I'm SUPPOSED to be mucking out the camping gear room, but the doorway is right beside my workstation...<br><br>I dislike scopes on pistols. In the field I have not had any scope problems on rifles, despite some horrendous abuses. I have had a few crummy scopes but I figured out they were crummy before I left the target range with them... but my paranoia agrees with you; any serious rifle must also have reliable iron sights. Enough said.<br><br>We have a couple of RWS air rifles that I am very fond of. I've not been overjoyed with the practical field aspects of air rifle scopes on them, but they are a delight to shoot recreationally with the scopes. Both are fine with the provided iron sights, although one of these days I'm going to put an aperature rear sight on them - my eyes are not in love with the present arrangement anymore. If I had more time... the high-end model (disremember the model number) recently had an "accident" that really ticked me off: Nephew visiting from out of state was using it and I failed to notice that he was using the same amount of enthusiastic force to close the barrel as it took to cock the rifle - he BENT the barrel!!! I can straighten it the same way the factory guys will (they're only a couple of hours away in Montezuma, Iowa), but that should not have been so easy for a kid to bend. I am SERIOUSLY considering doing some MAJOR gunsmithing - if I screw it up hoplessly, the factory guys can just fit a couple of new parts. I'll post the results, but it's going to be some months before I have time to tackle it. Otherwise, these are a good value. Go see Beemans if cost is no object...<br><br>The M16A2? Huge improvement over all its predecessors. It's reliable - the testing has left no doubt about that. I know, it shouldn't be; it defies common sense, but it is. Except for the caliber, I feel it's one of the best battle rifles around these days - for present day operations involving large numbers of ground forces. Change the training, change the scenario (err, sorta like what's been going on in SW Asia lately), and it and all it's overseas bretheran are not so good. <shrug> I don't own one (commercial equivalent) and don't intend to - utterly no use for one in any situation I can think of. My brother, never in service, owns one. Go figure.<br><br>If you think the M16A2 is "bad" - take a look at the wierdo stuff on the table right now. Technology gone insane... it's even higher-tech than the Hollywood stuff seen in RAH's "Starship Troopers", and they've already prototyped it... somewhere, I hope, someone steps hard on the brakes and re-prioritizes things - more training and keep the Infantryman's primary tools lower tech. With apologies to former Marines, the USMC is not really any better off than the Army - I served with them in hostile places. Talk is cheap...<br><br>My main gripe is the caliber. Terminal effects, especially with the hot 69gr NATO spec ammo, are not so good in the real world unless the CNS is struck. <br><br>It's a pretty good caliber for varmint shooting with light bullets and I would not hesitate to take on a deer if I needed the meat, but it would not be something I'd care to do if I had other tools at my disposal. I'm no Elmer Keith or John Taylor - I'm very happy with 308 to 30-06 class ballistics for North America. (I have a 338, but it sees precious little use). IMHO, something very similar to the 6mm PPC - with a little bit more capacity and in 6.5mm with about a 120-130 gr pill - would be close to an ideal all-around caliber for a general use battle rifle and light MG. Would make a pretty dandy caliber for a light general purpose "survival" rifle, too - maybe built on a Mini-Mark X Mauser sized action or a re-designed carbine along the general lines of a Ruger Ranch mini-thirty (don't own one, but the size and form are nice). Of course, a lever gun in 30-30 with a 16" bbl is a readily available and cheap route that is probably quite effective enough for the Western Hemisphere...<br><br>I can't say that I carry enough ammo to care about the weight EXCEPT if I am on a long trip where I expect to have to take meat for the pot. Then I care - almost as much about bulk as weight.<br><br>Couldn't agree more about the pistola - big mistake, despite the political pressure from NATO. The pistol is HUGE for a 9mm - very reliable, I admit. First thing I did when I got in theater was go find some poor Navy guy and swap for his "obsolete" M1911A1 and two boxes of ammo... it was a good decision. Gee, I wonder why SF guys get .45ACP caliber pistols now????<br><br>Rants off and I'm gonna get a beating if I don't get back to my chores...<br><br>Tom