Og Called It

I decided to get me a K31 rifle while the getting was still good. There are a lot of these guns still available, but the supply is getting smaller, and that is particularly true on the "high end." By that I mean guns that are reasonably pretty as well as functional. For twenty bucks extra, you can get a fairly nice looking gun. To me, this was a no-brainer. The gun itself is unquestionably a good buy at around two hundred bucks, because it's an excellent firearm and they're getting more expensive fast. Twenty bucks is chickenfeed, to get a considerably more collectible example. The one I got is supposed to have a walnut stock plus matching numbers and the tag from the last soldier who used it. If that doesn't add more than twenty bucks to the value in two or three years, I'll be amazed. I'll bet I can unload this thing in 2013 for five hundred.

The local place, Samco, is out of really nice K31s, which is too bad, because on a gun this cheap, tax is as inexpensive as shipping.

I'll get a crate of surplus ammunition. It's getting more expensive and scarcer, too, so I see no point in buying it one box at a time and paying three times as much. It looks like this rifle, like the Romak, is a lame candidate for reloading, and cheap top-quality surplus is available, so I'll go ahead and get the pain over with up front.

Ow. Ow. That was me, feeling the pain.

I'll have to figure out how to scope this thing. I know where to get a mount. I just have to decide what scope is best.

I'm kind of wondering if this is an intelligent buy. I thought my shooting was truly sad with the Romak, but I am seeing other guys--using better guns--put up groups that aren't much better. The other day I realized that I shouldn't pay much attention to three-shot groups unless the shooters prove they represent their typical performance. On a given day, if I shoot enough, I'll always shoot a few 1 MOA groups at 100 yards. They'll be total bullshit, but they'll look good to people who don't know any better. If the guys who post photos of 3 MOA groups are proud, and they actually shoot 6 MOA 20-shot groups, maybe I'm not shooting as badly as I think. Guess I'll find out.

Not being completely full of crap can be a problem, because you naturally tend to treat other people as though they're also not completely full of crap, and this is generally a mistake.

How should I scope this gun? Right now I'm stuck with a 100-yard limit. For all I know, I'll eventually find opportunities to shoot at greater distances, though. A better scope would be nice, but it will cost money.