Waaah! Tired of never having "family portrait" published...

[iamkris]

...so I cleared out a space in the kid's basement play room, emptied the safe and started snapping pix. Here's the rifle collection.

And here's the whole family

From the bottom up (rifles first)
- 1864 E. Robinson .58 cal -- that some joker "sporterized" a hundred years ago or so...spitting image of a 63 Springfield
- 1873 Trapdoor .45 Gov't -- the one my grandfather used to shoot one time a year...New Year's Eve
- 1874 Sharps (Cimarron-Pedersoli) 45-70 Gov't -- just got that one
- Rossi clone of a Winchester 92 .45 Colt
- Mannlicher Berthier M.1892 8mm Lebel -- war trophy of my grandfather
- Israeli Mauser 98 .308 Win -- sporterized by me
- Mosin Nagant 91/30 7.62x54R
- M1 Garand, .30-06 -- my first CMP purchase
- Mosin Nagant M44 7.62x54R -- my first C&R purchase
- Mossberg 46(a) .22 LR -- my constant companion while growing up
- DSA STG58A 7.62x51mm
- HK G3 (Century) 7.62x51mm
- Yugo 59/66A1 SKS 7.62x39mm

Now the second-cousins (shotguns) left to right
- Mossberg 500 12 ga -- for things that bump in the night
- Winchester 97 (E model) 12 ga - my grandfather's hunting companion
- Lanber 2097 12 ga
- Remington 1100 12 ga - my hunting companion

And the nieces and nephews (handguns) bottom to top
- Pietta 1851 Navy clone 36 cal
- Ruger Blackhawk 45 Colt
- My gaudy pair o' Vaquero's in 45 Colt
- Auto-Ord 1911 race gun 45 ACP
- FEG P9M 9x19mm
- Ruger Mk II bull barrel .22 LR
- Bulgarian Makarov 9x18mm
- Tanfoglio Witness Tac-II 45 ACP

I'd never had the whole family together...in the middle of shooting the pix, my wife comes downstairs, stops, looks at them for a while and says..."where did all those come from?". Avoiding the question, I say "I'm photographing them for insurance purposes...

 

[P95Carry]

"I'm photographing them for insurance purposes...

What other reason is there??!!

Very nice ... some great history in there .. envy you the trap door ... very special.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Nice photos of a well rounded family. That Trapdoor looks terrific.

 

[cidirkona]

Nice collection!

Someday I hope to extend my family in such a way, all I have now is the abusive uncle and the red-headed step-child (8mm mauser and .380 firestorm).

How do you like those Nagant's and the Witness? I've been eyeing some of those lately...

-Colin

 

[Bullet Bob]

Great collection, but there's a huge hole - no double action revolver!

 

[Hkmp5sd]

Nice collection. You might need to clean several of the rifles as I was drooling a little and may have splattered a few.

 

[iamkris]

cidirkona -- The Nagants are a buncha fun. Can't beat the price and they reek of history. Plus, you can't beat the fireball an M44 creates at dusk! The Witness is a joy to shoot with it's CZ ergonomics. This one isn't very accurate but I hear that that's a rarity with Witnesses.

Bullet Bob -- funny thing is, a while ago, I didn't even like revolvers or much care for rifles. Only autoloading pistols and shotguns for me...look where that got me. Gotta say the only DA revolver I'd ove to own would be a Royal Blue Python...well, maybe a Taurus 650 45 Colt snubbie...and maybe a...oh, never mind, I guess I do like revolvers.

HK -- now dang it, you mixed your spittle in with mine! Guess I'll just have to go down and give the family a good wipedown...for the 3rd time this week. Good grooming is important, you know.

 

[stiletto raggio]

It is refreshing to see a resaonably balanced collection. I really do like the classy military rifles and the old-fashioned sporting guns. I am in a will for a lot of older military rifles, so my collection now is mostly modern...

Never thought I'd see a Trap Door and an STG FAL in the same pic. Who knew?

 

[GigaBuist]

It's a blurry picture, and my collection is much smaller... but since I just took 'em yesterday I'll join in on the fun.

Long guns, left to right:

Remmington 870 12 gauge, 18" rifled barrel.
Steyr M95.
Bushmaster Dissapator AR-15.
Saiga in .410.
Egyptian Maadi AK-47.
Mosin Nagant M44.
CETME.

Handguns, left to right:

Glock M23C.
Keltec P3AT.
CZ-75B
Glock M21.

Cut me some slack on the small collection -- just started this business 2 and a half years ago.

 

[P95Carry]

just started this business 2 and a half years ago

In that case Giga ... no sweat! If you maintain this growth rate .. and we'll assume also it will perhaps follow an exponential pattern, before tailing off again (WAY into the future) ... you should be just fine!

Make sure tho your ''accomodation'' increases in proportion too!

 

[iamkris]

GigaBuist -- no shame in that collection. Me likes the Steyr... I'll be adding an AR to the corral in a week or two...just as soon as the upper arrives.

stiletto raggio -- yeah, I can't seem to make up my mind where I want to take the collection...I like them all. My FFL just shakes his head and wonders what is next. The last few gun purchases have been like this SKS, Makarov, STG, M44, Garand, Sharps, 91/30...I like to take 50+ year leaps between purchases.

 

[Tamara]

Cool Berthier carbine! You don't see those every day...

(When it comes to milsurps, I have a soft spot for really old, really obscure ones. )

 

[iamkris]

...feeling...woosy...

...received...compliment...on...part of ....collection....from....Tamara

...may have....reached...pinnacle...of...gun....career...

 

[Hkmp5sd]

That wasn't a compliment, it was lust.

 

[RustyHammer]

LOL HKMP ... I was going to say the same thing.