Category: Gratuitous Gun Pics

The Dirty Half-Dozen

Gratuitous Gun Pics

These are the guns which sold as a lot for a total of $1,100 at a recent auction.

Now granted, they all look rather well-used (rode hard and put away wet, as the saying goes), and I suspect most will require some serious gunsmithing to get up to snuff.   Nevertheless, I for one would welcome any one  of them into Ye Olde Gunne Sayffe (especially the 1897 pump at the top), let alone all six.

Yummy.

Advance notice: tomorrow’s GGP post will contain MOAR shotguns.  You have been warmed.

Top 100 Guns, Revisited

Gratuitous Gun Pics, Old Essays, The Gun Thing

Not long ago, I happened to see SOTI (Somewhere On The Internet) a link to one of my earlier Other Side Of Kim posts, and when I followed the link out of idle curiosity, of course I hit the “Site No Longer Around” page.

But as I recall, it had quite a few comments attached, so in the interests of causing mayhem, I’ve decided to republish the thing, more or less unchanged except that I’ve added pics.  (Newcomers are in red, deletions/substitutions at the bottom of this post.)  What amazes me is — surprise, surprise — how little I’ve changed my mind over the dozen-odd years that have passed.

No Real Cap

October 12, 2007
2:36 AM CDT

Okay, I’ve just about had it with those crappy articles which ask stupid questions like: “If you could own only one gun, which would it be?” or “Name the gun you’d like to shoot exclusively for the rest of your life?” and so on. (And yes, I’ve probably written more of this type of nonsense than any two gun writers combined.)

All the above involve choices which require painful reflection and soul-searching.

But what about if you had no restrictions on quantity (speaking reasonably, that is—some guy might want thirty AK-47s, but that’s just silly, unless he’s the Commandant of his local Red Dawn unit [eyecross]).

So, if we can agree that “one hundred” is a nice round number, herewith are my choices for Kim’s Top 100 Gun Choices (and if you think that a hundred is “too constricting”, you may need help). For ease of reference, I’ve broken them down into sub-groups—BUT: if you think that shotguns are woefully under-represented when you draw up your own list, that’s fine. As to the composition of the list, I am of course hopelessly and unrepentantly old-fashioned, so if you are mortally offended that I didn’t put your favorite H&K Model Whatever on the list, that’s just too damn bad.

The guns are listed alphabetically, not in order of preference.

  • Centerfire / Single-Shot Revolvers:
  1. Bond Arms Derringer (.45 Colt/.410ga)
  2. Colt Diamondback (.38 Spec)
  3. Colt Python (.357 Mag)
  4. Colt SAA (.45 Colt)
  5. Ruger SP101 (.357 Mag)
  6. Ruger Redhawk (.357 Mag)
  7. Ruger Super Blackhawk (.30 Carbine)
  8. Ruger Super Blackhawk (.44 Mag)
  9. Ruger Vaquero (.45 Colt)
  10. S&W Mod 637 (.38 Spec +P)
  11. S&W Mod 65 (.357 Mag)
  12. S&W Mod 686 (.357 Mag)
  13. Uberti 1875 Frontier (.45 Colt)
  • Centerfire Semi-Auto Pistols:
  1. Browning High Power (9mm Para)
  2. Colt Gold Cup 1911 (.45 ACP)
  3. Colt 1903 (.32 ACP)
  4. Mauser C96 “Broomhandle” (7.63mm Mauser)
  5. SIG P210 Target (9mm Para)
  6. Springfield 1911 (.45 ACP)
  7. Walther PP (9mm Kurz)
    Rimfire Handguns (all .22 LR unless otherwise)
  1. Beretta Mod 75 Jaguar semi-auto
  2. Browning Buckmark Plus SS semi-auto
  3. Browning Challenger semi-auto
  4. Colt Diamondback DA revolver
  5. Colt Officers Match DA revolver
  6. Colt Trooper Mk III DA revolver
  7. NAA Mini-Revolver SA .22 LR/.22 Mag
  8. Ruger Single-Ten SA revolver .22 LR

  9. Ruger Single-Nine SA revolver .22 Mag

  10. S&W Mod 17 K-22 DA “Kit Gun” revolver
  11. S&W Mod 48 DA revolver .22 Mag
  12. S&W Mod 617 DA 10-shot revolver
  • Rimfire Rifles (all .22 LR unless otherwise)
  1. BSA-Martini single-shot
  2. CZ 453 Varmint bolt-action
  3. CZ ZKM 611A semi-auto .22 Mag
  4. Marlin 39A lever-action
  5. Marlin 882SV bolt-action .22 Mag
  6. Marlin 880SQ bolt-action
  7. Remington 552 Speedmaster semi-auto
  8. Taurus Mod 62 pump
  9. Thompson R55 Sporter semi-auto
  10. Winchester Mod 63 semi-auto
  • Centerfire Bolt-Action Rifles:
  1. Arisaka Type 99 (7.7x53mm Jap)
  2. CZ 527 Carbine (7.62x39mm)

  3. CZ 550 FS (6.5x55mm Swede)
  4. CZ 550 / Brno 602 (.375 H&H)
  5. Lee-Enfield No.4 MkI (.303 Enfield)
  6. Mauser Gew 98 (8x57mm)
  7. Mauser K98 (8x57mm)
  8. Mauser M12 (6.5x55mm)
  9. Mauser M48 (.308 Win—“Israeli”)
  10. Mauser M96 (6.5x55mm—“Swede”)
  11. Mosin-Nagant Mod 91/30 (7.62x54mmR)
  12. Mosin-Nagant Mod 44 (7.62x54mmR)
  13. Savage Mod 12 Varmint (.223 Rem)
  14. Schmidt-Rubin K11 Carbine (7.5x55mm—“Swiss”)
  15. Schmidt-Rubin K31 (7.5x55mm—“Swiss”)
  16. SMLE MkIII No.1 (.303 Enfield)
  17. Springfield ‘03-A3 (.30-06)
  18. Steyr M95 (8x56mmR)
  19. Winchester M1917 (.30-06)
  20. Winchester Mod 54 (.257 Roberts)
  21. Winchester pre-‘64 Mod 70 (.270 Win)
  22. Winchester Pattern 1914 (.303 Enfield)
  • Centerfire Lever-Action Rifles
  1. Marlin 1894 (.357 Mag)
  2. Marlin 1895 (.45-70 Govt)
  3. Marlin 336 (.30-30)
  4. Savage 99 (.250-3000 Savage)
  5. Winchester 1895 (.405 Win)
  6. Winchester Mod 94 (.32 Win Spec)
  • Centerfire Single-Shot Rifles
  1. Browning 1885 High Wall (.45-70 Govt)
  2. Merkel 140 double (.375 H&H)
  3. Dakota Arms Mod 76 (.375 H&H Mag)
  4. Krieghoff Drilling (20ga/20ga/7x57mm)
  5. Ruger #1 Tropical (.416 Rigby)
  • Centerfire Semi-Auto Rifles
  1. Browning BAR (.270 Win)
  2. FN-FAL (7.62x51mm)
  3. M1 Carbine (.30 Carbine)
  4. M1 Garand (.30-06)
  5. SAR-1/AK-47 (7.62x39mm)
  6. SAFN 49 (8x57mm)
  7. SAFN 49 (7x57mm—“Venezuelan”)
  8. SKS (7.62x39mm)
  9. Walther G43 (8x57mm)
  • Shotguns
  1. Aguirre y Aranzabal No.4 SxS (20ga) and
  2. Aguirre y Aranzabal No.4 SxS (20ga) — matched pair of boxlocks
  3. Browning A5 semi-auto (16ga—“Sweet Sixteen”)
  4. Browning A5 semi-auto (20ga—“Light Twenty”)
  5. Browning Gold Hunter semi-auto (20ga)
  6. Mossberg 500 pump (12ga—“Mariner”)
  7. Remington 1100 semi-auto (20ga)
  8. Remington 870 Express Slug (12ga)
  9. Winchester 1897 pump (12ga)
  • Class III
  1. Browning Automatic Rifle “BAR” (.30-06)
  2. Bren LMG (.303 Enfield)
  3. Haenel STG-44
  4. M3 SMG (.45 ACP—“Grease Gun”)
  5. MP38 SMG (9mm Para—“Schmeisser”)
  6. Sten SMG (9mm Para)
  7. Thompson 1927-A1 (.45 ACP—“Tommy”)

You might think that it took me a long time to compile this list of favorites, but you’d be wrong. It took me less than a couple of hours.

Most of the guns will be familiar to everyone (with the possible exception of the AyA shotguns), and if not, they’re in the GGP section. There are a couple of notable omissions, which probably need a little explanation.

  • All the Beretta, Remington, Winchester, Benelli and Browning “big name” O/U sporting shotguns:  I prefer the side-by-side action to over/under, and it seems like none of the aforementioned make their guns in 16ga anymore;
  • All the Winchester, Benelli and Browning “big name” semi-auto sporting shotguns: I’m not that big on semi-auto shotguns, with the exception of the Browning A5 line;
  • Various calibers: These are pretty much my favorite chamberings—and with these, I can shoot anything in the world that I want, given the opportunity.

So there you have it: Kim’s favorite 100 guns. Something to please, and to offend, everyone. Kinda like all my posts.

Deleted (and substitutions):

  1. High Standard Supermatic semi-auto .22 LR
  2. Ruger Single Six (replaced by the Single-Nine and -Ten)
  3. Ruger SP101 DA revolver .22 LR
  4. Beretta Mod 70 (9mm Kurz) (replaced by the Colt 1903)
  5. Uberti 1890 Police (replaced by the 1875 Frontier)
  6. Marlin Camp 45 (.45 ACP)
  7. T/C Encore (.223 Rem)
    • (.243 Win)
    • (.308 Win)
  8. Kassnar Windsor SxS (16ga—“Churchill”) (I have one, and it’s crap)
  9. Remington 700 (.308 Win) (replaced by the Mauser M12)

Any questions about the above selections / deletions / substitutions will be answered in Comments.

Gratuitous Gun Pic: Browning Sweet Sixteen (16ga)

Gratuitous Gun Pics, The Gun Thing

As something of an old-fashioned man with eccentric tastes, I have to confess that sometimes my innate sense of logic runs away and hides, leaving me with a fondness for something totally unfashionable.

Probably the most egregious of these is a love of the 16ga shotgun chambering.  [pause to allow the mocking laughter to subside]

I can probably blame John Moses Browning.  Why?  Because of this:

Yes, it’s the venerable Auto-5 (“A5”, as it’s now known), and in 16ga it is known as the “Sweet Sixteen”.  It was the first shotgun I ever owned, and countless rounds went down its barrel before I was finally forced to sell it during the Foul Time Of Poverty, some ten-odd years ago.

I am not the only one thus afflicted — I always found the 12ga shotguns, even the semi-auto ones, a little too much to handle, especially given the quantities of rounds I would fire at a single setting.  I also enjoy shooting the 20ga nowadays (e.g. the gun I keep at Free Market Towers, thankee Squire):

…but were it not for the ridicule and merciless teasing I would have to endure from Mr. Free Market (“not much less recoil, much less effective than the 12” etc. etc.), I would have held out for a 16ga side-by-side for my Britishland Shooting Adventures, such as they were.  Something like this gorgeous Arrieta:

Indeed, before the Tragic Canoeing Accident In The Brazos River, I used to keep a cheap Spanish 16ga side-by-side as a bedside gun.

But getting back to the Browning Sweet Sixteen:  I have to admit that the Auto-5 was not John Browning’s best design.  Even in the “weaker” 16ga chambering, it kicked the hell out of me, and as for the “Light” 12 variant — boy, talk about a misnomer.

Still, whenever I see one of the new Sweet Sixteens, I get a twitching in a familiar place:

…and it’s not in my shoulder, either.

All that said, the 16ga is not an optimal choice nowadays, practically speaking.

  • There aren’t a lot of them around — that Arietta is the only 16ga shotgun in four pages of shotguns at Collectors — and that means that there isn’t a lot of choice when it comes to ammo.
  • The 16ga also fails Mr. Free Market’s “Availability” test — where if one’s gun is separated from its ammo, will there be a box or two lying around?  For 12ga, that would be a resounding “yes”, for 20ga, also a yes  albeit perhaps not so resounding.  For 16ga?  You’ll be lucky to find any  of it at Ye Localle Gunne Emporium in Nowhere, Idaho, let alone in the outfitter’s glove box.
  • While the 16ga cartridge does have less recoil than the 12ga, it’s not that  much less — and it’s lots  more than the 20ga.

Like I said, it’s an impractical choice for someone perhaps just beginning to shoot shotguns.

Just don’t shoot a Sweet Sixteen as your first, and you’ll probably be okay.

Gratuitous Gun Pic – Champlin Sport (.416 Rigby)

Gratuitous Gun Pics

Browsing through Collectors with nothing but gun lust on the brain, I come across this vision of loveliness:

An octagonal barrel in a dangerous-game rifle?  Have mercy.

People often talk about horse-racing as “the sport of kings”.  With all due respect, I think the appellation more correctly applies to big game hunting.  Why so?  Because rifles as fine as this Champlin Sport cost a king’s ransom, that’s why.

Granted, this is a handmade number — and a quick scrutiny of, say, James Purdey’s wares will show you how kingly a sport that  is — and I should also mention that I can never venture up I-35 to Enid, Oklahoma because that’s where danger lurks, in the shape of the Champlin Firearms establishment.  Their  wares are positively Purdeyesque, and the $7,500 asked by Collectors for the above rifle barely comes close to the average gun in  Champlin’s inventory.

Lemme check those lottery numbers quickly… ah, shit.

Gratuitous Gun Pic: S&W Mod 48 (.22 WMR)

Gratuitous Gun Pics

We are all familiar with Kim’s #1 Principle of Guns:  a .22 gun is not in fact a gun;  it is a household appliance (and every home should have one, be it a rifle or a handgun).  The corollary thereto is that .22 ammo is likewise not actually ammunition, but a household commodity like salt or sugar.

And while this is absolutely true for the venerable .22 Long Rifle, there is a higher level of household commodity, if you will — not salt or sugar, but, shall we say something that could also be classed as a commodity but has a tad more spice to it — something that makes life more enjoyable, like BBQ sauce, or mustard, or Tabasco sauce — which adds to the enjoyment of life, and I don’t think anyone is going to argue too much with me on this point.

Which brings me to my favorite cartridge of the small ones, the .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, a.k.a. the.22 WMR or still more simply, the .22 Mag.  I love this tangy little rimfire cartridge with a passion, and it remains a mystery to me why it’s not more popular among shooters (the lack of popularity no doubt being the reason why it is priced as high as it is today).

Basically, the .22 Mag does everything that a .22 LR cartridge can do, only with a 50-yard longer reach and an impact that makes it more deadly without adding in the slightest to felt recoil.  You want numbers?  Using a 40-grain bullet, the.22 LR ammo runs at 1,200 fps, while a .22 mag leaves a rifle barrel traveling at 1,800 fps.  That 50% increase in velocity creates a significant difference in muzzle energy : the .22 LR typically weighs in at around 140 foot-pounds at the muzzle, but the .22 Mag. generates more than double that — around 300 ft-lbs.  Without the huge cost difference, the Mag would leave the LR in the dust — at least, it would in my case.

I have one rifle (Marlin 882) and one handgun (Ruger Single Six) chambered in .22 Mag, but I want more.  Which brings us to day’s GGP, the S&W Model 48:

This particular little beauty is at Collectors Firearms, and the only thing that’s stopped me from getting one is the nosebleed price.  (At Bud’s Gun Shop, the 6″ barreled model is over $100 cheaper… stop me before I do something foolish.)

“So Kim,” you may ask, “why do you want another .22 Mag revolver?”

Because I can, because it’s double- and not single action, and because it’s beautiful.  And in case I didn’t mention it earlier, because I love the .22 Mag cartridge.