Best-looking guns?

Another pleasing thing coming up at Rock Island.
1928 boxed Navy Thompson.
Most decorative.



(Can't find auction link yet. Pic and basic description from Twitter.)

 

Gorgeous gun!

 

Had almost forgotten about the Skorpion, but, hey, they don't call themselves Forgotten Weapons for nothing.
Czech vz61 Skorpion: History and Mechanics

Maybe even something 'modern C96' about it, I can remember as a kid flicking through Hogg books and deciding it was a very cool-looking device.
Quite possibly because of cinematic associations with KGB hardmen or the grubbiest organised criminals, but cool's cool.

I like it.

 

I watched Ian's vid on the Skorpion over my morning coffee. I found the rate reducing device fascinating and a bit confusing - until the slo-mo part showed the actual pause in the firing sequence. Czech designs are usually brilliant and somewhat unappreciated. If you compare this Skorpion design with something similar like the Schnellfeuer, you suddenly see the reason for these odd engineering changes. A semi-auto version of the Skorpion is being offered now, but because of our odd firearms laws you can only have it without the stock. Irritating...

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I love the design of hundreds of guns, but I do have a few I'm particularly fond of....
Mosin-Nagant 1891/30

Marlin 44

M14 308.

Ak-47 I mean............come on

Galil 308

Colt 1911

 

Nice guns! I like my Marlin 1894 .44 mags too. Both made in the old factory in North Haven, Conn. One with the scope for fair weather and one with the iron sights for thick brush or rain or snow. Good for whitetails or black bear. I use the Hornady 225 grain leverEvolution and some Remington 240 grains.

 

There is something so satisfying about pulling down that lever, fastening the stock to your shoulder and nailing a target with a distinctive bang, no other guns I've shot have. My family isn't big on hunting, but we love target shooting, when we go camping (which is like every month).

 

The M14's 'got it' aesthetically.
You can see the coming world of metal & polymer in the shape/layout, but it's hanging onto a last bit of wooden style.

 

That's why I love it, and it's a very reliable, hard hitting, accurate, bad ass gun that got the shaft of time.

 

More on the VZ61 "Skorpion" today from Forgotten Weapons.

 

I have watched far too much 'Gun Jesus' today.
So many finely finished pieces.

May have mentioned Pom Poms here before, but this confirms just how such would complement absolutely any style of interior design, from 'Bauhaus minimalist' to 'Victorian clutter'.


Auction page:
HISTORICALLY IMPORTANT MAXIM NORDENFELT 37MM "POM-POM", NAVAL DECK GUN (EXEMPT FROM NFA). - James D. Julia, Auctioneers

And this, despite being utterly insane on many levels just pleases me so much with such a mechanical solution to cycling a standard rifle.


Auction page:
EXTREMELY RARE BSA-HOWELL M1915 SELF-LOADING CONVERSION OF THE SMLE RIFLE. - James D. Julia, Auctioneers

 

This will be my next toy, a Wilkinson Arms 9mm Linda Carbine. This will probably show up in my secret underground Armory Bunker this summer. These were made about 1980, but new guns made out of plastic with squirt guns triggers put them out of business years ago. Somebody found all the unassembled parts and began making them again, just to please a few retro gun cranks like myself. It's actually a good gun, with a pistol-grip mag receiver that makes it kind of a bull-pup design, or maybe like a Uzi with a sleeker design and better handling. It's fed with 32 round stick mags and it's all blued steel and walnut - what more could a man ask for?



You can also buy it with an AK underfolder stock, which is a very tempting alternative for an extra hundred bucks.

 

For me, two of the best looking guns are the Mauser K98k and the M1 Garand. That's one thing that drew me to mine

 

Very nice but they look a bit lonely. Perhaps if you added a Lee Enfield and a Mosin-Nagant they would feel more comfortable.

 

That is my plan one of these days ;-)

 

I love these oddball 1970s/1980s SMGs. Maybe its just because I get to imagine I'm on the set of "The Wild Geese" while I'm punching paper at the range. Unfortunately up here in Canuckistan most are verboten (or would what "prohibited" be in Soviet, because that's probably more appropriate?). I had a chance to get a papered semi-auto Rhodesian "Cobra" a few years ago and I still kick myself over passing that up.

 

These Wilkinsons are all semi-auto, so possibly legal in Canada, though the import paperwork would probably make you insane. I'm just looking at all the AR-style 9mm carbines and they just look to AR(ish) for my taste. Really, my dream gun would be a semi-auto Sterling (or clone). Love the look, and 9mm is cheap to shoot. I couldn't afford a full-auto unless I win the lottery, and I don't play the lottery so the odds are slim.


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There was a Sterling Mk4 "Police Carbine" produced in the 1980s (or 1970s?). It was a factory-made open bolt semi auto, but was otherwise identical to the standard Sterling. Production was about 500. For some reason they're legal in Canada and treated the same as a handgun or short barrel rifle. Last time I saw one up here it was 5k CAD (about 4k USD at the time). No idea what they'd go for in the US.

 

They have this stupid sporting use rule about imports to the US. I doubt a Sterling (even a semi-auto) would clear the rule. Even with AKs and stuff like that there are legitimate sporting competitions that get them past the hurdle. I suppose some US maker could put some together if there is enough demand. One of the nice things about the Wilkinson is that it shoots from a closed bolt. It was originally designed as a 4 1/2 pound blowback pistol. I can't imagine why am extremely heavy blowback pistol didn't take the market by storm... Eventually they decided to put a stock and a 16 inch barrel on it, along with a 32 round magazine and call it a carbine, and that was a pretty brisk seller until the plastic guns came along and took over the market.
I need to get one of these before they run out of parts to keep assembling them. I just like the look - retro.


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I'm sure we've covered the FAL somewhere in the previous nine pages, but this is the best single vid I've seen on this post-war era rifle, and how a guy named Studler managed to screw the whole thing up. Without Studler, the FAL would have been a light rifle shooting the short (intermediate) British .280 round and would have been far superior to the AK , the M16, or any other rifle fielded in the world at that time.
It's still a truly great battle rifle, but without Studler it would have been a true assault rifle and unbeatable by any other design.

Well worth watching: