Semi Auto Rifle Advice

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  • JTC3400

    Member
    Nov 14, 2017
    5
    Hi, I recently moved to Southern MD for my job (contractor at Pax River)

    I am looking to purchase a semi auto rifle for home defense/SHTF/fun at the range.

    My choices are limited by the insane laws here, but seeing whats legal and not out of stock everywhere, here are my choices:

    1) M10X Pros: Gets excellent reviews, kinda unique, not a "me too" rifle, very accurate for 7.62X39, can use AK mags, tests show it as reliable, 7.62X39 is cheaper than 5.56 and hits harder. Cons: Not cheap, gets great reviews but isn't long term proven, and its a "grey area" in legal. The M10X Elite is listed as "not banned" but the M10X-Z, which is the one I want, is not listed. The FFls near me will not order guns that aren't listed as "Not Banned"

    2) SLR106F: Pros: Very good reviews, long term tests proven. Its listed as "not banned" very clearly. AK reliability, though I hear its slightly down simply because I read 5.56 can jam more easily than 7.62X39. Cons: The exact model I want is sold out everywhere. If I want one that can mount a scope I need to pay a gun smith to mount a rail. Magazine situation sucks, its either a lame 5 round or a $45 30 round Bulgarian mag and I hear although its legal to have a 30 round mag here (can have it but not buy it... how does that make sense?) Some ranges don't like 30 round mags.

    3) X95: Pros Gets very good reviews, and I like bullpups, I loved firing the AUG. It is reliable and cycles cheap ammo without trouble. It can use M4 mags. It comes ready with all the rails I could need and I hear the sites it comes with are quite good. I saw a review where the guy said he fired 2000 rounds without cleaning and it was working fine. Cons: Most expensive of the bunch, the best deal I can find is $1599 at Atlantic Firearms. This seems to be another "grey area" gun. They make a restricted state model, but the FFLs near me will not order a rifle unless it says "not banned" on the MDSP page.

    4) Some AR-15 with an HBAR. Pros: AR-15 has a huge range of choices from $500-$2500 rifles... tons of attachments, and being in the army for 5 years I am familiar with the M4. Cons: I was not impressed with the M4 in the army... damn thing jammed often clean and all the time when dirty. I was told not to judge it off a used and abused vault gun but it left a bad taste in my mouth..... besides that, its just kinda boring to me. Everyone has an AR15.

    I'd love to hear advice, or suggestions on other rifles that are legal, reliable, and fun to shoot.
     

    mopar92

    Official MDS Court Jester
    May 5, 2011
    9,513
    Taneytown
    Buy an AR 15. Its the most reliable of the rifles listed plus the terminal ballistics of even M193 are great at close range. (Avoid 855 it sucks) The other rifles are hard to get, hard to get parts for and have quirks. Buy an AR and enjoy a reliable accurate rifle that you can enjoy owning and later on look at other options for fun guns.
     

    gwoodburn

    Active Member
    Feb 9, 2012
    124
    Owings Mills, MD
    Buy an AR15.

    I agree, start with an AR-15.

    No matter what you choose, I would suggest visiting Gym Ratz in Mechanicsville. They have a huge presence on this forum and have had some of the best prices I've seen anywhere. The stuff I see from that shop on here kinda makes me wish i still lived down in the county... kinda.
     

    Bountied

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 6, 2012
    6,878
    Pasadena
    Bren 805. Have you thought about a 9mm AR? They are fun to shoot, and make a pretty good home defense carbine.
     

    TheOriginalMexicanBob

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 2, 2017
    32,151
    Sun City West, AZ
    Yes...an AR-15 or M4 (an AR-15 carbine)...you might consider a M4 in a pistol caliber. While not a long range SHTF type of firearms, it's excellent for close-in home defense.

    Another thing to watch out for...once you own one AR-15/M4 you'll want another in a different configuration...and on and on.
     

    Biggfoot44

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 2, 2009
    32,877
    Let me rephrase your question for you :

    Do you have an all consuming desire to own an M10 , SLR, or X95 , so badly you have to have no matter what ? If so follow your heart's desire and take the efforts to track one down .

    If the question was open , and equally weighted , get an AR .

    And yes, by all means pay a visit to the friendly knowledgeable people , at the well stocked Gym Ratz , close to you .
     

    gwoodburn

    Active Member
    Feb 9, 2012
    124
    Owings Mills, MD
    Yes...an AR-15 or M4 (an AR-15 carbine)...you might consider a M4 in a pistol caliber. While not a long range SHTF type of firearms, it's excellent for close-in home defense.

    Another thing to watch out for...once you own one AR-15/M4 you'll want another in a different configuration...and on and on.

    Couldn't agree more! Before you know it, you are building them from scratch from parts left over from updating previous rifles. Then you want to upgrade that rifle so you buy more lowers to use those left over spare parts in. It's a never ending cycle.... so maybe in that case you don't want an AR-15
     

    alucard0822

    For great Justice
    Oct 29, 2007
    17,643
    PA
    I would say a "good" 16" MD legal AR15 is the way to go for an all-around defensive rifle, they can be extremely reliable given a proper build, not really comparable to used and abused rifles issued in harsh conditions with a random collection of mill'ish spec parts. AK variants are fun, but being they are going for more than decent AR's, just not worth it, AKs in alternate "MD legal" calibers tend to have issues with reliability and parts availability and cost, especially mags. The M10X does look cool, but it's pricey and doesn't have a lot out about it yet, might make for a fine 2nd rifle, but I wouldn't want to rely on a new design, or be stuck defenseless if it has to go back for warranty work or to fix proprietary parts, where most anyone has parts available for AR's locally. Same with the Tavor, cool rifle, but expensive, and proprietary. There is a reason a lot of us might have nice fancy collections, but rely on something simple, reliable, and extremely common for actual defensive use.
     

    HeatSeeker

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 18, 2012
    3,058
    Maryland
    I recently purchased an AR and for what you are describing in your OP(home defense/SHTF/fun at the range) that is what you want and need. After buying and shooting my AR I can't believe I waited so long.
     

    woodline

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 8, 2017
    1,947
    I spent 10 years in the Army, and came to trust and depend upon my M4. You do have to clean AR pattern rifles regularly (I suggest every 500-1000 rounds), but as a rule the sealed action survives austere environments as well or better than AKs. Lots of testing has shown that AKs can't handle foreign particles in the action as well as an AR. Both are great as long as you actually take care of them.

    The Tavor is battle proven and there are FFLs around me who sell Maryland legal versions. It is a fine choice if you just don't want an AR. I am left handed, and short of converting the Tavor to ejecting left, I can't say it's super fun to shoot for me. The features that make it Maryland legal somewhat negate it's handiness, though it is still a very short and handy rifle. Just heavy and replacement parts are expensive and harder to get than an AR (true of any non AR gun on your list).

    The 106 seems fine, but I hesitate to recommend a 5.56 AK variant that takes odd magazines for primary HD. Might consider a 5.45 variant instead just because it was designed to cycle in an AK action from the ground up. The M10 series seem like fine rifles, but they are new to the market. AKs are going to be a lot harder to repair than an AR.

    All of these non-AR guns seem like excellent rifles to add to a collection, but I'm not sure they are what I would use for home defense. Then again I have a paratrooper stock Vz58 as a backup HD gun, so I am not going to throw stones at another person's unique choices. Primarily I rely on a 16" AR15 loaded with Black Hills 50gr TSX. Which is another great feature of a 5.56 rifle: bullet/ammo selection is fantastic.

    FYI: Magazines of any capacity are legal to own in Maryland. Just can't buy anything larger than 10 round mags here, or have them shipped in.
     

    JTC3400

    Member
    Nov 14, 2017
    5
    Its a phased plasma rifle in the 40 watt range BTW. :cool:

    Ok so, everyone says AR15... which AR15? I CAN spend up to 2000 but I'd prefer not. I was told Ruger and Colt Expanse HB are a good legal mid range?
     

    Z_Man

    Ultimate Member
    May 23, 2014
    2,698
    Harford County
    i would get an AR, and i would take a trip north (from you) up three notch road to gym ratz nutrition. he usually has a few AR's with great pricing.
     

    alucard0822

    For great Justice
    Oct 29, 2007
    17,643
    PA
    Colt, LWRC, LMT, Daniel Defense, Noveske, plenty of good brands to choose from, with lots of choices in furniture, will usually come down to how far you want to drive, and what the shop has. Generally a long free-float handuard over a low-profile gas block handles better, and doesn't obstruct the view if you go with an optic. 16" HBAR (unless in an alternate caliber to keep MD legal) is probably the most popular, and versatile. Outside of that, furniture is mostly personal prefference, good brands don't need much to run well, and backed by top companies, they will fix any issues that arise. As far as mags, some ignorant folk might balk, but posession and use is 100% lawful, buy them out of state, then have fun, haven't seen any range in MD have an issue with "standard capacity" mags alone.
     

    Mark75H

    MD Wear&Carry Instructor
    Industry Partner
    MDS Supporter
    Sep 25, 2011
    17,172
    Outside the Gates
    Wow another post count #2 thread by a new member


    Hmmmmmmmm

    Black_Sabbath_-_Paranoid.jpg
     

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