Thoughts on refinishing a stock:

I have a pre-64 model 70 in 30-06 that my grandfather gave to me many years before he passed away. The gun is in really good functional shape and I took it hunting for a couple years before retiring it to the gun-safe. I just banged it around too much when out in the woods and decided I didn't want to make it worse.

I have zero intention of ever selling it. It has very little collector value (granddad took a metal engraving tool and put his DL # in very small numbers on the side of it ) The stock is in okay shape, but I would really like to see it totally refinished to make it look like new again. I know this kills collector value of the gun and many folks will say not to do it, but if I can make it look like a new gun again, I think it might be something worth doing.

What do you guys think? Don't do it? If I am going to do it, who would you recommend to refinish the stock in the Raleigh/Durham area (give or take a couple hours)?

8/22/2012 7:54:04 PM

do not do it. those scratches and dents tell a story. pass it on to your kids.

8/22/2012 8:29:11 PM

Please recommend my first pistol:

I want to buy a pistol for personal protection at home. I may get my conceal carry later on. Also, I plan to go to the local indoor shooting range. My experience so far with firearms is: shooting .410, 12-gauge, 20 gauge and ak-47, but no pistols. I do not own any firearms, only borrow from family members. I would like to keep the price under 700-800 at the top end. I would like to buy new but am open to used if it makes more sense.

[Edited on August 22, 2012 at 10:18 PM. Reason : .]

8/22/2012 10:09:59 PM

Glock 19

8/22/2012 10:13:31 PM

glock26

8/22/2012 10:14:26 PM

^^^ Home defense and concealed carry pistols are different animals. For HD I would get a full sized pistol in the caliber of your preference. Since you haven't shot pistols before I would go with something as simple as possible like a striker-fired without an external safety like a Glock 17/22, Smith & Wesson M&P 9/40, Springfield Armory XD, etc...

A concealed carry pistol is usually going to be something smaller and lighter than a full frame pistol.

[Edited on August 22, 2012 at 10:16 PM. Reason : needed more ^s]

8/22/2012 10:16:38 PM

a shotgun is much better for home defense. easier to purchase. easier to learn to shoot it well. a reliable shotgun is much cheaper than a reliable handgun.

i just can't think of a self defense situation in which i'd rather have a handgun than a shotgun with an 18" barrel.

if you want a handgun, that's cool and all, but don't justify it with home defense.

[Edited on August 22, 2012 at 10:21 PM. Reason : adsf]

[Edited on August 22, 2012 at 10:22 PM. Reason : also, i just ordered an RCBS chargemaster combo ]

8/22/2012 10:19:17 PM

I don't see the need to go all the way to a 17 when a 19 will do the job just as well and also has concealability. Yeah I don't enjoy ccing my 19 but with the right holster and belt it hides away pretty easily. I also like the way the 19 fits my hand better than the 17.

And yeah I would rather have my shotty given the choice but I would feel perfectly fine if all I had was my Glock.

[Edited on August 22, 2012 at 10:25 PM. Reason : Chargemaster combo is totally tits...so glad you convinced me of that]

[Edited on August 22, 2012 at 10:26 PM. Reason : Also, you could have a Glock 19 and a mossy 500 for the budget he is talking about ]

8/22/2012 10:24:44 PM

Oh boy, just what I needed.

More dumb shits on CSB asking for pistol permits to sell me a rifle.

8/23/2012 11:56:29 AM

^ It is a decent way to make sure you're not a felon.

^^ I know that not everyone likes the 17 over the 19. I like the extra capacity and the longer sight radius. Also, in my opinion at least, I don't really consider the 17 or the 19 concealable, so why not take the 17's advantages.

^^^ The maneuverability of a pistol over a shotgun is the only reason I might choose the pistol. Otherwise I agree with your points.

8/23/2012 12:11:48 PM

yeah a 17 is as concealable as my double stack 1911.

8/23/2012 12:20:49 PM

Just go with whatever fits your hand better. If you're planning on carrying it though, go with the 19.

8/23/2012 12:24:55 PM

XD9 or XD40

/suggestion from a non-glock person

8/23/2012 1:59:31 PM

^^^^ if you want the extra capacity just keep some g17 mags (or even a 33 rnd if you really want to). And a 19 is absolutely concealable, I used to do it all the time before I got my PM9. Unless you absolutely do not plan on ccing the gun I see no real reason to go with a 17.

8/23/2012 2:30:42 PM

Quote :

"It is a decent way to make sure you're not a felon."

it is not the seller's responsibility to ensure that the buyer is not a felon

i know a lot of folks who shoot long guns and have no interest in handguns. requiring them to jump through the ridiculous legal hoops of obtaining a HPP or CHP just to buy a long gun is pretty douchey.

[Edited on August 23, 2012 at 3:57 PM. Reason : dfas]

8/23/2012 3:55:58 PM

The fact that you need a permit to buy a pistol is douchy.

8/23/2012 5:17:50 PM

What's the best all-around... round....

my vote...
.308/7.62 nato

everything from

to

to

8/24/2012 9:42:15 AM

It is becoming time for me to get a new gun, I already have a Beretta M9 92SB. I'm either going to get a Ruger SR9C or a Smith & Wesson M&P Shield. I wanna get a gun that I can easily conceal since I have my CCW.

Anyone else got any recommendations?

8/24/2012 12:40:04 PM

Glock 26 since you're looking at 9mm - its a little thicker than the two you mention but still a great little pistol

and what about Kahr? PM9, CW9, etc

also heard great things about SIG but I have no 1st hand experience with them

8/24/2012 12:46:28 PM

Smith & Wesson M&P Shield is the hot new CC gun, if you can find one. They are pretty rare these days

8/24/2012 12:56:18 PM

I have called dibs on any M&P Shield in 9mm that may appear in the Raleigh metro area.

8/24/2012 1:53:51 PM

IMO Ruger = (personal preference...I like their wheel guns but that is it)

I have a Kahr PM9 and I absolutely love it. Got it used for like $550 but you can get a CW9 cheaper and it is essentially the same gun. There is the XD-S but that is only in .45.

8/24/2012 2:11:03 PM

I'd second the Glock 26 and add the M&P9c. Both are thicker than the Shield but you get higher capacity and mag interchangeability. I've had both and they're great guns. The 26 pretty much disappears. The 9c is slightly larger but is more comfortable. I put the Apex Tactical DCAEK in my 9c and it took the gun from nice to amazing. Pretty much the best striker-fired trigger I've ever felt. My edc is a Glock 19 now (I'm a big guy so it still conceals pretty easily) but I'd happily carry either again.

8/24/2012 6:30:10 PM

Quote :

"What's the best all-around... round.... my vote... .308/7.62 nato "

Without any definitions of "best" I'd say 357 mag because you can't easily shoot 308 Win out of a handgun.

308 is a great cartridge; I own a Tikka T3 Lite in 308. However, the 260 Rem (necked down 308) is better because of the really high ballistic coefficient bullets. You don't lose any bullet mass advantages until you get to the upper end of 308 loads but the high BC makes for much better downrange performance. The .26" bullet is just better balanced with the 308 case than .3" bullets or .24" bullets on the other end.
If "best" factors in availability then forget I said anything.

8/25/2012 1:54:20 AM

Or 6.5x55 swede, but it's long action

8/25/2012 9:30:15 AM

Ive always been under the impression that the .50 bmg has a ballistic coefficient so ideal that many use it as a benchmark.

And the .270 and 7mm are pretty slick in the air too. those two rounds maintain a lower and more linear bullet drop rate han any "standard" round I can think of. The 30 cal rounds have more mass of course and can deliver more energy on impact almost regardless of range, but I like the .270 for it's drop consistency and it takes a lot of the guesswork out of sighting them in. The comparative lightness of the bullet though, does make windage more of an issue, and learning to deal with that ,i believe, can make it an almost ideal round.

8/25/2012 3:01:07 PM

got my first real pistol today, springfield xd45

8/25/2012 3:43:22 PM

If we're talking about long-range rounds, I recently had an opportunity to read trace on a 6.5 Creedmoor and that bitch was like a laser.

The BC of .50 is awesome, however it's not a real multipurpose round.

.308 is a fairly do-all round. I've fired it out to 1000m. I've shot subsonic out of it at 300m and it was quiet as a pellet gun (with a can of course) and I've shot it full-auto out of all different types of platforms, and it's ubiquitous. It gets my vote; however as a true sniper round, it is not. It is a sniper round only in the sense that we built sniper guns back in the day around the rounds that were available, not specifically developed.

8/25/2012 6:59:55 PM

6.5 creedmoor doesn't offer anything that the .260 doesn't and some would even say that the creedmoor is a step back. .260 brass is easier to make from .308 and its other variants that are easy to find.

8/25/2012 8:07:46 PM

what about in terms of success in warfare or historical significance?

45/70 killing off the indians?

44/40 winning the west?

30/06 blasting nazis?

30/30 as the hunters bread and butter?

9mm as the genesis of modern automatic pistols?

8/25/2012 9:10:24 PM

7.62x39 has probably done more than any other military cartridge

8/25/2012 9:48:24 PM

shot the para 14-45 for the first time today... and seriously... either this gun makes it look easy or all those years playing videogames really helped my hand-eye coordination.

we were shooting the steel flip targets (5 black 5 white) each person has 10 rounds to turn them all to their color..... i won every set with 2 shutouts (through 150 rnds of .45 after sighting it in with the first 50 ( some jackass had the rear sight moved fully left and all the way up so the damned thing shot like a mile off when i started shooting)

but seriously its buttery smooth and i'm quick and on target with it.... shooting 5" steel @ 20yrds i was probably 95% on the 150 rounds and the misses were just trying to push it too fast.

i'm not saying my friends were like baller shooters... but for my first time shooting a pistol in 10 years and them going to the range every 3 weeks... i was pleased.

[Edited on August 25, 2012 at 11:45 PM. Reason : .]

8/25/2012 11:44:16 PM

Quote :

"30/30 as the hunters bread and butter?"

30/30 as a hunters bread and butter...hmm. I dont know about that one. The two i've had shot patterns like a stamped metal sks and really i think a finicky barrel rifling like the marlin micro grooving actually HELPS a round that fat and low powered.

Plus All the hunters I know *read: 90% of the men who live here* shoot either a 30.06 or a 243 (also a tackdriver) as their "go to" guns for deer.

Anything bigger than that, excluding bear hunters with .44 and > revolvers, they step it up to 7mm or 300 winchester magnums. I mean, you CAN hunt grizzly with a 30/30, but the wound/kill shot ratio can make a lot of animals suffer. Anything smaller than a .270 for an animal the size of an adult elk is just not enough penetration IMO. I think others feel the same

'course i may be talking out of my ass about the 30/30 because I know nothing about midwestern hunters and those that need something almost carbine sized with them to work around some of the mountainous regions of the country

And since i gave the .270 such a glowing review earlier I must say that reloading the rounds can be a huge hassle. The pressures needed keep the bullet spinning true can be difficult to nail down. Store bought ammo is actually a pretty nice substitute and do the job consistantly. But if you're loading your own looking for that one-hole five shot grouping and have your powder and seating and bullet recipies engraved in your loading habits, having to do something as simple as buying a new can of powder, same maker, brand and age, can throw a great deal of your data out the window. You can horde powder from the same production batch, and I advise this, but when it comes time to grab another can, my shots are all over the paper.

I've thought about moving to a flaked powder (think Unique) as the powder tends to settle in the casing more uniformly than rod and grain powders but CONSISTENT low pressure flake powder is a friggin bitch to find. Its almost like each can, no matter the batch is likely to degrade in the can enough to where flake sizes vary greatly and unacceptable amounts of it will break up like chips from a mishandled pringles can.
Towards the bottom of the canister you essentially get "dust", and it's GOING to be exposing more surface area to the prime ignition giving you a faster and thus higher pressure burn, throwing your bullets all over creation.
Rod extruded powders hold up much nicer, but from what I've heard, regulations are making it harder for them to get their ingredients from reliable suppliers and their burn rates take a hit.

Again, with heavier rounds these problems become negligible as the burn has more completely exhausted it's gasses (negating, somewhat, unpredictable burnrates) while still providing non-trivial gaseous propulsion to a heavier round that will still be inside the barrel a bit longer.And with larger calibers generally having thicker barrels, inconsistent barrel flex can be less of an issue

[Edited on August 26, 2012 at 3:25 AM. Reason : a]

8/26/2012 3:19:06 AM

P.S As far as i'm concerned there are no better revolvers on the planet than rugers. And I'm sure science has created a magical .22 rifle from some high end german company, but the ruger recoil operated rifles and MK .22 pistols are absolutely unbeatable in just about any category.

[Edited on August 26, 2012 at 4:06 AM. Reason : adf]

8/26/2012 4:05:27 AM

.270 is very easy to reload. somewhere around 59-60 grs of H4831 under the 130 gr pill of your choice. not difficult at all.

8/26/2012 7:58:47 AM

Gee I never thought of it that way! All is well

8/26/2012 11:54:32 AM

Walmart has FEDERAL 45 ACP for $30/ 100 ROUNDS

I haven't been able to find it any cheaper online even in 1000rnd bulk...

its crazy.

8/27/2012 9:17:00 AM

and it's probably the small primer variety, so save your brass and sell it to me

8/27/2012 10:29:01 AM

how out of round can the shell be on the bullet side... most of mine looked like 0 instead of O thanks to the para "power ejector"

8/27/2012 11:01:32 AM

for reloading?

it'd have to be mangled up pretty bad. yours are probably just fine.

these are reloadable: http://blog.robballen.com/images/Windows-Live-Writer/9af2bca76e56_1255C/image_2.png

these can be salvaged as well: http://s13.postimage.org/5y0154hiv/IMG_20120110_194225.jpg

[Edited on August 27, 2012 at 11:25 AM. Reason : fg]

8/27/2012 11:20:34 AM

then i'll save the .45 brass next time...
i chucked it this time.

8/27/2012 11:29:29 AM

^x5 it was 25.97 when they first put out the Federal value packs few weeks ago. it didn't take long for it to jump up to 29.97.

^x4 it the large pistol primer

8/27/2012 11:31:04 AM

i trade all the large primer .45 i pick up for small primer and i never have to swap priming assemblies on my 550

8/27/2012 11:36:06 AM

All set to buy a Sig P250 compact until I held it... Nowhere for my pinky, it's just hanging out in space down there. The search continues. Perhaps a full size P250 in 45 ACP

8/27/2012 4:09:10 PM

are there no extended mag options for it?

8/27/2012 4:35:22 PM

^^Have you actually shot a P250?
Do you like the trigger?
Most people love holding the P250, and greatly dislike shooting it.
It belongs with the NYPD as far as the trigger is concerned.

8/27/2012 4:59:46 PM

Cant wait to get my next Sig.

8/27/2012 5:00:42 PM

^^ Yep extremely long pull and reset.

8/27/2012 6:18:52 PM

Ended up getting this:



[Edited on August 27, 2012 at 7:21 PM. Reason : *]

8/27/2012 7:14:00 PM

I wonder how often this thread is visited by federal arms investigators... Just waiting for an admission to some small infraction they can exploit to use their brand new breaching gear.

8/28/2012 12:01:10 PM