The Guns We Own

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Don't misunderstand me, the bolt-type action and especially the Mauser action are superb actions it is just a personal preference of mine in that I prefer either a lever or semi-auto. I have owned two bolt-actions in my life, my very first rifle was the Marlin .22 LR and that was lever-action. Number two was an Enfield SMLE .303 that I bought for $19 at Klein's in Chicago. I wasn't really into anything historic just looking for a hunting gun so I quickly "sporterized" it by cutting down the military stock, sanding, tapering the forend grip and varnishing plus re-blueing all the metal and new sights.
Klein's had sporterized versions but I didn't have that much money
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I love the vintage look of that old add( love those vintage prices to:))
 
Don't misunderstand me, the bolt-type action and especially the Mauser action are superb actions it is just a personal preference of mine in that I prefer either a lever or semi-auto. I have owned two bolt-actions in my life, my very first rifle was the Marlin .22 LR and that was lever-action. Number two was an Enfield SMLE .303 that I bought for $19 at Klein's in Chicago. I wasn't really into anything historic just looking for a hunting gun so I quickly "sporterized" it by cutting down the military stock, sanding, tapering the forend grip and varnishing plus re-blueing all the metal and new sights.
Klein's had sporterized versions but I didn't have that much money
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I didn't take it that way. My point is that one should match the firearm to the chore at hand. Picking an action type and trying to gear it toward an area because one likes a certain mechanism, seems to be the trend lately. While I am not a professional Hunter, I have hunted deer/dove since 1975. As for deer (White Tail/Axis) and Schimitar Orix, I have never needed a second shot. Have I made a bad shot? Yes. But all I did was ruin a hindquarter of meat. I match the caliber to the game and distances I am likely to encounter them. I do scout the area I am hunting beforehand, and often don't take a shot for several days.
However, while I am not a fan of the ARs, there is a reason why people (honest) want to own them. I understand this. But shooting a WT at 150 yard with a .223 isn't my cup of tea. There is more to hunting than killing. Hogs are a different story. They are encroaching on wildlife habitat destroying nearly everything in their path. One still has to be careful firing multiple rounds, as others In the area can fall victim to rapid fire shooting.
I have always loved the Garand, but just can't justify buying one. The first time I shot (did practice for three months) an AR-15 in competition, I brought home the 1st place Trophy (lucky). I just don't need 20/30 rds for what I do with a rifle. I do shoot Cowboy Action Shooting, so am pretty good at placing supsequent shoots on multiple targets with a lever action Wincheater.
When I was 17, I got to shoot a Thompson M1A1 on seven different occasions. Was it fun? Yes. I have a lot of respect for it, as we shot lead SWC and round nose bullets out of it and it never jammed. I understand why the British Commandos would not give their Thompsons up when the Sten came out.
 
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I got to shoot a Thompson M1A1
I posted this before but my Thompson story: Back in '59 when I got to buy the Enfield at Kleins they were selling "deactivated" war souvenirs. The deactivation process was to pour lead into the barrel and breech. They were selling some really nice Thompsons for around $50. My buddy Joe and I looked very closely at the Thompsons but neither of us had that much money for a non-gun. The more we thought about it and discussed it we began to realize that "reactivating" the gun would not be all that difficult. Right next to the deactivated Thompsons was a bin of replacement barrels. Problem #1 solved. Now lead is soft and the Thompson breech was hardened steel. Some work with files and picks should be able to remove the soft lead. Each of us put in $25 and next month we had our Thompson. Took another month to get all the lead out of the breech but we had our Thompson hopefully working. Took another month to save up and buy 100 rounds of .45 ammo and we were ready to go. Took the Thompson out in the woods, tied and taped it to a tree, tied a long string to the trigger, got behind another big tree and pulled the string...RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT. Weuns had us a fully functional Thompson sub-machine gun!!
 
I posted this before but my Thompson story: Back in '59 when I got to buy the Enfield at Kleins they were selling "deactivated" war souvenirs. The deactivation process was to pour lead into the barrel and breech. They were selling some really nice Thompsons for around $50. My buddy Joe and I looked very closely at the Thompsons but neither of us had that much money for a non-gun. The more we thought about it and discussed it we began to realize that "reactivating" the gun would not be all that difficult. Right next to the deactivated Thompsons was a bin of replacement barrels. Problem #1 solved. Now lead is soft and the Thompson breech was hardened steel. Some work with files and picks should be able to remove the soft lead. Each of us put in $25 and next month we had our Thompson. Took another month to get all the lead out of the breech but we had our Thompson hopefully working. Took another month to save up and buy 100 rounds of .45 ammo and we were ready to go. Took the Thompson out in the woods, tied and taped it to a tree, tied a long string to the trigger, got behind another big tree and pulled the string...RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT. Weuns had us a fully functional Thompson sub-machine gun!!
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I have shot (for familiarization mostly) H&K MP5, M-14, AK47 and soon (I hope) an UZI. But the Thompson is still my favorite. Yes it is heavy, and it is dated . . .but I understand why it was well thought of by those who carried it into battle. We practiced firing 5 shot bursts . . .at man sized targets. With practice came proficiency. But I think that if I had served in WWII/Korea, I would have carried a Garand M-1. You would be surprised how fast you can load a Garand (practice makes perfect; there is no magazine to remove).
Keep your powder dry!
 
I have shot (for familiarization mostly) H&K MP5, M-14, AK47 and soon (I hope) an UZI.
I have an MP5 and it is an very sweet gun and very accurate at short distances.
The M14 was standard issue in early Vietnam. I trained with one at Fort Ord but as a Medic the old cannon was heavy so we were not required to carry one, just an old 1911 for "protection"!
AKs were all over Vietnam and I/we shot plenty of them. An excellent weapon, bury it in mud/sand/dirt shake it a bit and it fires every time. Every once in a while soak a rope in old motor oil and run it through the barrel and you're good to go. At times on infil-missions we wore the black "pajamas" and carried AKs (at 6'4" i fooled no one and looked plain silly). The distinctive sound meant that you could not carry one in a group setting.
The 9mm Uzi was my best weapon. Very soon I dropped the 1911 and "bought" an Uzi from an old Sarge going back to the world.
One of our team always wanted a Schmeisser. Somehow our weapons sergeant acquired one. We all got to "play" with it. The same 9mm Parabellum rounds as my Uzi which were easy to obtain
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I have an MP5 and it is an very sweet gun and very accurate at short distances.
The M14 was standard issue in early Vietnam. I trained with one at Fort Ord but as a Medic the old cannon was heavy so we were not required to carry one, just an old 1911 for "protection"!
AKs were all over Vietnam and I/we shot plenty of them. An excellent weapon, bury it in mud/sand/dirt shake it a bit and it fires every time. Every once in a while soak a rope in old motor oil and run it through the barrel and your good to go. At times on infil-missions we wore the black "pajamas" and carried AKs (at 6'4" i fooled no one and looked plain silly). The distinctive sound meant that you could not carry one in a group setting.
The 9mm Uzi was my best weapon. Very soon I dropped the 1911 and "bought" an Uzi from an old Sarg going back to the world.
One of our team always wanted a Schmeisser. Somehow our weapons sergeant acquired one. We all got to "play" with it. The same 9mm Parabellum rounds as my Uzi which were easy to obtain
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A GS employee, who worked with me in the military, was a Warrant Officer in Vietnam who did long range patrols in Laos where he carried a Browning HP and a Swedish sub machine gun. While he liked the 1911, the very nature of their mission kept them in areas that were hard to re-supply, so the BHP was substituted. At times he carried a CAR or an AK. He still has the Browning. Not sure where he got it.
 
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A GS employee, who worked with me in the military, was a Warrant Officer in Vietnam who did long range patrols in Laos where he carried a Browning HP and a Swedish sub machine gun. While he liked the 1911, the very nature of their mission kept them in areas that were hard to re-supply, so the BHP was substituted. At times he carried a CAR or an AK. He still has the Browning. Not sure where he got it.
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There is an excellent article in this months Guns & Ammo magazine inre to 9mmX19 barrel twist rates. Hornady began testing new bullets designed to expand/penetrate, etc for Self-Defense situations. When Hornady began testing their FTX bullet a few years back, they noticed that 9mm bullet expansion was greater when fired from pistol barrels with the faster twist rate of 1 in 10 inches. Hornady sent letters to various pistol manufacturers with their test findings, with a recommendation that they adopt the 1 in 10 twist rate for 9mm. Glock was already using the faster rate, but Ruger and S&W were then using slower rates (S&W had the slowest rates). Both Ruger & S&W have switched to the 1 in 10 twist rate. A good point to know in whether to purchase New or Used pistols for serious purposes. The US FBI adopted the Horn 139 FTX load for duty for their Glocks.
 
I consider all Remington rifles to be, essentially, disposable rifles for the short term. It's a good reminder from you folks of that and even the 700 proper still needs a Timney trigger to be safe unless they finally fixed that in the RemLin era.

What I really should do is look for another VZ-24 action and build up a nice proper rifle that way in .243 instead. I did that to make my 18" 7x57 carbine. Mauser. There really is no substitute... :cool:

Went back to the pawn shop and found a slightly different rifle instead of the Remington - a Weatherby Vanguard in .30-06 with synthetic stock & a Nichols 3 - 9x scope on it for only $349.95. Grabbed and ran. I have to send the bolt in for a safety modification that never got done on this one but that's free and then I'll mount a Weaver K-4 I have on it in place of the current scope. Then, hopefully, by next fall I can get a nice bit of walnut from Boyd's to replace the synthetic stock. Not quite a mauser type but that Howa action is a decent one.
 
Went back to the pawn shop and found a slightly different rifle instead of the Remington - a Weatherby Vanguard in .30-06 with synthetic stock & a Nichols 3 - 9x scope on it for only $349.95. Grabbed and ran. I have to send the bolt in for a safety modification that never got done on this one but that's free and then I'll mount a Weaver K-4 I have on it in place of the current scope. Then, hopefully, by next fall I can get a nice bit of walnut from Boyd's to replace the synthetic stock. Not quite a mauser type but that Howa action is a decent one.
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Good job. Howa's are fairly common and have a reputation for being accurate. A 3006 is never a mistake (I know I will get some arguments) and a 4X will cover many situations. In fact, I cannot remember when I needed more power (often have my 3X9s set at 4 power) when shots were taken at deer, resulting in clean one shot kills. My son was shooting a Mauser sporter with an old Redfield 4X last year and had no trouble keeping one inch groups at 100 yards. He was shooting handloads with 165 grain Nosler Partitions. However, 150 grains are used for deer. Congrats!
 
a Weatherby Vanguard
I have and shoot a Vanguard though in .25-06 and it is a better than excellent rifle...sub MOA. IMHO the synthetic stock is not as pretty but if you hunt in all weather conditions it is superior to a wooden stock...PLUS you will have to seat the new stock properly to retain the rifles factory accuracy guarantee
 
I have and shoot a Vanguard though in .25-06 and it is a better than excellent rifle...sub MOA. IMHO the synthetic stock is not as pretty but if you hunt in all weather conditions it is superior to a wooden stock...PLUS you will have to seat the new stock properly to retain the rifles factory accuracy guarantee
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I have and use both wood and synthetic. I too have a 25-06 with a factory synthetic stock that is stainless. Got it used several yrs ago and just now mounted a new fangled scope. I hope to use it this hunting season. In 2016 I used a synthetic 700 in 7mm08 to take a 9 point. However, nothing feels and handles like a well balanced rifle with a wood stock. Years ago, I acquired a sporter 1903 Springfield that an occupation Officer in Germany had gunsmithed by Joseph Leuthner, Austria between May 1945 - 1947. If you hold the rifle vertical, it feels a little heavy. However, I handed the rifle to a friend shortly after I got in and he said it 'handled like a well fitted shotgun.' It comes to the shoulder, all the while pointing ready to shoot. The muzzle seems to go gently where you think it should. A compromise; use lamented wood stock. It is heavier than wood if the outside stock dimensions are the same, but one can hollow out the barrel channel as well as drill one or two holes behind the butt plate/recoil pad. Glass bedding solves most stock related accuracy issues. My Varmint bbl Ruger No1 in 25-06 shoots great with its two piece wood stock.
Keep your powder dry!
 
The Mauser C96 (middle) is known as a "Blastech DL-44" in the Starwars universe. Originally issued to Imperial Officers, Han Solo ended up getting ahold of one. The "sight" on the DL-44 is actually an M19 tank telescope most commonly used on the M4 Sherman.

The Soviet Margolin (right) was know as a "DDC Defender" in the Star Wars universe.
 
That sherman sighr might be one way to get a c96 to hit the broadside of the barn from the inside... of course mine had a barrel so bad that even after relining it, I could probably hit the roof while aiming at the side. Yeah, it shot a little high ;)

Glad I bought it, glad I refurbed it, glad I sold it. An interesting experience but I'd rather find a nice WWI era 7.65 luger instead.
 
While at the range, I got a chance to chat with him asking him about the guns. Apparently this guy makes movie props and decided to fire some of them at the range. I was firing my Walther PPQ 5in and my new gun, a Walther CCP. We got to talking and he mentioned that he carried a Walther PPS. I let him fire my PPQ so that he could feel the difference in the triggers between his gun and mine. PPQ's have a fantastic trigger mechanism. After firing it, he agreed. He then returned the favor and let me fire Indiana Jones pistol. The sights were not very good being small and rounded on the edges but it was fun to shoot. Its a double action 1917 Colt military issue. That was a day to remember. .. I got to fire Indiana Jones' gun. :)
 
Went to the local range on my birthday last month and came across a fellow who had an interesting assortment of guns he was firing... Any of them look familiar?
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While at the range, I got a chance to chat with him asking him about the guns. Apparently this guy makes movie props and decided to fire some of them at the range. I was firing my Walther PPQ 5in and my new gun, a Walther CCP. We got to talking and he mentioned that he carried a Walther PPS. I let him fire my PPQ so that he could feel the difference in the triggers between his gun and mine. PPQ's have a fantastic trigger mechanism. After firing it, he agreed. He then returned the favor and let me fire Indiana Jones pistol. The sights were not very good being small and rounded on the edges but it was fun to shoot. Its a double action 1917 Colt military issue. That was a day to remember. .. I got to fire Indiana Jones' gun. :)
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L to R: S&W Second Model of 1915, caliber 455, 6.5 inch bbl for British WWI contract, Broomhandle Mauser caliber 30 Mauser, and have no idea of one on R. As I understand it, most of the S&W revolvers went to or through Canada for service. Not sure if they were re-issued during WWII.
 
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L to R: S&W Second Model of 1915, caliber 455, 6.5 inch bbl for British WWI contract, Broomhandle Mauser caliber 30 Mauser, and have no idea of one on R. As I understand it, most of the S&W revolvers went to or through Canada for service. Not sure if they were re-issued during WWII.
The pistol to the right of the C96 Mauser is a Soviet (Russian) Margolin .22 LR pistol.
 

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