Let’s keep this in the range of legal to own without BTA approval, I mean we would all like a 20mm aircraft cannon, right?
I will give a shotgun and a rifle.
First the scattergun:
If you go to this page and click DET EXTRA SUPER on the right, and click one of the models, you will see my dream Perazzi. (Warning, engraving is of tasteful naked ladies) This gun is just gorgeous. I called Perazzi a while back and they said I could have it for only $80,000. Doh!
As for the rifle:
I have wanted a Walther WA-2000 since I saw The Living Daylights as a kid. I called “Earl” (the guy in the wiki article who deals in a lot of rare Walther stuff, and I thought he was selling one for around 35K, though the wiki article claims they can go for twice that. I had better start saving.
I have too many guns as it is. But I’d like to have one of those for my collection.
Or; How about a custom-built Browning M2 that only fires semi-auto?
I’d like to get another Belgian FN-FAL to replace the one I sold in the '80s, and a Maadi AKM to replace the one I sold back then. I’d also like custom engraved examples of a Colt 1851 Navy, a Colt 1911, and a Colt .45 SAA with a 7.5" barrel.
Oh, yeah. I had a 1942 Luger made by Mauser (I think – mfg. code BYF). Matching numbers except for the magazine and the unmarked barrel. Refinished. Not really collectable because of the replacement barrel and magazine, and because of the refinish; but it looked nice. I sold it to buy my Beretta 92FS. I wish I had found another way to get the Beretta, as I wish I still had the Luger. And I’d like to have a Broomhandle Mauser.
If money were no object? One of every gun ever made, including an Oerlikon 20mm Cannon and a Bofors 40mm Ack-Ack gun.
Seriously though, my “Holy Grail” rifle is a .450/577 Martini-Henry Mk II that can be confirmed to have been used at either the battle of Rorke’s Drift or Isandhlwana.
More realistically, I’m still chasing a Beaumont-Adams revolver, a Mauser C96 “Broomhandle” in 9mm Parabellum, a LeMat revolver, a genuine Enfield 1853 Rifled Musket, an SMLE Mk III (no star), a Browning Hi-Power, a Tokarev TT-33, and a Charger Loading Lee-Enfield rifle.
If it were legal to own them in a functioning condition here, I’d also add a Thompson M1928A1, a PPSh-41, a L1A1 SLR, a Bren Gun, a Lewis Gun, and a Vickers Gun to that list as well…
Not many when it comes right down to it. I like to shoot my guns, so collector’s peices mean little. One prime example of every Mauser issued by every country that used them is my goal, and I’d rather have the thrill of the hunt than the problem of where to store all of them once I got them.
I’ve only owned one gun in my life that I won’t shoot, and that’s not because of collectability - I just don’t trust the 7.35 Carcano or the surplus ammo I have for it.
If I could afford the thing, I’d shoot that Thompson as long as I could afford ammo.
I guess an authentic Hawken or Colt SAA would be a display peice, but I’d have to get a replica to shoot.
I’d spend thousands on customizing what I have, as well. The No.1 is perfectly suited for engraving, but even with gold inlays, I’d take it hunting.
I know what you mean… ideally, I’d love one of every Lee-Enfield by manufacturer and model, but if I did that I’d need a secure storage facility the size of the Royal Pattern Room (Leeds Armoury) to keep them in.
Not that I wouldn’t mind a mint LeMat, or the same Martini-Henry you are seeking, or a Broomhandle in .45ACP. It’s just that they don’t drive my collection. But it would be neat to watch the jaws drop at the range when I take out the LeMat.
Really? Damn. My former father-in-law sold his a long time ago… and not for $20K. One more reason for the guy to be kicking himself (besides the fact that he’s a prick). Kind of like the small Impressionist painting he was offered for about $5000 in the late 70’s and he turned it down… that painting is worth about a million bucks now. :eek:
People at my local range expect me to have something odd to shoot… my No 5 Mk I Jungle Carbine gets a lot of interested looks when I take it to the range.
A Webley Mk VI ranks pretty high on the jaw-dropping scale at the range, though. Especially when I use it in 200m Metallic Silhouette matches.
I have a Yugoslavian Mauser 98. I’m not sure what the story was. I think I heard that they were bought and then stored immediately. I don’t know if that’s true. Anyway, it’s in great condidtion. It’s in its modern box and has the bayonette, sling, cleaning kit and ammo pouches. I’ve never fired it, and I’m thinking I should sell it. (I have another Mauser 98 I can shoot.) Any idea what it might be worth on the market?
Johnny, you can probably get a couple of hundred for the Yugoslav, if it is in real good shape and has all the accessories. Take it to your local gun shop and see it they’ll take it on consignment. The problem is that there are a lot of Yugos out there, so they rarely command a premium price.
T_SQUARE, we are talking in excess of 50 countries, with variants in each. Call it a couple hundred rifles. I’ve already got several variants from each of Sweden, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Turkey, Yugoslavia, Germany and a real nice .308 chambering done by Bricklee Arms off of a M98 action. It seems like everybody and their brother issued some model of Mauser at some time in their history. Now I’m trying to track down affordable examples from the rest of South America. I know Chile and Uraguay both issued them…
