olive drab composite stock fit for an American frame (SKS' s length of pull is pretty short, suitable to the Asian frame) with a recoil pad. Since it' s post ban the bayonette lug has been removed, so I can' t go on an all-to-common bayonette wielding rampage [][:@]!

Anyway, mine is accurate enough to take a shot out to 100 yards on a Coyote sized animal. Even with the el-cheapo $2/box Wolf JHP' s it' ll shoot inside of 6" at 100 yards most of the time. It certainly isn' t a tack-driving custom AR-15, so realize this before you get one and are disappointed. I' m going to try some slightly higher quality JSP ammo (Silver Bear) this weekend and see how it likes it. If it works out OK I might take the SKS out and try my hand at coyote calling.

Another nice thine about the SKS is that, at $2/box, it isn' t much more expensive to shoot than a .22LR, and a whole lot more fun. Makes a great plinkin' rifle.

Mike

Mark whiz

Do yourself a favor...................consider holding out for the new Beretta CX-4. It is a Bullpup design based on their semi-auto pistol frames. It will come in 9mm, .40S&W, and .45ACP and uses their exisiting pistol magazines.
These things are totally interchangeable for left & right hand shooters and you can add any combination of tactical equipment you might ever want.

VERY cool gun & will retail for less than $700. Check out Berettausa.com for all the details.

mauser06

i dont know much but i dont think you really want a pistol cartridge....they lack accuracy and power..may be fun to shoot and all...but it sounds like you want to do a little animal shooting too...an sks would be fine for just shooting whatever you want...and at 150 yds i hit steel plates easily freehand with one..the plat was probally 2 sq foot but thats free hand at 150yds dont forget..thats pretty good shooting when i wasnt really trying..i would send round after round..the first round wouldne be there yet and the second one was already fierd..i dont know where that one came from...it was pretty accurate for what it was...im sure it would be perfect for you unless you want real accuracy...i really cant think of any other good semi auto carbines much under 500 bucks or so...good luck....

8mm/06

I would tell you to get what you can afford and want...but I have a few SKS' s and they can be decent rifles. You have to read up on them and make sure you are buying one of the more reputable manufacured ones. I have a couple Chinese..one ios ok and the other is pretty bad. I have a Russian that looks like hell but shoots like a dream....and I have a Hungarian model that ios good.
they are easy to shoot and load...but require a little work to do a THOROUGH cleaning (the gas piston can get pretty snarled up with crud when shooting the cheaper corrosive ammo)
The SKS is going to be the most affordable of the 2 you mentioned. The M1 carbines are blast but don' t offer much poke and they are fairly pricey to get a decent one.

Deerslayer_37

Ok, thanks...I' ve opted to get neither of them...Looking into a Bushmaster or DPMS...guy at the gun shop talked up a storm, and i can get my dad to pay for 1/3 or 1/4 of the gun.

slayer

Big Ugly Bald Texan

I' d rethink it. It is hard to beat an SKS for a knockaround semi-auto. They are accurate, dependable and cheap. And that 7.62X39 round is plenty powerful. Using steel core Chicom surplus, I' ve shot through oilfield pipe... that means going through 1/4 inch steel TWICE.

akbound

Bushmasters are good guns for what they are, (AR wannabes), but are fairly pricey. Especially when compared to an SKS. And in my opinion the 7.62X39 is a better cartridge for up to medium size game than the .223 is. I spent 20 years in the U.S. Army Infantry and have had various AR15' s (okay, okay....M16' s)in my hands for quite a few years, and I am not knocking them. But it is terribly difficult to find a " better value" for the money than the SKS as a knock about or truck gun. They are dirt cheap, stone like reliable, acceptably accurate, and just plain tough. If you are interested in a rough use carbine, at a bargain price, the SKS can' t be beat. (Who cares if it doesn' t look as cool as the the Bushmaster?)

mlaubner

I have owned both the Bushy M-4gery and a Russian SKS.
The better value is the SKS. The more accurate is the M-4.
I could own 5-6 SKS' s for the price of the M-4.
It' s your money...you decide, but it' s my opinion that the group is giving good advice on this one with the SKS.
Try to get a pre-ban Chinese with a threaded(not press fit into the receiver) and a chrome lined barrel