What is the most cool, obscure or rare gun you have ever fired?

[Johnny Guest]

More on the Mondragon Rifle

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

(With apologies to jsalcdedo for this thread veer. Jesse, I can't consider it thread highjacking, because I'd truly like to be able to say I've fired one of these rifles . . . . )

Detritus - - -
My Google search turned up this reference:
http://guns.connect.fi/gow/QA18.html
From Gunwriters On The Web, a Finnish board, with better-than-average translations into English. ‘Way down at the bottom of the page, there’s an item entitled, “IT MAY BE A MONDRAGON RIFLE!†A lot of information here, and a pretty good drawing of the rifle action.

The text includes much of the same info you gave about production figures of the 1908 model and the 400 sent to Mexico. There is a biographical sketch of the inventor, with a photograph.

General Manuel Mondragon; a pioneer of firepower. Born in 1855. Deceased in 1922. One year later deceased another Mexican "general", Doroteo Arango, better known as "Pancho Villa". He was slain by a hailstorm of 7 mm bullets, shot from Mondragon rifles Model 1908. "The revolution shall always eat it's own children - sooner or later". It is unknown to me, whether general Mondragon returned from Europe to Mexico before his death. While "Pancho Villa" is well-known all'round the World by books and movies, Manuel Mondragon is almost forgotten. Just we, the "hard core" of firearms experts, know him and his innovations.

I am glad to have verification that I wasn’t imagining the Villa/Mondragon connection. There are many pages of Villa references in Google and I don’t have time to check the rest.

Other odds & ends of data - -
The ambush took place in July 1923 in Parral. Villa and several others were in a Dodge touring car, returing to Villa's hacienda after spending the night in the city. It is said there were seven or eight shoters, firing from an upper floor of a building on the route.

Best,
Johnny

 

[Detritus]

well, that's neat!

that's ALMOST akin to something like if say Kenedy had been shot with a .270 Pederson chambered Garand.


well now i know it got at least SOME use in Mexico.


thanks

 

[Matt G]

Whoop! Whoop! Whoop...!

Um, Mr. Guest, could you please disable the Thread Hijack Alarm before taking these wild veers? Some of us are trying to get some sleep.

[Yeah, that is pretty cool, BTW, and certainly does reset the bar on that gun's relative obscurity.]

 

[foghornl]

questions that make ya go "hmmmmmmm"

That Daisy .22 rifle with caseless ammo...think it was called the "VL"

Probably not so rare, but a buddy's lever action Winny in .32-20

Colt revo of some flavor in .32 Police Positive (or something like that)

"Broom Handle Mauser"

Remmy model 81 rifle. Not really rare, but a bit unusual.

Never fired it, but looked at one another Deputy took from a guy...SxS 12Ga, with barrels cut off so short that the loaded shells were almost flush with end of gun. About a 4" barrel shotty.

 

[Dr.Rob]

BAR

hoooooo-yahhhhhh!

Probably the sigle most fun full auto I've ever played with.

Strange/unusual guns:

Steyr GB 9mm (jammed a lot)
Luger (just watching it work is a sight)
Old Remington Rolling Block Buffalo Rifle with brass Tube scope. (I was a kid at the time, no idea what cailber but I'd guess 50-90 or some such thing.. BOOM.)

 

[RocketMan]

M16A1
1911A1
M14
M203
M202
LAAW
Ma Deuce
81mm mortar

All at the behest of Uncle Sam.


M1 Garand
M1 Carbine

My own little toys.

 

[TexasVet]

Virtually all of the oddball 1870s-80s single shot military rifles, in a decade long fit of collecting. The Werder Lightning, Werndl, Russian Berdans (I & II), Japanese Murata, French Tabatiere, etc.

 

[Spieler]

Walther MPK

 

[Trebor]

that's ALMOST akin to something like if say Kenedy had been shot with a .270 Pederson chambered Garand.

You mean, he wasn't?

 

[dustind]

I built a paintball gun, an autococker that ended up costing over $3000 and is still not done, it has a few things no other paintball gun has, other than that it would be an 870 wingmaster...

 

[Doug S]

When my father passed away a number of years (prior to my becoming interested in firearms) I was surprised to find out that he had a gun collection stored in the attic. My two older brothers (who are considerably older than me) knew about the collection & everything else that my father ever bought & had in his possession . A day after his death they were busy going through the safe, attic, etc. Oops I'm starting to rant . To make a long story short, the collection was largely WWII era & among others contained, a Walther P-38, a 1911 (can't remember the make), dueling pistols, old Savage auto, Damascus barreled & engraved shotgun, and more that I can't remember. THe collection also had a large number of WWII military knives of German, Japanese, & American origin. After playing around with some of the items and test firing the collection was divided & sold. Looking back I regret this, but as I said I wasn't into guns at the time & being that I didn't even know about the collection they had no sentimental value.

 

[Johnny Guest]

Whoop, whoop, whoop - - -

Trebor :

------------------------------------------------------------------------
that's ALMOST akin to something like if say Kenedy had been shot with a .270 Pederson chambered Garand.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
You mean, he wasn't?

No, sorry - - The really informed conjecture is that Oswald (working alone, naturally) used the far-more-common .276 Garand. The .270P is even more scarce than the Mondragon in 5.2 x 68 mm Rubin. (Yeah, really - - - there WAS a five point two.) )Late edit to correct the caliber)

Johnny

PS: for on-topicality, I'd REALLY like to shoot a .276, too.

 

[KPersimmon]

1. Bren Ten Marksman (.45 ACP)--Nice shooter! Too bad the company flopped. I believe that something on the order of a .45 Caliber "Special Forces" would be my favorite autoloading handgun.

2. Marlin 1894 in .41 Magnum (early 90's)--Shot well, but the action seemed a little stiff & sticky to me.

3. Colt Army Special in .41 Long Colt--Fun to shoot! I owned this gun when Winchester was still putting out occasional lots of ammo. (Or else I was shooting old ammo.) At any rate, I would have vastly preferred this caliber, as a revolver cartridge, to the .38 Special.

4. Tanfoglio/EAA in .41 AE--Jammed all the freakin' time!

 

[MaterDei]

I'm not sure whether I'm cheating or not. This certainly is not a 'gun'.

 

[Sven]

You fired THAT?!

Woah.

 

[MaterDei]

That is not a picture of one of the ones I fired, I found the picture on the Internet. But, yes, I actually fired two. I was a Lance missile firing platoon leader when I was stationed in Germany. We fired them in Crete actually. Actually we fired them FROM Crete, into the Med. Heh.

If I had to pick a gun it would be an Australian F88 (Steyr Aug). Most unusual thing about shooting it was that I shot it off of the back of an Australian LST (Landing Ship, Tank) naval vessel off the coast of Queensland. The weapon itself is quite common.

 

[SoCalGeek]

Well, i'm fairly new into shooting and i live in california so most of the guns i've shot are pretty common, but let me think... Walther P88C, which i suppose isn't that rare except for that they're bloody expensive, and an AR-15 which was quite a treat considering my location.

 

[azthistletoe]

Rarest I have shot - which aren't really that rare, I suppose - are a Steyr GB (worked great) and a Mas 49. (Not 49/56)

 

[Abominable No-Man]

I shot a Ruger AC556 once- pretty cool.
Honest-to-God MAC 10- LOTSA fun!
M2 50 cal MG- "ma Deuce"
M203 grenade launcher
Overall I'd have to say the AC556 was the most cool- besides I love the "A-Team", always wanted one.

ANM

 

[rayjay]

50 cal. Barnett Sniper rifle w/ 10 shot mags and a 6-24x55 Springfeild scope. Liked it so much I bought one a few weeks later. Shooting that weapon is FAAAANTASIC!