atek3
Member
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
atek3
Guns with Soul
- Thread starter turbonatr
- Start date
- Status
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.
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?
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
Member
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 ...
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
Member
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2004
- Messages
- 477
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.
Any weapon that I had when the crap hit the fan.
And most certainly any weapon in both categories.
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?"
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?"
Lonestar.45
Member
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2004
- Messages
- 1,077
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
Member
My HK P7M8 has soul-a-plenty!!! 
Jeff Timm
Member
"Quote:
---------------------------------
Sound o' that clip poppin' out got lots o' boys killed, though. Magnificent rifle."
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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.
---------------------------------
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.
ulflyer
Member
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.
BerettaNut92
Member
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2002
- Messages
- 9,723
My Elite II. It's different. It's special. I said so.
SMLE
Member
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
Member
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.
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.
115grfmj
Member
great thread!!!
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.
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.
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
Member
A FAL has soul. An M-14 has soul. A Garand has soul.
An H&K 91 has no soul.
An H&K 91 has no soul.
iamkris
Member
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
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
Moderator Emeritus
No soul? ... Kris - yours must have been exhorcized!!
Zundfolge
Member
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
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)
My Steyrs (M40 & S40) where souless bastards when I got them, but after a few thousand rounds they've both gained souls
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)
iamkris
Member
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.
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.
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.
"Soul" comes in a variety of forms...
"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".
"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.
"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".
"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.
Harry Paget Flashman
Member
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.)
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
Member
Browning High Power. History , beauty, and 17 rounds.
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