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The Gun Owner’s thread


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23 hours ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

Not the ammo thread, but I haven’t seen .357 for over a year. Makes me glad I didn’t buy the king cobra I really wanted. 

Had you bought it, you woulda bought a thousand rounds of .357 ammo too.

23 hours ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

Not the ammo thread, but I haven’t seen .357 for over a year. Makes me glad I didn’t buy the king cobra I really wanted. 

Had you bought it, you woulda bought a thousand rounds of .357 ammo too.

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@fattyflattie and I have an appreciation for Flaig’s rifles. Dury’s in San Antonio has a nice one listed on gunbroker I’m posting as a PSA if anyone is interested. 338 Win Mag. FN controlled feed action. The FN triggers are nice as well in my experience, mine is tuned to ~1.5ish lb, really light and crisp. These guns were a neat intersection of top end European manufactured actions, beautiful American Douglas barrels, beautiful hand worked stocks and old fashioned hand built attention to detail
from master smiths. I am tempted to buy it myself, as it would almost match my Flaig’s 300 Wby perfectly, but I have 4 other magnum rifles already, need to focus on other priorities in my gun battery, and have bought a Beretta A400 and Christensen Ranger in the last 6 months. Between those and the price of ammo, I’m getting some “tone” from the wife.

The listing:

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/942993035

12267377cb27e48086a5f5e1094e73a4.png

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17 minutes ago, 686 said:

@fattyflattie and I have an appreciation for Flaig’s rifles. Dury’s in San Antonio has a nice one listed on gunbroker I’m posting as a PSA if anyone is interested. 338 Win Mag. FN controlled feed action. The FN triggers are nice as well in my experience, mine is tuned to ~1.5ish lb, really light and crisp. These guns were a neat intersection of top end European manufactured actions, beautiful American Douglas barrels, beautiful hand worked stocks and old fashioned hand built attention to detail
from master smiths. I am tempted to buy it myself, as it would almost match my Flaig’s 300 Wby perfectly, but I have 4 other magnum rifles already, need to focus on other priorities in my gun battery, and have bought a Beretta A400 and Christensen Ranger in the last 6 months. Between those and the price of ammo, I’m getting some “tone” from the wife.

The listing:

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/942993035

12267377cb27e48086a5f5e1094e73a4.png

Damnit.  I've been picking up a bunch of ugly AR shit lately, in the off chance they become more difficult to obtain.  I'm going to watch it, but it's going to blow up for sure.  The wood alone will get it bumped way up.  I have a FN 6.5-06 that would fit it like a glove, with some Flaigs work on it too, coincidentally.  That's a pretty one for sure. 

eta:  Or, stick with me here.  You can magnum up and sell me that gorgeous 300wby you have and start a new project.  

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Damnit.  I've been picking up a bunch of ugly AR shit lately, in the off chance they become more difficult to obtain.  I'm going to watch it, but it's going to blow up for sure.  The wood alone will get it bumped way up.  I have a FN 6.5-06 that would fit it like a glove, with some Flaigs work on it too, coincidentally.  That's a pretty one for sure. 
eta:  Or, stick with me here.  You can magnum up and sell me that gorgeous 300wby you have and start a new project.  

I am currently oscillating between thoughts of going all carbon fiber and suppressed/precision with my hunting rifles and then I go back to old school elegant blued and walnut guns. I like carbon fiber and stainless steel/titanium, but: A) it just doesn’t have the soul of classic rifles and B) I’m worried that I’ll overheat magnum chambered carbon barrels. I’m not very disciplined with time between shots at the range.
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2 hours ago, 686 said:

then I go back to old school elegant blued and walnut guns.

Those are junk.  For people who collect and don't shoot, like me...

For real though. 2 of my lease mates have gotten into the custom, very light, very expensive rigs over the last few years.  Couple of Fierce rifles around the camp in cool calibers like 28 Nosler and 300 PRC.  Carbon fiber barrels, cans, etc.  Cool shit.  I do envy them when I'm out there oiling away on the slightest humid day as to not have the tiniest speck on my deeply blued (typically) Wbys and Sakos.  The rest is made up of some AR guys, and the "I've had this same 270 BDL since the 70's" guys (which is cool).   Eclectic group of friends. 

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3 hours ago, 686 said:


I am currently oscillating between thoughts of going all carbon fiber and suppressed/precision with my hunting rifles and then I go back to old school elegant blued and walnut guns. I like carbon fiber and stainless steel/titanium, but: A) it just doesn’t have the soul of classic rifles and B) I’m worried that I’ll overheat magnum chambered carbon barrels. I’m not very disciplined with time between shots at the range.

Go back a bit farther than that and try out some black powder guns. @dcbcI believe still has an apparently unfired Thompson Center Seneca caplock rifle for sale in 45. That should be plenty for deer if you are up to the challenge of getting them within 50 yards or so. More if you take the time to develope a load and can shoot it accurately. But be warned, once you go old school, the new school stuff doesn't seem as fun unless you are killing pigs at night or something like that.

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8 hours ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

Go back a bit farther than that and try out some black powder guns. @dcbcI believe still has an apparently unfired Thompson Center Seneca caplock rifle for sale in 45. That should be plenty for deer if you are up to the challenge of getting them within 50 yards or so. More if you take the time to develope a load and can shoot it accurately. But be warned, once you go old school, the new school stuff doesn't seem as fun unless you are killing pigs at night or something like that.

Went down that path for a while.  Bought one of those Hawken rifle kits from Cabelas.  Killed a few deer with it.  Didn't take me long to scoff at the "fancy" breech-loader crowd with scoped rifles....;)

Kids and a lack of time brought me back to centerfire rifles

Also bought a .38 1851 Navy cap/ball pistol to carry with it

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10 hours ago, fattyflattie said:

Those are junk.  For people who collect and don't shoot, like me...

For real though. 2 of my lease mates have gotten into the custom, very light, very expensive rigs over the last few years.  Couple of Fierce rifles around the camp in cool calibers like 28 Nosler and 300 PRC.  Carbon fiber barrels, cans, etc.  Cool shit.  I do envy them when I'm out there oiling away on the slightest humid day as to not have the tiniest speck on my deeply blued (typically) Wbys and Sakos.  The rest is made up of some AR guys, and the "I've had this same 270 BDL since the 70's" guys (which is cool).   Eclectic group of friends. 

Those are the best.  Like car guys that can appreciate a modern sports car, a classic, and the guy with the Tesla.  They all come from the same place

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Go back a bit farther than that and try out some black powder guns. [mention=548]dcbc[/mention]I believe still has an apparently unfired Thompson Center Seneca caplock rifle for sale in 45. That should be plenty for deer if you are up to the challenge of getting them within 50 yards or so. More if you take the time to develope a load and can shoot it accurately. But be warned, once you go old school, the new school stuff doesn't seem as fun unless you are killing pigs at night or something like that.

I’ve had a .54 Hawken for about 15 yrs. I gave myself a flinch shooting 400gr Minnie balls over ~100 grains of Goex. That stock design catches the underside of my cheekbone, literally felt like I’d been punched in the face after a shooting session with heavier loads.

I don’t trust my eyes to shoot open sights beyond about 50 yards anymore, but it would be fun to shoot a doe with it from my archery setup sometime.
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1 hour ago, 686 said:


I’ve had a .54 Hawken for about 15 yrs. I gave myself a flinch shooting 400gr Minnie balls over ~100 grains of Goex. That stock design catches the underside of my cheekbone, literally felt like I’d been punched in the face after a shooting session with heavier loads.

I don’t trust my eyes to shoot open sights beyond about 50 yards anymore, but it would be fun to shoot a doe with it from my archery setup sometime.

It's the "pause" that bothered me.  That split second from pulling the trigger, hammer drops, the cap ignites, and the powder goes off.  That and all the GD smoke.  If you're in a blind, have fun....;)

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Decided to go look at over/unders this morning with some shoots coming up and ended up walking out with a Beretta 694. Wasn’t exactly planning on that, but it was a much better feel than the SP III’s. Hopefully it’s like my over priced golf clubs should have been and there is an immediate 10 shot improvement.

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I don't want to derail the this thread at all, but I do have a quick question that I guess this is the best place to ask....   Any recommendations for a good 12 or 20 ga shotgun that can do double duty as a target (mostly trap/skeet) and as a dove/pheasant gun?  I'm open to semi-auto or O/U and am hoping to keep it under $1500 (or $1000) if possible.

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23 minutes ago, ohchaucer said:

I don't want to derail the this thread at all, but I do have a quick question that I guess this is the best place to ask....   Any recommendations for a good 12 or 20 ga shotgun that can do double duty as a target (mostly trap/skeet) and as a dove/pheasant gun?  I'm open to semi-auto or O/U and am hoping to keep it under $1500 (or $1000) if possible.

A400 for SA.   Pricing tight on the OU. Could maybe find some Citoris in that range. 
 

eta: like everything else, pricing borked right now. Even that 400 is a bit out of your stated range (used to not be). 

Edited by fattyflattie
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55 minutes ago, ohchaucer said:

I don't want to derail the this thread at all, but I do have a quick question that I guess this is the best place to ask....   Any recommendations for a good 12 or 20 ga shotgun that can do double duty as a target (mostly trap/skeet) and as a dove/pheasant gun?  I'm open to semi-auto or O/U and am hoping to keep it under $1500 (or $1000) if possible.

Take a look at the Benelli Montefeltro as well.  

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13 hours ago, fattyflattie said:

Those are junk.  For people who collect and don't shoot, like me...

For real though. 2 of my lease mates have gotten into the custom, very light, very expensive rigs over the last few years.  Couple of Fierce rifles around the camp in cool calibers like 28 Nosler and 300 PRC.  Carbon fiber barrels, cans, etc.  Cool shit.  I do envy them when I'm out there oiling away on the slightest humid day as to not have the tiniest speck on my deeply blued (typically) Wbys and Sakos.  The rest is made up of some AR guys, and the "I've had this same 270 BDL since the 70's" guys (which is cool).   Eclectic group of friends. 

Same - I've love collecting and hunting with (more like watching with) classic old rifles.   I also like and buy plenty black guns.  In fact, the same week I got the .22 Hornet mentioned upthread, I also got an AP5 with a brace and am working on a powered optic for it now.  

I have a mental blank spot for modern precision hunting rifles (thankfully I guess).  I don't have the mental make-up to spend hours of time shooting in a disciplined fashion, nor do I trust myself to get into reloading.  I wouldn't do such a rifle justice.

I'd take a $10k modern rig and shoot the same mediocre groups that I can with my classic rifles so what's the point?  My tipping point may be if I ever convince myself to take the time off to do a more extreme hunt that would require my sorry ass to lug a rifle up and down mountains for many days.  In that case I'd lean more towards weight rather than single hole accuracy knowing I'd still never get the max potential out of the gun.

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I don't want to derail the this thread at all, but I do have a quick question that I guess this is the best place to ask....   Any recommendations for a good 12 or 20 ga shotgun that can do double duty as a target (mostly trap/skeet) and as a dove/pheasant gun?  I'm open to semi-auto or O/U and am hoping to keep it under $1500 (or $1000) if possible.
A Weatherby Orion over under $899. I have one 12
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11 minutes ago, Reagan1k said:

I'd take a $10k modern rig and shoot the same mediocre groups that I can with my classic rifles so what's the point?  My tipping point may be if I ever convince myself to take the time off to do a more extreme hunt that would require my sorry ass to lug a rifle up and down mountains for many days.  In that case I'd lean more towards weight rather than single hole accuracy knowing I'd still never get the max potential out of the gun.

Old friend used to guide hunts like this.  He'd always make clients shoot first and determine how close he needed to get them.  On the lost list of skills mountain hunting, being able to shoot at range is nowhere near the top.  Just get closer.  

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46 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

Old friend used to guide hunts like this.  He'd always make clients shoot first and determine how close he needed to get them.  On the lost list of skills mountain hunting, being able to shoot at range is nowhere near the top.  Just get closer.  

Yeah - based on the arsenal I own and my working knowledge of guns, most casual observers would assume I'm a great shot.  I'm not, especially relative to the company I keep.  I'm a good instinctive or snap shooter, but put me on a bench or shooting for precision at range and I'm just not all that.

A few years ago I was hunting with a buddy who'd just taken up the passion.  We watched a goat at some distance and he asked if I could make that shot.  "Yep...I could make that shot.  It'd be nothing more than a warning shot but I can make it."

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It has been decades since I sat in a blind, but if I were to go out again, it would be with this ‘60s era Browning Safari .30-06 with a Leopold. Inherited it 20 years ago from a family friend (a WW2 Hump pilot veteran) who used it on numerous Alaskan hunts.

 

09C87875-7ED2-4E0F-AD14-3F7144BADC84.jpeg

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15 hours ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

Go back a bit farther than that and try out some black powder guns. @dcbcI believe still has an apparently unfired Thompson Center Seneca caplock rifle for sale in 45. That should be plenty for deer if you are up to the challenge of getting them within 50 yards or so. More if you take the time to develope a load and can shoot it accurately. But be warned, once you go old school, the new school stuff doesn't seem as fun unless you are killing pigs at night or something like that.

Still have it.  Hang tags still on the trigger guard.

 

PXL-20220403-190645000.jpg

Edited by dcbc
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4 hours ago, ohchaucer said:

I don't want to derail the this thread at all, but I do have a quick question that I guess this is the best place to ask....   Any recommendations for a good 12 or 20 ga shotgun that can do double duty as a target (mostly trap/skeet) and as a dove/pheasant gun?  I'm open to semi-auto or O/U and am hoping to keep it under $1500 (or $1000) if possible.

I would look for a good used Winchester 101.  I have a skeet/skeet and full/mod.  Both 20 ga that serves most trap/skeet and dove/upland hunting.  Really like the skeet/skeet for quail or close in dove.  Should be able to find for around $1000-$1200

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1 hour ago, Armybrat said:

It has been decades since I sat in a blind, but if I were to go out again, it would be with this ‘60s era Browning Safari .30-06 with a Leopold. Inherited it 20 years ago from a family friend (a WW2 Hump pilot veteran) who used it on numerous Alaskan hunts.

 

09C87875-7ED2-4E0F-AD14-3F7144BADC84.jpeg

I have the same gun but no scope on it yet, would like to find a 6x leupold

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5 hours ago, fattyflattie said:

Depends. Are you an 85 or a 45? 

It didn’t work as advertised. I did look the part while shooting though. Going to take me a little getting used to the balance on it versus the A400 I’ve been shooting.B50F0513-080C-492E-B8D5-4C3FB19A2AA2.thumb.jpeg.0c2787cd835ad039b59cf97b9b077fc3.jpeg

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5 hours ago, fattyflattie said:

A400 for SA.   Pricing tight on the OU. Could maybe find some Citoris in that range. 
 

eta: like everything else, pricing borked right now. Even that 400 is a bit out of your stated range (used to not be). 

I love my A400, but looking at them today the prices are up quite a bit over where I bought. A couple of the models set up for trap with adjustable weights and a few other things like I have were $2300, you could get the lower version in the $1700 range it looked like.

I have a few guys that work for me that shoot CZ’s and have no complaints. The O/U’s can be had for under $1000, in fact they had a Teal marked down from $900 to $550 with a few scuffs on the barrel today

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Didn’t think about it, but I also shoot with a guy that shoots a Franchi Affinity. He uses that gun for everything and shoots well with it. I would also look at a Winchester Super X4. It would be a good all around gun also because it has a gas release system to alleviate recoil and a few other things you find on a lot more expensive guns.

You really need something that is designed for clay. I would look at some reviewed out there and find something that has a gas release system to cut recoil, a shock system in the stock, etc. I  made the mistake of shooting my 1300 last year just to see what I could do with it. My shoulder looked like it had been kicked by a mule at the end of the day.

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6 hours ago, ohchaucer said:

I don't want to derail the this thread at all, but I do have a quick question that I guess this is the best place to ask....   Any recommendations for a good 12 or 20 ga shotgun that can do double duty as a target (mostly trap/skeet) and as a dove/pheasant gun?  I'm open to semi-auto or O/U and am hoping to keep it under $1500 (or $1000) if possible.

I'd second the recommendation for the A400, but "double duty" makes it a little more complicated.

If by "trap and skeet" you mean actual trap and skeet, especially trap, then a 12 gauge is necessary, and then you need to look at your budget and decided if an O/U is a better choice, etc etc. For that budget, a semi auto is probably better. 

But if "trap and skeet" means "hand targets in the pasture", then get a 20 gauge semi auto. (Assuming you are RH, since Beretta doesn't make a 20 gauge LH semi auto)

 

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7 hours ago, BabaYaga said:

It's the "pause" that bothered me.  That split second from pulling the trigger, hammer drops, the cap ignites, and the powder goes off.  That and all the GD smoke.  If you're in a blind, have fun....;)

Once you learn to shoot a traditional muzzleloader well you should be able to shoot a modern gun even better. And the smoke is one of the best reasons to shoot one, not a reason not to, especially if you are using real BP instead of one of the substitutes.

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1 hour ago, Brew said:

I  made the mistake of shooting my 1300 last year just to see what I could do with it. My shoulder looked like it had been kicked by a mule at the end of the day.

I used to use a gun that wasn’t ill fitting, but definitely wasn’t “fit” to me, and go 2 rounds. I would feel it for days after. Once I got something that actually fit, going 2 rounds wasn’t bad at all.  Not sure I’ve ever taken a sa to an actual shoot, but have toyed with them in pasture/ranch/fuck around setting. 

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2 hours ago, Brew said:

I have a few guys that work for me that shoot CZ’s and have no complaints. The O/U’s can be had for under $1000, in fact they had a Teal marked down from $900 to $550 with a few scuffs on the barrel today

CZs make nice arms, but I haven’t handled one of their OUs. I did find one once that was attached to an absolutely stunning piece of wood. Something that would belong on a gun 3x the cost. But didn’t pull the proverbial trigger.  I’m set that my next O/U will be a 28g, and I’ve got the one I want pinned down. I hunted all this year with a .410 and it was fantastic.   Wife would kill me if I purchase that particular one with something other than “project bonus” money, though. 
 

3 hours ago, Frank Erwin said:

I would look for a good used Winchester 101.

Someone on shaggy took and redid the wood on one iirc.  It’s been a long time ago but think it was @F250 or @Pescado_Rojo maybe?  Anyhow, it came out really nice. Took the lacquer off and made it English style iirc.  Anyhow, it looked really nice. 

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1 hour ago, fattyflattie said:

CZs make nice arms, but I haven’t handled one of their OUs. I did find one once that was attached to an absolutely stunning piece of wood. Something that would belong on a gun 3x the cost. But didn’t pull the proverbial trigger.  I’m set that my next O/U will be a 28g, and I’ve got the one I want pinned down. I hunted all this year with a .410 and it was fantastic.   Wife would kill me if I purchase that particular one with something other than “project bonus” money, though. 
 

Someone on shaggy took and redid the wood on one iirc.  It’s been a long time ago but think it was @F250 or @Pescado_Rojo maybe?  Anyhow, it came out really nice. Took the lacquer off and made it English style iirc.  Anyhow, it looked really nice. 

Not me, I have a Remington 870 I use for trap.

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3 hours ago, fattyflattie said:

CZs make nice arms, but I haven’t handled one of their OUs. I did find one once that was attached to an absolutely stunning piece of wood. Something that would belong on a gun 3x the cost. But didn’t pull the proverbial trigger.  I’m set that my next O/U will be a 28g, and I’ve got the one I want pinned down. I hunted all this year with a .410 and it was fantastic.   Wife would kill me if I purchase that particular one with something other than “project bonus” money, though. 
 

Someone on shaggy took and redid the wood on one iirc.  It’s been a long time ago but think it was @F250 or @Pescado_Rojo maybe?  Anyhow, it came out really nice. Took the lacquer off and made it English style iirc.  Anyhow, it looked really nice. 

Not me. I haD a Browning Superposed for a hot minute, but I’m a lefty and couldn’t make it fit right. It was either new furniture or sell it and buy a semi-auto, so I sold it. Regret it every day

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3 hours ago, fattyflattie said:

I used to use a gun that wasn’t ill fitting, but definitely wasn’t “fit” to me, and go 2 rounds. I would feel it for days after. Once I got something that actually fit, going 2 rounds wasn’t bad at all.  Not sure I’ve ever taken a sa to an actual shoot, but have toyed with them in pasture/ranch/fuck around setting. 

I got that Winchester 1300 30 years ago on my 13 birthday. It’s amazing the difference in it and something like the A400. I could run 500 rounds through the A400 and not miss a beat, 100 through the 1300 and my shoulder was bruised for a week. I thought this 694 would be worse than it is because I’ve gotten so used to the gas shock system in the A400 stock, but it wasn’t bad at all. Think I’m still going to look at stock upgrades for it.

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