I found a nice older Ruger 10/22 at a local pawn shop this week.
There are probably a buhzillion or two of these out there, but this one really appealed to me with its walnut stock and sans-legal warning barrel.
It was made in 1976, and still looks new after 30+ years of apparent little use. These little rifles shoot .22 LR ammunition, making them cheap to feed, and are fairly accurate. Everyone should have a couple!
$160 later (tax included) and it came home with yours truly.
Found a nice Smith & Wesson 28-2 today in a local gun shop ( and also bought another Smith in a local pawn and paid more there…backwards, I know!).
It is a 6″ model that dates to ‘66 or ‘67. Has a little honest wear, but is in excellent shape mechanically. The target grips are probably not original, as this model would have most likely came with service stocks. $350 later (tax and all) and it’s home with me. This thing just begs to be shot. The larger N frame really soaks up the .357 Magnum recoil. Shooting .38 Specials through this one would be child’s play!
I recently bought a S&W revolver from a pawn shop located inside the city limits of a local town. Somewhere in the back of my mind I probably knew that the city had a mandatory 3 day waiting period on handguns, but it didn’t register until they actually handed me the form. Keeping in mind I had already filled out the 4473 and passed the NICS, what else do they possibly want to know about me?
The city form had 6 or 7 questions, all similar to ones on the 4473 . Plus, I have purchased and owned several handguns before this transaction. Seems to me that the Mayor could take the money alloted to shuffling this paperwork and put another officer on the street actually fighting CRIME.
Enough ranting for now, it just doesn’t sit well when a local liberal mayor decides that I (the law abiding citizen) need watching when their city has much greater problems that need addressing.
Anyone much younger than me may not even know what a “tip board” is. Most roadside taverns and run-down beer joints probably wouldn’t survive without them. You take an item worth $XXX and sell chances at winning it. You pull paper tabs off a board, and if the number matches you have a tip. There is a second non-matching number, and when all the “pulls” are sold out you reveal the winning “tip” by breaking a seal on the board.
If you start out with a $300 item, and run it for $1/pull on a board with 400-450 pulls, the profit margin is pretty good. Why the honky tonk history lesson you ask? I won a $400 knife on a $10 investment this evening. It was the first time I’ve pulled on a tip board for years. Here’s a link for the knife, an M.O.D. Triton automatic . Pretty cool, but no idea what I would use it for.
Oh yeah, I also have 2 tips (out of a possible 30) on a $1500 S&W pistol. It hasn’t finished yet, but I have a feeling!
Holographic sights on AR’s are nothing new, at least to everyone except me. I just outfitted my black rifle with Troy Industries BUIS (back up iron sight) and an EOTech 512 (AA battery model). A quick range trip confirmed what I have been missing all along….this is the way to go….one eye, two eyes no difference…parallax free…niiiice!
A quick mental tally confirms that I now have as much invested in accessories on this rifle as the total price of my first build a year or so ago.
Here’s my youngest brother shooting it in its current form……..
I hadn’t found a nice snubby S&W revolver , or made a post here, for quite some time. So we’ll kill the proverbial two birds with one stone this week.
Perusing the pawn shops, what else would I be doing!, turned up a very nice S&W 686-1 revolver. It had the 2.5″ barrel, a nice high ride Bucheimer holster and factory finger-groove combat grips. The gun had belonged to a retired lady federal agent. It doesn’t show signs of being shot a bunch, just a little carry wear to the stocks. The DA trigger has been tuned, and elicited OOOOH’s from all who tried it. Buttery smooth would be an understatement.
The 686 model has a full lug under the barrel and beefed up frame distinguishing it from the earlier Model 66. Some prefer the lines and slightly lighter weight of the 66, but I like this newer model just fine.On the plus side, the L frame 686 will take more full power punishment than the K frame 66.
Enough pontificating, on with the gun porn………………………
I was never a great Winchester fan. Great rifles I’m sure, especially the pre-64 controlled feed 70’s. Even in lever guns, Marlins seemed more durable and had slicker actions than current production 94’s. Plus, scope mounting was much easier with the solid top receiver.
But since the demise of domestic production, I’ve been keeping an eye out for clean examples at a good price. Ran onto one in the local trader a few weeks ago, just Win. 70 Fwt .243 and the price of $300. I called early in the morning and left a message. I got a call back after lunch from an older gentleman who said he had been bombarded with calls. I inquired about the condition of the gun, to which he replied it was near new with a few small rubs on the stock from hunting. Since I was the first call I had the first right of refusal if I wanted to drop by that evening…SURE!!!
Condition was just as stated. I even mentioned he had it priced pretty good, hence all the calls. He said he didn’t want the hassle of people looking at it all week, so it was priced to sell quick so he wasn’t tied up every evening. Fair enough , good deal for both of us then!
Shot it with some handloads the next week. Second load I tried made little cloverleafs at 100yds. Gotta let the thin barrel cool off a little between shots though. It definitely handles nice and carries easy.
Did I mention the wood was beautiful too……….
I may be late to the party, but am now a Winchester fan none the less.
In addition to the rare (and underpriced) gem of a gun you occasionally find at the local pawn/loan/jewelry/check-cashing/discount tobacco/whatever store, always be on the lookout for stuff like this…….
I hit one of my usual haunts on the way home this evening as they were sticking price tags on a bunch of old knives. I took a quick gander and came up with these two. I knew they were worth at least the $24.95 on the sticker and, since my 5 year old sons' name is Case, had to put them away for him if nothing else. Negotiating the price down to $20/each made the deal even sweeter!
A little Ebay research turns up this is about $175 worth of knives. That would be a quick 300-400% profit at auction. I think I'll keep them though, and go back tomorrow to look at the rest of the box!
Here's another entry in what should be called the "How to drop a grand before you know it" blog.
If you think you have a .22lr rifle that will shoot the proverbial "dime-sized groups" all day at 100 yds, go to the USBR site and order some targets. Or download a practice version at CZ452.com and print out the practice target. The official targets are printed on heavy stock and are much easier to score though. Read up on how to score the target at USBR or RimfireCentral.com, get some sandbags or a rolled up sweatshirt (for true bubba style action), and see what the old squirrel killer can do.
I would consider a score over 240 @ 25yds, or 220 @ 50 yds, excellent for a sporter type rimfire rifle. Ammo will make a huge difference, I would suggest buying several brands of premium target ammo to see what your gun likes best. A good starting point would be the economical Wolf Match Target or Match Extra if you can find it. The Wolf will give good to excellent results in most rifles, much better than the 500 round bulk packaged stuff from Wally World.
DISCLAIMER: This site will not be responsible for max'd out credit cards or spousal neglect due to the onset of ERBD – Escalated Rimfire Benchrest Disorder. Symptons include spending ridiculous amounts of money on little 22lr ammo, frequent all day sessions at the range and a rimfire rifle that costs more than any other centerfire gun you have ever owned.
There's something about a 3" big bore revolver. It just hits me as perfectly proportioned. With the attitude of a snub-nose fire breather , a 3" tube still gives decent ballistics and sight radius along with full extraction of empties. It's enough barrel for most any non-hunting scenario, with easier packability. S&W and Ruger have former and/or current 3" models. Lew Horton, a S&W distributor, has commissioned many limited runs of 3" models in the past.
Be careful purchasing 3" models though, you will start scouring local shops and online auction sites for more.
Here is my favorite, a S&W 629 Backpacker.
