For me, the first one that comes to mind is a Remington 7600 in .30-06 I bought new with a Nikon scope with money from my first job out of college. Growing up, most of the guys I hunted with had 760's or 7600's. When looking for my first new deer rifle once I had some money, it felt like the right choice.
I've killed a lot of PA whitetails with it including two that ended up on my wall. It still goes out with me for a few days every year.
My Father's stainless Colt Officer's ACP - Yes, it's a stainless, series 80 Officer's model.
It had a local gunsmith's 'going through' not long after he bought it when I was a very young kid, and it was one of the only firearms in the house.
I was 6 years old and along with my Dad on a range trip where I'd gleefully chase brass from centerfire guns and make a lot of brass with his old stainless 10/22 - and I vividly remember watching a family friend shooting a magazine through that small, stainless .45 and thinking a bunch of "I can't wait until I'm a grown up" kind of thoughts, when my Dad loaded a single round into a 7-round Wilson Combat magazine, and asked me if I'd like to take a shot with it.
There was about 3/4 of a clay pigeon laying on a dirt berm at 10 yards or so. I carefully wrapped my hands around the pistol, tried to steady my shaking hands and line up the sights, and the gun recoiled way over my head and the clay pigeon jumped about 5 feet in the air off the berm - I'd hit about 5 inches low.
After that, I made as much .45 ACP brass as my Dad would let me, and I went home with sore hands and sore thumbs from loading that same Wilson magazine over and over again.
Every time I pick up that pistol, I feel an indescribable mix of nostalgia and gratitude toward my Dad for raising me the way he did.
The rifle that gives me the warm and fuzzies - a straight tie between my Dad's old 10/22 I did my best to wear out, and my Dad's HK91. He assures me that the HK91 will be the last rifle I inherit from him - and it's hard to blame him there!
I inherited my Dad's 3.5" Model 27. That gun or a T-series Hi-Power accompanied us on many family vacations as I was growing up, going back to South Dakota in the summer for family gatherings (Dad was one of 11 brothers and sisters) and walleye fishing in the summer or pheasant hunting in the fall. When I turned 12, he would have the teachers give me a weeks worth of homework and we'd go meet the Uncles and family friends for some leisurely strolls through cornfields chasing roosters. One of my Auntie's husbands had been a Zip Feed salesman for decades, so we always had plenty of farmers willing to let us hunt their land.
After Dad passed we divided up the machinery and my little brother, a Browning collector, took the Hi-Power and I took the Smith. I've fancied N-frame Smiths over the years, starting my L.E. career with a 6.5" Model 27 and have had a few other "N's" over the years. At some point he replaced the service grips and Tyler-grip adapter with a set of my Pachmayer service grips from when I carried the 6.5" for duty and PPC competitions. I always kidded him about dressing up that svelte old gun with those huge, ugly, beat up grips. When I got the old gun, I went through and cleaned out the action and was about to throw on a set of Hogue Coco-Bolo finger-groove grips with absolutely gorgeous wood figure. I got them half way on and stopped.
His gun still wears the old Pach's and will until my son decides to do something different when he gets it.
Last edited by FNFAN; 08-31-2019 at 07:59 AM.
-All views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect those of the author's employer-
Well, I'm finding myself surprised at which guns that I own it isn't.
It isn't my beautiful nickel plated Colt Python, bought in 1972, which is my heirloom gun. The double action certainly isn't up to Smith and Wesson standards and you really can't trust it not to go out of time with heavy volume shooting.
It isn't my newer Dan Wesson V-Bob, though I thought it would be. Tough for me to get a quick, solid anchor with my weak hand on the grip when drawing from a holster. at some point I'd like a medium length, smooth faced trigger installed.
It turns out that it would be one of my H&Ks: My P30L LEM has a grip that fits my hand like a glove. My HK45C LEM has a slightly better trigger. Both point naturally and will put bullets in the black at 25 yards all day long. Both have been absolutely reliable with 7,000 rounds each without a single failure. I have a RMR mounted on each by L&M and they conceal well in a Dale Fricke holster. Either one would be the one I'd pick up if I needed a gun.
My grail gun would be a P30L with a 1911 trigger.
Real guns have hammers.
HK USP Elite in 45.
I've got several:
First, anything that starts with 19 and ends with 11. But, old school really trips my trigger - keep your rails, please. Next, Colt SAAs and clones.
I'm also partial to the BHP, the P7M8, and pretty much any old school deep blue round guns (though the N frames are very yummy for me).
For long guns, it's the Sharps all the way, followed by lever actions, and side-by-side double barrels. My heart doesn't really warm at the sight of any long gun designed much past the beginning of the 20th century.
What's funny, when you look in my "things that get used" safe, you won't find any of these heart warmers - all soulless, utilitarian tools - Glocks, M&Ps, ARs, and a Benelli M2. Hell, the only round gun I have that comes out of the same is an LCR, which, despite it's great shooting and utility, is about as "warm and fuzzy" as the backside of a donkey...
Originally Posted by JRB
My Father's stainless Colt Officer's ACP - Yes, it's a stainless, series 80 Officer's model.
It had a local gunsmith's 'going through' not long after he bought it when I was a very young kid, and it was one of the only firearms in the house.
I was 6 years old and along with my Dad on a range trip where I'd gleefully chase brass from centerfire guns and make a lot of brass with his old stainless 10/22 - and I vividly remember watching a family friend shooting a magazine through that small, stainless .45 and thinking a bunch of "I can't wait until I'm a grown up" kind of thoughts, when my Dad loaded a single round into a 7-round Wilson Combat magazine, and asked me if I'd like to take a shot with it.
There was about 3/4 of a clay pigeon laying on a dirt berm at 10 yards or so. I carefully wrapped my hands around the pistol, tried to steady my shaking hands and line up the sights, and the gun recoiled way over my head and the clay pigeon jumped about 5 feet in the air off the berm - I'd hit about 5 inches low.
After that, I made as much .45 ACP brass as my Dad would let me, and I went home with sore hands and sore thumbs from loading that same Wilson magazine over and over again.
Every time I pick up that pistol, I feel an indescribable mix of nostalgia and gratitude toward my Dad for raising me the way he did.
The rifle that gives me the warm and fuzzies - a straight tie between my Dad's old 10/22 I did my best to wear out, and my Dad's HK91. He assures me that the HK91 will be the last rifle I inherit from him - and it's hard to blame him there!
You might like looking at this old Officer's ACP then.
I picked it up in 1991 and had it built to my liking.
Definitely my 1946 S&W .38/44. It belonged to my Grandpa who unfortunately passed before I was born and I never got a chance to meet. We found it in a shoebox in my Grandma's closet. I also have his prized pair of Lucchese boots that actually fit me. I like to wear them while shooting that gun to honor his legacy.
I also have my Remington R1 1911, it's nothing really special but it was a gift from my dad when I went off to college. After shooting plastic guns so long it's fun to go back to the classics!
As far as pistols?
Warm fuzzies in that I can pick the gun up and have a certainty that I'll hit what I'm shooting is my model 57 with an 8 3/8 barrel. Emotionally, the handgun I love the most is my Caspian 1911 built by yours truly...yours truly having had zero experience with 1911s and who had never even field stripped one when he built it. The gun has character marks. Did everything from the rails, trigger work, barrel fitment, and even the finish. That gun will be shoved off in my flaming longboat with me when I depart this life.
The rifle I love the most is an old Mossberg Target rifle. It was loaned to me by my older brother and used to win trophies galore when I was in high school. I still remember getting done with homework, setting up targets in the basement and not even dry firing the thing, but holding it in position aimed at the targets till my arms were too tired and then doing it again for hours.
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Last edited by 45dotACP; 08-31-2019 at 10:02 AM.
Glock 17, any generation. This pistol is the closest to 100% sure it will work when taken out of the box. That gives me the warm and fuzzies.
For the pure pleasure of ownership, a Blued Colt SAA with fancy grips.
" La rose est sans pourquoi, elle fleurit parce qu’elle fleurit ; Elle n’a souci d’elle-même, ne demande pas si on la voit. » Angelus Silesius
"There are problems in this universe for which there are no answers." Paul Muad'dib
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