Cliff R

Thanks. My first Romeo 5 and I'm liking it so far. Compact, looks good and comes on with movement. I'm going to do some shooting this weekend, three rifles to sight in, two of them are "stubbies".........Elena is going with us. I'm going to compare the Eotech I purchased recently against the Romeo 5.......

Update, made a few changes....spending a little more of my relief check.....I think I'm done with this one now.....

My dad got me into hunting and shooting at a very early age. He turned me loose squirrel hunting with a browning 22 auto before I was 10. He got me a Beagle and a .410 single shotgun for hunting rabbits. He was stationed at WRAFB in Georgia at the time, and had a reservist working for him that had a big farm, pecans, peanuts, etc. My dad always amazed me that he could hit those fast flying doves with a near 100 percent success rate. I'd fire 100 rounds back then and lucky to have 5 birds laying on the ground! Dad served in 3 conflicts, WWII, the Korean War, and Viet Nam. He was tough as nails like most were from his time, never complained much, if at all, and had the highest devotion for duty and country. He wasn't old enough to sign up initially at the onset of WWII so went into the Merchant Marine and sailed supply ships (absolutely the WORST place to be as German U-boats targeted and sank gobs of them). Interesting how those guys seldom speak much of war. About the only story he ever told me was when a ship he was on listed HARD to one side right before it went down. It surprised him so much he was tossed over the rail to certain death. He said that a hand reached down and pulled him back on board but never told me the fellow sailors name and I'm not even sure he knew who it was? Starting early with shooting and hunting was good for me. I progressed into long range shooting, ground hogs mostly, and by the time I was old enough for the draft I had worked up hand-loads for my 22-250 that would literally put every round just about in the same hole at 100 yard if the jerk behind the trigger did their part. I still have dad's Herters hand loading set for 12 gauge and 30-06, I moved quickly to an RCBS press and reloading dies for the various calibers I was accumulating. While on active duty I took a detour for a couple of years and was assigned to a range as a small arms instructor, and on the rifle and pistol team. It was a lot of fun, met some good folks and got to travel around shooting in competition. I loved that deal but wanted to get back in the field so after a couple of years had to give that up. I retired in 2003 and loving every minute since. Building AR's has become a hobby, and I'm getting pretty heavily back into shooting and reloading for these platforms. I prefer heavier bullets in 308, and will take the hit in velocity reduction vs improved ballistics and long range terminal performance. Even so I focus on 300 yards or under as 99.9 percent of the big game I've taken have been pretty close. I've mentioned it a few times on these threads, barrel length and profile very quickly add a butt-load of weight to one of these weapons. Not a big deal if you are laying over sandbags for most outings, but it's a major consideration if you are over 60 like I am and still hunting up near 12,000' on public land and having to hike it at least a mile and a half before you start putting yourself near any Elk.........

Deb bought this for my birthday earlier this month. Finally got around to sampling it last night. Really good stuff and I suspect it will very quickly increase in price and become difficult to obtain........

Those dumb-chits should be buying dry stores, canned goods, etc. The same idiots that are rushing down to buy guns and suck up all the ammo run over the Krogers and buy up all the milk and other perishable chit. That's not thinking long term and just further validates the fact that they don't have a flucking clue as to what's really going on here, or how to prepare for another wave of this chit, or the possibility that our infrastructure may get messed up even worse and you may be staying home a LOT longer than they originally predicted. The compulsive behavior comes from leading a somewhat "normal" life. Most if not all of the folks I saw standing in line at Rural King to suck up whatever guns were left when this thing first started wouldn't have a clue how to use them, couldn't hit a 4 x 8 piece or plywood at 20 steps, and wouldn't be able to drop the hammer on an assailant anyhow....IMHO. I'll also bet most of those folks are pretty much "hand to mouth", looking at their "reactive" vs "proactive" response to this pandemic..........FWIW.........

"This place is like the biker bar strangers see on the side of the road. Salty and scary dudes dwell with in. You open the doors and they all stare. You approach the bar and order your favorite libation and take a seat. You then over hear several conversations you have surprising interest in. You approach to join in and are met with apprehension. If you stay you’ll be accepted as long as you respect the rules and mind your manors. Drink to much and get out of hand and you’ll be helped out the door." Well said. It's unspoken but there is somewhat of a "right of passage" here. If you are thin skinned or easily insulted, or don't like having your cornflakes pissed in on occasion it may not be the best place to hang out. It leaves us with a nice group of folks with a similar learning curve and life experiences. I'm 61 this year and still at it, doing the chit no one else wants to do. I just had a gal yesterday ask me how I deal with the CSI stuff. I told her that I love it and have the best job in the World. Ya, it can be a little gruesome at times, but after nearly 15 years now and probably 1000 cases I haven't had a single complaint.........she gave me an odd look......."because they were all dead!"....... Anyhow, I saw some good advice here early in the thread about barrel length. In a hunting scenario long barrels on these platforms put a LOT of weight further from center. My first build (done WAY before I joined here) had a heavier profile 18" barrel and nearly full length hand guard. I got it all together and initially was liking it a lot until I started wielding it around. It was then I discovered how heavy these builds are compared to an AR-15 build and putting all that weight WAY out there made it "feel" awkward and heavier than it was. Since my build was pretty much done for Elk hunting out West only, I decided to do another build with a lighter profile barrel and shorter (14.7"). Only coming in a couple pounds lighter doesn't sound like much on paper, but the shorter barreled rifle "feels" like it's half the weight and believe it or not shoots just as well if not a tad better than the longer barreled rifle out to at least 300 yards. I don't care much beyond that as most of the Elk I've taken have been less than 75 yards, in the thickest possible chit and trying to put as much distance between us as possible!........Cliff

Good idea on the butane lighters and batteries. I also have a chit-ton of candles stashed away here. Not really on purpose, they were left over after we closed my wife's business down a couple of years ago....

I haven't dropped down to a 7.5" build yet, my wife told me she doesn't like short ones!.......LOL.....

I have the same issues, it rotates almost every pic I try to post. I have to go into "pictures" and open them up, rotate them, close the window, then go back in, open it again and rotate them back to where they should be, then close the window again. This gets them about 80 percent of the time. It would probably be 100 percent if I wasn't computer "illiterate"!.....DUH.....

Reminds me of the first night firing we did with the "new" (at that time) M-9 pistols. They messed up and purchased TZZ ammo for them in 64 round boxes. Turns out that stuff was for UZI's and just a fuzz too hot for the M-9's. I've settled on 10.5" barrels for my "shorty" builds. They "bark" loud enough and sizeable "fireball" at night or in low light conditions. Got busy over the past few days and still working, will have to test fire my new build tomorrow.........Cliff PS: I know it's out there someplace but does anyone have a link to "barrel length vs velocity" from the 5.56's? Just curious how much you loose going clear down to 7.5".......

No mention of the barrel being chrome lined. Not really a big deal unless you forget to clean it after an outing. Of course it goes without saying that we should clean these weapons after a day at the range, hunting trip or plinking the back yard. However in my case I've grown very fond of chrome lined barrels and using other Mil-Spec parts that are either coated, parkerized or chromed. I love being able to run a dozen or so magazines thru any of my AR's then just toss it in the gun safe and get to it at a later date. One of my 308 AR's is a DPMS Oracle. Good accuracy right out of the box and the best trigger I've seen on an entry-level gun to date. I scoped it and lower rail on the stock hand guard and ready to go.......oh, A2 stock as well....

For those that rise from the aftermath of a nuclear or biological event and most if not all of our infrastructure is gone I'll bet you'll have a hard time trading your gold, silver, or precious gems for some canned goods or dry stores. Those with guns and ammunition will go the head of the line at my place!........

I've actually tried live trapping and relocating animals that have found their way into my chickens. They have a built in "homing device" and many find their way back. About 5 years ago I caught a big grey Tom cat. I took him about 3 miles and turned him loose near a lake with lots of homes around it. Next night caught him again. So I drove him 13 miles North of here to some State Game lands, couple of nights later caught him again!.........

Used to trap a LOT back in the 1970's, and made good money at it. These days it's difficult to find a place to trap and fur prices are chit......

Built this one last night. The carry handle and front sight are temporary, going to order a holographic or red dot type sight for it today, and some back-up sights.....

Stocking up on gold an silver is fine, but in the aftermath of a real Holocaust make sure you have plenty of dry stores, weapons, ammunition and fuel for your own use and trading material.......

The chickens get locked up at night (free range) but sometimes I fall asleep in my recliner in the evenings and don't get out there till 9-10pm or so. Of course these two were in the pen eating the chicken food, but they like chicken better so sooner or later they will kill some hens for a better tasting meal. I don't just arbitrarily kill animals, they like to live too, but with some of these predators we are left with no choice. They scurried up a big Maple tree beside the coup but it wasn't tall enough to get them out of the reach of my rifle........

Thanks.....I threw the carry handle and front sight on it for the pics and to test fire it tomorrow morning. Going to order up an Eotech for it tomorrow to spend the rest of the incentive money........thanks Donald....... PS: here's a pic of the one I built a couple of months ago.......it blends so well into my chair I often forget to move it before sitting down!......

I couldn't wait for my relief check, had to spend a little bit of it before it showed up.....LOL

Another successful night, two more got into my chicken coup and didn't make it..........

+2 We are certainly seeing an exercise in control here, and some spoon-feeding to go with it. Whether intentional or not, they are taking full advantage of this situation and it's happening all around us at one level or another......

"We're just stealing money from our kids and grandkids, brother. Nah, not really - when they're sixty, they'll still be paying off the interest on the current 20+ Trillion in debt, and the Fed can just print more..." TRUTH! WTF good is handing out some chump change. The same folks that think that's cool chit give the Feds a butt-ton of their annual income just to get some back when they file taxes....at ZERO percent interest for the year. I don't give them jack-crap-chit during the year, I invest it or buy guns with it instead. If EVERYONE reading this starting claiming 4 exceptions instead of zero, and took that extra money and bought guns and ammunition with it, you'd be filling your gun safe with some neat toys and have tangible goods to sell or trade when the chit really hits the fan........FWIW.......

The neighbor that shot my cat died suddenly about two weeks later......... His property adjoined mine on the West. I went to his children when they had an Estate sale shortly after his death and offered to buy the land.....they said they would never sell it and one of the kids was going to move into the house and pay the rest of them rent, blah, blah, blah...... A week later I owned it.........Karma maybe?

Hank reminds me of Tom, a rescue cat I had here about 10 years ago. Tom was really cool and took long walks with us daily. Sadly the neighbor shot him one day when he crossed the fence into his pasture field.....I almost went to jail over that one!.......

Nice looking pup!.....