Guns: Black rifle on a budget

The current surge of interest in semiauto carbines is similar to what happened after the federal AWB was passed in 1994. What's different now, though, is that the run on these kinds of guns is happening during a full-blown recession. Prices for AR-15s are skyrocketing, and many shops are backordered for months (the lead time from the shop where I got my upper, for instance, has jumped to ~20 weeks). At the same time, though, it's apparent that it might be safer parking your money in a black rifle than in currency that's rapidly being devalued by the U.S. government.

If you're on a budget or you simply dislike the platform, there are plenty of alternatives to the traditional AR. If you're on a really tight budget and you still want a rifle, I'd recommend trying an SKS or a Mosin. If you have a bit more cash to throw around, here are some more options to try:

AK Clone: Prices for AK variants have been creeping upwards for awhile now. Even the ammo is expensive; it wasn't too long ago that you could grab a case of steel-cased Wolf 7.62x39 for less than $100 per 1000 rounds. Now, you'd be lucky to find the stuff at even double that price. Affordable AKM clones can still be found, I guess, but lately even the Romanian WASR-10s cobbled together by Century are selling at or above $600.

Mini-14 or Kel-Tec SU-16: These are both semiauto carbines that accept commonly available magazines. Both are targeted towards the civilian rather than the military market. Both are less expensive than anything but the cheapest ARs. In terms of sheer fun factor, I think the nod goes with the SU-16 (especially the C model, which can fire with the stock folded):



AR-180B/Bushmaster M17s/other 5.56 oddball rifle: These are discontinued or obscure guns that generally took standard M16 magazines and had features that distinguished them, for better or worse, from the average AR. The clunky-looking M17s that Bushmaster put out, for instance, was a bullpup-style carbine with a full-size barrel but an overall length comparable to an M4gery. Since these rifles were consistently outsold by standard ARs, it might be possible to find them at lower prices in some out-of-the-way pawn shop.