I Don’t Like Talking About Grail Guns

[bigpower491]

This was a grail gun of mine, a Freedom Arms 83. It's a .357, and I get crap all the time from a few other people I know with them because it's not a 454. I've already got something in that caliber, and when I laid eyes on this beauty, I had to have it. It is an incredible Shooter, and certainly makes me look better than I am on paper, lol



It was certainly was worth the price of admission





 

[1KPerDay]

Grail guns are great when you score.

But sometimes, as happened with me, I had my
eye on a particular gun for quite a while, mainly
because it was touted by those in the gun world
whom I respect.

Then, finally achieving one, I found it was really
not for me. It was just an oversized chunk of
metal in my hands.

Sometimes a grail gun is a fail gun.

True, though I doubt the .45 Colt mountain gun would disappoint. My personal 'meh'/ex-grail gun is the FN/Browning High/Hi Power. Everyone talked so much hype about how great they were and how they fit the hand and how amazing the ergonomics etc. were. Mine shoots fine and I like it okay, but it's not a transformative experience. Trigger is fairly crap, actually. Safety was basically unusable and is barely usable after an upgrade and some work. The grip and frame are actually too small for me to get an effective grip on the gun with both hands. Recoil is noticeably sharper than any other 9mm service pistol barring the CZ75.

/hijack

 

[1KPerDay]

Oh, the pre-lock MG's are truly special! I think my 629 has the MIM thumbpiece but still the forged hammer and trigger. It came through a series of good trades. First I traded my old Redhawk, which I never got along with, for a nice pre-war .38-44HD in the somewhat rare 6.5" barrel length. It was mismarked "M&P" and about half what it should have been. Later on I traded that on the brand new 629MG that had been tuned by Bob Munden. This damned t hing shoots 2"@50yds with my 1100fps plinking load. A few years later I became acquainted with John Culina and he made me a set of Roper stocks from a block of antique paper micarta I had.

View attachment 1133095

I love the tapered barrel profile on that .44. Sweet!

 

[CraigC]

Me too, the tapered barrel N-frames are sexy beasts! Fixed or adjustable.

 

[DR505]

Me too, the tapered barrel N-frames are sexy beasts! Fixed or adjustable.

Agreed. Here is another of my Grail guns, a 3.5" S&W Model 27-2 shipped in 1967:

 

[Old Dog]

My personal 'meh'/ex-grail gun is the FN/Browning High/Hi Power. Everyone talked so much hype about how great they were and how they fit the hand and how amazing the ergonomics etc. were. Mine shoots fine and I like it okay, but it's not a transformative experience. Trigger is fairly crap, actually. Safety was basically unusable and is barely usable after an upgrade and some work.

Wow, that's pretty much my exact experience as well, and I like how you put that -- not a transformative experience.

Like @UncleEd, I've found grail guns that turned out to be... not what I thought, though there is the thrill of the hunt. Kind of like chasing a beautiful woman only to find out she's dumber than a box of rocks and you have nothing in common (we've all been there, right?).

But, pretty much every S&W (older model) revolvers I've lusted after have met, and often exceeded expectations. My present grail guns seeking now in revolvers are an earlier (pre-'70s) 2nd generation Colt SAA (blued) in .44 SPL (maybe a '58) or .45 Colt in 4.75" or 5.5," but I'd settle for an unfired LNIB 19-3 or -4 P&R in 2.5" trim

 

[Riomouse911]

Very cool. My MG is a 629 that allllmost has all of the barrel markings worn off. (I think the original owner Flitz’ed it to make it shiny.) Here it is with my 4.2” Model 69 L frame .44 Mag.



The Mountain Guns are all very nice revolvers. IMHO the stainless ones make nice fishing companions when the bears wake up hungry and grouchy in the high sierras (though the only one I have seen so far ran away so fast I hardly saw it).

Stay safe.

 

[bangswitch]

Every gun you're looking for is a Grail gun until you find it and then the next gun you're looking for is a Grail gun until you find it......

I've had several, most have been mentioned in this thread. Looked long for a nice M27, found a ANIB M27-2. Wanted a M25 in .45 Colt, found it. Wanted a BHP, but in .40S&W, found it. Found my latest (and pleeezgodlast) Grail gun this past weekend, been looking the longest for it, a S&W M520. One year production (1980), only 3000 made, and it's new in the box and unfired since the factory.

 

[Armored farmer]

I feel like I am investing in precious metal when I buy a nice older S&W

Those .45colt MG are awesome.

 

[Targa]

Great find Earl!

 

[nofendertom]

bangswitch --- That S&W Mod520 is a beauty. In the early 80's I was looking for a 4in Mod28, but couldn't find one. Found a Mod520 (a fixed sighted Mod28 to me) at a gun show.
I had it for 4 yrs, and shot it a bunch. Even shot it in local IPSC matches. The only gun I ever regretted selling.

 

[Gladius]

I got my 625-7 "back in the day", as they say. I've had it for years and have put hundreds of rounds through it. It's one of my best shooters and I'd trust my life to it. Grail gun? It would have been... but there are others with that title. I even have some of them, too.

 

[bangswitch]

bangswitch --- That S&W Mod520 is a beauty. In the early 80's I was looking for a 4in Mod28, but couldn't find one. Found a Mod520 (a fixed sighted Mod28 to me) at a gun show.
I had it for 4 yrs, and shot it a bunch. Even shot it in local IPSC matches. The only gun I ever regretted selling.

Basically, that's what it is. I got a Factory Letter along with the gun; the original owner had requested it shortly after buying the gun new. It starts out by saying it is patterned after the .38/44 Heavy Duty Revolver, which became the Model 20 when numbers were assigned around 1957-58. I had asked on another forum why this revolver had been given the 520 designation, which sounds like an L frame model. The answer I got is, it was patterned on the M20, and S&W's numbering designates blued carbon steel guns' models start with a 5 in the 3-digit naming scheme, so....520. Mine will be a safe queen, I have four other .357 Magnums I can shoot.

 

[Palladan44]

My face gets warm and tingly just thinking about seeing a "grail gun" on a table......it's even more dramatic when you can't see the pricetag right away....
Then I'll ask first...."what are you asking for the [or fill in the blank] sir?' If the response is way high, which it often is these days, I won't even bother to handle it and look it over...... but every once in awhile, I'll get lucky.

My last "warm and fuzzy" purchase was a mint S&W model 27-2. 8- 3/8" which I got for what I think is nearly a steal at 700$

 

[NuclearMeltdown]

Tapered barrel with top rib? Sign me up!

Never cared for their choice of a serif font on the barrel though.

 

[Roc_my_tims]

Congrats I'm looking for a 686 + 2.5inch. Hope I find one soon

 

[CajunBass]

Even a grail gun that becomes a fail gun, gave the thrill the hunt, the excitement of finding, the satisfaction of purchasing and upon fail, the knowledge of being able to sell it and begin the next hunt.

Awesome find, now, get out and enjoy it.

That was me. I've had dozens of "grail guns." I didn't know they were, until I found them. I've owned a couple of Mountain Guns at one time or another over the years. One in 45 Colt, another in 44 Magnum or 44 Special...I forget which...maybe both. I really liked the 45 Colt one. There was just something about those empty 45 cases that looked like trash cans on the bench at the range.

But I never had any real "use" for them, so the thrill of having them wore off pretty quickly, and some other bright shiny thing would catch my attention, and the last "grail gun" would move on down the road, to make funds and room for the next one. It was really the hunt I enjoyed. Stopping by gun shops. Talking about guns. Researching the gun...shooting it was almost anti-climatiic.

But I sure got to shoot a lot of cool guns.

 

[Gary W. Strange]

I love the 4” tapered N frame S&Ws. Especially the older prelock Smiths. One of the best looking revolvers ever made is the 3 1/2” model 27s. My caliber of choice has always been .44 special. I grew up reading Elmer Keith, Skitter Skeleton and Sheriff Jim Wilson. Several years back I managed to score a couple of grail guns. A Smith & Wesson 4” 624 made in 1987. When the 24s and 624s come out, back in the 80s, I wanted one so bad I could taste it. Just out of college, wife, baby, house, and vehicle payments stood in my way. I found one, new in the box, unturned, with the screwdriver and cleaning kit still sealed. It is a thing of beauty. I had a set of black and white ebony grips made by Culina. Makes it really pop. I carry it in a three person cross draw holster. Carries like a dream. The other is a Freedom Arm 4 1/4” model 97 .44 Special. It is built like a Swiss watch, locks up like a bank vault, well fitted and finished. It’s a great woods carrying revolver. I would have to get pretty hungry to part with either of these revolvers. There are other grail guns out there, I hope to acquire in time. A older prelock S&W 625, a 5” model 27 and maybe a 4” 617 no dash tops my list.