I’ve got an itch to buy a new gun.
Why?
Because.
The question is… what?
Shotgun? No. What I have suits me fine. If I wanted anything in this realm, I’d want something with a short barrel, but that means a lot of tax stamps and paperwork, which I’m not in the mood for right now. Tho of course, that could be somewhat mitigated by a Kel-Tec KSG. But good luck getting one any time soon.
Rifle? No. I mean sure… building an AR would be fun. Yeah, tweaking my 6.8 AR would be useful. I’ve been tossing around some ideas for new optics but then I pull back because while yes there are better optics out there than what I have, for what I do the optics are more than sufficient. Yes the other days I started my yen again for that Savage 10FCM Scout, but I’m not dying for it. Of course, I’ve also always had a yen for the Kel-Tec RFB.
Handgun? Yes… this is where I’m really feeling it. But then, I’m not surprised as I’m mostly a handgun guy. That Kel-Tec PMR-30 is interesting to me… not sure if I’d want to buy one, but they’re not too expensive. I’m sure they’re a lot of fun, and I can’t help but be curious about them as a self-defense gun for some people (especially now that Speer is making Gold Dot .22 WMR). I did want to buy a 1911 this year; it’s one gun I don’t have but should have just because of what it is. If I bought, I’m pretty sure as a first I’d buy an STI Spartan. But I’m having second thoughts because I really only want one because I feel I should have one in my collection — it’s a 1911, and that’s all the reason why. But I’m not feeling that’s good enough a reason because it would be a total safe queen for me, or at best a teaching aid. Not a bad reason, but it gives me pause. Ever since the Chiappa Rhino was introduced, it intrigued me. A way to have a carry snub, that could perhaps make .357 Mag in a carry snub a viable option?? And talk about a teaching aid… I know that would be a huge hit at KR Training Basic Pistol 1 classes and probably any other class I brought it to. If it panned out to be solid and reliable, I certainly could see carrying it… and that nudges it up the “good waste of money” ladder.
Some of the local guys are toying around with the Smith & Wesson M&P more. Back when I was choosing a carry gun it came down to the Springfield XD or the Smith & Wesson M&P. The only reason I didn’t go with the M&P was because at the time it was brand new and who knew if it’d be solid or another S&W Sigma stinker. Well, turns out it’s one hell of a gun. I shoot well with it, there are a lot of good things about it… and so perhaps if I did buy something new, this would be the way to go. The thing to consider here is the cost isn’t just for a gun, but Apex trigger parts, a couple of IWB holsters, mag holster, lots of magazines (which apparently are pretty scarce right now), sending the slide to Dawson for sights… that jacks up the cost substantially.
Then there’s a part of me that says to be responsible and use that money on other things… like maybe putting Dawson Precision Charger sights on my carry guns, buying lots of springs and replacing every spring I have in guns and magazines. Or just not spending the money at all. But there’s no fun in that. 🙂
Wife is probably reading this… and probably thinking the “not spending it at all” is the right option. 😉
Are you thinking about any sort of purchase?
Stuff From Hsoi 
Save your money and start hitting gun shows. You never know what might catch your eye.
Well, I’m not just in a mood to “buy something”… there are some specific somethings that I want to buy. See above list.
But yeah… a gun show may be a fair way to do achieve it, or maybe even the only way.
I’d say 1911, and then M&P.
On the M&P front, they have a carry and range kit that comes with a holster, 3 mags, and some other stuff. It’s a little more than just an M&P, but if you were going to buy that stuff anyway it would more than make up the difference. I am wanting one myself.
Also, the sights are not that hard to do yourself. Couple whacks with a mallet and a brass punch and I had my rear sight off in minutes. (I couldn’t ever get my XD’s sights to budge.)
To be honest though, I’m still not sure the M&P has been totally debugged. Most of the early issues have been fixed, but there are reports of the infamous dead trigger even with the new sear block that was supposed to fix it.
Mine has been great though. I think I’m a little over 2000 rounds now since January, and I’m shooting it as well or better than my 1911’s and I never thought I would say that about a plastic gun. It’s a pretty easy gun to work on and customize, and the Apex parts turn a good gun into a great gun.
I’ve seen the range kit that comes with the M&P now… Blade-Tech, right? Thing is, I doubt I’d use any of that for carry so… it’s not a factor in my decision.
Cool about the sights. That’s a help.
Dead trigger… you know, that bothers me, especially for a gun I’d want to entrust my life to. However, a quick bit of Googling makes it seem like if I get a recent model M&P and put some Apex parts into it (at least their hard sear), I shouldn’t have a problem.
You do know that you can venture up to Dawson Precision (about a 40 minute drive from you) and they’ll install sights for you… for free… while you wait? 😉
Yes, I have a hankering for a new toy… I supposedly have an M&P coming from Smith (won it at the USPSA Nationals last year). What I’ve been wanting, though, is a bona fide sniper rifle, capable of being competitive at the various sniper competitions out to 1200-1300 meters. It’s not an inexpensive proposition to do it right (especially the glass), but it’s a cool area of shooting to learn a lot more about, and not something I’ve spent a lot of time on….
Yes I know. And if they’d let me shoot out of their super awesome indoor/outdoor range, I’d be giddy for a week. 🙂 Last time I was there tho, I had to leave the slide.. .they were busy. They’ve also done some really nice stuff, like one time I had to order nothing but some fiber for my front sight but it would have cost a bundle to ship it. So I called and whomever was on the phone (Kathy??) just put it into a regular stamped envelope and mailed it to me… we’re local, it was cheaper. I thought that was cool customer service.
I’m starting to lean towards the M&P. Like I said, it was my original preference, just didn’t have the track record. But now it does and there’s been much improvement. A couple KR Training guys (Karl, Justin, now Tom) have been doing a bunch of futzing with the M&P and I figure it’d about time I followed suit now that they’ve done all that R&D. 😉
Sniper rifle… yeah, I think the glass will cost you more than the rifle. 🙂 How about one of those GA Precision rifles?