2020 gun purchases, I think I went overboard a bit

With the Covid-19 cancellation of our summer family vacation I ended up with two things; all of the pre-paid money we saved and put down being refunded and a wife who gave me a lot of leeway to add to the gun safe. I seriously think I went a bit overboard...

The guns that I bought during the year were almost all used GB purchases outside of four; two .22 LR rimfires, a 9mm Kimber Micro and a plain-Jane Stoeger Condor O/U.

Shotgun:

The only shotgun I bought was a Stoeger Condor I bought in November for around $300 at Bass Pro. This was an experience that took me literally several hours apiece over two visits (initial and after the ten day wait) and permanently soured me on buying any more guns there, ever.

I bought it only because I didn’t have a 12 ga O/U and I wanted to see how they shoot compared to my other shotguns. It’s nothing fancy; the bluing is even and the fit is good, but the wood is extra bland.

Since I haven’t had time to hit the trap range it’s unfired, once I do shoot it I’ll write something on it. I will add that if I find that I don’t like the 12 ga for birds/trap compared to my other guns I will not be out much $$ if I decide to sell it



Rimfire rifles:

I bought a stainless/walnut Ruger 10-22 International NIB from Buds in March. I kept losing bids on S&W Model 63’s, so I got two Rugers from Buds for the price one Model 63 was fetching on GB.
The 10-22 has been 100 pct reliable and has shot very well for me since the day I got it.



The second rifle was a nearly-new (It may be unfired) CZ 455 Lux with a 20” barrel. I literally picked this up two days ago (late December) so I haven’t shot it yet; a range report will follow once I get some range time in.

Outside of the 10-22 International I’ve never owned a nice walnut/checkered stock rimfire rifle; my others are Henry levers, a 541T Remington and a standard 10-22 from the 1980’s. Man, the fit and finish of the CZ is amazing! Those of you who have raved about your CZ rimfires sure stoked my fire to get one for myself. Now I see what you all were talking about .



Rimfire handguns:

The second gun I bought in March from Buds was a blued Ruger Mk IV 10”. I added a thumbrest grip and I find it as accurate and easy shooting as my Mk II Government Target model.

The best thing about the Mk IV is the ease of removing the upper for cleaning... or swapping for another upper of a different length or style. Volquartsen had a sale on brand new 5.5” bull barrel uppers for under $40, so I bought one and added it, too. Now I basically have two guns for the price of one.




The first rimfire I bought in 2020 was a result of Nightlord40K raving about a new Dan Wesson revolver that was added to the stable... after lurking over the photos, I just had to add a little brother to the DW .357’s I already had. Luckily I found one that didn’t break the bank.

It came with a 6” V shroud that shot very well for me. Since it’s a DW, I found a 4” VH barrel/shroud from CZ and now, like the Mk IV, it’s pretty much two-guns-in-one.


This is the perfect understudy for the magnums, allowing practice for pennies a shot (At pre-Covid pricing, of course!) It is a bruiser of a .22, but it’s one I’ll be hanging on to for quite a while.


I’m out of picture space in this post, so the next post will be for the centerfires I added....

The centerfires I bought were all handguns; mostly revolvers but I threw a Kimber Micro 9 in there because I have never owned a Kimber handgun and I couldn’t beat the price.

Kimber:

I bought this at a police supply house that ran a roughly $400 SHOT show special. I have another subcompact 9mm that I carry (RugerLC9) but since I’ve never owned a Kimber I tried this one out.

I like the sights and how it feels in my hand. I shot it very well and the gun ran 100 pct with JHP and fmj ammo. I did get a funky blister on the middle finger of my right hand from the trigger guard, I think my grip was a bit too firm. The only thing I don’t like is the “reverse-heel” of the magazine baseplate. All my other auto guns have an overhang to the front, the Kimber has it to the rear of the magazine. Under stress a reload may be mixed up with a backwards magazine insertion attempt if one doesn’t practice with this gun a lot.


DA revolvers:

I love older S&W revolvers, but my first 2020 DA was a 1930’s vintage Colt Officers Model Heavy Barrel .38 Spl. I saw it calling my name in February at a LGS at the start of the pandemic run up so I plunked down some $$ and it was mine.

It’s been worked on by King, with a better rear sight milled into the topstrap, a glass-smooth SA trigger pull and it has a trigger shoe added. I don't know where the grips came from, but they seem to work for me. This was my first real bullseye revolver, and I’ll admit I was hooked!



After this purchase I just had to add a Model 14 to the stable. I found a really nice 14-2 on GB and won the auction. This gun has a wonderful DA trigger and a SA that’s almost as nice as the Colt’s. The grips were awful rubber ones, so I bought some Thai (I think!) finger groove grips that fit me well and a I’ve been happy with this gun ever since.



Magnum-itis:

Snake Plisskins amazing S&W.357 finds are the stuff of legend, I was lucky to locate two K-frame S&W Model 66’es that were in fantastic shape that sold for less than they should have.

My pinned and recessed 66-1 4” was the first one I bought in the summertime. It came with rubber Pachmayr presentation grips from the era of sixguns and deputy sheriffs so I left it as-is for nostalgia purposes. It wasn’t shot out or beat up, I don’t think it was used by a street cop, that’s for sure.



My second-to-last DA revolver of 2020 is a 6” Model 66-3 that is in about as nice a shape as any used gun I’ve seen on GB. There is literally not a mark on it other than the cylinder turn-ring, and if it didn’t have that and crumbling rubber grips when I bought it it could’ve passed for new. I added more of the finger groove wooden grips and really like how the slightly heavier gun feels compared to the Model 14, 17 and 48 I have. It came with the wide trigger and .500”hammer spur, which is the first time I’ve had a Smith so attired. It gives a different feel to the gun, and I think I like how these options work better than the .375” spur and standard triggers feel on my other S&W Masterpieces.


The final DA is a 4” Model 15 .38 Spl. This gun needed some cosmetic work to address a bunch of holster wear. I don’t have any pics as it went from auction, to my FFL (who boggled a checkbox on my paperwork leading to a 30-day hold by the State), then to me after the 10- day wait (Well, really a 40 day wait!!) , then to the gunsmith. The DA trigger pull is amazing though, so once I get it back I’ll shooter it and post something.

Now to my SA additions in the last post...

I added three Ruger SA revolvers as the cappers to my 2020 spree...

.44 Flattop

I’ve wanted one of these for ages, and so finally won a 5.5” standard grip model at a price that wasn’t crazy. Other than the turn line it’s in fantastic shape, and a set of walnut burl Chiggs grip panels sets it off.

I’ve shot and loaded .44 Spls for my .44 Magnums for years, so getting a SA .44 Spl brought out the Skeeter Skelton wanna-be in me. I just wish I’d have bought one years ago...



The second was another void-filler; a Bisley .32 H&R.

This was a NIB auction purchase that set me back a but more than I wanted... but the gun just sang to me. All the great posts about the .32 calibers brought back memories of wanting one of these as a young teen to rabbit hunt with. Now that I have a 6.5” model of my own, that pipe dream will soon become a reality.



The last gun I bought is a 6.5” Blackhawk.41 Magnum to compliment my .41 Redhawk.

I haven’t had a chance to shoot this gun either, as I picked it up right before leaving town to see my Dad up North.( This and my work schedules have kept me away from the range since before thanksgiving. )

I ordered new grip panels from Chiggs the day I won the auction, so when it came out of the regulatory 10-day penalty box I dressed it up. Again, once I get a chance to shoot it I’ll write something up.

I guess I replaced my sense of normalcy during the pandemic lockdowns with an assortment of steel distractions; some were long-time wants now fulfilled, others spur of the moment bids on a firearm that looked nice that somehow weren’t topped. (Outside of the .32, which was one of those decades-old wants, I rarely bid high, so I lose far more auctions than I win.) Looking back I think I did go overboard, but man, I just couldn’t help myself.

Share your 2020 additions, I know I am not the only one who added more than one new member to the household.

Stay safe.

Tommygunn said:

Ah .... 2020. A lot of us gun nuts ( ) must have gun a tad nutsy. Mine:

1.) Kahr M1A1 style Thompson carbine .45ACP.
2.) Browning BL-22 lever action. 22LR.
3.) Uberti Colt 1873 .45Colt with bird head grip, 3" barrel.
4.) Pietta Colt 1873 .45Colt Cavalry style, 7.5" barrel.
5.) Miroku Winchester 1866 rifle, .38special 20" barrel.
6.) Miroku Winchester 1873 long rifle, .45 Colt 26" barrel.
7.) Colt 6920 M4forgery, 5.56mm.
8.) Sig Sauer P365 9mm. Type with safety, two-tone.

My finances! Ouch!

Click to expand...

The Miroku Winchesters are beautiful!

Since Ca banned the Thompson’s I’ll never be able to get one until I leave. That’s the only WWII semi auto that I want to add to the Grarand and Carbine.

Those all would be cool additions someday....

Stay safe.