[turbonatr]

Every now and then we see threads pop up where someone mentions a particular gun has no "soul". Usually, it's a polymer-frame pistol of some sort. Some polymer fanatics at first take offense to this, some don't. Personally, I didn't buy my "plastic" guns because of soul, but I must say, they're ARE some guns I buy because they DO have "soul".

I would like to know what guns you guys think posses soul. In my mind, I think "soul" when I pick up a fine, wood-stocked, hammer-mounted firing pin revolver (love my old Smith wheelies), a 1903 Springfield, a Garand (love my surplus rifles, too!) or a deeply blued "no frills" 1911. No exotic optics/sights, frame-mounted accessory rails and 50 round magazines. In case you didn't pick up on the pattern, wood and blue steel seem to make a firearm seem warm and have soul.

What guns "do it" for you guys?

[Stickjockey]

My 1915-vintage SMLE has soul. If that rifle could talk, what stories it'd tell.

[psyopspec]

1911's that were new when my grandfather was a kid.

I was in a colorguard yesterday at a military banquet, got to carry out the duty with a 1903 Springfield. Very soulful rifle!

[dev_null]

The '98 Krag Carbine, most def. I'm curious about the '31 Persian Mauser, too.

[Vern Humphrey]

My guns with "soul" include:

Colt M1849 cap and ball.

Colt Officer's Model Target .22 revolver

M1911A1s -- including my M1927 Argentine with a Colt Service Ace kit mounted.

Colt M357 (carried this one in Viet Nam and used it.)

Colt SAA -- mine is in .357.

Colt New Service in .45 Colt

Pre-64 Winchester Model 70 in .30-06

M1903A3 Springfields (one by Smith-Corona, one by Remington.)

M1 Garand (mine is an H&R)

Bigfoot Wallace (custom '03 Springfield in .35 Brown-Whelen)

The Gae Bolga -- Kimber M82 in .22 LR

Kimber M82 in .22 Hornet

[gazpacho]

Anything with Blued Steel and .45 Colt

[EllisWyatt]

Me: "Just this ammo here....Is that a Garand over there in the corner?"
Clerk: "Yep, just came in yesterday, haven't even put a price tag on it yet. Fellah's granddad left it to him, real WWII Springfield."
Me: (Stare.)
Clerk: (Grin.) "Okay, sure." (Chuckles, hands it to me.)
Me: (Silently fondling the beatiful banged-up stock.)
Guy next to me: "Magnificent rifle. I slept with one o' them every night for many a year . . . . Sound o' that clip poppin' out got lots o' boys killed, though. Magnificent rifle."

We made eye contact for a moment. I handed back the rifle, paid for my ammo, and left before I started to weep.

Garand.

[Vern Humphrey]

Quote:
---------------------------------
Sound o' that clip poppin' out got lots o' boys killed, though. Magnificent rifle."
---------------------------------

The man who jumps up to charge an American when he hears the ping! of a Garand clip will never hear anything else. :)

[P95Carry]

I find most ''soul'' in my early type Smith wheelies.... that deep luster blue, pinned and recessed .... another word would be ''classic''. :)

[NHSoldier]

I find my old Winchester 70 has some soul,, early 70's production, walnut and blued steel. I also love my 1943 8mm mauser,, was still in cosmolene when i got it, hasnt had 5 rounds threw it, sat in storage in Germany for years.

[yorec]

My guns with soul include:

Herter's .401 Powermag
Rossi Gallerygun .22lr
Browning BLR .22lr
My grandfather's Steven's singleshot 12 ga
Any of the custom stocked high power rifles we have
And of course, my Sigma SW40F :neener:

[Sylvilagus Aquaticus]

hmmm...interesting....

the ones in my hands that have the most soul are the Winchester 42 that my grandfather bought after seeing squirrels at the farm and developing a hankering for fried squirrel...he drove into town, went to the hardware store and bought it and a box of .410's then went back out and got himself a mess of them...in 1932. Next to it is the Model 12 in 16 gauage, a set of barrels in the leather leg-o-mutton case which he bought in 1929. A similar story exists about the H&R Handi-Gun which has come through the family along with the Minchester 92 in 25-20 that I used on my first 'real' deer hunt when I was 9.

My 1937 vintage Walther Sportmodell V also has stories I wish I knew, as does the 1900 vintage Colt 1877 in .41LC.

As for the Garand...most of what I know of it is that it was serialed in April of '43 but spent a lot of time in Anniston before it came to my hands.

Regards,
Rabbit.

[Walt Rauch]

Any N frame S&W pre WWII, Any commercial Colt 1911 pre WWII. DItto for Model 70 Super Grade rifles.

Post " the Big One", any pre model number N frame .357 Magnum with first honors to the S&W Pre Model 27 with 3.5" barrel.

[shermacman]

My Dad's Winchester .22 bolt action rifle (1937)
M1 Garand
Colt .45

What is a gun with soul? dead accurate, absolutely reliable, beautiful, redolent with history. There are plenty of wood clad guns that were pieces of junk when they were "NIB". Not many guns have soul.

[SMLE]

My 1777 French musket that was converted to percussion, then brought over by Caleb Huse for the Civil War.

All of my Enfields, but particularly my 1909 ShtLE MkIII.

My Garand.

My 1937 vintage Colt Official Police 38 Spec. revolver.

[armoredman]

My 1942 Mosin M38, and Mosin 91/30....old warriors. If they could only speak......I'd have to learn Russian! :p
My 1920 91/30 was built the year my stepfather was born.....

[Black Snowman]

I recently saw an all origional WWII era Remington Rand 1911 with no bluing and a blood stain on the slide. Doesn't get much more soulful than that, let me tell ya.

[trubluedog]

1895 Nagant revolver. If it doesn't have it's own soul, there is one attached to it.
Steel and wood have a personality.

[Gunnutz13]

that saw action in an armed conflict would have "soul"...the soul of the brave soldier that carried it in defense of his country...that put his life on the line so that others could enjoy freedom. My M1 Garand...

[sfhogman]

My Smith & Wesson 38/44 Super Police. First sold in 1935 to a hardware store and gunshop in Joplin, Missouri. Sold to a gunshop in Arkansas in 1968. From there to the older gentleman I bought it from a few years ago. Some holster wear, bright as-new barrel, shoots wonderfully. I like the thought of a Joplin cop carrying it all those years...

It now lives a life of quiet semi-retirement in my gunsafe guarding my 1911, Rugers and other "younger" guns...

[orangeninja]

For me it is a 1912 Model 12 Winchester 20 ga. in nickel. I have it in my closet now. Still fires, all origional, it has seen more hunting trips than days I've been alive. Was my great grandads, then my grandmothers, then my dads, now mine and will be my kids. It was even used to chase off a few retard KKK guys who wanted to burn down a crop to flush someone out of my granddads field...not that night. Soul.

I just bought this M48A mauser, I'm thinking if everything works out with it, I may put a couple of stories into this one. Starting with a boar hunt.

My dads old Model 66 .357 Magnum he carried as a cop.

My Sig 229 that I have carried to various law enforcement activities. (Will give to my kids someday)

A Yugo SKS, looks and feels like history.

Any Makarov, Russian, Bulgy or German you can feel the oppresion from here.

Grandma's old WW1 Smith and Wesson .45 revolver. She still has it in her dresser.

My uncles Springy 1903.

My Grandfathers Security Six, that he still carries, was used to capture 3criminally insane escapees. Of course they were tired and starved, but it's still a neat story.

Soul is what is put into a gun...not so much the gun itself.

[another okie]

My Ithaca 37, a faithful companion on many a duck and goose hunt, with a few scars to show for it.

My father's .22 rifle, marked "Ward's Field and Stream," purchased by him through the mail in the 1930s and used to put a lot of rabbit and squirrel on the table back then.

[Dionysusigma]

My 1919 Swede Mauser? Maybe... :scrutiny:

My SAR-1? Nope. :rolleyes:

I do have a bayonet, though; and even though there's no story behind how I got it (picked it up in the Bayo Bin at Brigadoon on a whim) there're all kinds o' little signs that it has a story to tell. Nothin' too much, but just enough to make me wonder... It's a Czech Mauser bayo, in decent condition. Oxidation is unusually low, but nonetheless there are pockmarks all over the handle.

The tip is the most interesting part (I'm sure all on the receiving end would agree ;) ), however. There is some permanent discoloration on the end 2 1/2 to 3", enough to make me wonder if food or the like was speared on the tip and cooked over a fire. Toward the last 1", the metal looks like it's been scraped over other metal, just as it would if someone used it to open a tin can. It's just a tad brighter, but noticeable nonetheless.

I personally have no question as to whether it has seen combat--the wear lets me know well enough. The quality of the steel is quite high, and quite strong. The locking mechanism is in perfect condition, but the handle is beat to high heaven (but not missing any chunks). It's perfect, ya know? Perfect in the way that it was heavily used, but kept in flawless working order...

Instead of waiting for the rifle to talk (unless it already has--you know what I mean), why not try writing your version of its story, keeping it as factual as possible (and, of course, embellishing a tad for the benefit of the reader) ;) :D

[Beetle Bailey]

I mostly own milsurp rifles, so I have a few guns with "history" but the one that comes to mind when I read the word "soul" is my M1 Garand. Even though the Parkerizing is worn a bit, and even though it's a mix-master of parts (I got it from the CMP), it's still something special to me. When I sling up and shoot it, it's like the thing has a personality. I like the lines on the rifle and the smell of the orange-wax I put on the stock :rolleyes: . BTW, the reciever is a 1943 Springfield Armory.

[GaryP]

For me my Colt 1911 circa 1918 and Colt 1903 PM circa 1913.

If they could only tell their stories! :)


:evil:

[atek3]

The South African R1 (an FAL clone)... Thats a gun with soul. Unfortunatly all my guns are relatively soulless, oop never mind... I have an antique Finnish M-39 "B Barrel"...thats a sweet one.

atek3

[junke]

personaly i "feel" soul in a firearm its not based on looks i have some that i realy like or are fun ton shoot but i have a pre64 win94 30 30 that talks to me and a NM mia bush rifle that i got at a gun show a few years back that i Really wish i new the history of. shes my sweetheart.

[pete f]

model 99 Savages with the brass rotor, they just look like you should be wearing red plaid and ll bean boots when they sit in the corner, quietly whispering to you "deer season is coming deer season is coming"

My model 71 winchester it just says "alaska" just loud enough to drown out everyother thought some nights.

my grandpa's 22 i hear him telling me to squeeze the trigger everytime I pick it up.

a model 12 winchester can you smell the snow on the wind when you hold it too?

[Old Dog]

As one member put in, guns that have served in armed conflict. I'd add, guns that evoke good childhood memories and also guns that had great historical significance ...

So for me ... Colt SAAs, Winchester lever guns, the original and still king 1911A1 Gov't Model, and of course the Garand ... Grandpa's Remington 700, Dad's Stevens single-shot .22 rifle ... the old Browning over-under ... Ithaca 37 ... my Win. Mod. 70 Classic Featherweight 30.06, almost all the old S&W blued revolvers, blued Colt Pythons, any old CZ-75 ...

Honest wear on blue steel and wood stocks, the smell of Hoppe's #9 ...

[Burt Blade]

Any weapon given to me by my father.

Any weapon that I had when the crap hit the fan.

And most certainly any weapon in both categories.

[Farnham]

Anything designed by Colt, Browning, or Garand. SAA's, 1911's, BAR's, the Superposed, M2's, the Garand...those all have soul. Mausers, Mosins, Kalashnikovs, Lugers, Enfields, old Walthers, old Carcanos, K-31's, and 1903A3s.

Winchester bolts, Marlin levers, M14s, M16s, trench guns, Thompsons, M1 Carbines, Stens, Brens, and MG-42's...hmm...the question might be, "Which guns DON'T have soul?" :evil:

[Lonestar.45]

So many of the guns mentioned have soul. But, for me, original Hawken rifles top my list, or maybe the Pennsylvania/Kentucky type rifles. The old time blackpowder rifles just reek with soul, especially those carried/modified by the Indian tribes and mountain men. I guess it's because these rifles were always so individualized. Chances are, when you see a Garand, Springfield, 1911, Mosin, etc., they all more or less look alike. They do have soul, but it's different, it's more the romance of "boy, if only that gun could talk" kinda thing. The old blackpowder rifles, many of them, no two were alike. Standardized parts weren't real big back then, and the mountain men and indians liked to put in inlays, carvings, leather, hang feathers off of 'em, brass/iron tacks on the stock, etc. (kinda like some modern folks like picatinny rails, surefires, lasers, Aimpoints, not much has changed, eh? hehe....). I think the individual nature of these guns give them a lot of "soul".

[JMag]

My HK P7M8 has soul-a-plenty!!! :D

[Jeff Timm]

"Quote:
---------------------------------
Sound o' that clip poppin' out got lots o' boys killed, though. Magnificent rifle."
---------------------------------

The man who jumps up to charge an American when he hears the ping! of a Garand clip will never hear anything else."

A legend of considerable proportion repeated by military trainers for decades, to give emphasis to fire discipline instruction. At least according to some old Drill Sergeants of my acquaintance.

Geoff
Who listens to the disappearing generation. :cool:

[ulflyer]

1906 Winchester 22 "pump" lovingly cared for with metal that is smooth as glass, brown/plum all over, and an action that is slicker than snot from thousands of shot.

[Skunkabilly]

My Elite II. It's different. It's special. I said so.

[SMLE]

The man who jumps up to charge an American when he hears the ping! of a Garand clip will never hear anything else."My Father told me that the japs would try that. They first tried in on Guadalcanal when the Marines still carried '03s. When the Garands became available, a Marine could fire 5 slow shots as if he were using an '03, then, when tojo jumped up, the other 3 rounds were waiting for him. BAR men could also play that game, firing 5 or 8 rounds, then giving the jap the rest of the magazine.

[ducktapehero]

I only have 3 "guns" that I feel have soul, at least to me. One is a little toy Derringer given to me by my Granddad before he died. The last toy he ever bought for me. So to me it has a lot of "soul".

Another is my faithful Daisy lever action BB gun that still serves me to this day. 30 years and going strong, despite the duck tape holding it together and bent barrel.

The 3rd is my 1st "real" gun. An ancient 410 shotgun that I'm told gathered many a meal during the hard times of the 1930's. The hammer is still kinda hard to pull back(heck of a spring) and I have seen thousand dollar rifles that don't have a trigger as crisp as this old scattergun. I have put it on the wall as a decoration but I refuse to "officially" retire it. It still wants to go hunting with me. I'm sure it will have a triumphant return to the field eventually. :cool:

[115grfmj]

The one of of guns with the MOST soul, is my Marlin 1894c. Beautifully
checkered and figured american black walnut, stirring deep polished blue,
and classic lines that speak of adventure. :D :D :D :D :D :D

[Tinker]

My grandfather's single shot Bridge 12g. In some ways it was just like him. A tough old workhorse. It almost a century old, battered stock, no blueing, muzzle split. No telling how many square miles of woods it has seen or how many critters have fallen to it. Accounting for hard times and Depression horse trades there is no telling how many different owners it had and it still eventually came back to him.

[Molon Labe]

A FAL has soul. An M-14 has soul. A Garand has soul.

An H&K 91 has no soul.

[iamkris]

The soul of a gun I believe is based on your personal relationship with it. What may reek soul to me may be a hunk of iron to you.

Guns I own that have soul:

* Garand
* 1874 Sharps, 45-70
* Hi Power
* Ruger Vaquero, 45 Colt
* 03A3 Springfield
* DSA StG58

Guns that I own that surprise me that they have no soul:
* AutoOrd 1911
* Win 92 (Rossi clone), 45 Colt
* Mosin Nagant 91/30
* Mosin Nagant M44
* Swiss K31
* No4 MkI Enfield

[P95Carry]

* No4 MkI EnfieldNo soul? ... Kris - yours must have been exhorcized!! :D

[Zundfolge]

Guns get "Soul" either by the "Soul" of the builder (especially in the case of a hand built gun) or by the "Soul" of the shooter.

My Steyrs (M40 & S40) where souless bastards when I got them, but after a few thousand rounds they've both gained souls :p

However there was always a little soul to my Kahr MK40 (dunno why) and my VZ24 is just oozing soul (along with a little Cosmoline)

[ddc]

1. Winchester model 70 30'06 (4 digit serial number) I inherited from my dad

2. Browning/FN HiPower

[iamkris]

No soul? ... Kris - yours must have been exhorcized!!

Chris -- I know that that is what has me confounded. All my other WWII rifles speak to me (with the exception of the Mosins)...bums me out, not sure what awful things this one has been through to act this way.

[Dr.Rob]

Pre-war Colts. Cowboy guns. Weapons fired in anger. Turn of the century English safari rifles. Precision tools of blued steel and hand shaped wood. Double barrelled shotguns with coin finished engraving.

All of these have 'soul to spare' in my opinion, or at least a story to tell.

Then again, my plastic and stainless Savage has been a magnificent game rifle that I never worry about "dinging" the stock or scratching the barrel. It doesn't have the character of some of my other weapons... but the stories it could tell.

[Gewehr98]

"Soul" as in a deep history, begging one to document the travels of a piece through time. Like this 1918 DWM Luger. Built by the folks at DWM for WWI, it made it through WWII before being captured from the German 6th Army at Stalingrad. Somewhere in there it took a shrapnel hit that left a permanent dent in the left side and trigger guard. Then it was refurbished by the Soviets, and issued to the East German VOPO, where it received a sear safety modification to prevent accidental discharges during disassembly. Sometime after that, the Berlin Wall came tumbling down, and this particular Luger found it's way into the United States as a C&R, with me anxiously waiting to make use of my new C&R FFL. The final indignity suffered upon the old Luger was the removal of the now-smoothbore 4" barrel and bakelite grips, and a visit to legendary Lugersmith John Martz, who installed the brand-new 6" barrel. The old girl's been around the block, and I wager it has "soul".

http://mauser98.com/lugerdoubtfire.jpg

"Soul" as in something created from one's own hands. Like this ancient 1916 Haenel 98 Mauser action, lovingly crafted into a 1000-yard 6.5-06 Interdiction Rifle. Nobody in their right mind would screw a premium Krieger barrel into a sloppy old 98 Mauser action, install a titanium striker, Canjar single-set trigger, and glass-bed it into a Fajen Ace Varminter stock. Or would they? The gun is essentially worthless for resale purposes, but will remain valuable to me as the one that made it into Tactical Shooter Magazine for hitting a golf ball at 500 meters. "Soul", indeed. :D

http://mauser98.com/interdiction-3.jpg

[Harry Paget Flashman]

Among the junk and jewels I've been through in the past 35 years I now own 40 or so favorite guns. The one with the most soul is my S&W Model 36 (3") which I bought in 1982 (and sold & bought back in 1993) to replace one I sold in 1979. As much as I love it, the CZ 75B I bought today has the potential to be my most soulful gun.

Least soulful:

RG .22 Short revolver (Hey, it was free to me. It shot most of the lead down the barrel. Some of the time. Hard up for cash to buy a Ruger Security-Six in the 70's, I sold a Walther P38 and after palming the cash I forced the guy to take the RG.)

[michiganfan]

Browning High Power. History , beauty, and 17 rounds.

[munk]

In looking over my small collection, (20 something) I realize I've steadily kept most of the guns with soul, and let the others go.





munk

[killermarmot]

My guns with soul are both lever actions
my Savage 99 in Savage .303
and my brand new strait stocked
BLR in .308
The Winchester 1898, I mean any shotgun with an exposed hammer has got to have soul.


and I think some polymer guns can have soul. I think the Beretta NEOS is a unique kinda soulful polymer gun (ofcourse I'm biased cause I have one :) ) but hey.

[G.I.Jew]

my one and only 1943 Winchester M1. It's been rebuilt a few times, so it probably saw some action somewhere

[smokemaker]

My dad inherited a M-1903A3 made in 1942 by Remington this weekend. That rifle has soul. Any levergun should have at least a little soul.
My K-22 has soul.
So does my Ithaca 12 gauge.

[Bacon]

I have a few:

Model 1894 Winchester mfg. 1941. Lots of personality. The action is a little loose but fun to shoot.

Model 1916 Spanish Short Rifle made from a 1893 Mauser during the 30's by both sides in the Spanish Revolution.

Type I Japanese Rifle picked up from a sniper who had been made into hamburger on Okinawa. The Marine-Raider who brought it back gave it to me a couple months ago. I cherish this rifle. (My Father was on Okinawa also)

Pre-Model 28 Highway Patrolman mfg. 1955. Revolvers like this are what gave Smith & Wesson it's reputation. Lots of holster wear but all you need is to hold it in your hands. Then you'll see what I mean.

Good thread!

Steve

[Griff]

Daisy Red Ryder. (go ahead and say it)
It's where we all started, and where our kids will fondly remember us.
Amen.

[Ridge]

My grandpappy's old smith&wesson M&P 38.special,that gun has a lot of stories to tell,and so does grandpappy.