I no longer particularly care for most MSR’s. I am only rarely impressed any automatic pistols. Dan Wesson, SIG, Beretta being the ones that gain most of my attention… and guns I never would have liked before, I’m really digging on now.
My top 3 handguns I’d buy are all revolvers… and all of them are Ruger. Sure, I’d love a S&W 686 SSR, but I think I’d rather spend my money on a 4″ GP100 and use the money left over for a trigger job. Or ammo.
When I see a rifle I first look at the grain in the wood rather than the action to see if it will take a high capacity box magazine. I’m more interested in the refinements rather than in the modularity and ability to attach not necessarily necessary plastic parts.
Older cartridges hold more sway to me than the new. .300 Blackout? I’d rather have a .30-30.
So this is what growing old feels like.
What I am most interested in is accuracy. Volume of fire is not important to me. I’ve always prefered the bigger hammer approach. You get that easier from Revolvers, You get power and accuracy without having to get Mods or Custom work.
I also prefer Heavy for Caliber loads. Pretty much across the board now, In rifles of all types and in all handguns. I’ll always pick the heaviest of the options.
When you can connect a heavy load with accuracy… That’s shooting.
With age and experience… comes Wisdom.
Truth.
I think someone said, It’s funny how often the wisdom of age so often looks like just being too tired….know it well.
Have you tried out one of the GP100 Match Champions yet, George?
No… I’ve not even seen one up close.
When it comes to revolvers, they should all be single action.
I’m not so picky as that… but Single Actions are more beautiful to be sure.
Before all of the panic I was more about side by side shotguns, slicked out .22 pistols, and bolt-action deer rifles . They made me get an AR. They made me buy and keep 1000 rounds of .223 and 15 standard capacity magazines. I would have never considered it before the thought of it being taken away from me had occurred. I bought and keep my SPR and all the accessories because we got within an inch of losing the right to fight back, and i will never let my guard down again.
Amen. Saw a Browning A Bolt with a light maple stock against blue steel that really made me stop and take notice.
I like hot, flat shooting, accurate bolt rifles, with gorgeous stocks and mile deep bluing. I love blued and walnut pump guns, from my Wingmaster to my Winchester Model 42. Over and under have been a big part of my life, particularly Winchester 101’s and an Antoni Zoli. I love a Marlin 99 in .243 and lust after a late friend’s pre-Garcia Sako in .308, and a bird’s-eye maple stock. I will always love the 1911, but have a special spot in my heart for the Colt Officer’s Model 38 SPl, having considerable trigger time with a first model. Pretty and accurate have always excited me more than black guns,
Savage 99. Damn I am tired.
Picked up a Savage 99 in .308 for peanuts because the owner had it in parts and lost the butt screw. Man took me about a week to get it together and working fine. Awsome rifle.
Well George . . . . . you are getting old, but you ain’t there yet. When you get old you will appreciate the “mid size” rounds. A .270 or 30-06 will do one heck of a lot without beating you up.
I agre with your choice in Sig, and I’m not at all against Rugers. I also have an assortment of others that each do quite well for their chosen tasks. In fact I even broke down and got a T/C Encore in .22mag (shock), which shoots just under one inch groups at 50 yards. For a pistol and old eyes, that ain’t half bad.
Yup, George, you are getting old. 😉
Hell I’m right there with you, turning 28 next month. This whole past year has been CZ-75, SIG P228 (which I sold my Glock 19 for), and Dan Wesson Valor. Been eyeballing some Beretta 92s as well. Hoping in 2015 I’ll luck into a good deal on an earlier Marlin 336 .30-30.
I’m not sure what MSR means. Main Stream Rifles?
But yeah, as I get older I appreciate the quality of the guns I have. Life’s too short to shoot cheap quality or ugly guns. None of my guns will win beauty contests, and all are technically nothing special, but they’re all individually special to me, one way or another. Well, except for that one 12 gauge pump gun. And even that one is special because of how little I paid for a decent, no-frills, shooter.
“Modern Sporting Rifles”.
Oh. Duh.
I know the feeling. Favorite handgun for some time is my 1917 S&W. All I’ve done is put a set of Pachmyer grips on it. Thinking about boring a hole in the rubber so I can remount the lanyard ring on the butt. Works fine out to 75 yds. if my glasses are clean!
I do love the look of deep bluing and fine grain walnut but I don’t own any. The ones I do have are a little beat up from being in the field. They don’t get there anymore but that is my fault not theirs.
I never go out in the garage and examine the wood grain on my shovel handle. MSR are supposed to be tools not toys.
I used to worry about the finish on my carry gun, and then I bought Glocks. They start out ugly so I don’t have to worry about them.
Glocks – yeah, there is that.
They are without souls, but they do work.
For some.
My last purchase was a gp100 in .357 mag. I love that pistol, if I could only find ammo for it. Finding .357 ammo, even self defense stuff, is like finding the holy grail. It’s like the ammo manufacturers all decided that .357 ammo was not used any more, and switched to 9mm.
My last purchase was in 2012 and a 4″ GP-100. I’m sure that some guys will think I wrecked it, but had a professional flat black gunkote finish put on it. With that it’s my favorite carry gun. I really don’t need .357’s, .38+p will still do the trick on most predators I would run into.
The wife can also use it to put thumb sized holes in targets out to 15 yards.
I’ve used it to introduce 4 people to shooting in the last two years. A .22 single-six to start, then step up to the GP-100 in .38 special. My mother-in-law enjoyed it so much she went and got a SP-101 for a carry gun herself.
Yes, I’m approaching a half century and getting old. So much so that the plastic .40 stays in the safe. It’s hard to beat the look and feel of the old fashioned stuff. It also doesn’t hurt that this gun is easy to shoot well.
Get it. You won’t regret it.