Guns You Just Enjoy for the Sheer Heck of It

[PoliticsAndGuns]

Ok... nice........ as dev said we now have a list...
I will prolly do this show coming up in a couple weeks.  So if you don't call in (on TGN) ...... "kitten, 86"
But tonight it will be on the basic 3 gun battery!!   I expect some calls then too, please!
9pm edt  live.gunnation.us

Going to be getting to know the latest member of the Lathrop family arsenal, (a Savage bolt action 30-30) but will be done by then and will be listening!

[otis]

+1 for the Marlin 1895 Guide in 45-70. Just got back from the range, what sheer joy cranking that lever and punching HUGE holes in the paper! Can't wait to hunt with this one.

Sent from my rotary dial phone using tapatalk.

[PoliticsAndGuns]

+1 for the Marlin 1895 Guide in 45-70. Just got back from the range, what sheer joy cranking that lever and punching HUGE holes in the paper! Can't wait to hunt with this one.
.

Now THAT sounds like some fun!

[SirBrass]

For a pure fun gun... I want a lever action in .357mag, .44spl, or .44mag.

If it has lots of "BANG!" goes really fast, and has an awesome action like a lever, then I want!

[Charlie Foxtrot]

SB;

As Otis will tell you: big lever fun is spelled .45-70.     I've got the Marlin 1895 Cowboy.  Yee freakin' HAW!

The wifey's got a Marlin 1894C in .357. A brilliant little gun.  

[Devereaux]

Oh heck, Brass. Fun in a lever is spelled L-E-V-E-R. Doesn't much matter what calibre it is. I have levers in .30-30, .357 Mag, .38 Spl, .45 Colt, .30-'06, and two in .45-70. Of those two, one is a Guide Gun with vented barrel and hunts well, but at short distance, and the other is a Winchester 1886 take-down. Kicks like a mule (those curved stocks aren't about dissipating recoil much), but it sure is pretty. Fun to shoot, as long as you don't do a long session.

[SirBrass]

The only reason I'd get a lever  in anything less than .357mag is to get a Henry .22LR Eagle Scout commemorative rifle.

I wonder if my Dillon Square Deal "B" setup for .45ACP can easilly handle .45-70... or would there be too many die-changes....

Of course I'm told .45-70 is a monster round.... MUAHAHAHAHAHA.  I want to shoot one 

[moreshooting]

Easy and quick answer is any gun. 

Realistically, my favorites are

My SW 1911 E-Series  - It makes me look good.
My Kimber Super Carry Custom  -  It's smooth and fast.
My Ruger Mk3 22/45  - fun and cheap to shoot.
My Ruger 10/22  again fun and cheap to shoot and it has a built-in squirrel magnet Gotta love it....

[Tennessee Jed]

Sorry Doc, I was traveling and missed this.

Getting to Dev's comment, absolutely I cycle.  I wander to and fro between the collection regularly.  Nothing in particular triggers a change, just a desire to spend some time with a different gun.  It's like deciding to go visit an old friend I haven't seen in a long while.

[Devereaux]

EggZAKly! TJ, you hit it!   

[Charlie Foxtrot]

  
I don't cycle as much as I orbit.

Regardless of what I'm dragging to the range: cowboy, military hysterical, or modern plastic, I usually have the BuckMark and 10/22 in the kit to remind myself that shooting is fun.

BTW, as of yesterday the BuckMark is sportin' a Bushnell Trophy red-dot sight.  Let's see if this ups the fun factor even more!

[Tennessee Jed]

So Mr. Foxtrot, how is that red dot?  I just got a Bushnell TRS 25 I mounted in front of the receiver of an SAR1 (AKM clone) that I am itching to try. 

A commie rifle goes against my somewhat Neanderthal-like, USA made predjudices, but you cant beat the price of 762x39 ammo.  Bannana mags, cheap ammo, and a red dot should be pretty fun.  Although, i am concerned my M1 Garand may not forgive me.

[Charlie Foxtrot]

So Mr. Foxtrot, how is that red dot?  I just got a Bushnell TRS 25 I mounted in front of the receiver of an SAR1 (AKM clone) that I am itching to try. 

A commie rifle goes against my somewhat Neanderthal-like, USA made predjudices, but you cant beat the price of 762x39 ammo.  Bannana mags, cheap ammo, and a red dot should be pretty fun.  Although, i am concerned my M1 Garand may not forgive me.

Unfortunately, the BuckMark/ Bushnell combo made the long trip to the range - and never left the car. Too busy with Cowboy.  And this weekend I'm taking a sailing buddy splattergunning.  Should be interesting, I haven't shot a round of Trap (not counting Cowboy Trap) for 20 years. Maybe next week it will be the BuckMark's turn again.   

I bought a Russki SKS to satisfy a mil-surp itch. And I REALLY like the damn thing.  Never been a big fan of the poodle-shooters, too fragile for my tastes. 

[Devereaux]

So Mr. Foxtrot, how is that red dot?  I just got a Bushnell TRS 25 I mounted in front of the receiver of an SAR1 (AKM clone) that I am itching to try. 

A commie rifle goes against my somewhat Neanderthal-like, USA made predjudices, but you cant beat the price of 762x39 ammo.  Bannana mags, cheap ammo, and a red dot should be pretty fun.  Although, i am concerned my M1 Garand may not forgive me.

Well, actually, you can, TJ. Shoot .22's. I just got conversion kits for my OLD 229 and for one of my 226's The latter has a threaded barrel, but unfortunately the Soviet State of Illinois won't allow me to own a suppressor. Would I ever like to. But they shoot really nicely. And I even took my wife for her first exposure to shooting (she actually went once with another nurse-friend but neither really knew what they were doing, so it was kind of a lost episode). She got to shoot a Colt Woodsman, the two Sigs, and an Ace conversion on a Colt frame. She seemed to like the ACE best, but that was undoubtedly because it was the heaviest so the easiest to shoot. By the end of 100 rounds at about 15-20' she shot the last 5 rounds with 1-9 and 4-10's. She was pleased, and I was happy to see she might just go shooting with me again.

If banana mags are it, 10-22's have them. And you will never shoot as cheaply in any calibre as with a .22

[Tennessee Jed]

Dev, you are correct, sir.  And I was able to live that out over the weekend.  Took my son to the range with a smorgasbord of firearms.  I wanted him to be free to shoot whatever "tripped his trigger" at the moment. 

He settled VERY quickly on a Marlin 795 22 rifle with a huge 4 - 12X scope on it.  Shooting from a bench, he was hitting dots the size of a quarter at 25 yards and wasn't interested in shooting anything else, which was perfectly fine with me.  For just plain old fun, it doesn't get any better than handing a youngster a 22 and a big ol' box of ammo. 

[cornmastah]

Oh heck, Brass. Fun in a lever is spelled L-E-V-E-R. Doesn't much matter what calibre it is.

This is the truth.

[Devereaux]

Dev, you are correct, sir.  And I was able to live that out over the weekend.  Took my son to the range with a smorgasbord of firearms.  I wanted him to be free to shoot whatever "tripped his trigger" at the moment. 

He settled VERY quickly on a Marlin 795 22 rifle with a huge 4 - 12X scope on it.  Shooting from a bench, he was hitting dots the size of a quarter at 25 yards and wasn't interested in shooting anything else, which was perfectly fine with me.  For just plain old fun, it doesn't get any better than handing a youngster a 22 and a big ol' box of ammo. 

+1!

[SirBrass]

Oh heck, Brass. Fun in a lever is spelled L-E-V-E-R. Doesn't much matter what calibre it is.

This is the truth.

But would I be wrong that the bigger the L-E-V-E-R, the bigger the fun? 

If I want something like a .45-70 lever rifle, what should I look for?

[Devereaux]

Your choices are huge - Winchester or Marlin. There are old Savage levers about (forgot I had one of those, CF - it's 8 levers I guess), but they are not all that common. Marlin makes some interesting choices, especially in more "modern" aspects. I have a Guide Gun, which is basically a short barreled (18" I believe) rifle. It has a GREAT recoil pad that tames the shot a lot. It is also ported to the jump isn't much. You can stay on target quite well.

A somewhat different "lever" is a drop-block that is operated with the trigger guard acting as the lever to open the action. These are typically single shot, but sturdy.

Henry makes some levers, but I have personally never liked them all that much other than the original Henry. That is a historic rifle, so kool, but not so easy to shoot well.

Rossi is probably the best known knock-off. Uberti makes the older Winchesters ('66, '73, and '76. I think one of the importers is now making a '92 also) and the cowboys like them. I am just not sure they come in .45-70 though.

Then there are the specialty houses that make things like the take-down Marlin in whatever calibre you want. Fits great in a bush plane, and able to deal with a grizzly.

[Bflobill69]

I think if I had to pick one gun I enjoy "just for the heck of it" it would have to be my Bisley Vaquero in 45 colt.  It was an impulse buy about a year back, especially since I had no "intended" use for it.  I just loved the look of it, and when I held it in my fat little hand, it was like it ALWAYS belonged there.  Was always a big fan of the caliber, seeing it has the ability to be loaded in 2 different tiers.  This guns accuracy with fixed sights was a real pleasant suprise as well.  Handloading for this gun has eaten up many a winter hour as well.  Now, when money permits, I need to pick up a rifle in 45 colt.  Can anyone suggest a good one under a grand?

Keep your powder dry and your aim straight,

Bflobill69