Let's celebrate being able to talk about guns again

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MagenDavid

Want some Kosher Salami?
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I think the best way to kick off Tom's (and the threads') return, let's kick around a question.
I was thinking about how much I love vintage milsurp. Last year I whimsically bought a K31 after handling a Steyr Mannlicher M95 and falling in love with the straight pull bolt. But then I have a special place in my heart for the M44.
So let's talk about people's favorite milsurp rifles.
 
very well!

I was a Swiss fanatic, but I had to let them all go. 5 kids will do that to ones boy toy budget.

I discovered Mosins about a year and a half ago. Love my M44, but love the M91s the best.

here is a Westinghouse, in Finnish dress.

m91barrelshank.jpg


m91samark.jpg


m91lside.jpg


m91middle.jpg


I'll have to get pics of my latest M91, which is a Finn Barreled '91

Swiss 96/11 was/is my all time favorite Milsurp though.

take care,

Tom
 
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A better question would be... what guns don't I like?


The answer would be any striker fired handguns. I'm not calling them junk or bashing anyone who likes them, they're just not for me.

Here's my 1942 USSR MN91/30:

HPIM0134.jpg


My favorite MilSurp guns?

In this order:
M14/M1A
M16/AR15
Avtomat Kalashnikov
 
technically this is not a milsurp, but sort of a repro milsurp.


besstarget.jpg


My Pedersoli 'Bess.

Actually, I like this above the Swiss 96/11, come to think of it.

Groups need some work...

Tom

PS, I was aiming at the center bull for each shot...
 
My favorite will always the Garand, America's Rifle. If I could only have one milsurp, that would be it.

On the other hand, I would love to one day pick up a Johnson Rifle. It's just so cool. For those not familiar with it, check this out. http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/edu70.htm

For pure beauty though, I don't think anything beats the Plezier Mausers that some of the Boers used. http://www.rifleshootermag.com/featured_rifles/plezier_071907/

The thing is, as interesting as old mil-surps are, I think of them primarily as pieces of history first and as firearms second. I'm not big into shooting them, I prefer that they be preserved. That's a problem since I'm not a firearms collector. I need to shoot every gun that I own. So one of these days I'll pick up a Springfield M1A. True, it's not a M14, but at least I'll be able to use a military design without using up a piece of history.
 
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I've got a 91/30 MN that I use as a truck gun. Being a longarm southpaw, it's a bit clumsy. However, man or beast need a lead attitude adjustment...i think it's more than capable:thumbup:
 
I've had to sell all but a handful of my guns lately:grumpy:. Stupid economy. I still got my Mossberg 590 and my Browning Hi-Power and my Ruger Gold Label. The Ruger's the only one I'll never sell.
 
I too had to sell most of my guns.
One of my favorites was a No4 MkI* SMLE, with the 5-groove LH twist Bren barrel. Not that many of them around. Sweet shooter.

Then there was the Finn '91.

Who can't love a Garand?

In fact, I don't know if there's any milsurp I don't like on some level.
 
I just bought a K31 the other month!! I love it so far, but still haven't gotten a chance to shoot it. I've got just under a case of ammo (half of it is on the way as I type).

I picked up a scout scope mount (replaces the stock sights) and scope, but I'm a bit reluctant to put it on. It seems a shame to take off the iron sights when they are so accurate. But alas, my eyes aren't what they used to be... so I'll probably put the mount/scope on. At least I can go back to iron sights if I don't like the scope.

pix489126562.jpg


I'd love to get a good 1903 or Garand next. In fact, I just got my C&R license application in the mail this week. I gotta get that sent off then start making a list of stuff to acquire this fall.
 
I have owned over 40 handguns but my all time favourite was a Remington Rand 1911A1 made in 1942.

I owned it and shot it regularly for over 10 years using thousands of handloads with lead projectiles ranging from 185grain semi wadcutters thru to 230 round nose at major power factor never had a failure to feed or eject.

If I could have but one thing back from the past, it would be it.
 
I love the classic Military 1911's. never owned one, but I have restored the markings on several.

Nice K31!

The Turks were my intermediate phase between the Swiss and the Mosins. I am trying to keep the variety of ammo down, so I am sticking with Mosins for now. I would like to get another Garand. I rebuilt one in gunsmithing school years ago. Wouldn't mind a WWI vintage 1903, or a Krag, or a Trapdoor, or...

A Gold Label! They were hard to find for a while. I would hang on to that too...

MY personal economy has forced me to sell several times. I often have bought when perhaps I should not have. Ammo, components, accessories for now.

take care,

Tom
 
I got to shoot a Johnson 1941 once, when i worked at a gun shop in NJ. It had a 7mm Mauser barrel on it. It was $700, in the early '90s. Should have bought it. Should have kept the Steyr MCA carbine in 243 I had 600 bucks invested in...

I am trying to hold onto what I have now, especially my Finn m91s. They will only go up in value.

T
 
Tom- In what units of measurement is that rear sight marked on the Westinghouse 91? Also, is the front sight a barley corn sight?

I'd have to consider the Garand the classiest milsurp rifle out there. And for as much as technology has advanced, it's still a very formidable rifle. A man of worried persuasions could keep 800 rounds at the ready for years on end and never have to switch magazines.

I think I know the answer I'll generally get, but do sharks like the 1911 or Hi-power better?
 
MagenDavid said:
I think I know the answer I'll generally get, but do sharks like the 1911 or Hi-power better?
Click to expand...

Both are John M. Browning designs, both have unique features for the time at which they were developed, and without going into the 9mm versus .45acp calibre debate, it was ergonomics that dictated my choice.

The way the 1911A1 better suited my hands, its easy to reach single action trigger, and its smaller single stack magazine size and grip angle all suited my medium hand size better and came together to give me quicker target acquisition and gun control than the Hi-Power.

Ascetically the 1911A1 was the winner for me.

And I liked shooting the big bore full power .45 calibre loads despite their greater recoil because it was fun and a challenge to master a big booming handgun.

But I also shot a Sig P210-6 9mm in competition along side of and against the 3 different .45's I owned at the time, and the 9mm had advantages in lack of recoil and thus quicker sight alignment. But it never was as much fun to shot as any of the 1911's.

Many years later I fired was a CZ75 9mm and I came away with good impressions of it due to the tight groups I had shot with it, and considered it for a competition gun but not as a replacement for my sole remaining 1911A1, a WWII Remington Rand Govt Issue pistol made in 1942.

The Remington was the last handgun I fired before selling off all my handguns in 1992. If I could have one thing brought back from the past it would that gun.
 
I don't even want to think about all the guns I've sold off. :grumpy::mad::(

All I have left are:
Stainless Berretta 92
Mossberg 590
Ruger Mini-14
Czech-made M6 Scout in .22lr/.410

I got Kathy a S&W 642 for Christmas last year. :thumbup:
 
A Sig P210!?!?

That is my never gonna get one but want one dream pistol!

My Westinghouse was re marked in meters by the Fins. It has a Finn front sight also. Much easier than the sights on my peter The Great 1916 Model 91.

Tom
 
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