Fun Things for Me Sometimes Go Bang

Let's take a moment to talk about my guns. I like guns. No, I take that back. I love guns.

First, what I am not. I am not a hunter (I prefer my meat to come in prepackaged, non-mobile, cellophane-wrapped packages, ready to cook). I am not a doomsday prepper (although I insist to my friends that the day the Zombie Apocalypse comes, I will welcome them to come over, stock with my guns and swords, and help me defend my town from the Undead. Sadly, no one seems to take me seriously.). I am not a home defender (while I have a gun in our bed stand, I have two large dogs that are more than ready to do that task for me). Nor am I what some would call a “Bible-thumping redneck” (I live in the Pacific Northwest, where the closest thing to a redneck is a lumberjack, and I've touched a Bible once - it set my hand on fire. Lesson learned). Guns are not what drive my vote, guns are not an obsession. For me, guns are not what define me. I am the kind of gun owner that flummoxes those who generalize anyone owning a firearm as a militaristic nut job...

I am a target shooter and firearms collector. It's a hobby. Granted, an expensive hobby, but a hobby nonetheless. For me, it's like being a model train enthusiast. As soon as you finish your first G-scale train, you want to add to your collection by purchasing HO, O, N, ON30, and American Flyer S trains, stocking up on props for the landscapes to run your trains in a circle around, endlessly watching your trains run around your ever-expanding “train room” until your wife cannot help but shake her head in disbelief when she walks in on your playing like a 9-year-old on Christmas Day. Yeah, that kind of expensive hobby. I go to the range about once a month (would love to go more often), I'm focused on safety, and I do months of research before even considering a gun purchase.

My collection is small (by enthusiast standards), but is growing. Many fellow enthusiasts, I have discovered, will find a firearm or brand of firearm they like and purchase a large number of those guns, becoming an expert and, at the same time, an annoying snob, about that gun. Glock junkies, 1911 fanboys, AR-15 fanatics, and some “experts” on military surplus firearms. They are a great resource for information if you are interested in one of their preferred firearms, but they tend not to know when to say, “my favorite gun may not be the right one for you.”

My first firearm was one of the most maligned semi-auto pistols – the Hi-Point C9.

A 9mm handgun that looks like it was beaten with the Ugly Stick, repeatedly, with hatred, at night, in a darkened room. Polymer grip, a slide that weight one pound less than a Sherman tank. Years after my wife bought it for me for my birthday, even she calls it “The Brick”. Because, once you run out of ammo, you can throw it at someone and due enough damage as a brick. Despite its aesthetic shortcomings, I've found it to be one of the most reliable guns I've ever owned. Every time you pull the trigger, it goes “bang”, it rarely ever jams, it's easy to operate, and (as a bonus), it weighs so much that - if I find myself in a self-defense - I can actually throw it at someone when I run out of ammo.

Just like completing that first train set, ownership of The Brick spurred something in me. I wanted to own more. But unlike the fanboys in the gun world, I chose a different path. I wanted my future purchases to have some sort of meaning. Discussion pieces, ones that had stories to tell. Items that had interesting history.

It was then that I began creating a wish list. As I was trained with a bolt action rifle, I felt it was in my best interest, as a target shooter, to get one of those. I also wanted to gain skill shooting a pistol. Two pistols, each with history behind them, caught my eye – the Walther PPK/S and the Bisley Revolver (I'll get into those in a bit). A small wish list, by any firearms enthusiast standard. As any collector knows, the list always starts out small.

The Walther PPK/S is the 7-shot version of the well-known PPK.

For those unfamiliar with this pistol, it is a German police-issue gun that killed a lot of bad guys – specifically all those villains in James Bond movies, and Adolf Hitler, who used his personal PPK to shoot himself in the head in a bunker at the end of WWII.

My bolt-action rifle purchase was a Mosin Nagant.

(From Wikipedia) Mosins were developed by the Imperial Russian Army from 1882 to 1891, and used by the armed forces of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and various other nations. It is one of the most mass-produced military bolt-action rifles in history with over 37 million units having been made since its inception in 1891, and, in spite of its age, it has been used in various conflicts around the world even up to the modern day, being plentiful, cheap, rugged, simple to use, and effective, much like the AK-47 and its variants. My Mosin was built in 1939, and was used during the Winter War between Russia and Finland. Through the markings on the rifle, I learned that my Mosin was captured by the Finns, modified to fire their preferred cartridge – the D166 – and put into use by the Finnish Army against the Russians.

During this period of collecting, I bought a replica of an 1851 Confederate Navy black powder revolver.

I purchased it at a time when the Confederate flag became so unpopular in the US that popular opinion was to remove anything associated with the Confederacy from history. While I do not sympathize with the Confederacy, I felt it important to own a piece of history before that history was revised by the PC culture. Here's the history – Colt manufactured these pistols for both the Union and the Confederacy, the difference between them being the gun's frame – the Confederacy used Navys with brass frames, while the Union's Navys were identical, but with steel frames. Samuel Colt provided, essentially, the same gun to each side in the Civil War. Once it came to light that he was profiting from each side in the war, he stopped providing arms to the Confederacy.

Now, my latest acquisition, the Bisley Revolver.

I have been chasing after one of these for about 20 years. From the Uberti Company, the manufacturer of my Bisley - “In 1894, the Colt company introduced a new variation of its popular 1873 Single Action Army. The new pistol sported a longer grip frame, and target pistol-style grip, along with a lower profile, along with wider, target-style hammer. The new pistol was produced as a target pistol, and was unveiled at the British Commonwealth Championship match, held in Bisley, England. Thereafter, called the Colt Bisley, this new target pistol proved to be very popular.” Aside from Colt, a few companies have manufactured Bisley-style revolvers over the years (most notably Ruger). The Uberti Bisley, though, captured my eye with its aesthetics. To me, it is the most beautiful of the Bisley's currently manufactured. My Bisley is in .45 Long Colt, which (for the layman) is an old cowboy round – very uncommon, and very expensive to shoot.

I own - and have owned - a number of other firearms. But first and foremost, it's the history behind a firearm that catches my eye, gravitates me toward it, and encourages me to own it. To own a part of history speaks volumes to me more than the latest and greatest guns on the market, regardless of the fanboy following many of those guns receive.

My wish list, albeit a short one, is complete. Perhaps it may grow. At this point, anything else I buy will be a want, not a wish.