M14 Forum

LausDeo

I live in Texas, moving to Montana within 2 months. I am young, and this will be my first time living on my own, but I've done much research and saving, so there ya go. I don't yet own an M14 but I am soon going to buy/build a "Walter Mitty" model, and have found this forum to be an invaluable resource.

Right now I have a WWII Mauser K98k (w/ bayonet, receiver stamped "bnz 43" meaning Steyr armory 1943). It is Russian capture, so the parts are mix-and-match, but all well-coated. I also have a Rossi Rio Grande levergun in .45-70, and a GI-style M1911A1 from SAI.

Other weapons I have are a 1980s Hoyt/Easton Rambo compound bow, a custom-designed kukhuri knife I imported from Nepal, and an M7 bayonet (which I will soon be selling to buy an M6, obviously).

A little backstory, because it's a pretty non-standard situation-

For 6 years (starting 8th grade) my goal was to go to West Point and become an infantry officer in the Army (later decided I'd try for the SF route). I was in Army JROTC for 3 years in high school and spent the other year at the Marine Military Academy. I didn't get into USMA the first year, so I went to school in Boston for a year with Army ROTC. I found much distaste with the school and the kinds of students that attended, and decided I hated cities and east coast humidity (ironically I wanted to live in the east coast most of my life up to that point). I jumped on the opportunity to start over again at USMA the next year. However, I was already doubting my commitment to academics, and becoming more wary of the idea of the military lifestyle. I went to Cadet Basic, and decided that this wasn't the path for me anymore. I only allowed myself to make the decision during basic because I wasn't feeling the least bit stressed, due to the softening of their program. The stories I heard from upperclassmen were much more consistent with what I expected the experience to be. My previous military school experience did help me a lot though . (Side note: Due to personal research and ROTC experience, I actually knew more about tactics, map reading and some of the weapons platforms than my upperclassman cadre did, and found myself respectfully correcting them in small group settings.) Truthfully, I think I would have enjoyed an enlisted career much more than a commissioned one anyways (it was mostly my mother that pushed me into the officer track).

I realized several important things upon the past year's reflection leading up to my decision. I learn much faster, more efficiently, and more cost-effectively by teaching things to myself, or with the right mentor, rather than in a school/classroom environment. Personally I think school is one of the most ineffective ways to pass knowledge, but this is not always true. In recent years I have come to truly understand and appreciate true freedom, to the point where I could no longer just "deal with" the restrictions of the military lifestyle. That doesn't mean I still don't love playing in the woods, and other field activities, by any means. I also have a sort of tactical dispute with being an infantryman, I won't go into that, I'll just say I favor a very guerrilla approach. I also realized that I'm very immaterial, and require very little in the way of posessions for fulfillment, so I really don't need a college degree and big fancy job to be happy. Just God, guns and guitars, and especially liberty. If I find I'm not making enough, there are other ways to make decent money anyways. Also I realized I'd love to get more involved in outdoor activities and less involved in computers, but that's not really enjoyable where I live now. So, I decided to move to the mountains, to a state that has excellent gun laws and low population density, hence Montana.

So I'm going to be a self-made man. It will be hard, but I don't mind life being hard, I just want it to be simple. I am going to learn some gunsmithing on the side while focusing on earning enough to pay my bills.

Sorry for the long-winded, overly-personal life story, but I feel it's going to become relevant at some point anyways, might as well lay it out here.

If any of you hang around the Flathead Valley area, let me know! You guys seem like a bunch that would be great to plink around with, and I don't know ANYBODY around yet.

montanawheeler

Picked a beautiful area to move too. I don't live in the valley but have visited on occasion and did some work up there. You will enjoy welcome to Big Sky country(in a few months)

LausDeo

Thanks, good to hear! I'm pretty excited to get up there, as you can imagine

Young guns

Welcome to the forum, too bad your moving i like here in Texas but Montana sounds ok.
Good Shooting.

Deacon

Welcome to the forum LausDeo! It looks like you have your priorities right. Keep God first and everything else will be okay: not easy, mind you, but in perspective. Enjoy your stay here and your move to Montana.

Deac

LausDeo

Thanks man, to explain, my biggest issues with Texas based on where I live are (this is not meant to be a rant):
-Too hot
-Not cold enough
-Lack of any discernible terrain
-Lack of woodlands for the most part
-Too crowded
-Getting too liberal
-Gun laws less favorable than most people realize

Montana flips all of those issues, so it was a pretty logical choice to me. I'll probably come down and visit relatively often since my family lives in Texas. Even my best friend is eventually going to make his way up to Montana.

That's pretty much the way I see it. Not enough people seem to understand that, which is why I have trouble relating to most people, but little trouble relating to the kind of people who hang around guns. I'm fairly certain I'll find it much easier to relate to the people where I'm going, based on the things I've heard.

RET DEP 04

Welcome to the forum from NorCal. Good choice on the move to Montana. I've got an old work partner who moved up to the Missoula area and I have ridden up and visited him a few times. Beautiful country and there is truly a sense of freedom all around you.

NE450N02

LausDeo

First I will ask what part of Texas do you now live in???

Second I will say I have spent a LOT of time in Montana from Eureka, west to Troy. I hunted this area for 12 years. All the people I met there were very nice, first class in every way.
That part of Montana, and the area around Elk City, Idaho are the only areas I would choose to live, besides East Texas...

Tipler

Texas can be an awsome place depending on the location. But in recent years, alot of people moved to Texas to escape thier "State" issues, i.e taxes, politics, restrictive gun laws etc. Problem is that they brought alot of those problems with them. No state income tax x and plenty of land is the last real bonus the state has. Unfortunatly, this is quickly offset by high state & local sales tax. Property taxes are high as well. The state is under seige along the boarder, El Paso is lost. The influx of illegals is having a crushing effect on the great state in terms of crime and direct and indirect welfare. Best of luck with the move.

LausDeo

Exactly what I'm lookin for!
Plano. Good to hear from someone who's seen it all!
I know exactly what you're talking about. I would guess the urban immigrants to Texas would be the kind that is very disinterested in moving to Montana. I've heard predictions that border violence will (and to some degree already has) hit the northern border from WA to MT. In fact, border patrol has mostly been pulled off the northern border from what I understand. I know down in AZ they like to use the federally protected lands (especially "wilderness areas") to make their way in, because they can start a fire and have the NPS shut the whole place down. If they come, I'll be ready, that's for sure.

Rawnerves

Welcome to the forum, enjoy.