I get a lot of my shooting mates asking why I like .303 rifles so much, given that they’re “Really old and don’t have scopes or anything”.
One of my friends tried shooting my SMLE and said it just didn’t feel right, and kicked too much. On the other hand, I’ve always found they are the perfect rifle for me; with almost no noticeable recoil, a smooth action, and they point well.
On the other hand, I’ve apparently always had an affinity for guns- it’s hard to explain, but ever since I was a kid I’ve had people wonder how I can pick up a gun that I’ve never seen before and know how it works.
Recently on a trip to Las Vegas I visited a range where you can rent machine guns. One of the guns I fired was a Thomspon M1928 SMG, and it’s almost impossible to describe how “right” it felt- it was like the gun had been custom designed for me. In fact, once the first magazine was empty I ejected it and loaded a new one without even thinking about it, which is eerie when you consider that was the first time I’d actually held a Tommy Gun.
In short, I’ve found the guns I have a natural affinity for are the various Lee-Enfield rifles, the Webley and Enfield break-top revolvers, double-barrel SxS shotguns, and the Thompson M1928 SMG. I’ve got no idea why these guns in particular- why, for example, Mauser rifles don’t feel “right” for me, yet the Lee-Enfield does, and how come I could work a Tommy Gun as if it was second nature despite never having actually held one- much less fired it- before.
Anyway, what other guns do the shooters here on the boards find themselves with an affinity for?
I had experience similar to your Thompson shooting with Walther P99. I don’t like the look of “plastic” pistols. I’m not especially fascinated by Walthers. I though that P99 is fugly and - judging by looks - uncomfortable. I was wrong. Apparently during design phase they snuck into my bedroom and take a mold of my hand during my sleep. Its grip fits my hand like glove. Angle, size, position of trigger and mag latch - everything is positioned perfectly and shooting this gun is very instinctive for me. I still doesn’t really get used to how P99 looks, but hey - they made this gun just for me.
Well, as I mentioned years ago, you are the only Doper that I have shot. I used to cull kangaroos with a .222 Martini Henri rebuilt with a bull barrel. Mind you I wasn’t shooting over open sights but everyone I hunted with questioned using a single shot rifle.
I have shot a variety of handguns on ranges and just love the flash and fire of revolvers, automatics seem dry and mechanical.
When I was a teenager I used to spot targets for the local rifle club - it was good money then because the shooters paid a levy for the spotters. The old guys at the club kept suggesting that we have a shoot but it never happened - stupidly something always prevented it. Mind you I saw the mounds they were shooting from, mostly with Lee Enfields, and even with my young eyes I couldn’t comprehend how they were so good using the crappy sights on the gun. So maybe it was just cowardice.
So I will add that to my list of things to do before I die.
The H&K USP shoots straight and true for me, no matter what caliber or variant. If I could afford one I’d get one. Also, the first time I fired an M1 I put together a dime-sized group at 100 yards with iron sights. I couldn’t miss. My friend, who owned the rifle, couldn’t believe his eyes, but he’ll bitterly substantiate it to anyone who asks (we have a good-natured competition going, and it’s very close).
My Garand and I are one. Balls, housefly, 200 yards, iron sights. Ditto my 6.5mm Swedish Mauser. Of the “major” caliber handguns, my S&W Model 28 feels the most natural to me. It should…I’ve been shooting it for over 30 years now. But my most comfortable handgun is my Buck Mark .22. I could shoot that gun all day with no hassles at all (and have!).
The 1911. I’d only shot revolvers up until my first 1911 (in 1994), but that one just felt right. All the controls are exactly where I’d put them if I was designing a handgun, I knew how to strip and reassemble it first try, and they hit where I’m aiming. I’ve shot Glock, Ruger P-series, Mauser M2, Springfield XD, and even the Browning Hi-Power, but none of them feel like an extension of my hand like the 1911 does.
I wish I could say the Remington 700, but the plain jane Winchester mdl 94 is the 1911 of the long gun world to me. That may just be because I’ve been shooting one (the same one, actually) for 30 years. I don’t know if that’s a natural affinity or just familiarity.
Single-action revolvers. I have both S&W and Ruger DA revolvers and they both feel … off somehow. SA “cowboy” guns (Colt SAA, Ruger Vaquero, etc), on the other hand, are almost as comfortable and intuitive as the 1911.
A former friend had an 8mm Turkish Mauser. I think it was 8mm anyways… it’s been a bit since then, and he had 3 other Mausers in 8mm and 7mm.
Regardless, with that old rifle I was knocking down the bull silhouettes at 500 meters with very little trouble. Iron sights, but I loved the way that rifle felt and fired.
I miss it more than I miss my friendship with the guy.
The Mossberg Bantam 500 shotgun. I took it through my rifle drills (tosses and the like) the other day and it flew and came back so easily I wasn’t sure it wasn’t stickied to my fingers. Hell, I even got the neck-arm extension, which I’ve never managed with my stock army AG3 before.
And there’s an example of the kind of gun that I have an anti-affinity with (is there a word for that?). I can barely get the hang of scatterguns in general, but pump shotguns confuse the heck out of me. Probably just lack of experience - I don’t come from a big birding background and grew up hunting with rifles and handguns only.
I’ve never held one with which I felt even moderately comfortable.
I have to admit I’ve got an anti-affinity with the Winchester Model 94 lever-action rifle. I used to own one, and it kicked like hell, was awkward to handle, hurt my shoulder when I fired it, and was hopelessly inaccurate to the point where I’d be better off throwing it at wild pigs instead of trying to shoot them with it. The Marlin rifles are much better, but I’ve always felt that the Model 94 was really too light for the .30-30 round it fired.
Since we’re going to “anti-affinity”, I have three:
The Beretta 92, also known as the M9: I don’t like the feel, I don’t like the open construction, I don’t like its affinity for blowing apart slides and locking blocks, I don’t like the location and operation of the safety…as a matter of fact, I don’t like anything about it. To me, about the only thing they’re good for is throwing at the enemy. When I went to qualify the slide would lock back, whereupon I would insert a magazine and the slide would move on its own accord. The instructors? “Oh, that’s normal, not a big deal”. Bullshit. That is a malfunction of the highest order. It takes chambering a round out of my control, and that should NEVER happen. Others shed locking blocks and froze, still others had slide separation…Oh, I could go on and on about that POS handgun. Give me my Sig any day of the year.
Ruger P-series: It’s OK that they shoot well for you. It’s OK that they’re relatively inexpensive. Hey, different strokes for different folks. But man, when I have one of them in my hand it feels like I’m holding a loaf of French bread, and for someone who shoots one-handed like me, that is not at all a comfortable feeling. They are far too bulky in the grip area for my tastes.
1911s: I hate cocked-and-locked carry, and I hate that rarely do those damn things work right out of the box. It’s always a magazine problem or a break-in problem, or something else. Give me a Glock any day. They work the first time, every time, right out of the box.
I’ve never actually fired an SKS. before but at the gun show that I’m going to on the 30th I hope to find one (Is there a good chance of me finding one there?) I absolutely love the way they look, especially with the folding bayonet. They go on Gunbroker for between 200 and 300 typically. I hope I can find one at this show at a similar price. If not, I’ll just get one on Gunbroker, I guess.
Each time I have gone to the range for qualification I have personally witnessed a locking block failure or a slide separation, sometimes both. I am willing to chalk it up to the fact that the guns are well-used and abused by people who do not ordinarily go to the range, but nevertheless it does not inspire confidence in the weapon. Anything that I do not have confidence in is, QED, a piece of junk. That’s my opinion. It doesn’t have to be yours.
Most SKS carbines being sold by dealers, as opposed to individuals, these days are Yugoslavian. They are perfectly good guns, but they lack the chrome-lined bore found in carbines from other countries. Provided you aren’t using corrosive ammo, this isn’t an issue. However, there is Yugolsavian surplus ammo also being imported at this time that is corrosively primed. I’ve seen it for temptingly low prices in the last couple issues of Shotgun News. If you run some of it through a Yugo SKS or Yugo AK (which also lacks the chromed bore) you need to clean promptly with an aqueous bore cleaner. Don’t forget to clean the gas system also. You should do the same with any gun when using corrosive ammo, of course, but a chromed bore gives you a bit more of a window before damage sets in.
SKS carbines have a well deserved reputation for reliability. Yugoslavian carbines are a bit more temperamental than the rest. Problems almost always are due to the gas shut-off valve that is part of the flip-up grenade launching site (it’s also on the AK). If your Yugo SKS isn’t functioning correctly, the first thing to check is whether that valve is corroded or otherwise buggered up. Anything that restricts gas flow will cause ejection/feeding problems.
Not talking shit on the Yugo, mind you, because they are excellent guns at an affordable price. They just have their quirks as compared to the more common Russian and Chinese versions.
