Safe Queen Story Time

[Simple Shooter]

Do you have a safe queen with an interesting background? Or maybe one that you have rediscovered?

I have one that fits into the latter category.

In 1989, I bought a West German Sig P226 which I carried through my law enforcement career then as a civilian. A few years ago, I replaced it as my main carry gun with a P229SAO and a Colt Combat Elite Defender. Before moving the P226 from the daily safe to the storage safe, I gave it new G10 grips, new Ameriglo Protector sites, replaced all the springs, and fit her with a Grayguns Enhanced Leverage System. I figured after 30 years of protecting my life and always going bang when she should and never when she shouldn't, she deserved at least that much. Then, shamefully, I forgot about her.

This morning I opened up the safe to grab my M1A for a trip to the range and saw the old P226 sitting there. In a fit of nostalgia, I grabbed it up and headed to the range.

I had plenty of XM80 with me. But I was anxious to shoot my old friend. So, I packed up the M1A a little early and moved over to the pistol side to put the faithful old P226 to work. And I got a surprise. I shot it much better than I shoot my fancy new guns. The newer P229 has a real nice Grayguns trigger. The Colt has been modified with a Wilson Combat trigger and several other upgrades. They both shoot very nice, with short crisp triggers and resets. Yet, I shot the old SA/DA P226 better; I acquired target faster, got my rounds off faster, and had tighter rapid fire groups. As for the manual of arms, I had no issue transitioning back to the DA/SA with a decocker from the SA's. It was like riding a bike.

Maybe I shoot it better because I shot this gun for 3 decades. Or maybe it is because my 55 year old eyes can see the slightly longer site radius a little better. Either way, I think I will re-evaluate what I carry daily. Because sometimes an old, holster-worn pistol can surprise you.

What about your favorite safe queen?

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Haven't shot my minty Remington 51 in quite a few years. It could be because wear parts are unobtainium. Or because other guns I have are more accurate. It could be because .380 was so expensive and hard to find during COVID......
But the real reason is I usually go with friends or family and I dont trust any of them to handle it properly. By properly, I mean with rubber gloves on.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Heres an really clean Astra A600 I traded off unfired and later bought again.

It sat in the shop's display case for almost a year with no takers. I dont even remember what I traded it towards, but whatever it was didn't hang around. I ended up buying the Astra again and gosh, golly I actually like shooting the silly thing- many folks think they are handheld torture devices.
It hasn't seen the light of day in a while. I need to rectify that soon!

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

This one I saw behind the glass on my lunch break and had to have it, so I flew to the nearest ATM and, of course, it was gone when I got back.

Heel-release P220 9mm.
Fast forward 3 years and Im perusing the same shop on my lunch break- and there it is again, in the same case, on the same shelf- with 3 extra magazines- FOR $100 LESS THAN LAST TIME!!!!!!
Turns out the fella who pulled it out from under me years earlier had taken it up North, located the (rare and pricey) extra magazines, then just stuck it in his safe. He never fired it. When he retired down here, he sold the gun and mags back to the same shop at a loss.
Fortunately, I had a wad of cash on me that day.

I dont shoot it often- but its P6 and 226 siblings get regular exercise.

 

[Legionnaire]

@Simple Shooter, what's your definition of a "safe queen?"

 

[tark]

Other than my avatar, these two will never be fired because they have never been fired after leaving the factory. Both are 99% guns and both are full of cosmoline on the inside. The C-96 was made in 1913 and I have the matching wooden holster. The type 14 Nambu was made in 1935 and it was listed by Simpson's as a 99% gun. It is all of that and more. I cannot find even the slightest blemish on the rich rust blued finish, which BTW, shames the Broomie in the looks department. The ever present "safety scratch" is not there. The grips are mahogany.

Most of the prewar Japanese pistols were exquisitely fitted and finished and I'll put this one up against any Luger ever made as far as quality, fit and finish are concerned. I consider this gun to be the highest conditioned type 14 on the planet.

 

[old lady new shooter]

Other than my avatar, these two will never be fired because they have never been fired after leaving the factory. Both are 99% guns and both are full of cosmoline on the inside. The C-96 was made in 1913 and I have the matching wooden holster. The type 14 Nambu was made in 1935 and it was listed by Simpson's as a 99% gun. It is all of that and more. I cannot find even the slightest blemish on the rich rust blued finish, which BTW, shames the Broomie in the looks department. The ever present "safety scratch" is not there. The grips are mahogany.

Most of the prewar Japanese pistols were exquisitely fitted and finished and I'll put this one up against any Luger ever made as far as quality, fit and finish are concerned. I consider this gun to be the highest conditioned type 14 on the planet.

Wow, those are gorgeous.

 

[Poper]

Other than my avatar, these two will never be fired because they have never been fired after leaving the factory. Both are 99% guns and both are full of cosmoline on the inside. The C-96 was made in 1913 and I have the matching wooden holster. The type 14 Nambu was made in 1935 and it was listed by Simpson's as a 99% gun. It is all of that and more. I cannot find even the slightest blemish on the rich rust blued finish, which BTW, shames the Broomie in the looks department. The ever present "safety scratch" is not there. The grips are mahogany.

Most of the prewar Japanese pistols were exquisitely fitted and finished and I'll put this one up against any Luger ever made as far as quality, fit and finish are concerned. I consider this gun to be the highest conditioned type 14 on the planet.

I'm not much of a military gun person, but that Nambu is sweet!

 

[DeepSouth]

My safe queen is a Hanover arms my great, great, great, grandfather bought when he was 16. He passed it to my great grandfather who used it feed the family through the depression.
My grandfather finished wearing it out shooting dove well before my time. The last time I know of it being shot was when my dad killed his first deer with it in 1969 at 19, iirc.
The fact that he shot buck shot in it is insane. The lock up is extremely loose, it had “laminated” barrels, the ends are paper thin, the break action lever sits to the side and still doesn’t understand why I don’t shoot it. Lol

It’s a safe queen, because it’s an unsafe queen. But the story goes back ~140 years.

I do have fantasies of having the lockup repaired to shootable and then having 20ga linings put in the barrels, but I’m pretty confident that’ll never happen.

 

[Simple Shooter]

@Simple Shooter, what's your definition of a "safe queen?"

I suppose it is a gun that for one reason or another just doesn’t get used. Maybe it is an antique or a collector’s item. Or one that has been retired and replaced. Could even be that fancy BBQ gun that has never been fired because it is just too pretty.

Feel free to add to the definition, as I expect we all have an idea as to what the term means to us.

 

[Simple Shooter]

Other than my avatar, these two will never be fired because they have never been fired after leaving the factory. Both are 99% guns and both are full of cosmoline on the inside. The C-96 was made in 1913 and I have the matching wooden holster. The type 14 Nambu was made in 1935 and it was listed by Simpson's as a 99% gun. It is all of that and more. I cannot find even the slightest blemish on the rich rust blued finish, which BTW, shames the Broomie in the looks department. The ever present "safety scratch" is not there. The grips are mahogany.

Most of the prewar Japanese pistols were exquisitely fitted and finished and I'll put this one up against any Luger ever made as far as quality, fit and finish are concerned. I consider this gun to be the highest conditioned type 14 on the planet.

Our modern plastic pistols are reliable and accurate. But they can’t hold a candle to those. They are as much art as machine.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

I only have 1 i don't shoot. It's cheap German 22. It won't always set off a round. I think it needs a new hammer. The one that is on it. Looks like someone tried to sharpen it. When i looked it over at the gun shop. I didn't think of the bubba job. It was a 100.00 so not a big loss.I won't trade it. Im not one to sell someone my problem. I found a pic of it on google. I also have a Herber Schmidt. I love it. very accurate and it has a hair trigger.

 

[entropy]

I have a No. 4 SMLE I was given to de-sporterize some years ago that I should probably get to work on......

 

[Bill Raby]

If I spend thousands of dollars on a fancy gun I am going to get as much use out of it as I can. The idea of getting a nice gun and letting it sit in a safe forever makes no sense to me at all.

 

[.455_Hunter]

Other than my avatar, these two will never be fired because they have never been fired after leaving the factory. Both are 99% guns and both are full of cosmoline on the inside. The C-96 was made in 1913 and I have the matching wooden holster. The type 14 Nambu was made in 1935 and it was listed by Simpson's as a 99% gun. It is all of that and more. I cannot find even the slightest blemish on the rich rust blued finish, which BTW, shames the Broomie in the looks department. The ever present "safety scratch" is not there. The grips are mahogany.

Most of the prewar Japanese pistols were exquisitely fitted and finished and I'll put this one up against any Luger ever made as far as quality, fit and finish are concerned. I consider this gun to be the highest conditioned type 14 on the planet.

Wonderful!

Those are absolutely worthy of safe queen status.

 

[I6turbo]

Other than my avatar, these two will never be fired because they have never been fired after leaving the factory.

At this point I was going to say that I cannot approve of not shooting those guns.

Then I read the rest...

Both are 99% guns and both are full of cosmoline on the inside. The C-96 was made in 1913 and I have the matching wooden holster. The type 14 Nambu was made in 1935 and it was listed by Simpson's as a 99% gun. It is all of that and more. I cannot find even the slightest blemish on the rich rust blued finish, which BTW, shames the Broomie in the looks department. The ever present "safety scratch" is not there. The grips are mahogany.

Most of the prewar Japanese pistols were exquisitely fitted and finished and I'll put this one up against any Luger ever made as far as quality, fit and finish are concerned. I consider this gun to be the highest conditioned type 14 on the planet.

...and will agree that this may be two rare cases where not shooting guns can be justified. Possibly.

 

[I6turbo]

The only safe queens I have would be defacto safe queens, due to the fact that I always choose other guns instead of them when I get the opportunity to go shooting. I don't have any that I don't shoot due to trying to preserve them.

 

[Legionnaire]

I have no guns I won’t shoot, though I have a few that I rarely shoot.

I inherited my Father-in-Law’s early Remington 700 ADL in 7mm Remington Magnum and I’m glad to have it. I’ve shot it some, but I have others I prefer to hunt with.

Several years back I bought a like new Ruger Bisley Blackhawk Hunter in .44 Magnum I have not shot yet. Guess that would qualify. I bought it to shoot; just haven’t done so yet.

 

[tark]

I have a third "safe queen" that I probably will fire someday. As it sits now, it is is in the same condition as my C-96 and my Nambu...minus the cosmoline. It was bought by a dear friend in 1969 and it is a T-series High-power, made in 1968. He intended to use it as a carry gun, but he didn't like the trigger, the stiff safety or the tiny hard to see sights. He put it in his safe and never fired it. There it sat for fifty years, until he gave it to me four years ago for a favor rendered. Yes, he gave it to me!! It has never been fired after leaving the factory. I know this to be true, but I can't prove it. There is no cosmoline present on the gun, to support evidence that it is unfired. The collector in me says no, but I'm gonna screw up the courage to go for it sooner or later.

 

[PzGren]

I understand safe queen as a beautiful and pampered thing, the opposite of a work horse like my SIG Sauer P365. The Raymond Sassia special edition is so rare that I shoot it rarely and treat it more respectfully than my other firearms. On top of that, it was given to me for free by the widow of a good friend and shooting buddy.

With the 3" fixed sight barrel being screwed in absolutely straight and excellent timing this is a thing of beauty!

 

[teerex.otw]

Mine is a well-worn F.N. Browning
12-ga. side-by-side that was passed down from my grandfather to my father, then me.
You don’t load both barrels at once, because it’s likely to set off both at once, and it’s probably going to stay that way as I don’t know of ANYONE I would trust to work on it.
For several years as my kid was just getting to hunting age, I would take it out once a year on opening day of squirrel season (loading only one barrel !), then clean it and put it away.
Kids are now adults, I haven’t done this in years, and I assume it will just get passed along after I check into the “plywood Hilton”

 

[teerex.otw]

I understand safe queen as a beautiful and pampered thing, the opposite of a work horse like my SIG Sauer P365. The Raymond Sassia special edition is so rare that I shoot it rarely and treat it more respectfully than my other firearms. On top of that, it was given to me for free by the widow of a good friend and shooting buddy.

With the 3" fixed sight barrel being screwed in absolutely straight and excellent timing this is a thing of beauty!

View attachment 1160101

Indeed it is sir !
The balance of a 3-inch barrel on a d.a. revolver is as close to perfect as it gets…(imho)
Very nice !

 

[tws3b2]

My safe queen is this 1959 Pietro Beretta Silver Hawk. My wifes step dad sold it to her for $1 back around 1995 so she could give it to me for my bday. He had shot about 1 box of shells through it. I have shot 2 shells out of it. I take it out of the safe now and then to look and keep clean and oiled. I will pass it to my son.

 

[J-Bar]

My safe queen was born a year before I was. This 1943 Remington '03-A3 was a birthday gift to my uncle (Mom's only brother) from his wife sometime in the 1970s. My uncle and cousin took elk and mule deer out of the Colorado Rockies with it. It passed to me after they were gone. I took it to a gunsmith to check the headspace. Perfect. The bore is a mirror. Perfect. The 'smith said he wished his '03-A3 was in as good condition as this one.

I've never fired it. I don't expect to hunt with it. I know what an '06 feels like. So this one is my safe queen. I smile when I see it in the rack, a reminder of family no longer here.

 

[Plano11]

Heres an really clean Astra A600 I traded off unfired and later bought again.
View attachment 1160030
It sat in the shop's display case for almost a year with no takers. I dont even remember what I traded it towards, but whatever it was didn't hang around. I ended up buying the Astra again and gosh, golly I actually like shooting the silly thing- many folks think they are handheld torture devices.
It hasn't seen the light of day in a while. I need to rectify that soon!

Nice blade, you must feel like Achilles.