Can you legally purchase a rifle if...

[3rdgenfan]

...you have a misdemeanor or two on your criminal record?

I would like to purchase something to use for targets and whatnot.

Was looking at an AK47 or an AR15, and there is an ungodly difference in pricing between the two, so I would like to know.

[Spyral]

No felony, no care. Trust me.

[Scurvy]

1st I wouldn't purchase a AK or an AR as your first weapon.

Get a cheap .22 rifle for plinking

As far as the criminal record, a felony is what will preclude you from legally purchasing a firearm

[Laguna]

Misdemeanor's depend on what they were for. If they were severe or for weapon issues, then no.

[nesikachad]

...you have a misdemeanor or two on your criminal record?

I would like to purchase something to use for targets and whatnot.

Was looking at an AK47 or an AR15, and there is an ungodly difference in pricing between the two, so I would like to know.


I've been a gunmaker for almost ten years so I think I can answer this semi intelligently.

Obvious things like felony convictions disqualify you. Any felony.

Some things not so obvious:

ANY domestic violence convictions also disqualify you.

Even give the perception that you can't control yourself and you'll find that you will spend great deals of your time working only to spend your money on court appointed therapists who get to decide on whether or not you are a threat. You don't even have to hit your wife or kids, just give the perception that you might and you can find yourself in this boat.


Any misdemeanor violent crime conviction can also disqualify you if it falls under domestic somehow. Assaults, etc. . .

Restraining orders also disqualify you. In some states you are in violation of the law if you even apply to purchase a firearm (fill out the 4473) if you have a restraining order. The restraining order does not have to be against you either. IF you go to the courthouse because your significant other has gone off the deep end and you want/need a restraining order, your rights to possess a firearm are also suspended for the duration of the restraining order.

It applies to both parties listed on the document.

The ONLY possible exception on this is when say two businesses are in litigation and one files a restraining order against the other. AGAIN, that is not cast in stone.

GET A LAWYER to be sure.

If you are in a divorce you need to be very VERY careful. Some states (Texas is one) automatically impose a temporary restraining order while the divorce is being settled regardless if the divorce is mutual and calm or violent.

This means no guns.
You can own, but you may NOT possess. Not in your house, car, person, work, etc. . .

Not until the divorce is finalized.

If you do and get caught, you are charged as a felon.

The NRA went to war with Texas over this a few years back. Went all the way to the 9th Circuit court and although some of it was appealed, some also stuck, so the smart thing here is DO YOUR HOMEWORK! It was a case regarding a medical Doctor who liked to bird hunt. He and his wife were splitting up and he was pulled over for a traffic violation. He flagged as having a restraining order against him and he was arrested and charged because he had shot guns in the vehicle.

He'd just returned from hunting.

Never been charged or convicted of anything beyond minor traffic offenses prior to this.

Restraining orders are touchy because they suspend a constitutional right without a charge, trial, and subsequent conviction by a jury.

It's literally one minute you have this right, the next minute you don't.
The due process assured to us as a birthright is lost here for some reason.

If you are really worried, your best bet is to go have a lawyer pull your history and be sure. This way you know before you attempt to buy.

Good luck.

[SK360]

good writeup nes....

and ak vs ar... i own both... and lets just say if the zombies invaded, im going for my AR.

[nesikachad]

Being in Iraq for the last 18 months and having the type of job I have here provides me with almost unlimited amounts of ammunition and access to a range twice a week.

I've shot AK and M-4 along with Dragonovs, SVD, RPK, PKM, and all sorts of other fancy three letter abbreviations.

I'm not an advocate for the M-16 platform. I don't care for them much personally. I think there are fundamental problems with them as a combat rifle.

Be that as it may, it has been my experience that they far outshine the performance of an AK 47 and its variants. AK's I've used are very sensitive to ammunition. Cheap stuff just doesn't work. Case head separations, ect. . .

Maybe that isn't the rifle's fault, but in a shoot out, it really doesn't matter. If it don't work, it don't work.

If you are going for simple plinking and want more bang for the buck, buy an AR-15. You'll find ammunition cheap and you'll get more fun per pound for sure.

It'll also hold retail value better for down the road should you ever want to sell it.

Good luck.

[Scurvy]

what about a HK g3?

Or an AUG

[HuggyBear]

If you are in a divorce you need to be very VERY careful. Some states (Texas is one) automatically impose a temporary restraining order while the divorce is being settled regardless if the divorce is mutual and calm or violent.

This means no guns.
You can own, but you may NOT possess. Not in your house, car, person, work, etc. . .

Not until the divorce is finalized.

If you do and get caught, you are charged as a felon.



When I went through my divorce 2 years ago my lawyer advised me to get rid of my guns. I took them all down to my Uncle's house and stored them in his huge gun safe. After the divorce was final, and she moved out, picked them back up.

[nesikachad]

what about a HK g3?

Or an AUG


Honestly, I don't know. By no means am I a gun expert. I don't follow magazines publications and I don't keep up with the latest and greatest from the big names.

I've worked in this trade as a builder/designer in custom bolt actions. That's what I do. Competitive, Sporting, and Sniper rifles. I'm in Iraq as a contractor to make some money so I can come home and start my own business.

Sorry I can't help or offer an opinion. I know HK to be a good company. I own a pistol manufactured by them. P226 in 9mm. Decent gun. Bit too big and "clunky" in my opinion, but if you want a high magazine cap 9mm its as good as any I guess.

That is about all I can offer.

Putting the guns in someone elses care during the divorce was a super smart idea. I've heard too many horror stories of divorce and what can and often does happen.

My personal gun collection was recently appraised at just over $80,000.00. Probably one reason why I'm still single. There can be a lot of risk in these decisions.

[Scurvy]

Sorry I can't help or offer an opinion. I know HK to be a good company. I own a pistol manufactured by them. P226 in 9mm. Decent gun. Bit too big and "clunky" in my opinion, but if you want a high magazine cap 9mm its as good as any I guess.



except the p226 is a Sig.

Sorry duder

[SK360]

Being in Iraq for the last 18 months and having the type of job I have here provides me with almost unlimited amounts of ammunition and access to a range twice a week.

I've shot AK and M-4 along with Dragonovs, SVD, RPK, PKM, and all sorts of other fancy three letter abbreviations.

I'm not an advocate for the M-16 platform. I don't care for them much personally. I think there are fundamental problems with them as a combat rifle.

Be that as it may, it has been my experience that they far outshine the performance of an AK 47 and its variants. AK's I've used are very sensitive to ammunition. Cheap stuff just doesn't work. Case head separations, ect. . .

Maybe that isn't the rifle's fault, but in a shoot out, it really doesn't matter. If it don't work, it don't work.

If you are going for simple plinking and want more bang for the buck, buy an AR-15. You'll find ammunition cheap and you'll get more fun per pound for sure.

It'll also hold retail value better for down the road should you ever want to sell it.

Good luck.

i have found the exact opposite in the civilian capacity of the weapons.

my AK shoots anything i throw at it... and i throw the worst garbage at it.... wolf 7.62x39 steel cased... it eats it right up

the AR on the other hand, i ran one magazine of wolf steel cased .223 through it, it was 10 degrees outside, and they just did not have the power to cycle the bolt enough to grab another round.

[nesikachad]

except the p226 is a Sig.

Sorry duder


See, perfect example of how ignorant I can be.

And I knew this one too.


BRAIN FART. Have to reset the hard drive.

Oops. . .

[Scurvy]

it's all good man. You're a rifle man, I'm a pistol man

[nesikachad]

i have found the exact opposite in the civilian capacity of the weapons.

my AK shoots anything i throw at it... and i throw the worst garbage at it.... wolf 7.62x39 steel cased... it eats it right up

the AR on the other hand, i ran one magazine of wolf steel cased .223 through it, it was 10 degrees outside, and they just did not have the power to cycle the bolt enough to grab another round.

Well, I can promise you this:

I just returned recently from a week long trip in Northern Iraq where I inspected, serviced and certified over 100 AK 47s. Out of this batch of guns, I cut up and destroyed 49 of them because of excessive headspace, bulged chambers, and failures to fire.

Last summer I spent two weeks in the same region teaching Kurdish thugs and farm boys how to shoot. The mid day temps climbed into the 140's. Ak's dropped like flies.

M-4's didn't.

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/nesikachad/ th_rambochad.jpg (http://s165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/nesikachad/ ?action=view&current=rambochad.flv)

Wolf steel case ammunition is not NATO ball. SAAMI (Sporting Arms Ammunition Manufacturer's Institute) rates .223 Remington civilian ammunition to 50,000 CUP (Copper Units of Pressure) 5.56 NATO (also 223 Remington for all practical purposes) is rated at 55,000 CUP.

It operates at a higher pressure.

Why?

Because direct gas operating systems require it. (M-16, AR-15, M-4, etc. . .)

Not surprising the el cheapo steel case wolf stuff didn't work.

Another reason that shit is horrible on semi autos is the steel case is coated with a thin layer of shellac. It'll begin to build in the chamber and then get sticky. Starts to cause malfunctions long before a brass case would.

[Scurvy]

wouldn't you think though that the AKs you encounter in the field were slapped together in a cave somewhere by someone who knows little about guns where as all the M4s are professionally assembled and maintained?

[nesikachad]

These AK's ranged from genuine Soviet mades, Egyptian, Saudi, Eastern Soviet Block, and Chinese.

The full gamut.

The M-4's are (now) all brand new Colts.

Prior to that I had old as hell Bushmasters XM-15's (just an M-4 made by BM) and M-16A4's produced by F/N.

I still say the AR's out performed the AK's and the old BM and F/N stuff I had were beat to piss real bad. Gas rings were missing. Gas tubes were cooked, barrels with throats just chewed to bits, etc. . .

Old, neglected rifles that had been hand me downs from the Marine Corps back at the start of the invasion.

Like I said, I'm not a huge fan of the M-4, but I think all this hype about AK's being unstoppable is bullshit. Seeing it in action in an abrasive enviornment like Iraq has shown me this over and over. I saw the same kind of thing back in 92 when I was a Marine deployed in Mogadishu, Somalia.

AK's don't do it for me.

[Scurvy]

Aks don't do it for me either


scalpel > butter knife

[nesikachad]

Scalpel: 308 Winchester
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/nesikachad/ DSC_0011.jpg
Bigger scalpel: 300-338 Lapua Magnum
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/nesikachad/ 300338LapuaHeavyVarmint.jpg
Really BIG scalpel: 338 Lapua Magnum set up for 300 grain bullets.
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/nesikachad/ DSC_00299.jpg

[Scurvy]

is the 338 lapua magnum round really all it's cracked up to be?

[SK360]

im not bashing the M4's at all, i love mine to death and its the best rifle i have/do own.... just saying my ak has never had a failure to fire or feed with garbage ammo.

[Midnight Goat]

i have found the exact opposite in the civilian capacity of the weapons.

my AK shoots anything i throw at it... and i throw the worst garbage at it.... wolf 7.62x39 steel cased... it eats it right up

the AR on the other hand, i ran one magazine of wolf steel cased .223 through it, it was 10 degrees outside, and they just did not have the power to cycle the bolt enough to grab another round.

The old wolf also had this red sealer around the bullets which caused the guns to gum up. The new polymer wolf is all I shoot. Have not had one ftf in 1000 rounds. The stuff is dirty as hell but its cheap and relatively accurate. Never was a big fan of the ak family.

HK I think is overrated at least with their g3 family of rifles, since thats the only gun I have experience with. Was not impressed by them at all. And the Aug I have not fired but is supposed to be a very nice rifle. Expensive as hell though.

[nesikachad]

No worries.

You are fortunate!

[nesikachad]

What I like in a semi auto high magazine capacity assault rifle is a true gas operating system. A piston, an operating rod, and a cylinder. Make the piston from inconnel or invar so it tolerates the heat and then hard chrome it so it'll run forever.

Yeah, it's more moving parts, but it does one thing that an M-4 doesn't. It puts the heat somewhere else like OUT IN FRONT where it doesn't matter so much.

I shoot the Department of State requal course at least six times a week. I'm one of the range master/instructors here in addition to being a gun plumber.

You run 3 magazines of 20 rounds through an M-4 in August and you cannot handle the rifle afterwards, it's just too damn hot. You have to lube the snot out of it to ensure it runs well. Now you have hot gas coming back to operate the system hitting oil. Your shooting eye pays the price by getting a nice dosage of stinging gas right in the cornea.

Sucks, cause now your all watered up and can't see for shit. Scores reflect this. My first strings will be solid 300's. I shoot cleans all the time. Later, they dip into the 290's. It's not me, it's the eye not being able to see. Glasses help, but when it's 147 degrees outside on white concrete and crushed gravel, you (me) sweat so much that it's hard to keep them on your face.

I do one thing very well. I sweat. I'm a fugging pig when it comes to sweating and being a stinky bastard at the end of the day.

A gas system would put all this out in front and save the shooter. It'd slow down the cyclic rate a bit which is not a bad thing on shoulder fired assault rifles and it'd get much of that carbon and junk OUT of the bolt/chamber area. Guns run cooler, cleaner, and the shooter is more comfortable and effective.

These are all good things in a firearm designed to kill lots of people.

[Scurvy]

I think the Sig 556 operates similar to this. I know you can actually pull the gas tube and piston out from the front of the rifle

Also:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heckler_%26_Koch_HK41 6

uses a piston instead of direct impingement

[SASCAT]

In a past life I was a 'Fitter-Armourer' for a commonwealth army. Basically, I am a machinist who specialized in weapons systems. I am factory certified in the repair of everything from 9mm pistols through to 155mm artillery pieces.....and EVERYTHING in between.

Going back to the guys original thread, he asks for a suitable rifle for use plinking targets and "whatnot"!!!

Neither the AK or M16 family of weapons is a good target rifle (okay there are specialist derivatives of each)....so it depends really on whether there is more target or more "whatnot".

Is this a first rifle purchase? If so, a small caliber rifle such as a .22 rimfire would be great. You can get a really solid target rifle for low dollars and the ammo is both plentiful and inexpensive.

What exactly is the 'whatnot"? This will influence greatly the choice of rifle type and caliber (e.g. bolt action vs semi auto, .22 vs .308, etc).

As far as the AUG goes, stay as far away from that piece of shit as you can...it is for boy wonders and posers. The army I served in had to perform 48 modifications to the design and material of construction before they even became semi-field worthy.

Also if the trigger bars are not setup correctly in an AUG they can fire even when set to safe due to the inherent flexing of plastic components.

The HK G3 is a decent 7.62mm (.308) rifle, but will be hideously expensive to purchase and god forbid you ever need a repair.

Without decent information on your purposes....I would suggest an AR15 rifle, and purchase a .22 rimfire conversion kit (less than $200) to get you in for cheap ammo practice. Once you want to go bigger, take out the conversion kit (easily done) and go to full caliber 5.56mm (.223)

[11 Bravo]

I'll take an AK over an M4 any day of the week. Especially in a sandy environment and in a situation where you actually shoot a bullet into another human being instead of a paper target. 5.56 has weak knock down power. Look at a body with a 7.62 exit wound, then look at a 5.56 exit wound and tell me which round you would rather have in a firefight. AK's are very reliable if they are properly maintained. And the AA33 and A075 ammo we get isn't exactly the highest quality lol.

[MrYenko]

HK I think is overrated at least with their g3 family of rifles, since thats the only gun I have experience with. Was not impressed by them at all.

Its a typical piece of German engineering. Wonderful, even world class, when it's cleaned, maintained, and operated in good conditions.

Christ help you if you don't clean it, or it breaks though.

My view of ARs is unfavorable, and mirrors Nesikachad's. AKs are nice, but you cannot forget where and when they were designed. If you you want to fling 7.62x39 with a factory rifle, get an SKS.

As a matter of fact, to the OP, an SKS is an excellent first rifle. Russian or Czech. :)

Ammo is dirt cheap, and the action on an SKS will shoot freaking ANYTHING. It devours cases of wolf (dirty, gunky crap that it is) without a hiccup.

[Scurvy]

I'll take an AK over an M4 any day of the week. Especially in a sandy environment and in a situation where you actually shoot a bullet into another human being instead of a paper target. 5.56 has weak knock down power. Look at a body with a 7.62 exit wound, then look at a 5.56 exit wound and tell me which round you would rather have in a firefight. AK's are very reliable if they are properly maintained. And the AA33 and A075 ammo we get isn't exactly the highest quality lol.

Just hope and pray you never have to take aim over 200 yards if you really want the AK.