I like this thread...
...Not really going to bare my soul or reveal my stomach contents, but I'll throw my two cents into the ring. I'm certain to convey a modicum of bias with respect to my choices, and the "Narrowing Down" that took place to come up with what I feel is the best bang for the buck.
The first hurdle I had to cross was Restricted vs Non-Restricted, and the simple decision was that the rifle had to have the capability of being shot at locations beyond that of the range. So for a gun to find itself into the top list, it would need to be Non-Restricted - either from birth, or through the use of barrel lengthening cosmetic surgery. This sadly eliminated many platforms that I quite enjoy shooting, but with present legislation, gone are the days of me being able to go out varmint hunting with my old CAR-15 (I may be starting to date myself).
The above decision chopped a great number of even greater rifles from the competition, as did the following list of criteria.
The rifle must be lightweight, compact in size, accurate, reliable, PAM construction (Polymer and Metal - no wood grained Clark Grizwald station wagon looks), ambidextrous, low recoiling, easy to use, clean and maintain. Temper this with one more sticky point... It has to be a "bullpup" configuration. My preference for this design goes back to the mid to late 80's when I was making my first carbine purchase, and bought my first AR-15 instead of a Steyr AUG. The AUG was $1,100 and the AR was $700. Money, or lack thereof, & inexperience made that decision and I would not let either sway my purchases again.
So what carbines fit my overly fussy and eclectic requirements...? Tavor, FN FS2000, Kel-Tec RFB, and FN PS90. what does one do when faced with a purchase decision that includes these four wonderful rifles...? Well if you combine an understanding wife with mild ADD (Attention Deficit - Oh,look... a butterfly), you do this...
I truly enjoy shooting all of these carbines, and I do not foresee parting with any of them. They are all very well made, accurate, and reliable yet in the end, if it had to come down to one... It would be this little feller...
The PS90 is the most compact of the bunch in terms of overall length. The barrel was replaced with a custom made match grade tube by the wizard at Herron Arms. This changed the status to Non-Restricted, and it is a "take anywhere" carbine. The PS90 has a system approach to being ambidextrous, and requires not parts swapping or movement to make it 100% ambi. From twin charging handles, left and right side iron sights built into the upper assembly, center-line fire controls, magazine catch, and bottom eject allow function for left and right hand shooters to be identical. In terms of weight, it is several pounds lighter than it's roommates, and when field stripped, fits very neatly into a small knapsack. Speaking of field stripping, it literally takes a few seconds to knock this gun down, so routine maintenance is remarkably easy. In terms of reliability, I had at one point several P90's and cans of ammunition for testing - I encountered zero stoppages or malfunctions in the course of several thousand rounds fired - The gun is a treat to shoot. Cleaning was a breeze as the guns pretty much refused to get dirty - very Glock like. With respect to accuracy, at 50m from a bench, 5 rounds are touching each other. 100m accuracy opens up a bit, and I'm confident that has a lot to do with the non magnified Ring Sight - and maybe a bit of me... ok... probably mostly me...
And finally another reason why I put this gun at the top of my list...
It likes to share it's rations...
I know it's not the most traditional choice, nor is it the least expensive (especially after the surgery), and I'll probably raise a few eyebrows with the caliber...5.7 by what??? However, this is my best bang for the buck "black gun"
Cheers all!
Mike
...Not really going to bare my soul or reveal my stomach contents, but I'll throw my two cents into the ring. I'm certain to convey a modicum of bias with respect to my choices, and the "Narrowing Down" that took place to come up with what I feel is the best bang for the buck.
The first hurdle I had to cross was Restricted vs Non-Restricted, and the simple decision was that the rifle had to have the capability of being shot at locations beyond that of the range. So for a gun to find itself into the top list, it would need to be Non-Restricted - either from birth, or through the use of barrel lengthening cosmetic surgery. This sadly eliminated many platforms that I quite enjoy shooting, but with present legislation, gone are the days of me being able to go out varmint hunting with my old CAR-15 (I may be starting to date myself).
The above decision chopped a great number of even greater rifles from the competition, as did the following list of criteria.
The rifle must be lightweight, compact in size, accurate, reliable, PAM construction (Polymer and Metal - no wood grained Clark Grizwald station wagon looks), ambidextrous, low recoiling, easy to use, clean and maintain. Temper this with one more sticky point... It has to be a "bullpup" configuration. My preference for this design goes back to the mid to late 80's when I was making my first carbine purchase, and bought my first AR-15 instead of a Steyr AUG. The AUG was $1,100 and the AR was $700. Money, or lack thereof, & inexperience made that decision and I would not let either sway my purchases again.
So what carbines fit my overly fussy and eclectic requirements...? Tavor, FN FS2000, Kel-Tec RFB, and FN PS90. what does one do when faced with a purchase decision that includes these four wonderful rifles...? Well if you combine an understanding wife with mild ADD (Attention Deficit - Oh,look... a butterfly), you do this...
I truly enjoy shooting all of these carbines, and I do not foresee parting with any of them. They are all very well made, accurate, and reliable yet in the end, if it had to come down to one... It would be this little feller...
The PS90 is the most compact of the bunch in terms of overall length. The barrel was replaced with a custom made match grade tube by the wizard at Herron Arms. This changed the status to Non-Restricted, and it is a "take anywhere" carbine. The PS90 has a system approach to being ambidextrous, and requires not parts swapping or movement to make it 100% ambi. From twin charging handles, left and right side iron sights built into the upper assembly, center-line fire controls, magazine catch, and bottom eject allow function for left and right hand shooters to be identical. In terms of weight, it is several pounds lighter than it's roommates, and when field stripped, fits very neatly into a small knapsack. Speaking of field stripping, it literally takes a few seconds to knock this gun down, so routine maintenance is remarkably easy. In terms of reliability, I had at one point several P90's and cans of ammunition for testing - I encountered zero stoppages or malfunctions in the course of several thousand rounds fired - The gun is a treat to shoot. Cleaning was a breeze as the guns pretty much refused to get dirty - very Glock like. With respect to accuracy, at 50m from a bench, 5 rounds are touching each other. 100m accuracy opens up a bit, and I'm confident that has a lot to do with the non magnified Ring Sight - and maybe a bit of me... ok... probably mostly me...
And finally another reason why I put this gun at the top of my list...
It likes to share it's rations...
I know it's not the most traditional choice, nor is it the least expensive (especially after the surgery), and I'll probably raise a few eyebrows with the caliber...5.7 by what??? However, this is my best bang for the buck "black gun"
Cheers all!
Mike
