Top 10 Guns that need to come back.

WTA has a thread about this... guns that have been put out to pasture, but need to be brought back into production with modern refinements of manufacturing and materials.

This is my top ten, but not in any order.
10. Colt Pocket 9. This is one gun I’ve always wanted but never had the chance to get… The few I’ve seen for sale at Gun Shows were beaten up and over priced.

9. Colt Detective Special. I know the world is filled with Snub Nosed revolvers, but the Dick Special was the shining star of the type.
8. FG-42. This gun was so far ahead of its time that it took everyone else 40 years to develop anything close.  A new version in .308 would rock to a shockingly high degree.
7. Marlin Camp Carbine .45. Another gun I’ve always wanted but missed out on.  Standard 1911 magazines, please.
6. IMI Timberwolf. This gun is funky, but worked well.  A simple .357 Magnum Pump.  A new version that could also handle .44 Mag would be super slick.
5. Remington 600 Mohawk. This rifle personified the Scout Rifle Concept before Jeff Cooper came up with it.
4. Pancor Jackhammer. Forget the SPAS-12, The NEOSTEAD, The AA-12, or even the KSG… this is the shotgun from the future.
3. Colt Python. The most elegant of all magnum revolvers.  Delicate timing, but smooth in a way that only custom Smiths hope they can be.
2. SIG P210. The only service auto to be able to win bullseye matches… 50 yards away.  The things are cool, but the 2 thousand dollar price tier for them is not.  If someone could make these at about the 800 to 1000 price level, they would sell very well.
1. HK P-7, M8, M10, and M13. It should not have been dropped.  Production should have been ramped up and the design further refined.  I mean, Porsche continued to develop the 911 for half a century and they keep making it better.  HK should have taken the same track.  Sure, it gets hot… sure, it’s funky and different… but the design is good.  The .40 caliber version (the M10) looks a bit mongoloid, but it worked well enough to be adopted by the Utah State Police… it could have been trimmed down to the same dimensions as the 9mm. and it would have been great.  A new version in .357SIG would sell like crazy.

22 thoughts on “Top 10 Guns that need to come back.”

  1. i was sure you would have the browning Hi Power on your list. but you didn’t. why the Sig P210 cost so much? the design is so old. is it hard to produce?

  2. The P7 patent has expired, if I recall correctly.

    If I had the funds, I would start a gun company, and a modern version in .45ACP would be our first offering.

  3. I have an HK P7M8 practically new in the box (less than 100 rds) I bought 15 years ago. It shoots about 6 inches high at 15 yards. I’d like to replace the front sight and get it shooting on target.

    Guns I’d like to see brought back? Winchester ’94 and Savage model 24.

  4. Agreed. A resurrected Marlin Camp Carbine .45 would be excellent. Wood stock, sling swivels, good fixed sights, and that classic Marlin blued barrel.

  5. A redesigned H&K P9S, with a double column mag, button release and eliminating the manual safety. It would ROCK!

  6. I bought two Remington 600s, gave one as a gift, kept one; until a “friend” talked me into selling to him.
    I still want more 600s for myself and a nephew.

  7. The problem with the old Colt Lightning ( what the IMI timberwolf was a repro of ) is that in order to make it work, you need a lot of fiddly gunsmithing, especially for the ones in small calibers like .38 special or .357. And some experience with it, or you will probably make it jam.

    Uberti make a good working Lightning replica. Get the one in .45 Colt for best reliability. Always keep a screwdriver in your pocket … if you do not work the action forcefully, and hesitate, you will get a feed jam, and will need to loosen both ejectors with the screwdriver to get the round to drop out.

    I shoot one in SASS competition. They are fast, but you need experience to work it properly.

    If the Colt company had flipped the action over, put the magazine tube on top, and had it eject down, it would be 100% reliable ( you hold it upside down and work the slide to unload it quickly ). But they didn’t have that brainstorm, so the carbine remains a flawed design.

    1. The principle has been applied well in pump action shotguns for years. We’ve learned how to make them run. With the Timberwolf, some further engineering and tweaking, it’s not impossible to make one run as well as an 870.

      1. Yes … but it would require a complete redesign. Bringing back the Lightning ( again ), wont get you there.

  8. Luger P ’08:

    The ones floating around right now deserve special treatment, being historical firearms. How about a modern production? Make it reliable with hollowpoints. DWM made a couple chambered in .45 ACP for the US Army trials, and that should be available too.

    Mauser Broomhandle:

    The genuine articles are also classics. Make new ones with modern metallurgy, chambered in 9mm and in 7.62×25 Tokarev. Or why not .45 ACP?

    CZ vz 52:

    It had an interesting design, based on the German MG 42, and a slim profile. It could be chambered in .45 ACP (yes, there’s a theme here) or .357 SIG, in addition to its original 7.62×25 or 9mm.

    Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless:

    Yes, there are a bunch of them still floating around, but it’s an elegant design, and new production might get clothing makers to come out with a line of pants that had pockets that would hold them (and other pocket guns).

    Smith and Wesson Model 27:

    I know, S&W has plenty of .357 Magnum revolvers today, but this classic was beautiful in blue steel that looked miles deep. General Patton carried one-what more do you need to know?

  9. Just picked up a Detective Special today as the 10 day CA wait period expired. circa 1960. Hafta to get to the range and see what the big deal is. 😉 That and find some reruns of Dragnet to watch.

  10. P7E. Polymer frame. Gun gets a little too warm after 60 rounds…also Make it easier to clean(somehow) and less noise when you cock it.

  11. +1 on the FG-42, Sig P210, Python, and the P08 Luger. A few others I would love to see made again…

    – The M1941 Johnson Rifle

    – A M1918 BAR at an reasonable price.

    – SVT-40 Tokarev.

  12. I just want to see the G-11 in full production. It was intriguing years ago when I first found out about it…. and I would love to have/shoot one, just for the funkiness of it all.

  13. A bit of a post resurrection but why no love for the Colt Government Pocketlite .380?

    7+1 in a grip long enough to actually grip and as slim (or slimmer) and as light as anything else out right now. “Just” a .380, but attractive, made of metal, and with a good trigger. I love my Mustang too, but it’s a tiny little thing.

    I’ve had two Gov’t PL’s; sold one, regretted it and lost the replacement to a theft. I’ve never had anyone shoot mine that didn’t love it, including the recoil sensitive.

    If Colt brings back the Mustang I hope they are smart enough to bring back its “big brother”.

    1. The Mustang was much more popular than the Pocketlite… but in the Gun Industry, Merit has nothing to do with Market Success.

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