"Theme" or "Theme's" to your collection?

GunGeek · 09-23-2019, 11:27 AM

Hey all,

So we've all been doing this since Jesus was a Private. Over the years my collection has changed an awful lot. At first it was all practical, so defense, a hunting rifle, a hunting shotgun. I have owned hundreds of guns over the years. These days I see a couple of trends in my collection, and one overall trend.

The first trend is the John Browning trend. A collection of pump action Winchester .22's, a very rare 94, a Remington Model 11 20ga and a Belgian Auto 5, and Citori to round it off. Oh yeah, 1911's and Hi Power's too.

Then there's the Cold War auto-loaders... None are what I'd call current or modern, but they were all epic in their own way. MP44 (in .22), AK, XM16E1, AR180, FAL, etc... As well as some of the lighter caliber stuff like M1 Carbine, Sterling Mk 6...

My Browning love goes to my love of the depression era and the guns from that era. I was raised by my grandparents and I've heard so much from the '20's & '30's, I've just fallen in love with the guns from that era.

There are many more that defy "classification", but what I can say is this... I now have most of what I wanted when I was young. One of the VERY few advantages of age.

Diamondback · 09-23-2019, 08:11 PM

Outside Serious Work guns, I'm aiming to stick to "basic military issues or other historical significance." Example, the VFG "Chicago Typewriter" Thompson wasn't widely issued militarily, but it's an icon of the Prohibition era. Similarly, Wyatt Earp's Buntline is iconic of the Old West, Davy Crockett's "Old Betsy" is iconic for the Frontier to Texas Independence era, and flintlocks to the Colonial era.

Charlie Petty · 09-24-2019, 01:37 PM

I started as a collector with High Standard pistols. Much later a friend stumbled on to a bunch of Remington pumps Models 14 and 14 1/2 out of Australia. Seems some new law came along and everyone had to sell them. Some were imported and sold here at good prices. I bought a 14 1/2 in 38-40 and I fell in love. There were both rifle and carbine styles in 44-40 too and they were fun to shoot. Ended up with a few of those and a very similar design in .32-20 and .25-20. Got those.

I became fond of the cartridges and ended up with Model 92 Winchesters in those. Then came Model 42 Winchester and a .32-20 with a big Unertl scope that drives tacks...literally. As a serious bullseye competitor i got bullseye guns from several different smiths. Then I shot a single-action Colt with King sights and their gunsmith work is beyond compare. I've seen their sights on all sorts of things from a Colt Bankers Special to a ,25 ACP and lots of SAAs. Bear in mind that all of this took place over many decades. I became a fanatic collector and stuff that caught my fancy piled up.

GunGeek · 09-24-2019, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charlie Petty

I started as a collector with High Standard pistols. Much later a friend stumbled on to a bunch of Remington pumps Models 14 and 14 1/2 out of Australia. Seems some new law came along and everyone had to sell them. Some were imported and sold here at good prices. I bought a 14 1/2 in 38-40 and I fell in love. There were both rifle and carbine styles in 44-40 too and they were fun to shoot. Ended up with a few of those and a very similar design in .32-20 and .25-20. Got those.

I became fond of the cartridges and ended up with Model 92 Winchesters in those. Then came Model 42 Winchester and a .32-20 with a big Unertl scope that drives tacks...literally. As a serious bullseye competitor i got bullseye guns from several different smiths. Then I shot a single-action Colt with King sights and their gunsmith work is beyond compare. I've seen their sights on all sorts of things from a Colt Bankers Special to a ,25 ACP and lots of SAAs. Bear in mind that all of this took place over many decades. I became a fanatic collector and stuff that caught my fancy piled up.

You are my kind of twisted...I salute your sickness and happily join in!!

Snake45 · 09-24-2019, 05:18 PM

The "theme" of my "collection" is very simple: Gun I like, and have since I was a kid.

Most of my stuff ranges in age from WWII to the late '80s. Virtually all of my guns are designs that were in production before I graduated high school in 1972 (or based on such designs). I think probably half of my guns were actually produced before I graduated university in 1976, maybe more.

csmkersh · 09-24-2019, 05:52 PM

Growing up in West Texas my favorite pistol has always been a Colt SAA. I've owned exactly one, a black powder model that I no longer have. When I was 20 and working the River, you could cross over and buy pistolas tejanos for about $20 American. Reimporting them was no big deal then either.

Javlin · 09-27-2019, 12:19 PM

I like Military issue rifle from VN conflict back it use to be the 30's but I find the Mausers of the turn of the century are quite nice.My taste has changed to weras a beater could be tolerated it has to be in a nice state to hit the collection anymore.Oh the other condition for civilian adds it has to have a detachable mag.

Tim Burke · 10-10-2019, 03:23 AM

If I have a theme, it is custom 1911s...

M118LR · 10-10-2019, 03:13 PM

Guess my theme is Training based, replicate in .22 LR working sidearms in Major Calibers.

09-23-2019, 11:27 AM	#1
GunGeek Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Northern NV Posts: 771	"Theme" or "Theme's" to your collection? Hey all, So we've all been doing this since Jesus was a Private. Over the years my collection has changed an awful lot. At first it was all practical, so defense, a hunting rifle, a hunting shotgun. I have owned hundreds of guns over the years. These days I see a couple of trends in my collection, and one overall trend. The first trend is the John Browning trend. A collection of pump action Winchester .22's, a very rare 94, a Remington Model 11 20ga and a Belgian Auto 5, and Citori to round it off. Oh yeah, 1911's and Hi Power's too. Then there's the Cold War auto-loaders... None are what I'd call current or modern, but they were all epic in their own way. MP44 (in .22), AK, XM16E1, AR180, FAL, etc... As well as some of the lighter caliber stuff like M1 Carbine, Sterling Mk 6... My Browning love goes to my love of the depression era and the guns from that era. I was raised by my grandparents and I've heard so much from the '20's & '30's, I've just fallen in love with the guns from that era. There are many more that defy "classification", but what I can say is this... I now have most of what I wanted when I was young. One of the VERY few advantages of age.

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09-23-2019, 08:11 PM	#2
Diamondback Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Seattle area--Sodom & Gomorrah on Puget Sound Posts: 2,068	Outside Serious Work guns, I'm aiming to stick to "basic military issues or other historical significance." Example, the VFG "Chicago Typewriter" Thompson wasn't widely issued militarily, but it's an icon of the Prohibition era. Similarly, Wyatt Earp's Buntline is iconic of the Old West, Davy Crockett's "Old Betsy" is iconic for the Frontier to Texas Independence era, and flintlocks to the Colonial era.

09-24-2019, 01:37 PM	#3
Charlie Petty Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 7,054	I started as a collector with High Standard pistols. Much later a friend stumbled on to a bunch of Remington pumps Models 14 and 14 1/2 out of Australia. Seems some new law came along and everyone had to sell them. Some were imported and sold here at good prices. I bought a 14 1/2 in 38-40 and I fell in love. There were both rifle and carbine styles in 44-40 too and they were fun to shoot. Ended up with a few of those and a very similar design in .32-20 and .25-20. Got those. I became fond of the cartridges and ended up with Model 92 Winchesters in those. Then came Model 42 Winchester and a .32-20 with a big Unertl scope that drives tacks...literally. As a serious bullseye competitor i got bullseye guns from several different smiths. Then I shot a single-action Colt with King sights and their gunsmith work is beyond compare. I've seen their sights on all sorts of things from a Colt Bankers Special to a ,25 ACP and lots of SAAs. Bear in mind that all of this took place over many decades. I became a fanatic collector and stuff that caught my fancy piled up.

09-24-2019, 05:18 PM	#5
Snake45 Moderator Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: "Close, but no donut!" Posts: 13,113	The "theme" of my "collection" is very simple: Gun I like, and have since I was a kid. Most of my stuff ranges in age from WWII to the late '80s. Virtually all of my guns are designs that were in production before I graduated high school in 1972 (or based on such designs). I think probably half of my guns were actually produced before I graduated university in 1976, maybe more.

09-24-2019, 05:52 PM	#6
csmkersh Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 10,730	Growing up in West Texas my favorite pistol has always been a Colt SAA. I've owned exactly one, a black powder model that I no longer have. When I was 20 and working the River, you could cross over and buy pistolas tejanos for about $20 American. Reimporting them was no big deal then either.

09-27-2019, 12:19 PM	#7
Javlin Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Biloxi, MS Posts: 1,530	I like Military issue rifle from VN conflict back it use to be the 30's but I find the Mausers of the turn of the century are quite nice.My taste has changed to weras a beater could be tolerated it has to be in a nice state to hit the collection anymore.Oh the other condition for civilian adds it has to have a detachable mag.

10-10-2019, 03:23 AM	#8
Tim Burke Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Still in NC Posts: 1,941	If I have a theme, it is custom 1911s...

10-10-2019, 03:13 PM	#9
M118LR Banned Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: 29.62 N 81.219 W Posts: 538	Guess my theme is Training based, replicate in .22 LR working sidearms in Major Calibers.