Obscure guns and variants that hold your interest

[JSGlock34]

There are a few obscure guns that have managed to hold my interest over the years. For example, I still find some of the last 1911 variants used by the USMC intriguing, particularly the MEU(SOC) 1911s that were rebuilt and rebuilt and rebuilt over the years by Precision Weapons Section at Quantico. What I found most interesting about the MEU(SOC) guns was that they used a recipe that mixed parts from nearly every major custom 1911 maker - Ed Brown safety and beavertail, Wilson magazines, Caspian slide and magazine release, Bar-sto barrel, Cylinder & Slide trigger and hammer, the list goes on. Interestingly, the USMC couldn't build enough of these pistols to meet demand, and so at varying times added a mix of Kimber, Springfield Professional, and Springfield Custom Shop pistols to the force. Later, these pistols would be succeeded by the short-lived (and less interesting to me) Colt M45A1.

Among long arms I've long had an interest in some of the more obscure Russian assault rifles, particularly the AN-94 and AEK-971. I've posted (https://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?20726-Project-Akaban&p=576937&styleid=17) about some of these less well known rifles before (though perhaps the AEK-971 and AEK-973 will gain more notice after this recent news (http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2018/01/30/breaking-russian-army-adopts-ak-12-ak-15-aek-971-aek-973-rifles-military-service-real-time/)). I thought Larry Vickers' video series in Russia where he shot the AN-94, AEK-971, AK-12, and AK-400 was terrific.

And, of course I still think the HK G11 is super cool (as well as the other ACR Rifles). The ACR competition kicked off in my youth, and I scoured the gun magazines of the day for as much information as possible on these rifles. These are very much the rifles of the future that never came to pass.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVRyY5QH9Lo

What obscure firearms and variants still hold your interest?

[Robinson]

The MEUSOC guns are interesting with their numerous generations. The last batch of guns used by SFOD-D were interesting too, and were the basis for the Springfield Armory TRP Operator -- or at least that's what I've read. I have no way of knowing if true or not and I won't pretend about it.

The Winchester 1895s sent overseas for military service are interesting, along with the 1876 muskets.

[FNFAN]

I've been fascinated with full stock carbines since reading Islands In the Stream many years ago. Wanted to find a 1903 model for ages but ran on to a sweet little 1957 in .243. Easy to shoot and fast handling. I started my career with a 6.5" Model 27 and have owned one or another flavor of N-frame .357 ever since. Gave my kid my 5" M-27 as a post-deployment gift and inherited my Dad's 3" which along with my Springfield 1911 is a you'll-have-to-pry-it-from-my-cold-dead-fingers gun.

[CSW]

I've always had a thing for the Savage 99.
Obscure in the fact that it had a rotary magazine in a lever action rifle.
I've owned them in 308, 250 savage, 300 savage and 30/30.
By far, the most pleasant capable hunting rifle I have ever owned was the '99 in 300 savage.
I've either sold or traded away all of them, but hope some day to find a Savage 99 , chambered in 300 savage, in a take-down version.

https://www.theoutdoorstrader.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/i.imgur.com_jvGED.jpg

[Hambo]

Bolo Mausers

Bergmann Simplex

Merwin-Hulbert large frame revolvers

Pachmayr Combat Special

Large bore double rifles

[OlongJohnson]

The Savage 99 is a beautiful gun, but I don't think of it as "obscure."

CZ rimfires and Sako centerfires with full stocks can be beautiful, and I kinda want one of each, but I don't think of them as obscure.

I do have a few limited-production Buck Marks that are interesting and cool. Still wouldn't call them obscure - they're Buck Marks, after all.

I normally think obscure guns are obscure for a reason. Perhaps it comes from decades of living and breathing cars. Cars that are obscure were, it turns out, never actually mechanically excellent. Perhaps they had some innovation or were interesting in some way, but I can't think of one that was truly an excellent system and simply got ignored by the world. I haven't gotten into collecting rare stuff. I think of my guns as deployable systems, except for a couple that have Big War roots and were just interesting and not very expensive. And I still wouldn't call them obscure.

[Bigghoss]

I've always had a thing for the Savage 99.

I have one in .243. There's a nice .30-30 at the gun store that's been there way too long but I already have 3 other .30-30's and I spent all my money on black tactical stuff.


As for obscure, probably any of the stuff that was coming in before the AWB like the FNC or Daewoo K series. I also have 4 old bolt-action shotguns. Smoothbore, not slug guns.

[txdpd]

I did (or still do) have a man crush on Charles Bronson. That lead me to buy a couple Savage 99's from Death Hunt and on the obscure front a Wildey 475 from Death Wish.

[Totem Polar]

I don’t know if this counts or not, but I’ve owned more NYPD-spec wheelies over the years than any other category of gun except maybe Glock; NY-1s, GPNYs, SPNYs... I really like bead-blasted DAO revolvers. Aside from the finish and factory DAO, there is nothing even remotely unusual about them. Well, the SPNY is slightly smaller and lighter, due to the gen 1 frame window and shorter .38-only cylinder, and I think that’s pretty cool compared to today’s off the shelf SP101, but that’s about it.

[Cecil Burch]

A French 9mm pistol, the MAB PA-15. A LGS had one when I was in high school and I almost bought it. It was like an updated Hi-Power. I’ve never seen one for sale since, so it always remained in the back of my head as one that I should have got.

[Joe in PNG]

Browning designed pocket autos, and those odd Austrian pre-war service pistols.

[Malamute]

The Colt Richards/Mason conversions of percussion revolvers have long interested me. The early trapdoor conversions (1866) of percussion rifled muskets also have, along with the 1868 50-70 trapdoors.

The coolest of the Buffalo Sharps rifles Ive seen were conversion guns of Civil War percussion carbines converted by the factory and by gunsmiths into cartridge guns. Quite a lot of the guns purported to be 1874 Sharps are in fact conversion guns. Its simple to tell the difference if you know what to look for.

The Gemmer sporting rifles, percussion muzzle loaders converted to trapdoor breechloaders, are on my list of things to have if the budget ever allows. The ones I like the most are period correct style Hawken rifles made into 50-70 breechloaders.

The shoulder stocked Colt single Action Army revolvers, particularly the ones with carbine sights in the frame have sparked my interest. A shoulder stocked revolver is probably one of the few things that would interest me enough to get a stamp for, although an SBR Thompson carbine may also.

The Ferguson breech loading flintlock rifles are also quite interesting to me. There have been some pretty good modern handmade copies made.


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[Totem Polar]

^^^super-cool pics, Malamute. Pics are probably a good idea in this thread, so I’ll throw one of my favorites up, just because (not my collection, btw)

[Kyle Reese]

I’ve always regretted parting with my MAS 49/56 years ago, and do lust for a semi auto FAMAS, for absolutely no good or logical reason. That said, I’d like to add a pair of Dutch contract FN Mauser carbines, both Wilhelmina and Juliana marked, to my collection. Oh, and a Madsen M47 in .30-06.....


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[JSGlock34]

I spent a great deal of time deeply considering the merits of the AUG against other competing assault rifles before adding one to the safe based solely on its attributes as a combat firearm.

http://www.imfdb.org/images/thumb/6/69/DH-AUG-2.jpg/800px-DH-AUG-2.jpg

[PNWTO]

Northwest Trade Guns: (http://www.speakingcedar.com/in-depth-northwest-guns.html)

http://www.speakingcedar.com/uploads/1/6/5/0/16503354/6918091.png


King Charles II of England granted a charter in May of 1670 for the Company of Adventures trading into Hudson's Bay, and a true legend was born. Guns are mentioned in the minutes of the Hudson's Bay Company as early as 1671. Various types were traded regularly, but not until 1761 was there a mention of a specific gun called a Northwest Gun: a request by a gun smith to the company for parts, "Same as for the Northwest Gun."


Essentially a do-it-all rifle that started early in the beginning of European settlement of North America and was still found in rugged places to end of the 19th Century. They were brought in as tools and trading commodities and were customized, modified, and produced by so many different makers that each one has a unique history and if you are fan of early pre-Revolution American History you can go down quite the rabbit hole with researching these. They tended to outrun settlement, so some interesting developments happened, like Alaskan Natives creating effective body armor.

http://www.speakingcedar.com/uploads/1/6/5/0/16503354/3398303.png

From another brief source: (http://www.edmontonhousebrigade.com/about-us/some-observations-concerning-northwest-trade-guns)


The second cause of problems with Northwest Guns was the treatment they received. They were designed for everyday use by people born into a Neolithic hunting culture. Never cherished or cared for, many of the surviving guns in museum collections show evidence of an incredibly hard life. Although designed to take hard use there is some abuse that no gun can withstand.

Once I had my gun at a Native camp in the Mackenzie Mountains in the Western NWT. The very presence of the gun was encouraging the Elders present to reminisce about their own guns. Many of them had begun hunting in the early part of the twentieth century using muzzleloading guns. They told me stories of having only three musket balls to last for the whole winter. If an animal was shot at and missed they would ignore the animal and go digging through the show to retrieve the ball. Big game such as moose or caribou was shot in a fleshy part so that the ball could be recovered in the skinning process without being flattened or distorted. Hunters could not afford to fire or unload their guns each night, so they stayed loaded for many days with predictable corrosive effects on the touchhole and breech plug. They were seldom cleaned and hardly ever cleaned properly.

Since these guns were carried loaded every day there was a good chance the ball would be dislodged and move away from the powder charge. Also, guns were fired when the barrel was plugged with snow. Either of these conditions would cause the barrel to burst. I was cleaning my gun while listening to these stories when I got the ramrod jammed. After giving it an extra hard tug I managed to pull off the ramrod tip, which was then stuck halfway down the barrel. No problem, the Elders told me, they would simply take the barrel out of the stock and lay it across a fire until it was red-hot. The patch would burn up allowing the ramrod tip to fall out! Most modern steels won’t take that kind of abuse, let alone an eighteenth century barrel with a lap weld along the bottom. It is no wonder so many Northwest Guns had short, brutal lives.

Significantly, all the Elders had very fond memories of their old muzzleloaders. They had the reputation as guns that never missed. At demonstrations at Fort Edmonton I enjoy telling visitors that there is no modern gun that can do what my versatile Northwest Gun can do. Light enough to be carried all day long, a 24 or 20 gauge (.58 or .62 calibre) has a large enough bore to kill big game animals, but it can also be loaded with shot and used to take small animals like muskrat or ptarmigan. And there, finally, is the reason for the longevity of the Northwest Gun. They were the first guns designed and made specifically to be used in North America and the design evolved until it fit the market demand perfectly.

[HCM]

Some of my random guns interests include:

5' S&W N frames

John Jovino and Magnaport snubby N frames

6mm Lee Navy Straight pull bolt rifle aka Lee Rifle Model of 1895, 6mm. The concept was ahead of its time. The engineering just wasn't quite advanced enough to support the concept.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1895_Lee_Navy

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Winchester 1895 carbines - particularly with receiver mounted peep sights. If you were a serious gunman around the turn of the 19th century, this was the HK 416 /KAC / Hodge rifle of it's day.

Winchester 1907 self loading carbines

Styer AUG's - Logically, I know the weaknesses and limitations of bull pups, but I still love the AUG, which IMHO is the best of the bull pup breed. I've always shot them well, which doesn't hurt. Die Hard wasn't really a a factor for me with the AUG. Peter G Kokalis had good things to say about it in SOF and it always did well in the SOF three gun competitions in the days before M-4s with optics were a thing. I grew up in a non NFA state but of our local dealers used to carry all the pre ban guns. Upon handling the AUG I was hooked after discovering just how handy a an SBRish rifle was. Plus Rutger Hauer and Charles S. Dutton used them in the film "surviving the game." ;-)

I've always wanted one of the Argentine Navy FN 49 semi auto rifles in 7.62x51

What is interesting is I still like the AUG despite extensive experience with AR pattern rifles, where as the more I learned about actually shooting Handguns, the less interest I had in the HK P7. I sent my P7 M8 down the road a while back but I still have an irrational want for a P7M13.

[pangloss]

I wanted a Steyr GB through most of high school, all of college, and most of grad school. With the advent of internet auction sites, I was finally able to find one. I almost never shoot it, but I think it is an interesting pistol and I'm glad I bought it.

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[JSGlock34]

I wanted a Steyr GB through most of high school, all of college, and most of grad school. With the advent of internet auction sites, I was finally able to find one. I almost never shoot it, but I think it is an interesting pistol and I'm glad I bought it.

All of the XM9 contenders have old school 80s cool.

I've only seen two samples of the Colt entry, the SSP, in real life. Both were in museums (the Smithsonian used to have a display with all of the XM9 contenders, and the NRA Museum has a sample).

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[HCM]

Not a gun, but I've always been fascinated by the WW I era Warner 1913 optic for the 1903 Springfield. Think WW I ACOG.

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[Bigghoss]

Just watch some of Ian's videos on Forgotten Weapons and you're bound to see something obscure that you want to have.

[El Cid]

The AA-12 full auto shotgun.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xNPGvPa9NeQ

[CSW]

Always liked the FR8.
Looks like a bolt gun with a gas system.

http://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8203/8218909908_0bbcd55ce9_h.jpg

[Stephanie B]

A Krag carbine and a Lahti would do it for me.

I do have a `98 Krag rifle that somebody bubba'd into a carbine with a 19" barrel. Years ago, I took a nephew rifle shooting. A couple of his buddies were seriously impressed that he had gotten to shoot a Krag. I shot it in a 3-gun match a few years ago and the muzzle blast broke the electronics of the match-timer's ear pro.

[1slow]

Colt Monitor,
Westly Richards Droplock Double Rifles,
Jati, Finnish 9mm submachine gun.

[That Guy]

What obscure firearms and variants still hold your interest?

Umm... all of them? :p

I especially find the first semi-automatic pistols fascinating.

[Bigghoss]

Always liked the FR8.
Looks like a bolt gun with a gas system.

http://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8203/8218909908_0bbcd55ce9_h.jpg

I had an FR7 for a while. I hated the sights so I sold it but it was a cool rifle.

[farscott]

I tend to like obscure calibers in otherwise pedestrian firearms. Some examples include the following:

1) S&W M544. The only time S&W chambered .44-40 Winchester in a N-frame revolver. A five-inch version, to boot, which I find to have the best balance of the N-frames.
2) S&W M547. A K-frame hand-ejector that actually ejects 9x19. Nothing like the 940, which was famous for stuck empty cases.
3) Ruger Blackhawk in .38-40/10mm and .32-20/.32 H&R from a now out-of-business distributor, Buckeye Sports. Also a Bisley-Vaquero in .38-40/.40 S&W.
4) Colt Series '80 in 9x23 Winchester. The best way to shoot .357 Magnum levels in an autoloader.
5) Marlin 1894CBC in .32 H&R Magnum
6) Marlin 1894C in .357 Magnum
7) Marlin 1894FG in .41 Magnum
8) S&W M53 in .22 Remington Jet
9) S&W M610 in 10mm Auto
10) S&W M646 in .40 S&W

[CSW]

I used to have a Smith model 16, chambered in 32 magnum.

[fly out]

For current obscure, I like all things Grand Power.

For not-too-distant-past obscure, the South African Vektor is irrationally interesting to me.

For old obscure, the Savage 1907 and the Mauser HSc (neither of which are truly obscure among PF'ers, I realize).

[45dotACP]

The Walch Navy revolver has always kicked my giggle box...

But that's probably just the Louis L'amour novellas of my childhood talking...

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[Jac]

Rolling block pistols make my little steampunk heart go pitter-patter...

[JSGlock34]

S&W M547. A K-frame hand-ejector that actually ejects 9x19. Nothing like the 940, which was famous for stuck empty cases.

Thanks for highlighting the M547! I never heard of this revolver before. Too bad it didn't catch on - they need to bring this back.

[Sigfan26]

Thanks for highlighting the M547! I never heard of this revolver before. Too bad it didn't catch on - they need to bring this back.

It was fairly fragile (or so I’m told). The specimens I handled didn’t inspire long term confidence as far as extraction goes.


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[JSGlock34]

It was fairly fragile (or so I’m told). The specimens I handled didn’t inspire long term confidence as far as extraction goes.


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Darn. Well I guess there are reasons some of these didn't catch on...

[JAD]

This is kind of my thing. I’m not into the historical apocrypha like tam, but I’m a product of late 70s and early 80s gun annuals. I already have way too many pistols, but I’d like to own:
An XP100 in .221 Fireball
A Star Megastar in 10mm
A peters stahl in 10
A star PD (one of those guns I’m never sure if I’ve actually bought yet)
A solid Korth example
An SP89
A pair of Type 54s
And
My grail gun, the original Sphinx 2000, two tone

[Malamute]

The XP is on my list at some point. In a discussion of longer range pistol shooting (iron sights), one guy mentioned his XP was shooting under 2" (I think) groups @ 300 yards. Not sure of the caliber he was using. Some of the 6mm or 7mms may be useful for open country shooting if stretching it out to longer ranges.

[HCM]

I tend to like obscure calibers in otherwise pedestrian firearms. Some examples include the following:

1) S&W M544. The only time S&W chambered .44-40 Winchester in a N-frame revolver. A five-inch version, to boot, which I find to have the best balance of the N-frames.
2) S&W M547. A K-frame hand-ejector that actually ejects 9x19. Nothing like the 940, which was famous for stuck empty cases.
3) Ruger Blackhawk in .38-40/10mm and .32-20/.32 H&R from a now out-of-business distributor, Buckeye Sports. Also a Bisley-Vaquero in .38-40/.40 S&W.
4) Colt Series '80 in 9x23 Winchester. The best way to shoot .357 Magnum levels in an autoloader.
5) Marlin 1894CBC in .32 H&R Magnum
6) Marlin 1894C in .357 Magnum
7) Marlin 1894FG in .41 Magnum
8) S&W M53 in .22 Remington Jet
9) S&W M610 in 10mm Auto
10) S&W M646 in .40 S&W

My LGS just got in a nice 544 at a reasonable price. I have no connection but pm me if you are interested.

Is it my imagination or did Marlin do a 336 version of the guide gun in 30-30 or 35 R.E.M. ?

[Stephanie B]

For current obscure, I like all things Grand Power.

For not-too-distant-past obscure, the South African Vektor is irrationally interesting to me.

For old obscure, the Savage 1907 and the Mauser HSc (neither of which are truly obscure among PF'ers, I realize).

I know where there is a HSc for sale. PM me if you want a phone #.


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[pangloss]

All of the XM9 contenders have old school 80s cool.

I've only seen two samples of the Colt entry, the SSP, in real life. Both were in museums (the Smithsonian used to have a display with all of the XM9 contenders, and the NRA Museum has a sample).

I never thought of trying to collect the XM9 pistols, but it sounds like getting a complete collection would be impossible. I have a 92 and 226 and a BHP also, though none of my pistols are period correct for the XM9 trials. Interestingly, it looks like the SSP has a slide that rides inside the frame like the P210/CZ75. Thanks for posting this as I was not even aware of this pistol.

[1slow]

The Walch Navy revolver has always kicked my giggle box...

But that's probably just the Louis L'amour novellas of my childhood talking...

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Me too !

[RevolverRob]

Well I do call myself "Revolver"Rob. Obscure wheel guns are a genuine love 'n lust situation from me

I have always wanted a MKII-variant Le Mat (well let's be fair, a pair of them).
Russian Nagants are "quasi" obscure guns that I need another couple of. Including a Russian and Swedish (Husqvarna) model - Would love to have a Chinese one too.
I'd really like to have one of the M10s that were made as first passes for Tunnel Rats - http://weaponsman.com/?p=25023
A Manurhin MR73 3"
One of those never existed Russian REXs (Revolver for EXport)
An Anderson Wheeler top-break Webley
A Merwin-Hulbert
And because I read "Flint" by Louis L'amour like 35 times too many, a pair of Smith No. 3s in .44.
Then a whole bunch of military revos - a Lebel 1873 and 1892, Webley Bulldog, Swiss 82/29 - etc.

___

Then there's other obscura - a M712 Schnellfeuer, a Karl Gustav kg m/1921 - http://www.gotavapen.se/gota/artiklar/kg/swedish_kg2.htm - a Husqvarna 1907 (effectively a Colt 1903/1908 in 9mm long), a Roth-Steyr 1907 - I'm sure I can think of a couple of dozen others.

[1slow]

Bland Webley Pryse .577 DA revolver.

[farscott]

My LGS just got in a nice 544 at a reasonable price. I have no connection but pm me if you are interested.

Is it my imagination or did Marlin do a 336 version of the guide gun in 30-30 or 35 R.E.M. ?

Thanks for the lead on the M544. I bought my pair back in the 1990s when no one wanted them. I assume the price has risen a bit since then.

Yes, there was a Marlin Guide Gun (336D) in .35 Remington with an 18.5-inch barrel and stainless models (336LTD and 336SS) with twenty-inch barrels.

[BobM]

I like rifles with full length stocks. So far all I have is a 10/22 but eventually I'd like to have a Ruger 77 and/or a Number 1 International.

[TGS]

Primitive/craft made guns, like the Luby 9mm, VG2 and VG1-5.

Pretty much any of the toggle-locking/toggle-delayed interwar rifles. That whole interwar period is so ridiculously interesting, actually.

I'm also a fan of full stocked rifles. I've always wanted a vintage Mauser Type-M, as well as a new production Mauser M Stutzen. I'd say they're fairly obscure in the US, not so much for Europeans.

[dbateman]

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Australian Automatic Arms 9mm.
They were made to compete with the MP5.
The Australian gobernment bought AAA out and destroyed the tooling.
There’s not many around.

[MK11]

Colt revolving rifles and shotguns. When I was a kid we knew someone with a fantastic gun collection and it was his Colt revolving shotguns and rifles from the 1800's that fascinated me. At the time I always wondered why anyone back then would have wanted anything else. Today I know they weren't the most reliable or capable arms but even a picture of one still makes me go, "Ooooh."

[Cecil Burch]

And because I read "Flint" by Louis L'amour like 35 times too many, a pair of Smith No. 3s in .44.
.

"Flint" is hands down L'amour's best work. I re-read it at least once a year. Why someone never did a movie of it is beyond me. A slightly younger Sam Elliot would have killed it as Flint.

[RevolverRob]

"Flint" is hands down L'amour's best work. I re-read it at least once a year. Why someone never did a movie of it is beyond me. A slightly younger Sam Elliot would have killed it as Flint.

I always felt like a middle-aged Eastwood would have made a good Flint. But maybe Tom Hardy could do it today? He was so good in Bronson and Lawless, I think he could channel the reckless aspects of Flint well.

I've read virtually everything L'amour wrote and I tend to agree that Flint is one of his very best. Flint, Ferguson Rifle, and First Fast Draw are three of his very best...ironically they're all F-titles...I think I re-read each of those once every 18-months or so.

[ragnar_d]

Several:

Remington Model 8 in .35 Remington (I'd really like to put a standard sporting model and an LASD marked model w/ 15rd Magazine (https://www.gunauction.com/buy/14458401) in the safe)
Modern .32 Revolvers (the .327 Federal Magnum gives me a really weird itch to scratch and I don't know why)
M1941 Johnson Rifle & Johnson Machine Gun
Pedersen Device
Original Remington 51 and 53 models
The LeMat revolver
The Auto Mag
The old (original) Armalite guns (AR-5, AR-7, AR-16, AR-17 AR-18, etc., etc)

There are a few more that are obscure-but-not-really guns that catch my interest (Stoner 63 is at the top of that list . . . modularity before modularity was cool). Another one for me is that whenI get to a place I can collect, I'd like to have an example of a US service rifle & handgun from every major conflict or technological "leap" from Lexington & Concord to GWOT. I think it would be a nice accent wall in the office (should I ever get back to a place where I can have an office in the house!).



I've always had a thing for the Savage 99.
Obscure in the fact that it had a rotary magazine in a lever action rifle.
I've owned them in 308, 250 savage, 300 savage and 30/30.
By far, the most pleasant capable hunting rifle I have ever owned was the '99 in 300 savage.
I've either sold or traded away all of them, but hope some day to find a Savage 99 , chambered in 300 savage, in a take-down version.
Funny how that "obscure" gun helped inspire one on the most prolific firearms developed in the 20th Century (10/22)

[Baldanders]

Mr73

S&Wm469 and m39 ASPs

Dan Wesson in .357 Maximum

Korth

P7M13

CZ 83 in .32acp

[jandbj]

Korth & Manurhin revolvers

Still kicking myself for not buying a HKP7k3 in all 3 calibers back in the day.

Irrational desire to built a .32 caliber single shot bunny gun. http://www.hensleygibbs.com/edharris/articles/32calsmallgamerifles.htm

[Bucky]

Probably my most obscure (by definition) piece is my Craig F15 Fantom.

[Kyle Reese]

Korth & Manurhin revolvers

Still kicking myself for not buying a HKP7k3 in all 3 calibers back in the day.

Irrational desire to built a .32 caliber single shot bunny gun. http://www.hensleygibbs.com/edharris/articles/32calsmallgamerifles.htmAllan's Armory has at least one new in the box Manurhin MR88 in stock.

$1600

https://www.allans-armory.com/aaresult.php?PageId=58



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[DpdG]

Allan's Armory has at least one new in the box Manurhin MR88 in stock.

$1600



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Problem is the MR88 is more or less a GP100 that was adopted as a reduced cost replacement. The MR73 is THE Manurhin that won its reputation.

[RevolverRob]

I know this is going to get me kicked out of the cool kids' club but...

I was thinking today how I really need to get one of last few Taurus M85 "View" (actually "Non-View") snubs. No one is likely to build a snub's snub again in my lifetime and they aren't that expensive...I know it's a Taurus, but the novelty is compelling. For that matter, I might think about getting one of the Judge Public Defenders too...

[minengr]

I've owned a FR8, Star PD, and an Iver Johnson Pony. That is about as obscure as I've gotten. Always thought a Newton rifle would be cool.

I'm more interested in obscure rifle calibers. Currently have a 7x61 S&H and 22 CHeetah in the collection.

[Eastex]

I like old pocket autos, .25 ACP and 32ACPs. Baby Brownings, Colt Vest Pockets, Berettas, Seecamps, I just like the mechanical nature of tiny autos. They’re not really obscure, just something that doesn’t come up much in the day to day on this board.


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[Auntie Social]

I've had an interest in the various Comm-Bloc Makarov pistols. I think I once saw one with Novak sights installed. The downside, there's no ambi-safety for this lefty.

[45dotACP]

I always felt like a middle-aged Eastwood would have made a good Flint. But maybe Tom Hardy could do it today? He was so good in Bronson and Lawless, I think he could channel the reckless aspects of Flint well.

I've read virtually everything L'amour wrote and I tend to agree that Flint is one of his very best. Flint, Ferguson Rifle, and First Fast Draw are three of his very best...ironically they're all F-titles...I think I re-read each of those once every 18-months or so.Liked the Sackett series too...Jubal was my favorite...leading me into another obscure firearm design that interested me...

A pair of Italian made, repeating flintlock pistols that kept ball and powder in the grips. Point the gun down, turn a lever, which drops a ball and powder charge and primes the pan.

L'amour had some damned cool firearms in his books... everything from Walch revolvers, Dance & Park cartridge conversions, Smith #3s (https://pistol-forum.com/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=3s) , Prescott Navy revolvers, the various carbines, (loved the Ferguson Rifle) Spencer 56-50s...

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[Palisut]

I have this weird thing about revolvers in semiauto calibers. This has led me to accumulate:
-S&W Mountain Gun in .45 ACP
-S&W 625 with a 3" barrel (also .45 ACP)
-S&W 610 in 10mm/40 SW
-S&W 910 9mm J frame
-Ruger Blackhawk convertible in 10mm/40 SW
and my most recent acquisition, another Blackhawk in 45 Colt/.45 ACP

It's a sickness and I have no adequate explanation.

[Drang]

Does anyone remember a series about a dynasty of gun makers? I believe the family name was Morse.

I remember Scottish Highland pistols featuring prominently--steel frames, and they were made in left and right pairs. ever since, I thought Highland Pistols were very (excuse me) verra cool.
There was also a volume in which Patrick Ferguson showed up, and wound up roundly excoriated by a colleague for "cheating" on his rifle design. (IIRC, deliberately overbored to allow for fouling.)

[Bigghoss]

I have this weird thing about revolvers in semiauto calibers. This has led me to accumulate:
-S&W Mountain Gun in .45 ACP
-S&W 625 with a 3" barrel (also .45 ACP)
-S&W 610 in 10mm/40 SW
-S&W 910 9mm J frame
-Ruger Blackhawk convertible in 10mm/40 SW
and my most recent acquisition, another Blackhawk in 45 Colt/.45 ACP

It's a sickness and I have no adequate explanation.

I have the same sickness but I only have a 5" 625 at them moment.

[RevolverRob]

There was also a volume in which Patrick Ferguson showed up, and wound up roundly excoriated by a colleague for "cheating" on his rifle design. (IIRC, deliberately overbored to allow for fouling.)

I don't remember that one? But I know when people started trying to build Ferguson replicas in the '60s-70s they forgot to give them some extra tolerance and ended up building single shot guns that needed cleaning after every shot. Turns out the taper and threads that Ferguson used for the "bolt" were quite intelligently chosen and that a simple straight screw will not function effectively when dealing with the fouling nature of black powder.

I mean, not that I ever looked into Ferguson replicas or building one...and certainly not because Ronan Chantry carried one...

[okie john]

Suppressed Swedish K.

http://i.imgur.com/cGl6GkH.jpg (https://imgur.com/cGl6GkH)

Got to fiddle with one briefly on active duty.


Okie John

[drjaydvm]

I’m a sucker for revolvers chambered in 32 long. It’s fun to shoot and easy to hand load. I have two detective specials and a police positive special in the caliber and would love to add a S&W to the collection. I also have two Ruger carbines in 44 mag, an old Deerslayer (serial number 103) and a first year 77/44.

[JSGlock34]

I just found this after watching the (also super cool) Forgotten Weapons XM8 video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z1wSamsXLs) (guest starring Larry Vickers).

I'm really impressed; Ian McCollum looks and sounds as if he's been routinely detail stripping AN94s all his life...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtMssTSnRHU

[Inkwell 41]

I mean, not that I ever looked into Ferguson replicas or building one...and certainly not because Ronan Chantry carried one...

Wow, I missed this thread. The Ferguson rifle really caught my interest when I was bored and surfing the interwebs. Several YouTube videos and muzzleloader forums later, I was hooked. The Rifle Shoppe, offers a Ferguson rifle kit. It's pricey. If I thought I could build one without it turning out like the model airplane kits that I tried putting together when I was twelve, I'd take a crack at it.

The flèchette rifles from, I think, Project SALVO, were interesting. Some weird designs there.

I'd like to snag an 1895 Winchester saddle ring carbine in 30-06. It'll go with my "someday to be scouted", sporterized 1903 Springfield.
Add to the list an Automag, a Bren Ten. The S&W Hush Puppy Model 39 & 59 based pistols used in Vietnam would be cool. My grail might be a full Stoner 63 system. Those being unobtanium, a Robarm M 96 Expeditionary rifle would be kind of cool. The S&W M&P R8 is the subject of an irrational desire, as is a 329 and, for some reason, a 16" Marlin 1895 in 45-70

[jandbj]

Many moons ago, had a chance to run 500 rounds through a pre production HK XM-8 in full auto when a local company was making experimental optics for them. We melted the handguard enough that it drooped noticeably . Good times, good times.

[Tabasco]

The "Babylon Berlin" series running on Netflix has a Dreyse 1907 as the carry gun of the lead detective character, FYI. Good series as well. Now I know why the Nazi party got so much traction in the 30's. On an intellectual level I knew, but it always seemed weird.