School me on AR-pattern rifles

[Denis]

LOL, sorry Dennis.

I'm just a noob to the AR platform, so I've had to do a fair amount of reading myself to both learn the process and cut through the Internet bullshit. I'll try to share some of what I learned.

Brilliant, thanks, Justin. Indeed, thanks, all.

What were you going to use the AR platform for?

If you're asking me, I have no AR intentions whatsoever. The legal complexity and the pricing here mean that other rifles are more attractive, but I was just struck that there's a whole major branch on the gun nut tree which I've not even begun to explore. The feedback here has been most helpful!

[evan price]

AR rifle...blah blah blah...plastic...blah blah..milspec...blah blah blah blah M4gery.... blah blah
Get a FAL.

[toad]

Dennis.
Be careful, you may develop a bad case of semi-auto envy. Go cuddle your K-31 if that happens. I remember reading somewhere that the Swiss had converted some K-31's to 7.62 X51 NATO. Why I can only guess? They might be handy if you had a Swiss K-31 ammo shortage
:jacked:

[Denis]

Get a FAL.

I have a FAL. Well, technically it's an Austrian StG58, but it is full-auto

Denis. Be careful, you may develop a bad case of semi-auto envy. Go cuddle your K-31 if that happens. I remember reading somewhere that the Swiss had converted some K-31's to 7.62 X51 NATO. Why I can only guess? They might be handy if you had a Swiss K-31 ammo shortage
:jacked:

Toad, no worries. I'm pretty well covered on the centrefire semi-auto front. My favourite has to the the FN-49. A wonderful rifle, the daddy of the FAL, and which also inspired the nifty gas systems on my Vz52 and Vz58. Don't even get me started on the semi-auto .22s and .22 Magnums

As for shortages of 7.5x55 ammo - I am doing my best to produce one; all those K1911s and K31s to feed, plus the next EBRs on my acquisition list is a Swiss StGw57... I hope it comes with a palletload of ammo - a truly awesome sight I once beheld at an official Swiss military rifle match.

After that, Im thinking a SIG 556 and an FN SCAR. Maybe I'll consider an AR after them

[toad]

Hmmmm, a folding stock Swiss auto and a long trench coat. Color me extremely green.
I think there is a folding stock version of the G-33 available or you can get an aftermarket folding stock for one.

[Erik]

The $1500 AR rifles Denis talks about is probably Oberland.

The reason ARs are so expensive over here is basically because of licensing issues. At least in Scandinavia, you will only get an AR type rifle on a competition license. You will not get one for hunting or general plinking, and certainly not for any defensive purposes.
Competition licenses for AR rifles are very restrictive, you need to be an accomplished competitor and pass a skill test to even apply for one, and then you are still restrictive to a gun that is considered "competitive". That concept is not entirely clear, but it must for instance be good enough to hit plates at 300+ yards, and of a general quality good enough to last years of competition. (This might be different in the rest of Europe though.)

With all those requirements, very few people will invest in a cheap "entry gun", even if you could find them. Trying to import a cheaper gun will be so expensive that it really isn't worth it. You will not get a second license for a better one, and it will be very hard to sell the one you have to someone else and then buy a new one, the market is really small.

So the $1500 Oberland is pretty much the cheapest AR type gun you will be able to find here, with many people stepping up to more expensive makes and models. (I've seen a few cheaper AR models on occasion, but I think that unless you're police or military you will not get a license for them.)

[toad]

Erik:
Can civilians get bolt action rifles with large capacity magazines, 20 to 30 rounds, in military calibers

[JAG2955]

So basically, you get/build one, then you say "man, it sure would be cool to build one with XYZ part, and ZYX part, and...."

Then, before you know it, you have a bunch of them in your safe and you say "man, it sure would be cool to build one with YZX part..."

[Denis]

Erik:
Can civilians get bolt action rifles with large capacity magazines, 20 to 30 rounds, in military calibers

I don't know about Sweden. IIRC, here in Belgium, there is no magazine-capacity limit for non-hunting semi-autos. For hunting, the limit is two in the magazine and one in the chamber, and there is some rigmarole about magazines or mag tubes being permanently altered, not just plugged.

I believe the very anti-shooting authorities here tried to introduce a magazine capacity limit for both handguns and long guns, but it was struck down by the courts, who reasoned that if a person is safe to have a licence for any firearm, they are safe enough to have a large capacity magazine for that arm - in other words, common sense prevailed.

[Denis]

So basically, you get/build one, then you say "man, it sure would be cool to build one with XYZ part, and ZYX part, and...."

Then, before you know it, you have a bunch of them in your safe and you say "man, it sure would be cool to build one with YZX part..."

I do that with scopes and rifles. I buy a scope and think, "that would be great on an XYZ, if only I had one...". Then I start again with a rifle, and go looking for a matching scope...