Anyone else into "classics"?

[Trumpet]

Alrighty,
So over the years I've owned a lot of different handguns and traded alot, sold alot etc. Over the years I've realized that I keep coming back to certain makes/models etc. The things that really put me over the edge were the CMP and getting into Cowboy action shooting. Now it seems that I'm obsessed with "acquiring" more "classic" guns. Even though the AWB is over, and "hi caps" are again affordable, the only "new" gun I sorta' want (more out of curiosity) is a Springfield XD. Other than that my "obsessions are"...

1911's (of course, to keep the CMP Garands company )
Browning Hi Powers
Pre-Lock S&W revolvers (particularly the 625 and 65LS...also looking for a 27)
Single Action revolvers
Lever action rifles


Anyone else "rediscover" classics recently?

Rich

 

[cratz2]

Hrmm.... well, the 1911 was the first handgun I ever shot and was the first handgun I ever bought... So i guess you could say I am into the 'classics' though I never really left them.



Honestly, uber capacity semis never really did much for me. I would always prefer fewer rounds (within reason, of course) of a larger diameter caliber than scads of smaller rounds. For me, it comes down to platform choice... I like 1911s, CZs, BHPs, Kahrs etc...

 

[BlackJack]

It's either a sign of my advancing age or you've been in my gun closet. That's the roster I currently own (oh, plus a Rem 870 Wingmaster in 20ga).

 

[Peter M. Eick]

Had to think for a bit, but every gun I have bought in the last few years has been a revolver. All of them but 1 (72 detective special) have been pre-1957 "named" S&W N frames. Most of them have been pre-war ones to boot.

I think they are classics. As I get older, leaning down to pick up brass has become less enjoyable.....

 

[Onmilo]

Well I like Mozart and Vivaldi and taper barrel, K Frame, .38 special caliber Smith and Wessons.

 

[Yooper]

Collecting classics might be just the rationale I'm looking for! The War Department might just buy it. A classic collection would be incomplete without.... The possibilities are endless!

Seriously, a classic collection would definitely be worth having, almost like a private museum.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Classics?

Let's see --

3 M1911A1s by various makers.

A Colt Ace Conversion Kit for the M1911A1

A Colt M357

A Colt .25 Auto

A Colt SAA (2nd Generation, in .357 Mag -- and no, it isn't for sale.)

A Colt New Service in .45 Colt.

A Colt Detective Special

A Colt M1849

A pre-64 Winchester Model 70

A Springfield M1922 (that's a .22 made at Springfield armory before WWII.)

A Stevens Favorite made around 1900

A Stevens #26 Crackshot, made not much later.

A Customized '03 (in .35 Brown-Whelen)

A Winchester M94 in .30-30

A pair of M1903A3s

An M1 Garand

And I claim that my Kimber M82s (I have one in .22 LR and one in .22 Hornet) qualify as "classics."

 

[Standing Wolf]

Actually, several decades from now, some of today's guns will be considered classics.

That saidâ„¢, I've learned to wait awhile to see whether the latest and greatest innovations in firearms last longer than women's fashions.

 

[Atticus]

Yes. I love the classics...but being on a limited gun budget, I've had to pick and choose between keeping family hand-me-downs- classics and- "might ne banned some day" guns. My tastes follow yours pretty closely however.

 

[WhoKnowsWho]

Well, my first gun was a 1911, and most recent was a 1911... but I only have on single action revolver .22 LR for plinking, okay, and one Ruger lever action in .44 Mag/special, mainly another plinker. I like how they all look though, if I had an endless amount of money, I would get plenty more just to look at.

 

[Iggy]

Wow...

I've got some of those..
Sharp's
Trapdoors
Winchesters
Allen and Thurber
Colt's
S&W
O3s and M1's
Classics, Huh?
I just thought I had some old guns
.

 

[Old Fuff]

The Old Fuff votes for classics too:

1. They generally are better made and exhibit more craftsmanship and less cost-cutting then more recent production.

2. Some can be purchased for very attractive prices, and they tend to increase in value. Thus they not only make good shooters but are good investments as well.

3. Many examples are revolvers, and as such are better for casual shooting - for example you don't have to worry about picking up your barss, and when you do it isn't all battered.

Some may argue that current automatics with large-cap magazines make better weapons. While I'm not so sure about that I won't argue the point. But after aquiring one or several of these "weapons" it doesn't seem necessary to continue in that direction. There is more to life then weekly gunfights.

 

[Old Dog]

Concur with everything Old Fuff said ...
For me, a lot of nostalgia involved. When I was a boy in the '60s, I'd decided that someday, I'd have a Colt Peacemaker and a Winchester levergun ... Then, went through the WWII studying phase and came to desire an M-1 Garand and a Colt's 1911 ...

I can't see most of today's guns becoming "classics," though ... black plastic just doesn't do it for me ...

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Quote:
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Many examples are revolvers, and as such are better for casual shooting - for example you don't have to worry about picking up your barss, and when you do it isn't all battered.
-------------------------------

Yep. My carry gun is a M1911 clone (a Kimber Custom Classic.) But I only shoot it on a range, where I can find my brass. When I throw my leg over a horse, the gun in my holster is usually a Colt New Service, or my Colt M357 -- for just that reason.

As a woods and field gun, a revolver is better than an automatic for a lot of reasons -- even if an automatic has tactical advantages

 

[Old Fuff]

>> My carry gun is a M1911 clone (a Kimber Custom Classic.) <<

Likewise - at least if I think something serious might be likely to happen, mine isn't a clone though. I'm old enough to have gotten in on the ground floor.

>> As a woods and field gun, a revolver is better than an automatic for a lot of reasons <<

Indeed yes, and also for most kinds of informal "fun shooting."

>> ... even if an automatic has tactical advantages. <<

I gave up on those long ago. I subscribe to the theory of "gunfight avoidence."

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Quote:
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I gave up on those long ago. I subscribe to the theory of "gunfight avoidence."
--------------------------------

So do I. But I also subscribe to the theory of Robust Tactics -- tactics based on the theory that everything isn't always going to go your way.

 

[RW_Reagan]

classics?

you mean firearms exist other than 1911's and Garands?

 

[Old Fuff]

V.H.

Shucks ... I figger nut'un is going to go my way, just lead coming my way. But your best defensive weapon isn't in a holster, its between your ears. Hopefully I will pray ... but not spray.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Oh, I agree with you 100% -- the best way to survive a gunfight is not to get in one. But if that fails, then cheat.

 

[Magnum88C]

Well, I have FEW of the more modern "high-speed, low-drag" fightin' guns, in case a real battle comes up. But other than that, all of mine are levers, single-shots, milsurps and revolvers. I just have a thing for BLUED STEEL and WOOD.

The whole stainless/plastic thing might be "tactically" better, but just doesn't do it for me like blue/wood does.

 

[Dr.Rob]

Nothing is better made than a pre-war Colt.

Except maybe a pre-war Luger.

Old stuff is only really interesting when it's very well made and you can still shoot it.

 

[c_yeager]

Actually, several decades from now, some of today's guns will be considered classics.

I just realised that in 25 or so years there are going to be C&R eligible GLOCK 17s out there, weird.

 

[Dienekes]

The nice thing about a classic is that it never becomes obsolete because it was done right the first time. really ages. A DC-3 can only be replaced by a DC-3, and watch heads turn when a '57 T-Bird glides by.

I carried a wheelgun for duty until the day I retired; still carry one of those antiques.

Not that I have anything against the 1911. Got my first one in 1960, and the 1913 vintage one in my safe works just fine too.

My daughter has visited the Dark Side with her Glock 19, but at the last gun show she fell in love with a Model 10 3". I think she will be okay.