The Good Ol' Guns?

[9mm+]

Not that I have a lot of spare cash lying around, but I have been buying more WWII and Korean-era firearms lately. I've really come to appreciate the solidness of their construction and reliability of the actions. The all-metal PPS-43, for example, is crude but sturdy as hell. I can bang around with guns like that without fear that I'm going to snap something off.

I'm not anti-polymer (far from it) and I have plenty of non-metal firearms. But, there's just something about these historical guns that bring a lot of admiration for their durability and ruggedness. Sure, they're a bugger to lug around (the heaviest gun I carried in the Navy was an M14, which is plenty heavy), so these are not guns I want to take on a 15-mile hump, but I would bunker down with one any day.

My paternal grandfather was killed in Normandy in WWII while carrying a radio backpack and an M1 carbine. Must have been a helluva heavy load across those beaches and up the hills. I will need to add an M1 to the collection soon in his honor. Just need to save up another $800...

 

[stressed]

The PPS43 is indeed very simple. Took basically no materials, stamped in hours, only has two parts inside _ bolt and spring. A peasant, factory worker, civilian or Red Army soldier could easily fire the thing and clean it. They make excellent truck guns if you don't want an AK or AR pistol, Tok is a good penetrator, the thing can be behind the seat of a pickup getting filled up with dust on dirt roads for 6 months straight, and if you have to grab it and pull the trigger, it fires.

I personally like the reliability of military weapons. Yeah, you loose some accuracy, but they will fire hot loads, withstand a beating, get wet, dirty, etc. and still fire. They were designed to.

 

[9mm+]

The PPS43 is indeed very simple. Took basically no materials, stamped in hours, only has two parts inside _ bolt and spring. A peasant, factory worker, civilian or Red Army soldier could easily fire the thing and clean it. They make excellent truck guns if you don't want an AK or AR pistol, Tok is a good penetrator, the thing can be behind the seat of a pickup getting filled up with dust on dirt roads for 6 months straight, and if you have to grab it and pull the trigger, it fires.

I personally like the reliability of military weapons. Yeah, you loose some accuracy, but they will fire hot loads, withstand a beating, get wet, dirty, etc. and still fire. They were designed to.

Totally agree. It's odd that I would admire the design of these crude firearms, but I am a sucker for 1) their historical significance, and 2) their toughness and durability. Again, I'm not an anti-new gun guy (I own many modern firearms), just in case the flamethrowers start getting revved up.

 

[J-Bar]

Today I shot the first 7 of 12 stages in a cowboy action match. I used two cap and ball revolvers stoked with blackpowder and round lead balls, an Italian reproduction of an 1873 Winchester lever action rifle (.357 Mag. so OK not 100% historically accurate), and a side by side shotgun with homegrown blackpowder shotshells. I am looking forward to finishing the match tomorrow.

Yep, old guns can be fun.

 

[9mm+]

Today I shot the first 7 of 12 stages in a cowboy action match. I used two cap and ball revolvers stoked with blackpowder and round lead balls, an Italian reproduction of an 1873 Winchester lever action rifle (.357 Mag. so OK not 100% historically accurate), and a side by side shotgun with homegrown blackpowder shotshells. I am looking forward to finishing the match tomorrow.

Yep, old guns can be fun

.
Cowboy action is on the top of my bucket list. Got to try my hand at those old Western guns.