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springfield scout as your basic hunting survival and self defense rifle ..

6K views 14 replies 10 participants last post by  arcticman 
#1 ·
the other day someone ask me why carrie a scout model around all the time when i am out on the homestead here in alaska ...
i tried to explain to the person that the rifle was more for my personal protection againest big game animals than people but it would work both ways if need be used on a human just as fast as a animal for i gotten out of the truck here in the little town that i go into get the mail and was getting ready to run up to tok to get more supplies for the bigger box outlet stores there ..when the couple in a rv pulled up next to me and parked and was getting out of the rv and was walking around for a few mins stetching there legs when the husband saw the rifle in the homemade rifle rack set up i have inside the driver side down to keep the rifle ready for use when i get out of the truck and have to get to it quick .. the husband pointed out to his wife and said that the m14 rifle ..

we where in the front of this little highway tradeing post parking lot when the guy started asking me about the rifle and pistol set up ..

for i keep a cmi 25.rd mag in the rifle along with a 20.rd mag in a single mag kydex plastic mag pouch a guy had made me on my belt for the rifle

i tried to explain to the couple that when a bear or moose get into there head to come after you it makes you feel better that you got a 25.rds on tap to deal with the problem at hand .. for i told the first shot might be a panic shot so it nice to have a quick follow up shot if need be ..with the 18.inch barrel and muzzle brake set up it makes for quick handleing if need be in the bush or around a building if need be ..

for a cold weather trick i do for use with the ebr stock is
cut a piece of black foam rubber 1.inch thick shaped to the cheekpiece then duck tape it down to the checkpeice then take a old sock that has a hole in it and cut it to slide over the unit and tape the end down on the unit and you have a cold weather checkpiece cover..

i use plain old fixed sight system no optics on the rifle ..
they where asking me that when i around the homestead they though it was odd that i have a 44.mag revolver and a rifle with me all the time..

for i explain to the person that a rifle can break down at a wrong moment and you be in trouble if you do not have a backup plan to have something else in the works ..

plus i was trying to tell that when working around the cabin it easlyer to carry a handgun than a rifle when chopping wood or tending the garden or doing a hunderd little things around the cabin ..

the rifle is never far my hand and i can panic shoot my 44 revolver pretty good at close range if need be for all the pratice drawing and double action work when it snowing outside and i get to pratice a few hours a day to break up the boredom at times ..

plus i did not have the heart to tell the guy that i have a 1911 45 acp pistol underneath the shirt also for if i was going into the bigger towns for supplies i take the chest holster off along with the extra rifle mag pouch and was puting to the bag that i keep in the truck to stash it in the truck intill i get back out in the tradeing post combo gas station there right before my turn off to go home out in the homestead .. for i was putting on the 1911 belt holster inside the truck door and along with the mag pouch for it and rethreading the belt back though the pants belt loops when the rv pulled up and was trying to get finish before they had gotten out of the rv to see what i was doing ..
when the guy pulled up beside the truck and saw the rifle in the rack along with the chest holster on the seat with the extras rifle mag for that when the husband started to ask me question about after telling his wife about the rifle ..

it funny about how people think about alaska and they allways take pictures of you and the truck for the way it set up .with a super short flatbed and cut out fenders on the front ..for my truck looks like it been cut down and made to look like a tonka toy truck with the way it set up for use in the around the town and on road trips for supplies
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#2 ·
People from the lower 48 have no idea of the dangers in Alaska if they leave the street side. While stationed in Fairbanks my 338 mag was my family companion while berry picking. Boo Boo has many sharp teeth and at times does not like to share. If standed by a brake down you may not see another car for a couple of days and I like to eat fresh meat.
 
#3 ·
doing the summer months it not the best time to into town a lot but i have to get a out of the cabin here and there to pick up ,mail and supplies ..plus i get my dvd packages for all the movies that i order ..
most couple who travel the area of the alcan highway there where we live it funny at times when they see you and the miss out to come into town and we do things that make no sense to someone ..
like when pump gas the other is watching the people or when walking the other watching ..for out in the bush you have your head on a moveing cycle to to see what is allways going on ..
 
#4 ·
I live in a large town in Alabama. I mow my grass with a .38 snub in my pocket and never leave the house without a .45.

Dangers and different in Alaska, hence different equip. When my neighbor's ask me why I carry I tell them somebody has to protect their dumb &$%^$'s.
 
#5 ·
People just do not understand life in Alaksa. I myself find the need to carry a .44 Mag to just walk around the neighborhood with my son. In the last two weeks we have had encounters with bears and moose. And note, I live in a city!

Last night, we had to wait 20 minutes for a cow moose and her two calves to move out of the way so that we could get home. I was waiting for a car to come by, so we could get a ride past the moose, but no one drove by.
 
#6 ·
While living in Fairbanks moose were always a problem at Ft Wainwright. One of my soldiers wives call and told me a moose had its head in the window and asked how to get rid of it. Told her to smack Bullwinkle on the nose with a cooking pan, she said ok, and then I heard a "bang thud", she then told me it worked. Moose was gone. The animal rights might object but no moose, got a bloody nose from this action.
 
#7 · (Edited)
one of my wife friends came out to the cabin to stay a couple of days for a vist in may of this year and we had a late night before the heart attack moment the next day ..we drove up to fairbanks to pick her up and it was a long day after being up early that morning to go into fairbanks to pick her up and drive back down into to northway area for we had shopped and shop and eat drinner out and did a couple more things that we do when in a fairbanks area..
we had where sleeping late that day and beening a little lazy with company there . nicky had gotten up the next morning early to go the bathroom and came back and opened up the side window curtains to let light into the cabin that morning . that when we heard a blood cuddleing scream comeing out the front room area of the cabin for her friend was looking saight into a large bull moose that looking into the large glass window that we have on the side of the cabin in the front room ...
after she got clamed down and we where up we start breakfast in the outside kitchen area that morning .. she did say that was funny that we both came out of bed with grabing rifles before we put on shoes to see what was the problem for we standing there me in my underwear and my wife in her nightgrown and holding rifles ready to fight with what ever we had to deal with it ..

we tell people live in the bush right down from a small town is not like liveing in the citys for it a diff world outhere at times .

her friend is from the kansas base there where they are comeing back to alaska to one of the base here .

i left after thirty years in the army in 2005 era and had the place in alaska now for about 15 years for me and the wife bought it on first time up in 1990s time frame and been working on it when we had the time when off duty day along with diff leave time frame over the years that we had we work on building up the place ..

in 2003 time frame up there i put togerther a crew of guys to work on the cabin ..for we where puting in the new cabin and base foundation set up that was going to be the our new home in a 20.ft -x-30.ft set up one room cabin...for we had planed to do it in the middle of july with good long days of summer on a long four day weekend to put up the cabin base frame and cabin shell in that weekend with 10.guys and 30 cases of beer and all the food that they could eat in one weekend the cabin was put up and ready to be wired for solar and wind power set that we where going to use along with the unit windows along with the inside allong with the cabin trimed out along with wall and floor and ceiling along with the under floor area insulation panels installed on the cabin walls and side and floor with along the cookstove installed and a the bathroom items installed with the cabin set up along with the cabin wired for the solare and wind batties system for lights and washing machince unit along with a propane dryer unit installed then the next weekend have the same group of guys come out and finsh up the inside and outside with cabin and deck staining and finsh the cabin deck are for we put a outside cooking area with a overhead cover to use as need in the summer time ..

the funny thing is when people see my wife they thinking that this women is not armed or packing a gun ..she has a full sized colt 1911 govenement model on her hip in a crossdraw holster under her shirt when we are in town for supplies along with a short barrel 44 mag revolver in a chest holster when we are around the cabin ..we had people that come to vist the area that we live in..our turn off road area inside the town road system for it also part of the alcan highway systems up here ..
 
#8 ·
If you can or get the time I would love to see some pictures of your cabin and the area you live in.

I live in Phoenix, AZ now and I'm planning a move to Idaho here in the upcoming months.

I told the wife it's a stepping stone to my real destination once the kids are out of the house, Alaska.
 
#9 ·
Most people in the US who have lived in cities and suburbs most of their lives have no idea what the rest of the world is like. They live a fairy tale existence and are helpless when they encounter anything dangerous or violent. An exception to this are the ones like me who grew-up in or near the rough areas of the cities.
 
#12 ·
update on photos

ok i took the pictures but iam haveing problems with my computer loading the pictures to the website here..

so i have to wait intill my kid comes out and she going to look at the problem to see why it doing it ..


what happens is when i load the pictures onto the website page..

my security software goes nuts and stops the whole thing and does not let it load the pictures and kicks me off the website ..i think it more on my end not the website....

for i emailed her and she says she will take look at it ..for that whats she does in the military

so my kid comes out next week for a vist and bringing the grand kid so i will get her to see what the problem is ..


we use a sat internet set up for wife and my laptops and it better good system ..

as my wife says my laptop has more gunsites on the favorites list than the atf website..
 
#13 ·
When I was first assigned as new airman to Elmendorf AFB back in 2004, it was a huge change from the Houston suburbs where I was raised. It took some time getting used to seeing moose casually walking through base housing and not to mention the family of bears on base.

Even though Anchorage is a city of over 270,000 people, you never really forgot that you really are in the last frontier and that the rules are much different than anywhere in the Lower 48. Although I love Texas, I would mind going back to AK for a visit, though it certainly would be in the summer!
 
#15 ·
Henry: I used my M1A Scout for deer hunting in Southeast Alaska for a few years (mostly late season hunts when I knew that most of the bears were put to bed). The rifle performed flawlessly and I am very pleased with it.

BUT..... I would NEVER recommend it as animal protection if you live in Alaska! the .308 is just not the caliber you want to defend yourself with against a brown bear. I don't care how many rounds you carry. I understand that there have been people who have downed big bears with this caliber and good for them.

I was born, raised and currently live in rural Alaska (I point this out because Anchorage and Fairbanks are more like Seattle than Alaska in my opinion).

I have hunted bears and have a few friends that are big game guides here and I think the common agreement is that you should be using the biggest caliber that you can accurately shoot for bears. For bear and moose defense: nothing wrong with the 12 gauge shotgun...a 1 ounce slug will be more than sufficient. If you want to stick with a high powered rifle then a .338 or .375 H&H Magnum is a great caliber.

But these guns are not nearly as sexy as the M14/M1A1...so I completely understand!

I just don't want some well intentioned folks coming up to Alaska thinking that their M1A1 will stop a bear, because it might not. Our bears are built like Sherman Tanks and you need the right caliber if you want to stop these bruins!

Just my two cents!
 
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