Today's gun pr0n is one of the guns I haven't gotten rid of, but have thought about on occasion:
Colt Lawman
That's a Colt Lawman Mk III in .357 Magnum. It has a 2" bull barrel and target grips; very little wear and a bluing that's simply spellbinding. It has the slightest hint of carry wear, which is interesting considering that it weighs somewhere north of 8 or 9 pounds... (okay, it just feels that way). She's a damn fine shooter - even with the short barrel and fixed sights I can get 5 out of 6 on paper at 25 yards.
I've been tempted to divest of the Colt a time or two over the years. I don't shoot it much - the bluing's too spectacular, the barrel too short for target shooting and the gun too heavy to carry. If I want a .357 Mag to put neat holes in paper, I can use either the S&W Model 19 or the Ruger Security Six. If I want a .357 Magnum I can practice with for a CCW, there's the Snubbie from Hell™ or the S&W Model 13. But it's a Colt revolver, a fairly rare one at that in very nice shape. I look at the prices that Pythons are commanding and think, "Hmm, maybe it should sit in the safe a little longer"...
So what are your safe queens?
That is all.
11 comments:
A new, never fired Colt SSA in .45 colt, with a color case hardened frame. It was previously owned by Lt. General William M. Keys, CEO of Colt Firearms, with all the paperwork to prove it. Won by Mrs. Mopar @ a Friends Of NRA dinner some years back.
Well, I don't have ANY safe queens... Everything I own I shoot.
Mopar,
[a la Homer] Colt SSA. [drooool]
OldNFO,
Well, I try to shoot everything I own, but some guns make it to the range more than others.
And some get shot once and then put lovingly back in the safe...
This is one of those. Kinda like the 3" barreled Detective Special...
I'm with Old NFO...if I own it I shoot it. Like my Colt Ace 22, and my Colt Python.
See Ya
Mine's my Detective Special in .32 Colt N.P. I'm still looking for a Banker's Special(D.S.in .22lr).
Likewise I'll get around to shooting it - eventually.
Shame on me. I just realized I have ANOTHER safe queen. I brought it to the last bloggershoot, but did not fire it. It's the V.Bernedo pocket pistol I inherited from my grandfather and have mentioned here before. Even though it has plenty of carry wear, it appears to have never been fired. And I'll probablyt keep it that way. Besides, it's virtually impossible to find repair parts for it.
Just got rid of the two I considered safe queens - the Beretta 96 I mentioned in the other comments, and the Sig P229.
I don't shoot the P-38 much, but I do shoot it.
Come to think of it I have a Baikal side by side 12g that I want to magically turn into a 20g coach gun.
Right now, what with schedules, weather, and traveling...everything in my safe is a queen.
Has been for a couple of months.
My only real safe queen is the first pistol I bought - a 1998 alloy frame Sig P220. I think Sig was experimenting with mainspring weights and settled on 1000lb for their '98 models. I've since picked up a well used Stainless frame P220ST that the previous owner shot enough that the trigger is silky smooth and the slide to frame fit is perfect.
I really need to pick up a Wolff's mainspring assortment pack and get that trigger sorted out.
I don't have any true safe queens, but I do have my share of guns that havent been fired for 20+ years...
DCM Garand that I got in ~1995 or so. Rebuilt in 53 and placed on the rack, still wearing Korean-era cosmoline inside.
Dad's .308 Enfield. He loved it, so I love it too. That doesn't mean I'd ever find a use for it! Those sights, that rough trigger? Meh, nostalgia at least.
Also an Iver Johnson revolved with a 3 digit S/N (1890s). Cute, interesting, but probably not my favorite item.
Picked up a Rem 1894 Damascus 30" O/U for $30 (rly!) but haven't gone through the effort to find 12ga 2.5in black powder shells. Too beautiful of a wall hanger to be a safe queen. Too valuable to be a wall hanger.
Also have a Zulu gun (another $30 winner) which is a neat history piece. 1850s French rifle converted into a trapdoor 12ga. Same deal with 2.5" blackpowder shells.
Oh nuts, this is a long list.
NIB Glock 33 - not exactly a queen but I bought it when I was told I was being transferred to CA and needed a PRK compliant gun.
NIB AR10T - No excuse for not getting this out to the range!
Colt 1908 Vest Pocket .25 vintage 1917.
Great gun in wonderful shape. But the ammo is expensive and not super common, the sights are vestigial and hard to use for accurate target shooting, and I have a nifty Jennings J-22 that is a low rent stand-in for it.
Love the little colt to death, but I don't shoot it very much at all.
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