I tend to forget these days that all my rifles aren't black and plastic.
This one was accidental. I spent years reading about Africa and wanted to hunt there for quite a while. The last of saint JMB's lever guns and TR's big medicine for lions, the winchester 95 in .405,  always gave me the warm fuzzies whenever I saw one or read about it. Never considered buying one, I just always liked them.

 For quite a while now, I have had to go get whats left of my stomach scoped every three years or so. They have some new drugs now they give you to knock you for a loop before they shove a camera down your throat that wear off very quickly when they are done, but back in the day they just jacked you up on demerol and versed and then you would spend the rest of the day stoned out of your tree and dumber than a sack of hammers. This time the doc had me go up the the U of U (University of Utah) in Salt Lake to get the scope. On the way home I somehow managed to talk Momma into stopping by Gallensens in down town SLC to look around. Mistake number one. So Im drooling on the floor probably making a fool of myself when she makes mistake number two (the big one) and points to this beauty prominently displayed on the top of their display case that I had somehow failed to notice in my somewhat less than coherent state.
I don't remember filling out the paper work, and to this day have no idea how much I payed or how I managed to charm momma into giving me the thumbs up on this one, but Im glad I did. It would have never happened had I not been in a drug induce semi-coma, so I guess there is something to be said for modern chemistry and its after effects.

Please forgive my crappy camera work.

Wow! That is downright perty.  Guess there's something to be said for the miracles of modern chemistry.  Does it shoot as good as it looks?

Here's the M1A in her current configuration. I spent a few hours this weekend swapping out the front sight, gas lock and replacing the GI bolt hold-open with an SEI. I don't think I have ever done anything in my life that was more frustrating but ultimately exhilerating than to get that roll pin pushed out enough to swap out the bolt catches. Now magazine changes are just a little faster and a little smoother. Well worth the effort and frustration. So, here she is:

The Mistress

I had such a mental battle between an M1A and a Broadsword.


Jim

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I went with the M1A because I have always loved the platform and not for any other reason. There are so many reasons to go with an AR-10 over the M1A or any other M14 clone. I just chose to go with the one I love because I'm just a sentimental kind of guy.

Is that your finished product?

Yeah the dragnov is better, but I don't get why they are $10,000 here in the states the Russians made millions of them just like any other of their rifles but I guess it's because of it being the trademark tool of an assassin in movies.