Category: Gratuitous Gun Pics

Gratuitous Gun Pic: Volquartsen Classic (.22 Win Mag)

Gratuitous Gun Pics

Whenever I’ve discussed super-accurate rimfire rifles, I think I’ve given the Volquartsen folks short shrift, simply by not mentioning them — maybe because they are pretty much the guns of choice for the hard-core target- and competition shooters, and their prices reflect the degree of fit and finish that those disciplines demand.  The one below, at Collectors, is priced at just under $2,000 (secondhand), for example:

Ignoring the foul laminate stock, this is a serious semi-auto rifle, and it’s one I would gladly take out for a little garbage dump rat action — but at the price, I would have to really hate rats, and in my unsteady hands, I doubt I would do that much worse with my trusty Marlin 882 boltie in the same chambering.

All that said:  there’s something to be said for owning a semi-auto rifle that is the equal of pretty much any precision bolt-action rifle in the same caliber, and one where you can’t just buy a new one — it has to be made for you.  So at the price… it’s quite a bargain.

I’ve only ever fired the Volquartsen .22 LR, never owned one, but my memory is of a superlative trigger and rock-solid consistency.  And the one I shot just loved CCI Green Tag ammo — of course, the premium rifle would prefer the spendy target feed.

All comments gratefully received.

Gratuitous Gun Pic – Remington 7400 (.270 Win)

Gratuitous Gun Pics, The Gun Thing

Also just in at Collectors is the rifle for those who are leery of owning an “assault rifle”, or whose state government provides the leeriness:  the semi-auto hunting rifle of all time, in the all-time hunting cartridge.

I once had one of these exact guns, traded it for something else, and regretted the trade almost immediately afterwards.  (The fact that I remember this gun and not the gun I traded it for speaks volumes.)

I know, it only has a 5-round magazine, but 10-round mags cost only $30 or so.  And the gun itself is a decent buy at just under $800 — remember, Collectors has premium pricing so if you find one elsewhere cheaper, be my guest;  but Collectors doesn’t sell crap or broken guns.

Gratuitous Gun Pic – S&W 1500 (7mm Rem Mag)

Gratuitous Gun Pics, The Gun Thing

I don’t tout stuff from Collectors Firearms as often as I used to, but this one’s a steal:

These rifles were made by Howa in Japan using S&W specs, and they’re as good as any of the Weatherby Vanguards or Browning shotguns they also made in that era.

I would upgrade the scope (if necessary), thread the muzzle and pop either a brake or suppressor on the end to attenuate the 7mm Mag’s recoil.

And I could afford to do all that because the rifle costs less than $500 (!!!).  An absolute bargain — but get there quickly because it just came into stock at Collectors, and at that price it’s not going to stay there for long.

Prestige

Gratuitous Gun Pics

Mr. Free Market points me at this wondrous gun:

…and its review.

Typically, one uses this thing to hunt birds with names beginning with the letter “p” (partridge, pheasant, parrot) in locales such as this:

However, it should be said that the Prestige costs somewhat more than $11,000 — and if I review its characteristics against my shotgun preferences (other than price):

  • side-by-side barrels:  nope (O/U)
  • double trigger:  nope (single)
  • straight “English” buttstock:  nope (pistol grip)
  • splinter forestock:  nope (heavy full)
  • weighs no more than 6.5 lbs:  nope (8+ lbs)

…it fails miserably, on all counts.

Now had he sent me a similar review on this gun, I might have been more drawn to the idea of spending about two-thirds of my annual SocSec income [eyecross]  on a bespoke shotgun.

As you can see, the Sovereign model retails for about half the Prestige, and has ALL my desired features (other than price).

One more time:  shotgun barrels should be side by side like a man and his dog, and not over and under like a man and his mistress.

Gratuitous Gun Pic – FN Mauser 24/30 (7x57mm)

Gratuitous Gun Pics

It occurs to me that we haven’t had a decent pic of a gun on this here website in ages, so without any more to-do, here goes:

Like the similar-but-not-identical Czech Model 1924, the Mauser 24/30 rifle was made for the Venezuelan army by Belgium’s Fabrique National, and not by Mauser (the Germans having been banned from making weapons for being Very Naughty Boys between 1914 and 1918).

I’m not going to go on about the gun’s history — between Othias, Mae and Ian McCollum, the topic has been extensively covered — but what I am going to go on about is the rifle itself, and its cartridge.

I happened upon one of these beauties at a local gun parlor, and were it not for the fact that I had only the budget to buy Daughter her carry piece, I would have walked away with two guns that day — a not-uncommon occurrence during Times Of Plenty back then.

If you can find one in  minty condition, this is not a rifle to be left on the rack.  The action is (duh) Mauser 98, the chambering is for one of my favorite cartridges, and were I to see that same one right now, I would sell a child or something to get it.   Here’s a comparison of like cartridges:

…and you can see that the 7x57mm is different from all the rest in that it has a long, thin bullet which provides excellent penetration.  This, lest we forget, is the same cartridge which kicked the .30-40 Krag’s ass during the Spanish-American War, and pushed the U.S. Army towards the .30-06 Springfield as a replacement.

I like the 7×57 because its recoil is relatively light, although I will also concede that it’s not the flattest-shooting cartridge past 200 yards.

But for an all-purpose rifle that can handle most small- to medium game and errrr two-legged targets with the same effect, you could do worse — a lot worse — than have one of these in your safe.