Hello Mr. Rawles.
My Father bought me your novel “Patriots [1]” and I read it and it really inspired me and woke me up to becoming more of a survivalist. I live in the country just about 50 miles out side of Chicago (pretty much the worst place to be if the SHTF [2], well even if it doesn’t, it still sucks, LOL [3]), but never mind that we have other places to go, thank God. I have always been around guns. I have been shooting probably since I could walk. Anyway, I am wondering why in your book you chose to [show the main characters owning] HK91 [4]s instead of M1A [5]s? We have both a HK91 and an M1A, both with lots of accessories. I would most likely take my LMT AR-15 [6] over the .308 but I’m open to change. I was just wondering why you chose the Heckler and Koch or which one you like better for that matter. Thank you for the advice if you can. – Eric B.
JWR Replies: I consider the two rifles essentially comparable, although if fiberglass bedded, an M1A can be much more accurate. I recommend HK91 clones because they are presently less expensive than M1As, and their spares are much less expensive. An M14 [7] parts kit (everything but the receiver) is around $750, if you can find one. But you can buy a G3 [8] part kit for under $250. Excellent condition military surplus HK G3 magazines are as little as $2 each. So buy at least 50 of them, while they are still cheap. Meanwhile, USGI [9] M14 magazines are $22 to $28 each. Ouch! So buying 50 spare magazines would cost you around $1,100–which is enough to buy another rifle!