What's your "Holy Grail" Firearm?

[FfNJGTFO]

I started a thread in a different forum that I thought I'd post here for your musings.



What's your "Holy Grail" firearm? That is, the one for which you keep striving to acquire in your lifetime but, for whatever reasons (cost, availability, etc.), it always seems to elude you, throughout your life, It should be a conventional existing (not imaginary - no "light sabers" https://www.njgunforums.com/forum/uploads/emoticons/default_biggrin.png) firearm that could be acquired generally (i.e. not "restricted" to the Military, etc),


I have one in several different categories (categories like "long range sniper rifle", "NFA," large caliber, etc.). But at EOD, I'd have to say, at present, the one that stands out of those is my NFA choice: The Thompson "Chicago Typewriter" with drum mags.


https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Campbell_Thompson.jpg (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Campbell_Thompson.jpg)

[Gatorade]

I have two. One will probably be forever unobtanium due to crazy price and scarce availability. The other is just expensive and would do nothing aside from put a grin on my face every time I pulled the trigger!


German MP44 (Sturmgewehr 44) my grandfather carried one during his Uncle Sam sponsored European vacation in the mid 1940’s. He carried it during guard duty and one night a superior officer who had been out drinking didn’t want to give the answer to the challenge question my grandfather asked him. When my grandfather racked that bolt the answer came quickly. Shortly after it was strongly suggested he carry his issued rifle while on duty and turn the MP-44 in to his CO never to be seen again. No way to know what ever happened to it but every time I see one I think it could be the one he carried.
http://www.collectorssource.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/768x576/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/m/p/mp44_dx33732.jpg


Desert Eagle .50 AE. Just because.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oAU4V9F5Y-8/VXhTkvh2DSI/AAAAAAAANfc/OUUBiqJsRIE/s1600/desert_eagle_50ae_1.jpg

[DrHenley]

A good double rifle. Unfortunately, they don't make them cheap.

For example...

http://www.hollandandholland.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Royal-Double-Rifle.jpg

This Holland and Holland goes for about a quarter million. No "problem" getting one, H&H has several in stock in their Dallas gunroom. Just lay out the cash and it's yours...:rolleyes:
https://www.hollandandholland.com/all-guns/hshdr01new-holland-holland-royal-deluxe-model-side-side-double-rifle/

http://www.cotep.org/forum/picture.php?albumid=22&pictureid=888

[skosh69]

Already got it, my Les Baer Monolith HW.

But if we're talking anything, then it'd have to be a 1968 Dodge Charger RT with a Hemi and pistol grip 4 speed.

[oak1971]

Honestly I can't say that I have one. Lot's of great firearms out there today.

[sdmc530]

I have two actually, a full auto tommy gun, such a great awesome gun!

But probably if I had to say one would be my dads 1911 he had in Viet Nam.....nothing special except he carried it and survived the war. He hated it at the time but wishes he still had it.

[Caleb]

Honestly I can't say that I have one. Lot's of great firearms out there today.



This.....^^^^^^^^


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[DaFadda]

Money no object and the firearm was available? Mine would be the German MG-34. Everything was machined out of solid steel, vs the stamped MG42, the 34 is truly a thing of beauty. I'll never see it, so it rightfully would be my "Holy Grail".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MG_34

[sdmc530]

Money no object and the firearm was available? Mine would be the German MG-34. Everything was machined out of solid steel, vs the stamped MG42, the 34 is truly a thing of beauty. I'll never see it, so it rightfully would be my "Holy Grail".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MG_34

that thing is uber cool

[Coyote44]

A Parker Bros. 28ga. SxS….early vintage.

[dw1911]

Colt Pythons with 8-inch and 6-inch barrels and royal blue finish
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Pythons2.jpg

[Caleb]

Colt Pythons with 8-inch and 6-inch barrels and royal blue finish

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Pythons2.jpg



Oooooh, yes!


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[DrHenley]

A Parker Bros. 28ga. SxS….early vintage.

You got taste bro!

http://www.cotep.org/forum/picture.php?albumid=22&pictureid=888

[sdmc530]

A Parker Bros. 28ga. SxS….early vintage.

I didn’t know the monopoly guy made guns. But really just looked at some online and they are beautiful guns!

[RandallZ]

A good double rifle. Unfortunately, they don't make them cheap.

Actually, if the desire is more for double than stunningly beautiful, you could find a Tikka/Valmet 412 double rifle pretty easily for not much money. In fact, I have one that switches between 30-36 OU to 12 ga OU. When I get around to it, I'll be putting it up for sale, locally.

As a "holy grail" I have to admit to wanting a Luger P'08 and never managing to get one at the right price.

Yesterday, I did manage to bring home a long-time grail rifle--a Browning T-bolt. The first time I saw one of those, I fell in love with the odd action, and have only seen a single example since--and both were well above my play money limit. Yesterday, though, I spotted a neglected example in my LGS with a $100 price tag. It's now sitting next to me in my office.

Randall

[RKP]

...... Yesterday, I did manage to bring home a long-time grail rifle--a Browning T-bolt. The first time I saw one of those, I fell in love with the odd action, and have only seen a single example since--and both were well above my play money limit. Yesterday, though, I spotted a neglected example in my LGS with a $100 price tag. It's now sitting next to me in my office.

Randall


:pics:

[RandallZ]

At this point, photos of the T-bolt are pretty useless. It's a 1967 Belgian made Browning, which unfortunately put it at risk for being a "salt wood" gun. On disassembly, I found that inside the stock was completely covered in salt and corrosion. Nothing that a bit of work won't fix, but too fugly for closeups. Give me a bit of time--I've already ordered a Boyds stock for it. I'll post nicer photos in the Long Guns section (and explain what "salt wood" is for anyone who doesn't know) once I get it running.

Randall

[RKP]

^^ :cool: ... http://www.cotep.org/forum/images/icons/icon14.gif

[sdmc530]

@RandallZ


Can't wiat to see it finished. FYI Boyds gun stocks are made no too far from me right here in SD. A super tiny plant for the number of products they pump out!

[RandallZ]

Can't wiat to see it finished. FYI Boyds gun stocks are made no too far from me right here in SD. A super tiny plant for the number of products they pump out!

Nice products in my experience. I used to work near Richard's Microfit stocks and after a factory visit wouldn't gamble on one of those for any money.

Randall

[Horse'nround]

1 I have. A Beretta S680 silver peigeon 12ga Trap gun. Might just be buried with it.

The other is a SAKO VL63 Finnwolf in .308 as a lever action gun I have never seen a firearm machined to move so smoothly. Stupid me passed one up at a gun show 10-12 years ago. A stellar piece, haven't seen another one since.:facepalm:

[Gatorade]

1 I have. A Beretta S680 silver peigeon 12ga Trap gun. Might just be buried with it.

The other is a SAKO VL63 Finnwolf in .308 as a lever action gun I have never seen a firearm machined to move so smoothly. Stupid me passed one up at a gun show 10-12 years ago. A stellar piece, haven't seen another one since.:facepalm:

OK I vote if you have actually acquired a grail gun and are posting in this thread, it should be mandatory to add pics of said grail acquisition! It's not like we are talking about any run of the mill guns here and if you actually have one in hand? Pics, pics it is your duty to supply pics!

[DrHenley]

Now that I think about it...

I actually do have some guns that at one point in my life were holy grails. I'll only do one per post and explain...

#1 An 09 Argentine Mauser

OK so many years ago, surplus Mausers were a dime a dozen. And I bought one that was supposed to be a 7 mm Mauser but it turned out to be a 8mm Mauser so I took it back. They didn't have a 7 mm Mauser but they had a 7.65 mm Mauser. So I "settled" for that. I did not know there was anything special about the gun at the time.

After a few years I gave it to my father, who had it rebarreled in 270 Winchester, but left the original stock on it with the forend cut down.

The Mauser was the family deer gun. My nieces, nephews, and brothers in law all killed deer with it. It got beat up and abused for decades but took it all like a champ.

Then I found out that the '09 Argentine Mauser was prized by custom gunmakers because the guns were considered the apex of the Mauser 98 development. So I decided I would get another one and have it customized.

I looked for decades, but never found another one. Every gun show I went to I looked at the Mausers to see if one was an '09 Argentine, but never found one.

When my father passed away, we all agreed that anything someone had given my parents would go back to the person who gave it to them. The '09 Argentine was MINE again!

I've been working on it for a few years now, and I just about have it where I want it. It has been rebarrelled to 6.5x47 Lapua. It is set up for two scopes. One, a 6-24x54 target scope with a 30mm tube by Nikko Stirling for long range deer hunting and target shooting, and the other a classic 3-9 Leupold for normal deer hunting (the one that was on it when it was the family deer rifle). It is set up for two different stocks - one is a Boyd heavy varmint thumbhole stock, and the other a Boyd featherweight thumbhole stock. It has a Timney trigger. The featherweight stock has a Parker Hale floorplate and trigger guard.

Here it is in both target, and hunting configurations:

https://i.imgur.com/N2iXmEB.png
https://i.imgur.com/z1r3bM5.png

And here is the Parker Hale bottom metal for the hunting configuration:
https://i.imgur.com/KtMSNGz.png

https://i.imgur.com/3yMhOyK.png

http://www.cotep.org/forum/picture.php?albumid=22&pictureid=888

[DrHenley]

#2 Browning Highwall in 45-70.

I have collected a few Browning single shot rifles over the years, but one that has eluded me was a 45-70 in sporter configuration (rubber recoil pad instead of classic hard buttplate) with 28" octagon barrel.

I got OH so close a number of years back.

A guy had one that he wanted to trade Even S teven for my Browning Low Wall in 260 Remington. Both guns were fairly rare, so it was pretty much an even swap. I can't remember why, but I waited until I did the transfer before shipping mine to him (fortunately) I had him ship to a local gunshop, but asked the gunshop to have their gunsmith check it out before I filled out the paperwork on the transfer.

The gun arrived with the forend split. And to make matters worse, when the gunsmith checked it out, the gun would not fire. After talking with the guy, I decided to send it back and cancel the trade.

For years I looked for another one, but could not find one anywhere. Then a few years ago, I was in a gunshop in Mississippi and they had one. But I did not have the funds for it at the time, so I tried to scrape together the money for it. By the time I was ready to buy, it was sold.

Then I found one at Gander Mountain in Opelika Alabama, just few miles up the road from here. I had just bought my wife a new car, so I decided to see if I could get her to buy it for me for my birthday. And she did!

https://i.imgur.com/quO38gR.png

https://i.imgur.com/YmxYQaZ.png

http://www.cotep.org/forum/picture.php?albumid=22&pictureid=888

[sdmc530]

Super nice Jim!!

[Riverpigusmc]

30 year old Stevie Nicks. Nekked. With a bottle of Beam and a bag of tuinals…



wait...you are talking about guns, aren't you...

[DrHenley]

30 year old Stevie Nicks. Nekked. With a bottle of Beam and a bag of tuinals…


So is this Stevie person a man???? :eek:

You aren't outing yourself are you?

http://www.cotep.org/forum/picture.php?albumid=22&pictureid=888

[sdmc530]

If we are switching to music now i call norah jones! Melts my soul!

[BadOscar]

For long time mine was a S&W Model 52-2. Not super rare but hard to find one in good condition at a decent price.

[JohnR]

I’d love a nice no-lock 3” K-frame.

[JohnR]

So is this Stevie person a man???? :eek:

You aren't outing yourself are you?

http://www.cotep.org/forum/picture.php?albumid=22&pictureid=888

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/87/1c/2d/871c2d94fdf2a6217c7d26d4b1050f38.jpg

She’s 70 now and looks good for her age.

[JohnR]

I’d also like an HK Mark 23.

[DrHenley]

Oh yeah, another one I forgot about:

Colt Python

I was this close to getting one.
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/image/9544962-3x2-340x227.jpg

I was in the gunshop and looking at a Python and a Ruger Security Six, and thinking about what I could do with all that money I'd have left if I bought the Ruger. One of the biggest mistakes I've made in my life that I've been kicking myself for ever since was going the cheap route. Pythons soon disappeared from gunshop shelves, never to return.

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/guns/images/c/c0/Python.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20170326063845

http://www.cotep.org/forum/picture.php?albumid=22&pictureid=888

[Riverpigusmc]

61 can go into 70 at least once...

[JohnR]

61 can go into 70 at least once...

Especially if you fill her with the Beam first.

[Horse'nround]

I would love to upload a pict or 2... since pussbucket went TU I have tried a couple of services to no avail. Have an imgur account but can't the photos to display after linking.:mad: Any help would be appreciated.

Tunes:
Norah Jones - yes, soft, sultry not a lot of range.
Sade - more yes, very sultry
Joni Mitchell - mighty fine
Linda Ronstadt - DAMN! goosebumps...
Karen Carpenter - Haunting, will generate a need for Livet on the rocks...

Anyone have a Winchester 62A .22 pump?

[skosh69]

I would love to upload a pict or 2... since pussbucket went TU I have tried a couple of services to no avail. Have an imgur account but can't the photos to display after linking.:mad: Any help would be appreciated.


When using Imgur, copy the BBCode link and pick the size of the photo you want to insert as noted in this example

https://i.imgur.com/zAyn20z.jpg?3

[Horse'nround]

COOL! Thanks Ell!:D
https://i.imgur.com/DjxqLY5.jpg

[sdmc530]

funny great pic^^

[Horse'nround]

My owned grail.
And a pair of keepsakes.
https://i.imgur.com/uD5yCyA.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/KC7zlwb.jpg?1

[RandallZ]

Ha! This (Fred's) is where I found my T-Bolt the other day!
The guys behind and across the street from Fred's (Jones Arms) make some pretty nice ARs.


https://i.imgur.com/DjxqLY5.jpg

[Horse'nround]

Why yes it is. Have a good friend that lives up on Marrowstone Island. He thought I'd get a kick out of their banner, which I did. Going up there this weekend and I plan on stopping by.

[skosh69]

COOL! Thanks Ell!:D
https://i.imgur.com/DjxqLY5.jpg

You're more than welcome.