What Rifle has "soul"?

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"I guess I'd have to say the carbine has a soul, too. Otherwise, it couldn't go to Hell."

That is very funny!
 
just like a song can remind you of a person or moment in time I say a large hooped lever ala John Wayne or a Win 1895 ala Teddy Roosevelt.

Pick a rifle or musket used during the American revolution and it warms my heart.Can't help when seeing one thinking about my freedom.
 
The first thought that came to mind was a pre-64 Winchester Model 70 in .270 Winchester, owned and carried by the master, Mr, Jack O'Connor.
 
For me it's the Mk. III SMLE. A particular example made in 1907 has gone from military rifle, to sporter, to family heirloom. I wish I could ask it what it's seen in the last 100 years...
 
My vote would still have to go to the rifles that kept Americans fed during the depression, and have been used to teach legions of new shooters/hunters. Good old Stevens single shots. My matching favorites, turned out of the factory on the same day. X11, and X23. Now I need to find a .32 favorite and I'll be all set.
Ste004.gif
 
So many people missed the point...

All rifles have a "soul" in the same sense as any other machine. Each one has it's own little (and sometimes not so little) quirks and nuances.

Don't mistake history for soul. Rifles have souls (relating to the way they operate), and some have history.

Go and buy a new Marlin (or whatever), and you will get a rifle with a soul, but you are at the beginning of it's history. Pick up a Marlin (or whatever) made a century ago, and you have a rifle with soul, and history.

Then there are the designs which have soul. Or rather, that speak to the soul. That to me means wood and steel. Rifles designed and made by actual craftsmen, not mass produced out of stampings.

And of course, the whole class of military rifles that were sporterised by people who knew what they were doing. I'm not talking about a "bubba chop job", but about the truly fine custom rifles that some of us used to build and use. These rifles have the most soul, because of the work, care, and even love that went into building them. These rifles definitly have soul, a reflection of the soul of the aritsans who created them.

So sorry, you AK and AR guys, but those guns have little of what I call soul. Like carving a statue out of stone, a rifle with soul is carved out of steel, and wood. Guns made from stampings and moldings can be fine weapons, but to me they just don't have "soul"

And to the people who see an AK as being morally connected to "freedom fighters and revolutionaries, if you count communists and terrorists in that group, then, yes.

This view is a clear demonstration of someone who "grew up" in a different generation than I did. To my generation the AK is the "enemy's" gun. Just as a previous generation links the MP 38/40 with the Nazi horror, the AK is forever linked with the Soviet Union, and their efforts at world domination through supplying arms to "freedom fighters and revolutionaries".

Don't misunderstand, I don't personally have anything against the AK design. It is the finest (and most produced) example of a cheap, robust, functional weapon for poorly trained conscript armies. Accurate enough, and powerful enough for <300 meter combat, it is nearly a perfect design for the role. Although it's ergonomics could have been done better, it works quite well enough, but to me, there is no soul there.

And to the person who said the Luger has a dark soul, remember that the Luger was designed for use by the Imperial German Army (and Navy), and not the Nazis, who just kept it in production and used it. As they did with the Browning High Power, and many other firearms.

So, for me, sporting rifle or military, if it was designed and made before the era of stampings, sheet metal and plastic, when skilled craftsmen took pride in their work, then it has soul.

Actually, now that I think some more on it, I guess AKs, ARs, HKs, and their like do have a kind of soul. It is just that to me it is the soul of a sewing machine.
 
And to the people who see an AK as being morally connected to "freedom fighters and revolutionaries, if you count communists and terrorists in that group, then, yes.

This view is a clear demonstration of someone who "grew up" in a different generation than I did. To my generation the AK is the "enemy's" gun. Just as a previous generation links the MP 38/40 with the Nazi horror, the AK is forever linked with the Soviet Union, and their efforts at world domination through supplying arms to "freedom fighters and revolutionaries".

Don't misunderstand, I don't personally have anything against the AK design. It is the finest (and most produced) example of a cheap, robust, functional weapon for poorly trained conscript armies. Accurate enough, and powerful enough for <300 meter combat, it is nearly a perfect design for the role. Although it's ergonomics could have been done better, it works quite well enough, but to me, there is no soul there.
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I see the AK in a different light (and I grew up during the "Cold War", and the age of the "Evil Empire"). To me the history of the AK's creation is almost fable like. A wounded soldier lying in a hospital bed designs a weapon he feels his country men need to win a war against savage invaders. He does this not for money, or glory (as none was to be had by the individual in his society). He does this for love of country, as a service to his people. Compare that to other weapon designs which were made only to bring profits to their manufacturers. As far as history goes its design has not changed much in the last 59 years. It has been involved in almost every conflict for the last half century. It has been the last thing many a soldier has gripped in their hands before the moment of their deaths, and sent many more to their graves. Its been put on a coin, it takes a place of prominance on a nations flag. If that doesnt give a weapon soul I dont know what does.
 
1903A3.
Lee Enfield.
Garand.
Straight-stocked .30-30 levers (Marlin or Winchester).
8mm Mauser.
 
My browning automatic .308 hunting rifle has soul.

It's the most accurate Rifle I've ever fired. I never miss game under 200 yards with it and the shots always fall within a quarter size from where i'm firing under 200 yards. It's my favorite rifle hands down and I feel I can hit anything with very little recoil.

:rolleyes:
 
So some rifles have an undeniable personality, some have have character, what I really admire is a rifle that seems to evoke a soulfull response.
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Uh, none. I don't anthropomorphize inanimate objects. They are simply tools, elegant tools, sometimes works of art, but they do not have "souls". They are not alive. They are used by man to obtain meat or in defense.

I've argued this on motorcycle boards, too. Really causes heated arguments sometimes, but it's just how I feel. I don't name guns or bikes, either. I know those that do.
 
M39

I have a few rifles and handguns about, all of which I am fond of, but the newest addition is the one I equate with having soul/history.

It is a milsurp and I can only imagine the places it has been and all the different people who may have used it throughout the years.

An all matching numbers, 1942 Finnish M39 Mosin Nagant, with a Ishevsk reciever that was forged in 1897. That is the same year my great grandmother was born, and she witnessed some pretty amazing things in her days on this earth.

My Mosin is now named Grace in her honor, and I think it has heaps of soul.
 
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