Bushmaster rifle opinions?

[Ufatz]

One of the young fellas in the extended family thinks he needs to buy a Bushmaster 5.5 rifle for general use and because he is now living in what he calls a "nervous tension" part of the Twin Cities.  Franky, it is all "nervous tension" to me but never mind,  what do those of you who actually own and shoot Bushmaster rifles,   about which I know nothing, think of them for quality, price and dependability.

Personally, I'd rather have a Beretta 92FS or a nice little Ruger LC9mm and a REAL rifle is a bolt action, blued metal work of art with a birds-eye maple or burled walnut stock!

[ZachD]

They are not the best out their but for the price and your average person not too bad I guess, Its going to send lead to where its pointed. This is probably what is going to happen he is going to buy a package shoot it for awhile then start upgrading everything to how he wants it and it is going to end up costing way more than if he just built one himself how he wants it.

 

[Big Dave2]

On 5/22/2017 at 2:16 PM, Ufatz said:

One of the young fellas in the extended family thinks he needs to buy a Bushmaster 5.5 rifle for general use and because he is now living in what he calls a "nervous tension" part of the Twin Cities.  Franky, it is all "nervous tension" to me but never mind,  what do those of you who actually own and shoot Bushmaster rifles,   about which I know nothing, think of them for quality, price and dependability.

Personally, I'd rather have a Beretta 92FS or a nice little Ruger LC9mm and a REAL rifle is a bolt action, blued metal work of art with a birds-eye maple or burled walnut stock!

 

Does he own other guns?

 

What does he want it for?

Self defense

Hunting

Just to own an AR because they are cool

 

How much money does he have to spend on one?

 

[Ufatz]

Oh yes, he has been around guns since young. I suspect it is a combination of his thinking they are "cool" weapons and the fact that he lives and often has to work in a "high tension" area. I believe he is more interested in high cap than high quality and he can likely spend something reasonable. Since these things are not my bag I am unaware of pricing, features etc. just told him I could ask around for him. Have never had one in my hands!

He may have been fired up because he saw some special at F.Farm on them.

Thanks.

[RebelSS]

"Because he lives in a high tension area" ... "high capacity"....    This one sounds like trouble just waiting to happen.

[PurpleFloyd]

Now that Dems are out of the majority I am seeing big sales on black guns. I would think you could get a better modern rifle than the bushmaster for a very reasonable price right now. 

[Ufatz]

I get your drift Rebel but this kid is not going looking for trouble. I think he just wants some ability to respond as a last resort. Sorta the same reason so many of us have carried for  years-  a last ditch option. And he is not going to walk around with it under his raincoat! Ha Ha!

I guess I will have to take a look at some of these things just for the heck of it.  To me they have always appeared to be a plastic shooting appliance. I have no use for one and no interest in buying one. There are other options and I certainly do not consider them to be decent hunting weapons,  although I know the younger generation does.

[delcecchi]

If I were looking to acquire a home defense weapon, I would go with a shotgun.  There are some configured with short barrels and larger capacity magazines.

 

I don't know about the "and works" part.  That seems like a whole other question.

[bobbymalone]

dude asks for opinion on bushmasters, get's about zero feeback (except zachD), and even the gun nuts are going anti.

 

Edited May 24, 2017 by bobbymalone

[delcecchi]

I looked at the ad.  499 after rebate.  Probably a perfectly OK rifle at a good price.

 

If that is what fits his budget, no reason to not buy it.  On the other hand, if he isn't just using home defense as an excuse to buy something that he wants anyway, perhaps he should consider alternative solutions.

 

If you shoot at a guy with a 556 and miss,  how much stuff will the bullet go through?  

[monstermoose78]

Depends on the bullet

[delcecchi]

How about the ones sold at fleet farm.  Full jacket military stuff probably not optimum for defense..so the normal stuff.

[monstermoose78]

Use the hallow points or ballistic tips they rip apart

[PurpleFloyd]

7 hours ago, delcecchi said:

How about the ones sold at fleet farm.  Full jacket military stuff probably not optimum for defense..so the normal stuff.

It's not optimum for home defense or hunting either. Basically just lower cost plinking. 

 

As far as Bushmaster, they make ok guns for sure. But personally the fact that they are owned by a venture capital firm who tried but failed to sell them off some time ago, they are more than likely controlled by bean counters rather than gun enthusiasts and that generally doesn't bode well for quality. 

[Duffman]

As with most things, you get what you pay for.

I think this is especially true with guns.

[swamptiger]

10 hours ago, Duffman said:

As with most things, you get what you pay for.

I think this is especially true with guns.

 

If you like to tinker with guns, you can get a surplus Saiga for a couple hundred bucks.  All sorts of accessories available for these, and they can also be converted to 12 gauge if that's your preference.

 

 

 

 

 

[Big Dave2]

On 5/24/2017 at 11:01 AM, delcecchi said:

I looked at the ad.  499 after rebate.  Probably a perfectly OK rifle at a good price.

 

If that is what fits his budget, no reason to not buy it.

 

For $499, I'd buy it.

9 hours ago, swamptiger said:

 

If you like to tinker with guns, you can get a surplus Saiga for a couple hundred bucks.  All sorts of accessories available for these, and they can also be converted to 12 gauge if that's your preference.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Russian Gun? What, are you working for Trump now? 

 

What do you mean "convert to 12 gauge"? I think Saigas are all shotguns, aren't they?

[bobbymalone]

52 minutes ago, Big Dave2 said:

 

What do you mean "convert to 12 gauge"? I think Saigas are all shotguns, aren't they?

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saiga_semi-automatic_rifle

[Big Dave2]

25 minutes ago, bobbymalone said:

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saiga_semi-automatic_rifle

 

Got it, I stand corrected.

 

Looks more like an AK than an AR though...

[swamptiger]

18 minutes ago, Big Dave2 said:

 

Got it, I stand corrected.

 

Looks more like an AK than an AR though...

 

 

Maybe that's because it is an AK..

[Big Dave2]

2 hours ago, swamptiger said:

 

 

Maybe that's because it is an AK..

 

That's where you confused me then. You posted a picture of a shotgun while talking about an AK but the post was about an AR.  

 

Where does one get a surplus Saiga anyway?

[swamptiger]

12 minutes ago, Big Dave2 said:

 

That's where you confused me then. You posted a picture of a shotgun while talking about an AK but the post was about an AR.  

 

Where does one get a surplus Saiga anyway?

 

The importation of AKs was banned during the Obama administration, but there were a lot of them imported prior to the ban, so they are still available.  Probably not at big box stores, though.  You would have to shop around, and some of them bring high prices due to the mods made to them.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/banning-russian-made-ak-47s-sets-off-a-us-buying-frenzy/2014/08/31/ad6cbbde-2e0a-11e4-994d-202962a9150c_story.html

[ZachD]

Bushmasters are not bad I have shot a couple and they work just fine. Just think of it as a chevy Malibu. Yes there are Camaros and Corvettes out there but they come with a price. If you are just needing to get to work and back the Malibu is just fine if you want to go to the track the corvette is better.

I am getting the drift he wants the gun in case you know what hits the fan well in that case the bush master will do. If he wants to do some serious shooting or competition 3 gun or whatever I would suggest otherwise.

 

 

 

 

As far as the wall penetrating debate Its all hog wash unless you are hitting studs the bullet is going through drywall with the exception of birdshot will stop after a wall or two 

 

 

[swamptiger]

2 hours ago, ZachD said:

As far as the wall penetrating debate Its all hog wash unless you are hitting studs the bullet is going through drywall with the exception of birdshot will stop after a wall or two 

 

+1.  Any caliber outside of a BB gun will penetrate drywall.

 

 

[Ufatz]

You guys wanna hear something funny?,  after all this jabber about the Bushmaster I dropped by the gun counter to see what the hell they were. You are right and so was I.....a very inexpensive plastic appliance sorta firearm.  I believe you are all correct it is an adequate weapon and from what I gather very dependable. If I want a simple, inexpensive weapon to repel boarders  I guess it would do so it may well be what the kid is looking for.

Funny part is, a new Beretta 92FS left the store with me!  As you already know THAT is a serious and well crafted piece of machinery!! Ha Ha!

And no,   I didn't need it. But it is big enough and heavy enough you could beat to death a charging buffalo!