"Grail Guns"...

I've commented before on a few guns I've called my "grail guns", but it dawned on me that I'd never really defined a "grail gun", nor set forth a list. Both Tam and og have recently listed guns they'd really like to get someday, so I figured I would dovetail a discussion of what makes a "grail gun" with my list of, well, "grail guns"... I'll also list some guns that are on the "WANT" list, but don't fall on the "plan to get any time in the immediate future" category.

So what do I mean by a "grail gun"? Well, as the "grail" part might indicate, it's a gun you need to search for. A Smith & Wesson Model 10 is unlikely to be a grail gun - unless you're looking for the very first Model 10 ever sold to the public, that is. Glocks are right out - even here in the Volksrepublik of MA where they are hard to get, they still don't qualify. A grail gun should engender a search, a quest, an effort - certainly more than just writing a check or forking over cash. A proper grail gun should be really old, really rare, or very limited production - and the "grailness" of the gun increases if more than one applies.

So what are my "grail guns"? Here goes.

Pistols:

Colt Python - 6" barrel, blued
Smith & Wesson model 29 - 8 3/8" barrel, target trigger & hammer
Coonan - 1911-style .357 Magnum
Colt 1903 in .32 ACP
Smith & Wesson model 242ti
COP .357 Magnum
Colt Mustang
Smith & Wesson K22 Masterpiece
Mauser C96 9mm with shoulder stock

Rifles:

Winchester 1887 lever action 12 gauge
SVT-40 - 7.62X54mmR
Hakim - 8mm
Winchester model 1906 - .22LR
Shiloh Sharps Buffalo Rifle - .45/70
Springfield 1903 - .30-06 (God's Own Caliber, Old Testament)
Winchester 1895 - .405 Win
Thompson full auto .45 ACP (WAAAY grail gun, because I'd also have to come up with like $20K...)
Uzi Model A carbine - 9mm

All of the above are rare; most have been out of production for decades. I've been offered first crack at two of the guns on the list, one at a very reasonable price, the other at fair market value - and regret turning both of them down deeply. I came across another gun on the list at a gun show and - in a moment of weakness - walked away to think about whether I should get it, only to have it bought out from under me (that'll teach me to vacillate!). And I even own one of the guns on the last already - however, it was one of the guns my grandfather left me, and I'd rather shoot a hundred year+ old gun with no emotional attachments than one with.

Here are some of the non-grail guns. These are all still somewhat available, but (in most cases) getting more and more rare. There are even a few "stock" guns on this list:

Pistols:

Smith & Wesson .500 Magnum - hey, I'm a recoil whore, what can I say?
Browning Hi-Power Detective - 9mm
Glock 20 - 10mm, so I can be cool like Robb
Remington R1 1911 - .45 ACP
Taurus Judge (KIDDING)

Longarms:

M1 Garand - also in God's Own Caliber, Old Testament
M1 Carbine - .30 Carbine, a decent pistol caliber
K98 Mauser - 8mm
PSL/Dragunov - 7.62X54mmR
Saiga-12

What are your "grail guns" or near-grail guns?

That is all.