Your "Pride and Joy" Rifle

[DoctorXring]

.

Which rifle in your collection is your Pride & Joy ?

The one that highlights your focus on collecting ?

That rifle that is deepest in your collection ?


This one is mine. Private Series K31. I imported this rifle
in directly from Switzerland. The Swiss shooter than had this
rifle installed a Furter adjustable rear sight and also had a St. Hubertus
medal tacked skillfully on the handguard. St. Hubertus is
the Swiss patron saint of hunters. The rifle also has a
Swiss match tag on the handguard. These tags were
placed on rifles upon satisfying the criteria for a given match.
They are dated.

Private Series K31 rifles were produced every year by the arsenal
at Bern to be sold to private citizens. Roughly four to five hundred
rifles were produced each year. They were given a different
serialization from the service rifle production. Since they did not
see the rigors of Swiss Army service/training they are often in
excellent condition. I did not even know that the buttplates on
K31's were blued on original rifles until I got this one.

Here she is. My fave of faves.

dxr

[darkgael]

Alas, I don't have a picture of it. It's Trapdoor carbine with a Buffington rear sight. It was sporterized years ago by some one who cared about the gun and knew what he was doing.
I also have soft spot for a little .310 Martini Cadet that I put together from parts. It's not much to look at but it's a fine shooter.
Pete

[johnwilliamson062]

Mine is either my K31, although not nearly as nic as your, or my mini-14, which just reaks of utility and reliability.

[BobR]

Not a very good pic, it was for the insurance disc, and not even a C&R. But it represents several years of searching for accessories, not to mention looking for the gun.

Izhmash Tigr (neutered SVD).

It fits in quite well with my Mosins, SKS's, and now sold SVT40.

The one and only thing I need for it now, and can't find, is an SVD flash hider.



bob

[El Paso Joe]

Stevens Model 44 in 32/40. Don't have a pic... Close second is a Cadet Martini (even though it is a 32/20 conversion).

[5ptdeerhunter]

Mine is my winchester model 70. I got it from my neighbor as a graduation gift in 2004. It has a classic redfield scope on it and shot right on when I first got the rifle. It hadn't been shot in years. It's also a pre-64, and is my primary hunting rifle. I can't remember what year it was made, I am going to have to look now.

[Waterengineer]

I wish I had a neighbor that would give me a Winchester model 70, pre '64!

[MJ1]

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[pesta2]

Steven .22 LR, given to me by my Grandfather a couple of weekend before he passed away. Belong to his sister who passed away at and early age.

[kraigwy]

Mine, or the ones I got from my father and grandfather. Since the latter dont really belong to me, I'm only the caretaker until I pass them on to my kids and grandkids, I'll go with my rifles.

Several came to mind, until I thought about my 416 Rigby. It was a gun I totally didnt need, (and still don't) but wanted. When I built it in the 70s you couldnt get ammo except from Rigby. Ammo was made by cutting the rim off 460 Wheatherby brass and run through the Rigby Sizing die.

I got the ideal from Carmichle (sp). He built one on a 1917 Enfield action. And from Gene Hill, who stated "you have to have a African Rifle, you never know when you'll get an invite to go, and you dont want to turn down the invite because you dont have a rifle". I never got the invite but I have the rifle in case it comes.

It was the first rifle I ever built my self, its custom because its mine, I made it. Got me started in building rifles, I've made several but this one is dear to me.

Kicks like a mule, I made it a bit too light. Only took it hunting a couple times as a back up rifle but never used it.

I do shoot it a lot, but with light loads using cast bullets. Shoots pretty good really. I have a 41 cal mold that throws a bit over size bullets and if I dont run them through the sizer die, it shoots great in my 416, at about 1800 fps, very mild recoil.

I think I'll take that puppy deer hunting next fall.

[Calfed]

I'm more of a shooter than a collector, so my "pride and joy rifle" is the best shooter. At the momment, it is a toss up between a 96/11 Schmidt Rubin, in pristine shape (for a 100+ year old rifle), that can still shoot MOA with it's original sights and a Remington 1903 match rifle, for which I have high hopes, but have yet to test beyond shooting some CMP ammo through.

I always knew the Swiss rifle was accurate, but didn't really appreciate how accurate it is until I recently started handloading.

The one on top


This is a target that I recently used to shoot my handload against Prvi factory loads @ 100 yards.



The M1903

[El Paso Joe]

Calfed -
I have a Springfield '03 that could be the twin of your Remington. The sight on mine is identical to yours except for the aperture - mine screws in and has a variable aperture. Do you have any info on the sight?

Joe

[Calfed]

Joe, the rear sight is a Lyman 48 aperture sight. The threaded hole on top of the sight will accept different sized apertures, or a variable aperture like you apparently have.

The Lyman 48 is a great sight and was used on a number of 03 match rifles.

How does yours shoot? Can you post any pics of yours? Do you have any information about who built yours?

I took the hand guard off mine and discovered that someone had gone to a great deal of trouble to see that the barrel was free floated in the stock. The only contact is a slight downward pressure on the barrel by the top barrel ring.

[Tikirocker]

This is my pride and joy ... Australian 1942 Lithgow No1 MKIII* with heavy barrel in Australian range pattern. It is all matching and mint.

[Perajio]

The Romanian M-69 Training rifle that I have is my current fave of faves.....

[MJ1]

But for a real tickle I roll around with these.



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[jrfoxx]

Tough call. If I HAD to choose a favorite, I guess it would have to be my 1884 Prussian Mauser 71/84.
It came to me as a $20, rusty, barreled receiver with trigger group, and I painstakingly restored it over about 6 months by slowly scrounging up original (also often rusty) parts that were missing.So, it isnt pretty, but it's my most unique gun, as its the oldest, came from a country that hasn't even existed for many years, and is a black powder cartridge gun, so it's from that "in between", "transition" period in firearms evolution. Makes it a neat example of gun history. Also, its a hoot to fire, works great, and is surprisingly accurate. Also, I'll bet the 11.15x60mm round (370gr bullet over 77gr of Goex FFg) would have some pretty good stopping power for any critter in N.A (assuming you can get within useable distance, as I'm sure the bullet trajectory is like a rainbow ).

Neat gun. Still waiting to come across an original sling (in 2 years of searching, I have never seen one even pictured on museum quality guns, let alone one for sale. Seems the VAST majority must have been lost/destroyed somehow over the years ),and a bayo and sheath (available, but kinda pricey for soemthing just to be basically a decoration).

[jmorga10]

mines a remington woodsmaster semiauto in .35rem its from 1952.
i wish i had a pic its kinda shaped like a bar some would say a lot like a bar.

[ronl]

My favorite collecter's piece is my Colt 1911 A1. All original 1943 manufacture. British proofed with 98% of finish still there. It is one of those whose serial no. overlaps with Remington Rand. Running a close second would be my 1942 Lithgow SMLE. 1943 issue stamp with pieces of shrapnel embedded in the buttstock.

[Tamara]

That's a tough question, and my answer is liable to change from day to day. Today I'd have to say that it's my nearly pristine DWM '91...

[moose fat]

My Garand from the Garand Guy;
1943 SA, new stock, new barrel





Not my main focus, which has been Enfields. I do have a Mod. of 1917 and now a Garand so may be I need/want/ would like to get somthing along the lines of a 1903A3. I can feel myself falling off the wagon.

[Crosshair]

A 1908 Brazilian Mauser. 100% original. Bore is a little rough. The Armory numbers are still visible on the stock. No importation marks either.

[22lr]

1903a3 Smith and Corona. Not in its original military garb but still one heck of a shooter. I wanted a 30-06, and no 30-06 weapon just screams America quite like a 1903 (ok bolt action weapon). Defiantly my favorite gun of all times.

[MJ1]

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[Ricklin]

Geez, I gotta take some pics. My fave of faves is my 1952 JC Higgins Model 50. The finest rifle I own. The rifle is 98% or better, .270 cal, and a tack driver. I just put a Bushnell 4200 scope on it, and refinished the wood. It's got a great pedigree, for a department store mutt
My partner recently GAVE me his Remington 700 all stainless and rubber with a Leupold scope. It has been singing a siren song to me and I like the caliber 7mm-08 which is a better caliber for deer here. It is also probably a pound lighter than my .270.
Decisions, Decisions I may have to use the Remington next year for deer, I like the weight and stainless is great here in the rain forest.
My in the white parts (bolt and mag floorplate) are perfect on the .270 I want to keep them that way, and not worry about babying my rifle in the field.

Must take pics, stay tuned.