Kel-Tec SU-16B for a first-time 5.56 rifle?

[GreatUsername]

maybe... that pricetag is higher than I can afford for several months.

[Phaedrus]

I would suggest maybe looking at Windham at Bud's online. It's well under $800 with free shipping, and Bud's does layaway. You put 20% down and have 90 days to pay it off. In case you're wondering I've bought five or six guns on layaway from there and have one on layaway right now. I've had nothing but good luck with them, with one caveat- KNOW WHAT YOU'RE BUYING! Look at the model # and do your research. They can't tell you anything at all about the gun and can't/won't go look in the box. If you know precisely what you want their prices and service are very good.

They actually have lots of EBRs there. For $1100 you can get a Bravo BCM, one of the better rifles out there for under $2000. They also have a good stock of Daniel Defense, also one of the best you can get.

[GreatUsername]

Even with layaway, $1100 is too much. I'm going to have to save for months just to afford something in the low $700s

The cost of living in my part of Seattle is not ideally suited to my paycheck, but moving's not an option either. Debt's not a good idea for me right now.

[PopPop]

If you are truly concerned about WROL in an urban environment, you should also consider that battlefield pick ups could be an opportunity to up gun. Look into the reasoning behind the Liberator Pistol, air dropped into Nazi occupied France. That is the concept.

[DSJohnson]

GUN,
I think I understand your desire to own a firearm for self defense now as opposed to not. I even understand your desire to own a self loading center fire rifle right now. I would ask that you give serious consideration to looking at buying a used pump action shotgun. You can do that here on the internet at several different auction sites. Here is my thinking on why a shotgun.
1. Typically they are a pretty straight forward fire-arm to acquire a good working skill of.
2. They are very versatile. You can can buy a multitude of different type of ammo depending on what your needs/wants are.
3. Relative to most self loading center-fire riles they are much less expensive. You can buy a good used Remington 870 12 gauge online for less than $350.
4. They are extremely effective in self defense situations, especially inside of a structure.
5. They are pretty "low profile" if you are concerned about that. By that I mean folks don't automatically "jump to conclusions" if they happen to discover that you have a shotgun. Not the same impact to your teachers, fellow students an other folks around you as if they find out that you own an "Assault Rifle".
6. You can buy shotgun ammo almost anywhere in the United States. It is very rare to not be able to find any town west of the Mississippi that will not have someplace that sells shotgun ammo.

In the last 40 or so years I have learned a couple of things. Among them I have learned that when someone wants to buy a certain type/kind/brand of firearm they like having people agree with them about it being a "good" idea. So they will ask "Hey what do you think about me buying (insert whatever)?" BUT they have already made the mental commitment to themselves that they WANT to buy this one certain type/kind/brand. So that when folks say "Well that is a great gun and if you want one you should buy it" The original person will say something like "Oh No I want to do this(again insert whatever fits) with it so isn't this the best gun for that?" Meaning "Please agree with me so I can feel good about buying (whatever you really want to buy)"

Look at what you want, figure what you can afford and enjoy it. If you want a Kel-Tec knock yourself out. But recognize what it is that you are doing and why.

I have several self-loading center-fire rifles and I enjoy all of them. A couple I have had since I was a teenager, one I bought less than a month ago. I hope you enjoy getting to shoot your rifle and that it brings you years of good service. I only hope that ammo does not get any harder to find.....else you will have a hard time being able to afford to learn how to shoot it and get it sighted in. I figure you will use up at least 500 rounds doing that.

[Phaedrus]

Even with layaway, $1100 is too much. I'm going to have to save for months just to afford something in the low $700s

The cost of living in my part of Seattle is not ideally suited to my paycheck, but moving's not an option either. Debt's not a good idea for me right now.

Not saying you need to buy now, but the Windham I linked to is well under $800. Their base models aren't much over $650 and the layaway term is 90 days. Obviously it's nice to just pay cash, but there's no interest or fees on Bud's layaway.

[Phaedrus]

BTW, I think DSJohnson makes a great point. The EBR is icing on the cake but I can't imagine buying one if I didn't already have 12 gauge shottie! I keep a nearly-stock 870 Remington leaning in the corner of my bedroom. So far the only things I've done are adding a sidesaddle and bought a forearm from Magpul that has a small rail section for a light. I still want to get the Magpul buttstock but beyond that I won't do anything to it. A shotgun is indeed a very versatile firearm; you can accomplish many 'missions' by simply changing ammo. With slugs it's very effective for large game within 100 yards, with birdshot it's great for birds and small game, and with buckshot it's good for hunting and defense. Shotguns fly 'under the radar' to a great degree and even places with pretty restrictive gun laws you can often have a shottie.

A high quality shotgun is pretty inexpensive compared to most rifles. I bought my 870 locally for around $350 with tax. Ammo is relatively inexpensive, too. You can get trap/skeet/target loads for around $25/100 at any Wal-mart and buckshot is generally well under $1/round.

[hunter63]

DSJ, good point and good post.....Most people just want agreement on their ideas.

Plus one.

[Rick]

+2. Nothing against the OP but I agree as well. Hey, we're all like that. When you hear or say, "what do you think?" folks are generally looking for agreement.

[hunter63]

The only thing I have ever changed my opinion on ....form input by other on the interweb.......is maybe the Mosin Nagant.
I used to think. why would I spend the money for a old worn out junk Russian rifle, when I could add another $100 bucks and have a new real rifle.

They are a disease....and once bit...as they say,..... it's all down hill from there.

[ElevenBravo]

This is my personal opinion from previous ownership of an SU-16... Its not worth having. Period. You would do much better to simply get an SKS and be done with it. Great weapon for hunting and personal protection.

However, I feel you will end up getting the KelTec no matter who says what. Replace the extractor first, it takes a standard AR extractor, that should solve 75% of your failures.

GL,
EB

[Phaedrus]

This is my personal opinion from previous ownership of an SU-16... Its not worth having. Period.

B-b-but...Nutnfancy says it's awesome!

[GreatUsername]

GUN,
I think I understand your desire to own a firearm for self defense now as opposed to not. I even understand your desire to own a self loading center fire rifle right now. I would ask that you give serious consideration to looking at buying a used pump action shotgun. You can do that here on the internet at several different auction sites. Here is my thinking on why a shotgun.
1. Typically they are a pretty straight forward fire-arm to acquire a good working skill of.
2. They are very versatile. You can can buy a multitude of different type of ammo depending on what your needs/wants are.
3. Relative to most self loading center-fire riles they are much less expensive. You can buy a good used Remington 870 12 gauge online for less than $350.
4. They are extremely effective in self defense situations, especially inside of a structure.
5. They are pretty "low profile" if you are concerned about that. By that I mean folks don't automatically "jump to conclusions" if they happen to discover that you have a shotgun. Not the same impact to your teachers, fellow students an other folks around you as if they find out that you own an "Assault Rifle".
6. You can buy shotgun ammo almost anywhere in the United States. It is very rare to not be able to find any town west of the Mississippi that will not have someplace that sells shotgun ammo.

In the last 40 or so years I have learned a couple of things. Among them I have learned that when someone wants to buy a certain type/kind/brand of firearm they like having people agree with them about it being a "good" idea. So they will ask "Hey what do you think about me buying (insert whatever)?" BUT they have already made the mental commitment to themselves that they WANT to buy this one certain type/kind/brand. So that when folks say "Well that is a great gun and if you want one you should buy it" The original person will say something like "Oh No I want to do this(again insert whatever fits) with it so isn't this the best gun for that?" Meaning "Please agree with me so I can feel good about buying (whatever you really want to buy)"

Look at what you want, figure what you can afford and enjoy it. If you want a Kel-Tec knock yourself out. But recognize what it is that you are doing and why.

I have several self-loading center-fire rifles and I enjoy all of them. A couple I have had since I was a teenager, one I bought less than a month ago. I hope you enjoy getting to shoot your rifle and that it brings you years of good service. I only hope that ammo does not get any harder to find.....else you will have a hard time being able to afford to learn how to shoot it and get it sighted in. I figure you will use up at least 500 rounds doing that.

This is the perfect response. You're some kind of mind-reader, I think! I do have a shotgun already, but it's not really combat-fit... so I'll look into getting a riot barrel for it in the meantime, and then get the kel-tec in a few months when I have more to spend.