Johnny

The people that say there is no reason for a gun like that will most likely be the same people begging for the guy with the AK to protect them if SHTF. Imagine the look on their face when they are told "Kiss my ass".

I have some 7.62x39 mags from MTN and have no intention of destroying them. It's irritating when people make up laws, we have enough as it is. Maybe I will just have some mags sent to my buddies house in VT and when I go up to visit I can figure out a way to permanently set them to 15 rounds myself.

Info is much appreciated. I had no idea I could CCW up there, thats great to know. I actually travel through NY only for a short disatnce, across Tappan Zee and then into CT and Mass but I don't stop anywhere on the way when I go up there and definitely would not if I had my guns with me. I will certainly keep them locked in the trunk and unloaded if I take them. Until I cross the border into VT that is.

Does it work this way for Vermont too? I was planning to go visit a friend up there later this month and he shoots on his property. He said I should bring mine up to shoot. Handguns and rifles. Now I am hesitant. I wouldn't do it if it's a gray area or flat out wrong.

I picked up a S&W M&P 15-22 from Paul at Arms N Ammo a couple months back and I love it. I have probably put about 2k rounds through it (all bulk Blazer and Federal) and I have not had one single issue. The feel of the gun is great for me and I find it to be very accurate. Cleaning is a breeze. I would absolutely recommend it. I looked at other options but this was the best.

Me too. From what I can gather they have no serial # and thats how you get around using an FFL. This one also comes with a BATF approval letter. Whatever that means. http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=298348683

The 80%'s sold on gunbroker don't require an FFL. I am curious about the legality of this in NJ as well.

Many people buy firearms for protection. If the SHTF there would most likely be no way to buy ammo. Therefore stocking up is the common sense thing to do. Guns are nothing more than paperweights or hammers without ammo. Ammo would also be a great commodity to trade if things went bad. It's not like we are stockpiling coffins, the govt has that covered.

MTN Armory told me today that they have no AK74 mags in stock and he has no idea when he might get them. He said if you can find them you can have them shipped to him and he will pin them and send them out. It's an option but probably a pricey one. But this is all irrelevant anyway. I stopped in at Sarco in Easton today to see if they had 74 mags but they don't. I was told with a straight face that NJ has changed the law and it is totally ILLEGAL to posess a mag that holds more than 15 rounds even if it is permanently altered. In addition, any ones that I may posess should be turned in or destroyed right away. I just nodded and went on my way. I have no desire to argue NJ gun laws, especially with a guy from PA.

600 rounds for $98 or $93 as a club member. If you join the club ($29.99) they will ship it free and send you two $10 coupons. Steel cased 52 grain Full Metal Jacket (FMJ) steel core bullet Corrosive Non-reloadable Berdan primed. http://www.sportsman...px?a=309193&e=Y

Guns and owners just get a bad rap from alot of people. There are plenty of other things out there that can be very dangerous but you don't need a mental health check to obtain. How about alcohol? Someone can time and time again get caught driving drunk. Their license can be taken away (though in NJ a license is a PRIVILEGE and not a RIGHT like the 2A is supposed to be) but nobody stops them from buying alcohol. And taking their license often times doesn't stop them from driving anyway. Why is there no rush to ban alcohol sales to criminals or the mentally askew? It's all about the stigma. If there were a few politicains out there willing to start big misinformation campaings like they do with guns maybe they would get banned. Disclaimer: I in no way support any sort of ban on alcohol. Just using it as an example of a potentially extremely destructive product that is barely regulated in this country. I'm sure the national numbers on crimes committed by people under the influence of alcohol would be staggering.

Thanks for the reply. I see you have one in stock. I will start getting some funds together.

After doing the 7.62x39 conversion I have started to think about doing another. I am leaning towards a 5.45x39. Is there any difference in the conversion process as compared to the 7.62? Are all the necessary parts the same? I'm thinking wood furniture.

I am somewhat new to shooting and new to gun ownership. As I was waiting for my FID I knew at some point down the road I would want to get an AR. The feeling lasted for a while after getting my FID as well. However, I am not so sure I would want one now. I have fired a few different ones now at ranges. A Bushmaster, Colt and the third was a custom build which the guy said cost him around $1k to make. All three that I fired, as well as most others I have seen at ranges, have had issues. Be it misfires, FTF's or FTE's I have seen too many problems to trust my life to an AR. If your purpose is home defense you may want to look at other options as well. In my experience, though it is limited, I can't say I have seen an AR that went bang everytime as you stipulate. This is not meant to knock the AR or anyone that owns one (or more). People speak very highly of them and they are very capable weapons. But if I did have an AR and I had to make a quick choice between that and the Saiga I converted myself as a noob to defend myself I would grab the Saiga every time because I would be much more confident that it would "go bang". Although I would probably grab the .357 or 12 ga. before either of those. I heard that the shooter in Colorado had to drop his assault weapon and go with something else when it jammed (I'm glad his did, perhaps that spared a few lives). I'm not sure what kind it was but if I had to guess I would say AR15. I am far from an expert on this. Just wanted to share my limited experience around AR's. I'm sure there are much more knowledgable people here that would disagree with me but if I want a gun, or specifically a rifle, that goes bang everytime I would personally look at other options.

I was recently in a similar situation as well. I wanted the 686 but the cost was high and was thinking of going with a less expensive revolver. In the end I went with a 686. Just picked it up yesterday and I love it. Put about 40 rounds of .38 and 30 rounds of .357 through it and I liked it more and more after every shot I fired. If I had gone with a different gun I am convinced I would have been thinking about the 686 every time I fired it. The thought of that happening and my lack of faith in the stock market right now was all I needed to convince myself to spend the extra $ and get what I really wanted. My advice (for what it's worth) is to put the extra money together and get a real nice 686. I don't think you wil regret it but if you did for some reason you could probably get back close to what you paid. If you got a good deal to begin with.

That is standard to the American Series. Midway has a S&W unfluted cylinder assembly for the 686 for $132.99. http://www.midwayusa.com/product/739254/smith-and-wesson-cylinder-assembly-s-and-w-l-frame-model-686-unfluted

Finished the conversion on my Saiga 7.62x39 last week and finally got to the range with it today. Only issue I came home with was the trigger not always returning fully. On about half of the shots I fired I had to click the trigger back slightly. Anyone have any ideas what may be causing this? I used the Tapco G2 single hook. Other than that it worked great and I am very happy with it. The conversion was not hard at all. I just took my time and had patience. I followed the videos on CarolinaShooterSupply and a watched a few others on youtube. Also used this site http://www.cross-con...iga_Conversion/ as well as the search feature on the Saiga Forum. All the info you need to do this is out there if you look. I saw a basic converted Saiga in a store when I first started looking at them and I felt the price was pretty high. I ended up building it exactly as I WANTED and did it for about $150 less. At the time I was told it would cost alot more than that to build my own but I can now say it did not. In fact I can put that money towards about 750 rds.

I want to thank everyone for their input with this topic. After some serious thought I decided to get a S&W Model 686. I picked it up this afternoon and went straight to the range. I LOVE THIS GUN! I couldn't be happier with it. I honestly feel that if I went with a Taurus I wouldn't be this happy. I may have liked it very much but I would have been wishing I went with the S&W. I didn't want that to happen so I talked myself into the 686. This one is "The American Series".

I stopped in at The Heritage Guild in Branchburg today and checked out the 686. They had a 4" and a 6" and it reaffirmed my idea that I would want a 4". The gun felt GREAT in my hand. There was nothing about it that made me think I didn't really like it. It was the 686 Plus so it had a 7th round. New, they wanted $775. They also had a used 686 Plus for $625 but it had a 6" barrel. Maybe I will get lucky and win the Glock 19. If so it will go straight to the marketplace to get money towards a .357. Thank you to all for the input and helping me narrow down my options. Now I just need to fire one to be sure I want it. Aftert that I will start the looking process. Is $775 a decent price or could I do much better? I would certainly use the price request when I am ready. As far as buying used goes, it would have to be in the area of $200 less than new for me to really consider it. I have, and intend to continue to, take very good care of my guns. If I do get a .357 it wouldn't be used much and I would like it to hold good value in case I chose to sell it for some reason. It sounds like the 686 would be a good choice as long as it is good condition.

I like your comments about the 4" barrel. It makes good sense for my wants/needs. That's what I was leaning towards and I think I will keep it that way. It's good to know the L frame would be a better choice than a K. All of this helps me greatly in narrowing down my options. Looks like the 686 is an L frame. From what I can tell from the S&W site the 686 and 686 Plus are almost the same. The plus has an extra round and is a little under an ounce lighter. Any other differences? As far as new vs. used, what sort of price difference might I be looking at? Will there be some sort of S&W warranty on a used gun (if I go S&W that is) in case there was a problem? It didn't take me long to justify this purchase, I had myself at "investment". I would certainly go higher than my initial $400 limit to get what I want providing it atleast held most of its value. I have my doubts that stocks will at this point.

Well then I will exclude .38 alone as an option. I would be looking for a step up from a 9mm. I will do some serious looking into a S&W. The more I think of it I feel like money would be better invested in a good firearm than the stock market. I may look to use that permit before it runs out after all. RTSP's site say they rent the Ruger Nighthawk and S&W Highway Patrol both .357. Perhaps I will try them out tomorrow to get a feel for the .357. Know of any places that rent a 686?

Thanks for the heads up. But for a stack of cash that high I would probably go with an AR, S&W 686 and spend the rest on ammo.

As the primary purpose for this gun will be home defense I am also interested in how the .38 compares to a 9mm. I have a 92FS and if the .38 is a step down or a lateral move in oomph I would cross it off. The .357's ability to fire .38 would be a good plus for range time as I have found I like to go through rounds, but if I had a .357 I would keep it ready with that. If the .38 was a good step up I would still consider it. This purchase is one I feel I can take my time with. While I was quick to buy my Beretta (once I got my permit, first gun) it wasn't done without alot of research and trying it, and others, out. I don't feel as though I HAVE to use my permit. I can always apply for another before this one runs out. I understand that $400 probably won't get me what I want so saving and waiting is probably the way to go. That 686 is a beautiful gun. The reason I say 4" inches is that I definitely don't want anything less. Its not for carry and I want good accuracy to atleast 25 yrds. A longer barrel isn't out of the question and for all I know I would like that better. I haven't actually fired a .357 or .38 yet. I would be sure to try some before deciding on a purchase but I was just looking for good recommendations for where to start. I definitely got some good suggestions that helped me adjust my ideas of what I want so far.

Thank you for all the great replies. It seems like I can't go wrong with a Smith and Wesson and I was thinking that was the case. And I did mean stainless, I used the wrong term when I said chrome. Still new to this. While I have heard good things about Taurus I have also heard bad things. It sounds like the quality can be hit or miss and I would't want to take a chance. I will certainly consider the Ruger GP100 but probably focus more on looking at the S&W's. I would prefer a .357 over a .38 but I will not overlook the .38's. On the S&W site I see the 686 which was mentioned a few times. I also looked at the Model 64 and Model 15. All three have a 4" barrel which is at the top of my list for what I want. Any ideas what the cost difference would be between these three on the used market? Any place that rents them? If $400 is too much of a stretch I would just assume extend my permit 90 days and save up more. Also, is there much of a difference in stopping power between a .38 spl and .357? Enough to justify the extra cost of a .357 over a .38?

After picking up a 92FS I have one purchase permit left and was thinking that if I do use it I would like a revolver. I would lean towards a .357 as ammo price will be a consideration for me and I like the idea of being able to use .38 special as well. I was hoping some of you guys would have some particular model recommendations for me. My criteria would be: .357 revolver that also takes .38 special I would prefer a 4" barrel maybe more but not less - no intent, or license, to carry out of state used for home defense and occasional range trips well made, reliable gun lean towards chrome but not set in stone by any means I would prefer to get this one used with the hopes of getting a better gun for my money the more rounds the better, but if it's a GOOD 5 round gun it's reliability matters more to me than capacity. As I would probably be looking used I would like to keep it to a limit of $400. Are there good options for what I want out there in this price range or would I be sacrificing quality for price? I wouldn't want to do that with any gun I purchase. Any shops in NJ in particular with a good selection of used revolvers? Thanks for any suggestions.