Subj : information on guns > Assuming you wanted a weapon for sniping at invading Lizard > Men (with their scaly, armored hides) that was also > practical for bringing home lunch after the Lizard Men > leave (too bad they wrecked most of the industrial > capability of the country), what weapon would you choose? 1st choice, H&K 91, FN/FAL, M1A.(all.308) Then any semi- .308 or 30-06. Get about 2K rounds and mags if you get the semi. 2nd choice. SKS or AK variant. Cheap, not as accurate, but servicible get LOTS of ammo, it's cheap also. 3rd choice, any .223 semi(except mini-14) with lots of ammo and mags. > Someone (you?) noted that most good rifles are more accurate > than their operators, so I guess this is not a major > concern for most people? Well, I prefer scopes on any rifle I hunt with. The military versions all have handy detachable scopes, but I would feel confident in tackling a shot at 600-1000 yd with a .308 if I HAD too. Subj : information on guns > Thanks for the info. A while back someone was aking about the weapons > of choice for a personal arsenal. He got excellent, specific > suggestions (dutifully copied to my harddisk) for pistols and > shotguns, but I didn't see any definitive advice on rifles. > Assuming you wanted a weapon for sniping at invading Lizard Men (with > their scaly, armored hides) that was also practical for bringing home > lunch after the Lizard Men leave (too bad they wrecked most of the > industrial capability of the country), what weapon would you choose? > Someone (you?) noted that most good rifles are more accurate than > their operators, so I guess this is not a major concern for most > people? About the only thing that will meet your criteria would be a battle rifle in .308 or .30-06, or a foreign equivalent like .303 or 8mm. It would be best to come up with at least around $300-$400 for a Garnad, since it is semi-auto. There may still be a few FN-49's around in 8mm for less. In the $1k-$2k range you could pick up an HK91 or FNFAL semi-auto with larger magazine capacity for the Lizard Men. You might get by temporarly on an SKS for $100, but it has limited sniping range. However, it will bring down medium & large game. The last ditch attempt would be a bolt action army rifle, like the British .303 or the Mauser 8mm. It would be fine for game & long range sniping, except if you snipe at multiple personnel you had better run like hell for the woods after the first or 2nd shot! Subj : information on guns > Assuming you wanted a weapon for sniping at invading Lizard Men > (with their scaly, armored hides) that was also practical for > bringing home lunch after the Lizard Men leave (too bad they > wrecked most of the industrial capability of the country), what > weapon would you choose? > Someone (you?) noted that most good rifles are more accurate than > their operators, so I guess this is not a major concern for most > people? The best all around rifle for a north american IMO is a bolt action .30-'06 with a Mauser type action. Some explanation is in order. A mauser type action is extremely strong. The bolt locks to the receiver with two large lugs in the front. The bolt handle itself makes up a large safety lug if you should somehow manage to blow out the front of your bolt. Case failure gasses are ducted through the bottom of the bolt and may blow out the bottom of the magazine, but should not come back in your face. The mauser is a controlled feed action. In other words it does not depend on gravity for an assist. Each cartridge is retained by mechanical action during the entire feeding cycle. The extractor - which is a large claw that also helps act as a bolt guide - grabs the rim of the cartridge before it is released from the magazine lips. A mauser will feed in any position including upside down. The large extractor will pull out a fairly badly stuck case without pulling through the rim. Ejection is via a solid stationary metal arm that acts through a slot in the bolt. Force of ejection depends on how hard you bring the bolt back. So you can ease the case out into your hand or toss it well clear by banging the bolt back against the stop. Hard to break and easy to replace. For contrast, the Rem 700 uses a spring loaded plunger for and ejector. Throws each case the same distance, but no way to vary ejection. The extractor is a small bit of rivited on metal and a nuisance to replace. The pre-64 Winchester model 70, a few of the current model 70s, the Dakota, and only a few other rifles have these features in common with the common, military surplus Mauser military model. There are a LOT of mausers on the market either as originals or converted to 06. 1929 through 1931 BRNO manufacture have a mystiqe about them as to best quality steel and most hand fitting done. Anything German made up to the very end of the war runs from excellent to OK in quality. Look for DWM as a good name. The south american large ring actions are generally OK as long as you don't try to hot rod them. Subj : information on guns Some further explanation. The 88/93/95/96 Mauser are called the small ring. The part where the barrel screws in is the same diameter as the rest of the receiver. The bolt is flat on the bottom and cocks on closing. The action, although fairly strong, won't handle longer cartridges. Older actions date back to early smokeless powder days and should not be pushed. The 1898 model mauser is the large ring. The front of the receiver has an obvious step up to where the barrel screws in. The bolt is round on the bottom and has oval vent holes in the underside. The action is longer and will handle most full length cartrides (.30-'06, 8x57mm, etc.). The 98 was produced as a military action into the early 60s. There are so many variations that there are books on just that rifle. My favorite of the commercial mausers is the Interarms Mark X long action. Importation is spotty now. Popular calibers are still fairly available. I have one with a Bell and Carlson synthetic stock - more servicable in South Carolina humidity. Barrel is a thin, sporter taper. Scope mount and rings are Redfield. Scope is a 3-9 x 40mm Simmons (only rifle I own with a variable power scope). Off the bench this rifle will put 4 into about 1" with factory ammo. It will punch 3 shot cloverleafs from a machine rest with the right handload. This is at 100 yards. The thin barrel tends to heat up quickly and drops to about 2MOA after 3-4 shots. Still well within the limits for hunting accuracy. Subj : information on guns > Assuming you wanted a weapon for sniping at invading Lizard Men (with their > scaly, armored hides) that was also practical for bringing home lunch after > the Lizard Men leave (too bad they wrecked most of the industrial capability > of the country), what weapon would you choose? > Someone (you?) noted that most good rifles are more accurate than their > operators, so I guess this is not a major concern for most people? I'm not the expert that Terry is but I just love to give my opinion :+) Go for the .308 Winchester, aka 7.62 NATO. Get a modern, military semi-auto to shoot it like the FN-FAL, M1A, BM-59, or H&K-91. All these have 20 rd. box magazines. All are deadly and accurate beyond 600 meters. I killed a bull moose with one. The bullet is underpowered for bear but as a compromise, I think it's the best. Most western Armies also think it's the best - must be a reason.