The Last Gun You Bought

[MacLaren]

Btw, when you get a chance and it's convenient for ya, would you mind telling me what glass you use?

Hate to admit but I'm a low budget scope guy. I have several friends who are high end scope guys and they're awesome but out of my league at the moment. They also have way more money than I do and can afford Nightforce etc.

The scope on the rifle pictured above is a Athlon Helos BTR 6-24X. The scope on the rifle now is a Bushnell 4500 Elite 8-32X

I have a Arken SH-4 6-24 that's fantastic for the price. I think it's going on the Kidd 10/22 ELR build I'm going to do. Next Arken I buy will probably be the Arken EP5. It'll have to be for another ELR build because I don't like huge scopes with christmas tree reticles for anything else but PRS style matches

I've got a whole bunch of other scopes. A few lower end Vortex models. One of my favorites is the Diamondback HP 4-16X. I put that on the Bergara BMR I just bought and it's really nice for what I paid for it. $199 is a great deal

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/2420373744?pid=373744

Otherwise my all time favorite budget scopes are the Japanese made Weaver Classic V series. I have five 6-24X on various rifles and one 4-16X on my CZ 452 American. There another great bang for the buck scope and not so big that they look like the Hubble mounted on top of a 22 sporter rifle

You want a nice 22 trainer look at the Bergara B-14R. Even better look at Vudoo. I'll have one of each at some point soon. I make single shot adapters for all these rifles and having the rifles they eventually pay for themselves. I'll probably have to sell off a lot of my knives to buy the Vudoo but no big deal

https://vudoogunworks.com/

Hey! Those are FINE scopes. Imo, scopes have came so very far in the last 20 years.
I've always wanted the high end glass. I think the hottest thing now is ZC (Zero Compromise)
But, I just can't afford $5k+
I really like the Athlon Helos BTR Genii
Besides Athlon, I've been a Vortex man.
So, same as you
Man, what I would really love to do one day is head to Louisiana and, check out Sport Optics.
They're gonna have everything. A buddy of mine is a traveling welder and, he was able to that once.
Said, it was a lot of fun. That was when Vortex hit the scene. He was telling me about the difference between the Viper PST & Razor. Both 1st gen's of course. He said the Japanese Glass on the Razor truly was superior to that of the Phillipino Glass on the PST Viper. But, the Viper PST glass was certainly no joke. I had just really wanted to know if the there was that much difference in price and there is especially at very long range.
Lol, I could go on and on.

[Mad Mac]

This thread reminds me of George Gobel on the Tonight Show when he said,
"Did you ever feel as if the whole world was a tuxedo,
and you were a pair of brown shoes?"

Recently, I did do a couple of upgrades on a modest scale with kits from MCarbo.

For my Kimber Micro 9, I replaced the sear spring, hammer spring
and firing pin spring.
https://www.mcarbo.com/kimber-micro-9-t ... g-kit.aspx
Trigger pull was only reduced by one pound but it feels better.

On my Kel-Tec PF-9, I replaced the recoil spring, guide rod,
hammer spring, trigger return spring and trigger.
https://www.mcarbo.com/kel-tec-pf9-accessories.aspx
The extractor screw that doubles as the firing pin stop defied my efforts
to be removed so the firing pin spring remains unmolested.
Trigger pull was only reduced by 1.5 pounds but the flat trigger feels great
and the stronger recoil spring reduces muzzle flip for that lightweight pistol.

While I had them apart I should have done some sear honing, polishing, etc.,
but there is a limit as to how far I'm willing to go before I devalue a firearm.

[MacLaren]

Nice analogy Mac!
I gotta say though, that MCARBO is a good way to go! I had an FN Heratal rifle and that simple spring change made a great difference!

[BLUETYPEII]

268F50C1-23E2-4619-81BB-0C2F3E48C4A3.jpeg

I’m thinking about getting this pistol.
I hear great things about it. It has all the features I’m looking for in a pistol and I hear CZ has great reliability.

Does anyone have any input to help sway me one way or the other on this decision?

Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks!

I wish I could help you , but I went home with CZ75 Omega . I wanted a steel model , but I have read several reviews and all seem to be positive. Since suppressor systems are illegal in my state it didn’t make sense to buy . MG2

The great thing about the threaded barrel is you could use it for a compensator if you wanted. A suppressor would be useful though. Suppressors are legal in my state. Honestly if it was a self defense situation inside my home I would kind of want one to protect my hearing. Some people would completely disagree with using a suppressor for home defense. However I don’t think it’s a bad idea. You would definitely damage your hearing shooting a gun in a house unsuppressed not to mention the potential to traumatize your family. You would also lose a lot of tactical ability with your ears ringing after firing and if there’s more than one attacker this could definitely be a bad thing. You may be thinking I’m paranoid but my neighbor a couple years ago had three armed men break into his house and 1 held him at gunpoint; I don’t live in a bad neighborhood either.

After a little more thought I’m thinking the CZ-P07 (compact version of the P09) would be better since I want the ability to conceal it. This one only has night sights but the threaded barrel is available if I decide I want one.

Heading to a place I can handle one before I make my final decision.

[JestersHK]

Suppressors should be required with the initial purchase... I use a suppressed 300BO for home defense. Shooting 5.56 out of a short barrel indoors is terrible. Even suppressed it still is hard on the ears.

Last gun I bought was a Ruger MKIV tactical upper receiver of a guy in Kentucky for $100. Makes a great night time critter dispatcher and the rail holds IR light/ laser for night time shenanigans

[benben]

Suppressors should be required with the initial purchase... I use a suppressed 300BO for home defense. Shooting 5.56 out of a short barrel indoors is terrible. Even suppressed it still is hard on the ears.

Last gun I bought was a Ruger MKIV tactical upper receiver of a guy in Kentucky for $100. Makes a great night time critter dispatcher and the rail holds IR light/ laser for night time shenanigans

Tell me more about your 300AAC, man I’ve been on and off, and hot & cold on one since before Covid. A 9” suppressed 300 sounds like the perfect HD rifle / pistol / option.

I kept putting one off before Covid because of ammo prices, then of course shelved the idea for two years shortly after. Looked at both a Saint Victor and a Daniel Defense just a couple of hours ago. I really need to study up on suppressors, they’re just something I’m not too familiar with.

[JestersHK]

300BO to me is only worth it if you're going to suppress it. It shines in a short barrel suppressed rifle platform, with the 2nd best feature being a vast .30 cal bullet selection choices for reloading. Commonality of standard AR parts is a plus too, but you must be disciplined in keeping ammo seperate.

I built mine using a CMMG 8in barrel. I run a 10in quad rail so it's tucked inside. Not a huge fan of that, but this is a gun built for night time hunting and it keeps it streamlined for having all the other junk hanging off it. Have IR light and IR laser as well as a white light.

I run a Primary Arms RDS the one with NV settings as this is a hunting gun not a go to war gun. I'm taking most shots under 50 yards as well and mostly using laser versus passive aiming through the RDS. Plus it gets abused and no need to trash an aimpoint just to prove it can take abuse lol. My daughter built a 12in upper that she uses for deer hunting with she topped with a 1-8 Vortex LPVO. It's heavy but does great for deer, and inside of 100 yards it puts them down hard.

I run a 8in suppressor I home built on a form1 stamp. Shooting subs is crazy quiet. Although when hunting hogs at night I use supers with usually 110grn Vmax pills. Subs are fun, but other than some of the exotic bullets I prefer better terminal ballistics of supers and they are still much quieter than a 5.56AR suppressed.

[benben]

Thanks, great looking setup!

[MacLaren]

Nice post, JestersHK!

[MacLaren]

Fellas, I always regretted selling my S&W 27-2 6" barrel 3T model. But, I did make a lot on it, and it went to a very nice man, a retired Major General of the U.S. Air Force. Plus, it helped fund my '68 S Prefix 27-2 3.5" - but, I still agonized over that full target model! I've never had a gun feel as good in hand as that revolver did. Those full target models are heavenly in hand. The Target Stocks fit perfectly, the Target Hammer & Target Trigger are just supremely easy to manipulate. & the best part was that it was never fired. It had only a very faint scratch or two on it because unbelievably the person that I bought it from actually shipped ir in the presentation case! It's a wonder it wasn't much worse. Suffice it to say, I never thought I would have another as nice as it for the money because these revolvers just continue to rise in value.
But, a couple weeks ago, I was checking out Gun Broker just for the heck of it because things are starting to slow down gun buying wise anyway.
And, I'm glad I did. What I found is supposedly even better than what I sold. I found it on the last day of the auction on a Sunday. We were just getting ready to leave to go visit our niece and her husband at the Wilbur Dam in Tennessee where they were camping and there's absolutely no internet or phone service there. So, I decided to place a bid just for the heck of it. Now, this one has probably never been fired either and it's actually nicer than the one I had before. Especially the Target Stocks, they actually look to be presentation grade. So, I set my bid at $2k knowing full well I would be outbid before the auction ended at 9pm that night. Well, lo and behold when we finally got back home around midnight I found that I won the bid! And for even less that what I paid for my earlier version! I was pretty happy. I'll have her in hand tomorrow. I could've had it yesterday had the usps tracking been updated in real time
At any rate, I'll post up some pics tomorrow

[Mad Mac]

Congratulations, Sir. Sometimes gunbroker.com gets a bad rap.
But my experiences have been good ones.

What may be happening is that firearms have a cycle.
In general they increase with inflation,
but collectors aspire for the firearms of their youth or their heroes.
The same holds true for automobile collectors.
Who wants a flathead Ford these days? It's muscle cars.

So as we age and... stop pulling triggers, the guns of our youth
actually become more affordable in today's dollars,
which aren't worth much anymore.

Looking forward to seeing your latest acquisition.

[MacLaren]

Congratulations, Sir. Sometimes gunbroker.com gets a bad rap.
But my experiences have been good ones.

What may be happening is that firearms have a cycle.
In general they increase with inflation,
but collectors aspire for the firearms of their youth or their heroes.
The same holds true for automobile collectors.
Who wants a flathead Ford these days? It's muscle cars.

So as we age and... stop pulling triggers, the guns of our youth
actually become more affordable in today's dollars,
which aren't worth much anymore.

Looking forward to seeing your latest acquisition.

Thanks, Mac. I appreciate that, my friend.
Ya know, for me, it's the build quality in particularly the finish of the revolver. The Model 27 & Colt Python, in particular are just LEGENDS.
And, I also agree with what you said as well
Especially Gun Broker. I really feel that if a man or woman, takes their time and buys from a seller with good feedback/score, then you can really come out.
Ya know, as far as what I have and am about to get, they really are nice and that's not a brag.
I say that because there are guys out there that have examples that are just absolutely incredible. Especially the engraved models. Just the craftsmanship that went into a regular Model 27 alone is just staggering......it took many years for one to be a Master Smith at Smith & Wesson.
The one I'll be getting shipped in November of 1978.
The 1968 model I have left the Roosevelt Factory on April 26th of 1968 & lastly but, not least my 19-3 shipped in February of 1978.
I just really love looking at and handling these older revolvers. They are smooth as helll.

[Mad Mac]

Recently I learned that my great-great grandfather
served in Company C, Terry's Texas Rangers, the 8th Texas Cavalry Regiment.
Volunteers, they were instructed to bring their own revolvers,
shotguns, bowie knives and saddles and assembled in Houston, August 1861.

A horse was issued to them but no uniforms were provided.
Many wore ponchos and a star fashioned from a silver peso on a slouch hat.
Shotguns typically were sawed off to a convenient length to use from horseback.
After six months, great-great grandpa received a medical discharge,
which probably saved his life, and mine, and lived into his mid-30s.

Below is a replica bowie knife and 1861 Colt Navy revolver.
The muzzleloading double barrel shotgun is not a replica
but was made after the War of Northern Aggression
and is the same type that would have been used during the unpleasantries.
They rest upon a replica of the regimental flag,
of which only two are known to exist.

My plan is to display them on the wall in my gunroom as a tribute.

[MacLaren]

Nice post, Mac.
So cool that your Great, Great Grandad was a Texas Ranger!
Ya know, that puts me in the mind of Lonesome Dove. The best Western I've ever seen.
I really liked that movie or 3 part mini series for t.v.

[Mad Mac]

Terry's Texas Rangers are not to be confused with Texas Ranger lawmen.
Texas Ranger lawmen were formed into a Frontier Regiment
in December 1861 and assigned to frontier forts.

Terry was killed in his Rangers first battle,
December 17, 1861, near Woodsonville, Kentucky.
The Rangers went on to distinguish themselves
in many battles and skirmishes in Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia.

After hostilities ended it was another decade
before Texas Ranger lawmen were reestablished during Reconstruction.

[MacLaren]

Terry's Texas Rangers are not to be confused with Texas Ranger lawmen.
Texas Ranger lawmen were formed into a Frontier Regiment
in December 1861 and assigned to frontier forts.

Terry was killed in his Rangers first battle,
December 17, 1861, near Woodsonville, Kentucky.
The Rangers went on to distinguish themselves
in many battles and skirmishes in Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia.

After hostilities ended it was another decade
before Texas Ranger lawmen were reestablished during Reconstruction.

Oh, I see. Nonetheless, very cool story and post!

[JestersHK]

Nice score on the S&W. I'm not a big collector or knowledgeable on Smiths but I know they can command a premium. I have this one from my father in law... older model, kept by his dad.

Love the stories and the history lesson too.

[MacLaren]

Nice score on the S&W. I'm not a big collector or knowledgeable on Smiths but I know they can command a premium. I have this one from my father in law... older model, kept by his dad.

Love the stories and the history lesson too.

Thank you, & that's a very nice older Smith you have there. Love the "lazy ampersand's"!
If you ever wanna know exactly what year it left the factory, just pm me.

[benben]

Awesome post & pic Mad Mac!

[MacLaren]

So, I've had her all of about 5 minutes.
Here's a sneak peak. I think she's at least as good as the last one I had maybe, probably better.....plead excuse the mess! Just got in from a camping trip.