Episode 40 - The Ones That Got Away

[Doc Wesson]

Here you go.............
Join us live next time!!

http://www.gunnation.us/2012/02/2-15-2012show-no40-ones-that-got-away.html

[CanadianBacon]

Hi Doc,

Thanks for the great episode. I loved the "one that got away" concept. Six months after buying my GP100 I went into a gun store that's in a town near our cottage. I wasn't looking to buy. But I was thinking that my next handgun should be a semi-automatic. It's a pretty small store that caters more to hunting than handguns, but they did have a few pistols in a display case. They had a couple of Norinco 1911s and a Kimber 1911. The Kimber was a bit too pricey for me, but they also had an original "made in Belgium" Browning Hi Power. They had taken it on trade and wanted $599 for it. It had minimal sights but the bluing was exquisite. It was in perfect condition, and I really can't describe how beautiful it was. 

Unfortunately, I only had 6 months experience with handguns, so I didn't really know what a Hi Power was. By the time I researched the gun and got clearance from the minister of finance, the gun had sold. D'Oh!

Not my finest moment.

[gitt1]

Sometimes the executive office needs to learn how to make command decisions without trampling the constitution, or marraige covenant as it were.

[haskovez]

I enjoyed the show, even though I haven't actually ever had one get away from me yet as I have never sold a gun.  I don't really plan on selling anything either.  I guess the closest would be when I considered buying a 1903 Springfield when the last allotment came into the CMP and I decided against putting an order in and they sold out in a day.

[Tennessee Jed]

I came darn close to one that got away this week.  Dropped by a store, saw a Stoeger Coach Gun on the rack for a good price, and decided life is way too short to let any more get away.  Now it has a good home, and I feel warm all over.

[Average Joe]

Tennessee Jed,

Thank you for adopting the coach gun and providing a loving and caring home.

[Charlie Foxtrot]

   
Ditto AJ.

TJ, you might consider getting the gun "slicked up".  The wifey shoots a Stoeger in Cowboy Action Shooting. After struggling with it the first few matches, we sent it to Jim Bowie of the Cowboy and Indians Store. After his magic, the gun falls open, cocks every time, the auto safety is disabled, the chambers slick, and the triggers are lighter and crisper. And the gun is just a whole lot more fun to shoot and fast.   

[Tennessee Jed]

Thanks Joe and Charlie.  I think it's important for us responsible gun owners to adopt unwanted guns from time to time.  It provides them a loving home, and simultaneously helps avoid the "one-that-got-away" syndrome. 

I'll check out Jim at the Cowboys and Indians Store.  The coach gun's role will be a breakdown, low-key, defense gun for when I'm away from home, and I'm gonna need to get quick with reloads. 

[Charlie Foxtrot]

   
Come out for a match at your local SASS Club. 

That'll larn yah!   

BTW, loading a double fast is a high dexterity skill.  One I never managed.  I had to go with a Win '97 pump. Much more of a blunt object. Mongo can thro shell in da ejection hole!

[Doc Wesson]

Yes..  I am going to start the Doc Wesson Adopt-a-Gun program......
Wonder if I can get 501 status for that....
Just send them to me and I will work it out later...
The important thing is they will be cared for and loved...

[Devereaux]

I have not really sold many guns. I did sell a 1st gen Glock 17 with the original light trigger. Probably shouldn't have, but I never really liked the thing. OTOH, it taught a number of people how to shoot.

I DID sell a Model 15 Combat Masterpiece with target hammer and trigger - and I still wish I hadn't. I rarely shot that thing, but it was a really nice piece. Got a Model 19 as a replacement not too long ago, but it doesn't change that I would have liked having that old one again.

I gave my very first pistol, a Ruger Single Six with the 22 WRM cylinder also, to my cousins out in California. They were "yuffs" of 10 & 12 at the time, and their dad got them a Browning lever .22, so I added the "cowboy" pistol along with a Lawrence gunfighter holster. Their mother was hot, but dad thought it was kool. They still have it.

Sold an Italian Carcano carbine and a Japanese Nambu pistol and never looked back. Sold an XD that I was glad to be rid of - never could hold a group.

Thought of selling my old 3-screw Ruger, but fortunately didn't. Then I thought of converting it to .44 Special - but again didn't. THEN I found another 3-screw with a longer barrel (?6") and was going to convert THAT to .44 special - and didn't. THEN I bought an OLD 3-screw, one of the original types with the flat top and the redish gate. It was SO pretty and pristine I COULDN'T convert that to .44 special. And THEN a guy up in Wisconsin offered me a 3-screw that was ALREADY converted to .44 special - but he wanted too much money for it. So it got away. Too bad, as it was kind of nice, and I have long wanted an older, smaller framed .44 special.

Got a deal from a guy once. I bought a Colt Lightening, a Stevens .22 target rifle, and a Browning .22 - all for $800. Seeing at the Colt was probably worth that alone, the other two were kind of free. The Stevens has never shot all that well, but then maybe it's me. But the Browning! It's one of those autos that discard from the bottom, load through the stock. Holds about 10 rounds. And it is REALLY ACCURATE. Shot aspirins from a table about 25' away one afternoon. And the best part - it's a take-down!

So I can't really complain much about any getting away.

[Tennessee Jed]

I also sold off an XD that I don't regret.  It shot ok, but didn't do anything for me. 

However, I won't discuss my complete lapse of all reason when I traded off a Springfield GI 1911.  Learned my lesson on that one.  It's ok to trade or sell plastic autos, but acquiring an all-steel handgun is a commitment for life that should not be taken lightly.   

[Doc Wesson]

Which XDs guys?

[Devereaux]

Mine was a .40 in the 4" version. Had 16 rnd mags, and I got a bunch of extras for it. If you aren't sure about XD's, Doc, they are made for Springfield in Croatia. The usual tupperware frame, steel slide.

It did feel good in the hand, but it didn't shoot that well. Minute of man, while an old 229 would shoot circles around it.

[Doc Wesson]

I have a couple XDs... 40 sub and .45 compact.  Luckily they have been real shooters and neither have ever laid down on me.. that is why I asked..
I had a chance to get the HS2000 (original gun).. prior to Springfield branding...
They were like $300...   I should have mentioned that one as a get away....
Ah.. the 229.... I bet it would!!
Dev.. live show tonight... come join
http://gunrightsradio.com/live

[Tennessee Jed]

Mine was the standard XD9.  There wasn't anything wrong with it.  I loved how it felt in the hand, loved the trigger and the grip safety, but I just couldn't shoot it as accurately as I could other handguns, no matter how hard I tried.  Also, it seemed to give more muzzle rise than I was ok with in 9mm.  I'm sure others do much better than me with the XD series, it just didn't work for me personally.     

     

[Devereaux]

You know, TJ, that was kind of my experience. Great feeling gun, but lousy groups. I would be at the range and shoot a target with it, then one with the 229 (both in .40) and over and over the 229 just plain outshot the XD - by a lot. And since it was an older 229, the grip felt kind of like holding a bed post. But it SHOT. So I dumped the XD. Then I got a set of E2 grips for the 229 - WHOLE different pistol. Also have a .357 Sig barrel for it, so IF we ever get CCW here in the Soviet State of Illinois, that would probably be my carry.

Matter of fact, I have 3 Sigs, all with the E2 grip, and I couldn't be more pleased. It actually makes the gun feel something like a 1911 - with heavy emphasis on the "something". Nothing, after all, is LIKE a 1911, but at least these shoot similarly, rather than like a wheelgun. (Sorry, Doc - I like wheelguns, but don't shoot them well. I would admit that a SAA is a legendary weapon, no matter how much fun NS2 made of it, but if I had to choose a gunfighting gun, it would be a 1911.)

[Charlie Foxtrot]

   
Sold a Ruger Mini 14, a very early Mini, serial number 007xx. Kind of wish I had it back for the collectability, but the gun's miserable accuracy frustrated me. 

Sold an EBR because I didn't want to deal with Kalifornia's ludicrous Assault Weapons registration. Definitely wish I still had that one, even with the hassles.     

Other than those exceptions, I've kept everything that's come within my magnetic claws.       

[Tennessee Jed]

Devereaux ---- We did have similar experiences.  When I sold the XD, I got a pistol whose ergonomics were nowhere near the XD (a Glock 20), but after the first trip to the range I got over it.  It shot much better groups at longer distances for not much more recoil with a big leap in power.