Question of the Day: What Are the 10 Guns Everyone Should Shoot Before They Die?

[Jgarrick]

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2014/04/robert-farago/question-of-the-day-what-are-the-10-guns-everyone-should-shoot-before-they-die/

GLOCK fanboys can slag off John Moses Browning’s gift to the world ’til the cows come home, but anyone who hasn’t punched a single ragged hole in a target at 15 yards (or more) with a properly tuned 1911 has missed out on one of the best ballistic experiences available on planet earth. By the same token, anyone who hasn’t run a GLOCK like they’re in the middle of a zombie apocalypse is gun-experience deficient. What are your ten guns you (and other gunnies) should shoot before shuffling off this mortal coil?

(Edit, adding my list)

1. Colt 1911A1
2. S&W Model 29 .44 magnum
3. Colt SAA
4. Thompson SMG
5. M1 Garand
6. AK-47 (or variant)
7. AR-15
8. Barrett M82 .50
9. Glock
10. Browning Hi-Power

[Hoyt]

1. Sorry, not something I have on my Bucket List. I did like my Whamo slingshot before growing up.

[gejohnston]

2. When I was a kid in Wyoming

you needed a CCW to carry it under your coat. Seriously. May still be that way.

[Eleanors38]

12. Wham-O made a nice rubber band gun...

The model was "Slammer 6-38." Plastic Buntline barrel, star-hammer held up to 8 nasty-good rubber bands; reliable, rapid-fire, accurate, could pop flies and Forrestal-class roaches off the wall (or in flight) with no problem. Great toy for -$1 in the '50s.

[gejohnston]

3. my list

any Nitro Express
Walther PPK
.50 Hawkin
Kentucky long rifle
M-1 Carbine
any Lugar
Thompson SMG
any percussion revolver
any .30-30 lever action
any single action revolver in .45 or .357.

[Paladin]

4. .375 H&H, any make.

Try a big-ass caliber that's not directly tied to the military or law enforcement---the change will do you good.......

[Jgarrick]

6. So shooting a bolt-action chambered for .375 H&H would do me good, but shooting a

bolt action chambered for .338 Lapua wouldn't?



Please elaborate.

[Paladin]

7. Just trying to broaden your horizons a little.

If you're more comfortable with a military sniper caliber, suit yourself. It's called the Outdoor Life group for a reason.

[sir pball]

16. I'm most comfortable with one of the most popular sporting calibers in the world.

The fact that it originated as a military cartridge, and is indeed still the preeminent "sniper" round in the world, is utterly, absolutely irrelevant to me.

It's simply as close to the perfect "all round" North American sporting round as there is. Come on, do you really believe EVERYBODY who owns an M70 or 700 .308 secretly harbors breathless fantasies of 800-yard headshots or something?

[ManiacJoe]

8. How does the .375 HH compare to the .45-70 stuff?

[Paladin]

9. Haven't shot a .45-70, sorry. (nt)

[Jgarrick]

11. Considerably more powerful; the .375 H&H has 4,500 ft-lbs of energy at the muzzle.

The 45-70 (in its original loading) has 1,700, although in a modern rifle it can be handloaded hotter.

[sir pball]

21. "Hotter" is an understatement

In my 1895 I can push it to about 3,500 ft-lbs. Not quite .375 territory, but it's a seven-pound lever action - it hits quite a bit harder on the other end than my dad's CZ550 in .375. If it weren't so much darn fun to blow up gallons of water with, it would almost be unpleasant.

[sir pball]

15. 375, how adorable.

I like the .416 Rigby myself. Just as classic, but much...spicier. Specially with "modern" loads.

[Paladin]

17. I once had the chance to fire a .458 and didn't do it.

I certainly don't lose any sleep over it, but I kind of wish I'd taken advantage of the opportunity. I hunted several times with a friend's .375 (English custom made, commercial Mauser action, hand-carved walnut stock, octagonal barrel, German optics) and enjoyed the hell out of it.

[sir pball]

19. .458 really shouldn't be much worse than a .375

The .458 (Winchester, at least) has a mystique about it, but it's really a pretty anemic round, hence the rise of the Lott. Should realistically feel the same as a .375, all things being equal. The .416 on the other hand is...peppy to say the least, even in my dad's twelve-pound CZ550. Got a good ding from the scope bell the first time I touched one off. Fun though!

[Paladin]

22. I was sighting in that .375 at the range.

After I'd fired a couple of times, the guy at the adjoining bench looked over and asked "Just what the fuck are you shooting, fella?" The muzzle blast from that old cannon got a lot of attention, that day. Lots of fun to shoot it; like your dad's gun, that rifle had enough weight to even out the recoil, some.

[sir pball]

24. Our neighbor in Maine used to like to rip off his handgun real fast

He was almost a half-mile away so it was never annoying, but one day Pops grinned, got the Rigby from the safe, and went out for some "followup shot practice". That shut the other guy up right quick. Sounded like rolling thunder echoing off the hills

[Eleanors38]

30. World-filling sound.

[sir pball]

31. There's a good reason that rifle is nicknamed Mjolnir.

[oneofthe99]

5. no thank you

[ManiacJoe]

10. I seem to be doing OK with the lists from others!

So far I have shot:

Colt 1911A1 (or other manufacturer)
Thompson SMG
AK-47 (or variant)
AR-15
Glock

slingshot

Kentucky long rifle (or other black powder musket/rifle)
M-1 Carbine
any .30-30 lever action

[Eleanors38]

13. Remington M-8 in .35...

The 100+ yr-old heavy-caliber semi-auto rifle, and IRC, the first practical one. It was one of the first rifles to undergo modification for LEO-use, with the permanent integral magazine replaced by -- you guessed it -- an extended, banana-shaped and removable magazine. It had reasonable accuracy and was most often seen in the deep woods South and East. The .35 Rem round is still extant, and is a great big-game round at medium range. The safety was ripped off by Gen. Kalashnikov.

[Jgarrick]

14. I've always liked the Remington Model 8.

Back in the '30s it was marketed to some police departments with a 15 or 20 round magazine and a forward grip from the Thompson submachinegun.



Rare these days, though...I think they go for $3K in nice shape.

[Eleanors38]

28. One if those bassackward instances where a hunting rifle

was converted to police uses. The Rem .35, IIRC, is the only round still bottled out of the various ones the Model 8 chambered. It's a good one. Our family had it in a Marlin 336 lever. Hope they keep that early rimless big boy.

[Jenoch]

34. My father has that gun in .30 Remington.

The gas chamber surrounds the barrel. The sound of the action is unbelievably loud.

[Eleanors38]

35. Yes. Definitely not Kosher.

[Jenoch]

36. My father bought some .30 Remington ammo not too long ago,

meaning at least several years. I don't think he has looked for it in the last couple of years.

[sir pball]

18. Hmm.

Here's my input...I've actually done 10/10.

1911
Remington 700, .308
Contender w/10" 45-70 barrel
.416 Rigby
Colt Python
Winchester Model 12
Any AR-pattern
10/22
Savage 99, iron sights plz
Marlin 1895

[Paladin]

20. Bonus points for including so many actual "Outdoor Life" firearms.

I took my first TX Hill Country deer with a Savage 99, .250-3000 caliber; it had the obligatory Weaver K4 optics---way back then, using a Lyman, Leupold or Redfield scope got you branded a communist in TX (exaggeration, but only a slight one).

[sir pball]

23. I never actually hunted with the 99

Years ago, it was going for a song and I was able to sing the right tune - it's an "OG" .300 Savage, clearly VERY well-loved (who am I kidding, it's in terrible condition); it gave me a flash of a 1920s upstate farm boy casually taking it out at dawn to get dinner. Loads of fun to shoot but the sights are so out of whack I doubt I could hit a buck at 20 yards.

[Eleanors38]

29. Hunting buddy from Uvalde Co. uses a Model 99 in .300

I missed buying one in .243 of all things selling at a N. Austin pawn shop; even had a cheesy 4X scope. Asking $190. Dumb-ass me, passed it up.

[oneshooter]

25. Well lets see here.

1. Colt 1911A1-Done
2. S&W Model 29 .44 magnum-done
3. Colt SAA-don and don again
4. Thompson SMG Not yet, does a Browning BAR count?
5. M1 Garand-Done and redone a lot
6. AK-47 (or variant)-done
7. AR-15- done, and M16
8. Barrett M82 .50-Done
9. Glock-Done, don't care for them
10. Browning Hi-Power-Done

Fn-FAL-Done
Sharps rifle-Done
Heavy bore double rifle- Done In my safe is the Westley Richards "shop grade" double in 470 NE, picked it up in Kenya from a retired PH and used it for Elephant culls as a Ranger in Kenya. Ammo is NOT cheap.

[Paladin]

26. Who culled the elephants with that .470: you or the guy you bought it from?

[oneshooter]

27. It was the job of the Park Rangers, among many. n/t

[mog75]

32. savage 99

Last edited Mon Apr 14, 2014, 08:12 PM - Edit history (1)

I bought a 99 in the early 90's, mine is a 250-3000 made in 1951. I have taken 3 deer with it, and when my little sister got old enough to deer hunt she used it to take her first deer. It is extremely effective with the Barnes x bullet, and I hope my boys will use it when they get old enough. Until then it stays in the safe, as it is in extremely good condition and has nearly tripled in value since I bought it.

[Jgarrick]

33. My father took his first deer with a Savage 99 chambered in .250-3000.

Good deer cartridge.

[NightWatcher]

37. Good lists. Here are the one's I've shot/qualified on (bucket list completed)

1. a M1911
2. a .44 mag revolver
3. a 12 gauge pump shotgun (Mossberg 500 tactical)
4. a Walther PPK/s for the 'sexy' James Bond factor
5. a handgun with a suppressor (Sig P229)
6. an AR15
7. an AK that is full of dirt and muck (then you'll see why it's so popular)
8. a HK MP5 (or MP5K)
9. an Uzi 9mm smg
10. a Rem 700 (with a properly trained sniper as your spotter/trainer)

You get bonus points for simunitions training and live fire exercises.

Have I mentioned how much retirement sucks lately? Who wants to get into a car chase with me?