FR's Gun Club - Friday's Gun Porn

None | August 1, 2008 | Shooter 2.5

[Shooter 2.5]

This is one of the first installments from Free Republic's Gun Club. It's going to be a daily discussion on subjects covering firearms, Gun Rights and overall firearms experiences.

Some years ago, Friday seemed to be the time to post photos of our favorite toys. I volunteered to make it a weekly occurance.

One of the things I did learn through the years, though. It's not the gun. It's just a tool in the hands of the person who makes it happen. That rusty and pitted .38 revolver may not look like much but to the owner, it may have helped in getting out of a lot of scrapes. Also, that match pistol may look good but it might have been instrumental in losing more matches than the one half it's price and bone stock.

So let's see 'em. The pretty ones, the ugly ones and the dusty ones including the old favorite grampa gave us when he passed on.

[An Old Man]

Mine used to be a cop gun. I can still hit the black with it from 25yds, but the guy I bought it from was an expert.

Shortly after I purchased it we went down to the police range to shoot. He fired a full magazine as fast as he could pull the trigger. When the target was pulled back to the fireing line we discovered that the group measured a little more than an inch across. Later I found out that he had a whole house full of pistol and rifle trophies.

[Nachoman]

Hi. I'm thinking of buying a gun. I'm interested in something that I can use for concealed carry as well as occasional big game hunting. I'd like to get something for under $250.

Can you FReepers recommend a good gun?

*************just kidding

[wastedyears]

Yeah I was gonna say, those are some nice grips. They remind me of a pearloid pickguard on a guitar, except those grips are a swirl.

http://www.uptownaudio.com/guitar/pearl.jpg

[Sax]

Yup, do doubt, those sure are some puurdy (handsome) grips.

[hiredhand]

I LIKE that Mauser. :-)

[300winmag]

Yup, do doubt, those sure are some puurdy (handsome) grips.

My dad spent his retirement years making handgun grips from fancy walnut. After he made a set for his handguns, he made a set for mine. Then another set for his. Then he asked me if I had any buddies who would like a set. Here's just a couple:

$20 bought an unused chunk of fancy walnut that went into some $3500 walnut rifle stock blank. The left and right block are California black walnut, while the middle is French walnut.

This walnut is so hard and dense that my dad didn't carve them, he machined them on his milling machine. For that, he made all sorts of tooling for each type of grip, which just added to the enjoyment he got out of making these grips.

Some were scrapped, and some he never lived to finish. I was privileged to handle the checkering, if any, and the final oil finish. No matter how fancy the block looks, when the final shaping and finishing is done, the grips look like brown wood. It was a special occasion for both of us as I applied the first coat of finish, "wetting down" the wood, and giving us the first look at how much beauty G-d can hide inside a simple block of wood.

[Shooter 2.5]

Those are so nice.

Truthfully, I gave up on wood for my grips. I like the phony ivory and G3 composite. I’ll have to find that photo of my Springfield with bone grips that I made back in the 1970’s. That was way back when I had a small talent for doing things like that.

[Shooter 2.5]

Here you go. Cattle bone and left in the rough because quite frankly, I didn't know what else to do to them.

[300winmag]

Cattle bone and left in the rough because quite frankly, I didn't know what else to do to them.

I suspect bone could be buffed up gently like some plastics.

My "working" handguns have lots of plastic in them (Glock, FN FiveseveN), so there's not much that can be done to pretty them up with grips, or anything else.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Where’s the red 9 ?

[Shooter 2.5]

I’m guessing the restoration shop ran out of them.

In the other post, I mentioned I wanted to buy a set to make it closer to original but the red nine is just plain ugly.

I had a couple of pierced primers because there’s too sharp of a point on the end of the firing pin. I tried to buy one some years back with the grips and I can’t find one. The solution would be to dull the pin but I don’t want to take anything off without a spare that works.

Taking one of these C96’s apart is really an experience. You can’t imagine all the machine cuts needed to make one of these. It’s amazing.

[eXe]

As much as I love my glocks.. and I got a ton of them..

that HiPower is REALLY tempting me. Very nice.

[RJL]

I see a blond wrapped up in chainmail.

There’s supposed to be a gun?

Obviously you're a gentleman, if you look between her legs you may see something of interest.

[sig226]

Machine guns are all well and good, but when you whip out one of these things at the range, everybody just stops and stares. You could be 300 pounds, 5'2", bald, crosseyed, whatever. When they see one of these, they all think you're James Bond. :)

[Pistolshot]

100 members and growing!!!!!!! Thanks to all!!!

JOIN THE FR GUN CLUB PING LIST HERE!!!

[wastedyears]

Heck, whatever pistol it is doesn’t even matter. The fact you went through all the hoops to get a suppressor is enough to turn heads.

[P8riot]

That is a really nice "clip" fed pistol. Here is my Mauser. It is dated 1941, and is a documented battlefield pick up outside of Bastogne in January of 1945 (Battle of the Bulge). ALL numbers match, even the holster, grips, and both mags.It has not been refinished, and still fires. It was willed to me by a friend who passed away a few years ago.

[Shooter 2.5]

That’s beautiful and you’re so lucky to have had a friend who thought that much of you.

[Shooter 2.5]

Nice but...

What is it? I can’t read the engravings. Sig? Who built the suppressor?

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I’ve never opened one of these but an old timer smith in Mystic, IA had one apart. Amazing and almost engineered for the sake of proving it could be done.