Truck Gun

I solved my truck gun problem. I figured I’d write about it so people could tell me I’m an idiot. Half of the fun of buying a gun is getting on the Internet, letting people know, and having them call you an idiot. You bought the wrong gun. You paid too much. You got the wrong optics. Your mother shoots homey-style. Whatever.

I found three really good solutions. One is the Yugo (Zastava) M92 pistol. Wonderful weapon. Not expensive. No 922r problems, unless I am misinformed. The second is the Vz2008. This is a Century Arms Vz58 with a non-chromed barrel. They’re supposed to be somewhat crappier than the ones Czechpoint sells, but they only cost about $400, so it’s a wonderful choice. The third gun is an AK variant made specifically for people who carry in vehicles. It’s the AMD-65, made in Hungary. It’s under 26″ long, folded, and you can shoot it without opening it up. The barrel is chrome-lined, and people say they get good accuracy. It comes with a vertical foregrip, which is fantastic. You can get one of these guns for about $440.

I probably should have gone with the Vz2008, but I don’t have any AK-47s, and the AMD-65 looked really good. I have one on the way.

My plan is to stick a Chinese laser under the gun’s barrel. That will take some thought. I’ll need to drill holes in the handguard and install a rail, or I’ll have to replace the handguard entirely and get a rail-mounted foregrip.

This gun has very few US-made parts, so magazines are a problem. You have to have a certain number of US-made items in order to beat 922r, and the AMD-65 relies heavily on American magazines. No cheap surplus foreign jobs. I decided to pick up a couple of 30-round Tapcos. They’re plastic, which purists hate, but supposedly they work well, and if they stink, I’m only out $14.

Hogue makes a handguard for it. That would count toward 922r. I think an American foregrip would, too, but I’m not sure. I can definitely score a point with a new gas piston.

I have read differing opinions of the AMD-65. Some people say it’s crap from one end to the other, except for the way it functions. Others say it actually looks nicer than other AKs, except for the Krylon finish, which can be fixed with Duracoat or something similar. Some say the accuracy is bad, but others say they get tight groups. I’m inclined to suspect that the shooters are the main problem. Hungarian barrels have a good reputation, and this gun has a short sight radius, which would tend to make a poor shooter perform worse.

We are equipping the police with this rifle over in Afghanistan, presumably so it will be more convenient for them to shoot our troops in the back.

The buttstock is wire. I have no problem with that. I don’t want to hear about cheek welds and 100-yard groups. It’s tough to plead self-defense when you’re shooting someone a hundred yards away, and I may never get a chance to open the stock anyway. If I can do well at a hundred feet or less, I’ll be ecstatic.

I shot my Vz58 folder the other day, and it has a crappy buttstock (or whatever you call a wire buttstock substitute). Without even trying, I put four shots in one hole at 75 feet. That will do. If the Hungarian rifle even approaches that level of accuracy, it will shoot better than I do in a panic situation.

I think I have my needs covered. Glock for carry. Cheap but reliable AK for true disasters that happen away from home. Both lasered.

I have high hopes that Obama will lose the election, but this makes me feel a little better.