Firearms - traditional vs new (NGC)

[Lannis]

Colt Detectives

Don't you let a nice First or Second Series one of those get by you without giving me a nudge nudge wink wink call ....   

Lannis

[Jim Rich]

Why did I suspect our little group would prefer walnut with blued steel?  We run the risk of being considered old school.   

I am most proud of my Remington 1903-A3 and an Remington Model 12 shotgun my dad gave me.

That Highwall is a lovely thing, it knocked me out the first time I saw one at a gun show.  Thanks for putting up the picture.

[rboe]

Uh, you forgot something.

I'm thinking of getting a .357 barrel for big-bore hunter pistol silhouette (do not like those damned chickens).

Rich A

Gah! Old Timers....  http://www.bellmtcs.com/store/

He is a BIG fan of the .357max.

[SmithSwede]

Well, I'm sure this will be a big surprise--put me in the traditional camp!

Indeed, my handle on this forum is "SmithSwede," which is a reference to my other hobby--the collecting and shooting of older Smith & Wesson revolvers and Swedish firearms.  I'm also a competitive pistol and rifle shooter, so I'm often the odd duck you would see on the firing line shooting Bullseye pistol with an iron-sighted revolver, or action pistol events with a revolver and speed loaders, or a high-power rifle match with a Swedish Mauser bolt action rifle in 6.5 X 55 Swede. 

What I have and really enjoy shooting on the handgun side are old 5 and 4 screw S&Ws.  Mostly K-frames, but I've got a bunch of N frames, J frames, and even a few I-frames.  My all time favorite handgun is an old 5-screw S&W K-38 with Herrett wooden grips, shooting my own cast bullets. 

I like various old Colt revolvers (Officer Models in .22 and .38, the Colt "357" Model, several Detective Specials).   Sometimes I'll mess with a few autoloaders, but they will be a BHP or wadcutter 1911, or pure target pistols like a Hammerli 208s or High Standard Military Model.  Old Swedish Nagant revolver.  Old school stuff with wood grips. 

As to rifles, I'm talking various Swedish '96 Mausers (different flavors of Model 96 long rifle, an M41B sniper rifle, several Swedish Mauser "FSR" target rifles, and a CG-63 target rifle).  There's the Ljungman Ag42b (nicknamed "Henny").  And then there's the Swedish rolling blocks in military trim, one in 12.7X44r, the other in 8X58r.  Oh, and a real sweetheart Norwegian Krag-Jorgensen in 6.5 Swede.  All wooden stocks with linseed oil finishes.

So yeah--I'm old school on firearms.   Go figure I like Moto Guzzis. 

[LowRyter]

Colt Trooper Mk III

[sidecarnutz]

I like a mix of old and new myself. The crack of a .357 mag rings my jaw like a bell. I swear I can still feel it hours after I get home. My trusty old M29 Dirty Harry .44mag is a fine shooter. For some reason the crack doesn't bother me like it's little brother does. The old school 1911 has always been a fav of mine. Back in my Navy days, I qualified sharp shooter with an M14 the first time I picked one up. I owned a Garand for a few years and it was a fine shooter too. Our M16's in the Navy were POS's IMO. Couldn't get through a mag without jamming. Yet my modern AR15's are reliable as heck. Knowing what I know now, I believe our Vietnam era mags were worn out in the early 80's when I used them. But being on a submarine, the government figured we'd never need them. Much as I love my Ruger 1911, I can shoot my more modern XD45 even better. My old Finnish M31 is the finest old rifle I have. Its so good, it's difficult to believe it was a service rifle! Makes cloverleaf groups of three shots.
Guns are like golf clubs, each is made for a different duty!

[sign216]

Prices used to be reasonable ... but back then I had no money. Please Mom!

 

Penderic,
Those prices are making me weep.  What year is that?

Yesterday a friend bought a collection from a widow.  He said it was mainly "junk:" heavily used stuff from the 1960's. 
My reply:  "That's got value.  Made before the quality down slide of the 70's and 80's." 
Later today I'll see what he got.

[Lannis]

Penderic,
Those prices are making me weep.  What year is that?

Yesterday a friend bought a collection from a widow.  He said it was mainly "junk:" heavily used stuff from the 1960's. 
My reply:  "That's got value.  Made before the quality down slide of the 70's and 80's." 
Later today I'll see what he got.

I'm sure that ad's from the early 60's ... back when you could buy all the guns and ammunition you wanted through the mail with no ID, and the gun crime rate was a fraction of what it is now ... sort of sets causality on its ear ....

Oh, there was a LOT of junk in the 60's.    My dad (career Navy) used to come back from a world cruise on his carrier with a bagful of .25 and .32 pistols he'd picked up in Hong Kong or Spain or Israel, usually from a street vendor I suppose.    Talk about cheap junk!   You might shoot about 3 magazines of ammo through them before the mag would start falling out on every shot,  and the barrels start wobbling about ...

I commented to my grandpa once about how they used to make things "better" in the old days, because the old houses and cars and tractors and guns just seemed like better stuff.   He told me "They used to make just as much shoddy junk in the old days as they do now.   But you never got a chance to see the cheap stuff because the good stuff is what's lasted until now for you to see it ...."

Lannis

[not-fishing]

Well, I'm sure this will be a big surprise--put me in the traditional camp!

Indeed, my handle on this forum is "SmithSwede," which is a reference to my other hobby--the collecting and shooting of older Smith & Wesson revolvers and Swedish firearms.  I'm also a competitive pistol and rifle shooter, so I'm often the odd duck you would see on the firing line shooting Bullseye pistol with an iron-sighted revolver, or action pistol events with a revolver and speed loaders, or a high-power rifle match with a Swedish Mauser bolt action rifle in 6.5 X 55 Swede.   All wooden stocks with linseed oil finishes.

So yeah--I'm old school on firearms.   Go figure I like Moto Guzzis.

ehi amico sypmatico

I thought my son and I were the only one shooting Bullseye with a wheelguns (29-2 for me and 19-2 for him).
For rifle matchs I like my 1903 with ladder sights and the boys are a few decades newer with M1 Garands.

Also we all compete with revolvers in IDPA, 625 for me and 686 SSR for the boys.

now that I think about it maybe it should be hej vän sypmatico

Skal

[sign216]

I commented to my grandpa once about how they used to make things "better" in the old days, because the old houses and cars and tractors and guns just seemed like better stuff.   He told me "They used to make just as much shoddy junk in the old days as they do now.   But you never got a chance to see the cheap stuff because the good stuff is what's lasted until now for you to see it ...."

Lannis

Yea, that's probably the truth of it.

There's probably fewer low-quality guns in the US now, since laws have restricted the market.  Only the better marques are still around.  I remember when New England had a dozen low to mid-quality brands that have faded away; H&R, Iver Johnson, Meriden, Allen, etc.  Even good brands like Colt are fading in and out of bankruptcy. 

[charlie b]

Uh, you forgot something.

I'm thinking of getting a .357 barrel for big-bore hunter pistol silhouette (do not like those damned chickens).

Rich A

LOL, I think you'll like it.  I had one a few years ago and liked it a lot for target shooting and deer hunting.  My favorite was the .30 Herrett and a 14" barrel with scope.  I also had a .223 barrel that was nice cause it was so cheap to shoot.

[charlie b]

Don't you let a nice First or Second Series one of those get by you without giving me a nudge nudge wink wink call ....   

Lannis

That was my thought as well, for any generation.  My wife will only own a Colt  :)

[charlie b]

PS speaking of the WWII generation. I'm not a Gun Guy, though I own a Browning Buck Mark for target practice. Anyway, my grandfather's Colt Python .357 magnum ended up with me.

Good God, what a beautiful--and intimidating--gun. But it will likely stay in the safe until it too goes to my son. I wonder if anyone will ever shoot it?

Get the Python out and fire .38 special target wadcutters.  You might need to clean the barrel good first to make sure you get all the copper out of it.  When done I think you'll like it.  Muzzle blast way down and feels a bit more like a .22

That's what I like about revolvers vs autos.  You can get really mild loads for them off the shelf.

[rocker59]

I'm kind of fond of "traditional".  An 1872 Colt is high on my list of wants.  This engraved example is pretty badass:

[Dilliw]

Well, I'm sure this will be a big surprise--put me in the traditional camp!

Indeed, my handle on this forum is "SmithSwede," which is a reference to my other hobby--the collecting and shooting of older Smith & Wesson revolvers and Swedish firearms.  I'm also a competitive pistol and rifle shooter, so I'm often the odd duck you would see on the firing line shooting Bullseye pistol with an iron-sighted revolver, or action pistol events with a revolver and speed loaders, or a high-power rifle match with a Swedish Mauser bolt action rifle in 6.5 X 55 Swede. 

What I have and really enjoy shooting on the handgun side are old 5 and 4 screw S&Ws.  Mostly K-frames, but I've got a bunch of N frames, J frames, and even a few I-frames.  My all time favorite handgun is an old 5-screw S&W K-38 with Herrett wooden grips, shooting my own cast bullets. 

I like various old Colt revolvers (Officer Models in .22 and .38, the Colt "357" Model, several Detective Specials).   Sometimes I'll mess with a few autoloaders, but they will be a BHP or wadcutter 1911, or pure target pistols like a Hammerli 208s or High Standard Military Model.  Old Swedish Nagant revolver.  Old school stuff with wood grips. 

As to rifles, I'm talking various Swedish '96 Mausers (different flavors of Model 96 long rifle, an M41B sniper rifle, several Swedish Mauser "FSR" target rifles, and a CG-63 target rifle).  There's the Ljungman Ag42b (nicknamed "Henny").  And then there's the Swedish rolling blocks in military trim, one in 12.7X44r, the other in 8X58r.  Oh, and a real sweetheart Norwegian Krag-Jorgensen in 6.5 Swede.  All wooden stocks with linseed oil finishes.

So yeah--I'm old school on firearms.   Go figure I like Moto Guzzis.

Swede you would have enjoyed this Mod 29 in 4" nickel.  Once I figured out it was a 4 screw and that those grips were worth the price of a regular 29 alone I took it to several local collectors just to get their thoughts.  All of them told me it was just another .44 .  I moved it on the S&W forum and did a little better for Delilah.

As to the mousers, I gave my father in law, who is a cattle farmer, one of those sporterized Kimber swedes a few years ago.  He can't stop talking about it.

[krglorioso]

Five pre-1964 Winchesters; Models 24, 71, 1890, 63 and just-purchased 52.  All NRA Excellent or better.

Plastic guns?  Maybe from a Crackerjack box.  Not in this house, no matter how good they shoot.  I don't own Guzzis because they outperform the Jap stuff, and I don't own old guns because they shoot 1/2" groups at 200 yards.   

Ralph