Not just the guns, but all the stuff that goes with them
At least 100 rounds of your favorite centerfire ammo; at least 500 rounds of rimfire.
…and forget not that it’s my birthday too; so if any Kynde Soulle wants to send a token gesture of appreciation out to the sooper-seekrit mailing address, it would be much appreciated.
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.
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.
Rimfire Handguns (all .22 LR unless otherwise)
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.
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):
Any questions about the above selections / deletions / substitutions will be answered in Comments.
I see that the Supremes have fucked up yet again:
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday families of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting can proceed with their lawsuit against gunmaker Remington Arms.
The high court decided it won’t take up the case, but said the families can still seek damages from the gun company over the 2012 Newtown, Conn., attack that killed 20 children and six adults. Justices rejected Remington’s argument that firearm manufacturers are shielded from liability in crimes.
The families argue Remington marketed the AR-15-style assault rifle in a fashion that inspired shooter Adam Lanza to plot the attack. Advertisements, they say, promoted the gun as “a highly lethal weapon designed for purposes that are illegal — namely, killing other human beings.”
The lawsuit says Remington should never have sold a weapon that dangerous to the public — and argues Remington used product placement in violent video games.
Remington has argued a 2005 federal law shields gunmakers from liability for crimes committed with their products. Tuesday, the Supreme Court justices rejected that position.
I feel I should say something about this travesty, but what I say could possibly result in an unfriendly visit from a federal alphabet agency — to be met by an extremely unfriendly reception from yours truly — so I’ll just shut up.
So much for that “conservative” Supreme Court the Left has been wailing about.
If I had the money, I would buy a fucking Remington AR-15 right now, even though I’m not a fan of AR-15s (as any fule kno) and apparently the Remington variants are not highly regarded by the AR-15 cognoscenti.
I think I am going to buy another Remington product, however, just so they can get a few bucks into their coffers to defend themselves against this bullshit. But which one?
There’s the 1911R1 (as a possible replacement for my venerable Springfield):
Then the 870 pump, always a crowd-pleaser, and I’ve never owned one before:
And because I still don’t own a semi-auto .22 rifle (sssshhhh don’t tell the TX state police), there’s the little heavy-barreled 592:
Or I could just go for something a little more ummm deadly (seeing as that’s what’s getting everyone upset), like the Remington Semi-Automatic Carbine in (say) .308 Win:
None of that wussy AR-15 .223 shit for Kimmy, not in my current mood.
Sadly, right at this moment I can’t afford any gun, but I think I can formulate a plan to get one which would satisfy everyone except Michael fucking Bloomberg.
Watch this space…
It’s not often a photo makes me go “WTF?” (unless it’s of the latest incarnation of a Kardashian’s ever-expanding ass), but this one made me choke on my breakfast gin:
Let’s list the atrocities:
…on a lever rifle?
Great Vulcan’s bleeding hemorrhoids. As any fule kno, a proper lever rifle should look like this:
or this:
and be fired by men who look like this:
…which is as God, Oliver Winchester and John Moses Browning intended.
THAT SAID: the article which accompanies that first (appalling) photograph is extremely interesting. Hie thee thence and read it.
They’ll be putting scopes on lever rifles next. Oh wait, don’t tell me… aaaaargh:
I think I’ll have another gin, just to steady my nerves. What the hell, it’s almost sunrise.
For reasons known only to our Immigration bureaucrats (don’t ask), I was not able to join Mr. Free Market, Doc Russia and Combat Controller for the annual deer slaughter stalk in the Cairngorms this year (for my experiences two years ago, see here and here). I was feeling somewhat peeved about it all, until Mr. FM sent me this pic:
I should point out that the temperature for the town nearby is given as 33°F for the daytime high, and about 5 degrees lower tonight. I should also point out that this is a complete lie, as the temperature up in the hills — where all the hunting takes place — is probably ten degrees colder than that, and that’s before the 20mph wind kicks in. I think the term is “witch’s tit cold”.
Suddenly, I’m not feeling as peeved as I was. Tonight’s forecast low of 30°F here in Plano seems quite balmy by comparison, especially as I’ll be sitting indoors with a brandy & ginger ale in hand, and not freezing my nuts off in the Angus Glens.
Cheers, guys…
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.
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.