Unusual guns owned/seen

BigCIllAodain

Whats the most exotic or unusual pistol or rifle you've seen or fired?

tac foley

That sounds like a new thread starter to me

BigCIllAodain

tac foley wrote: »

That sounds like a new thread starter to me

Would you like the honors?

BattleCorp

BigCIllAodain wrote: »

Whats the most exotic or unusual pistol or rifle you've seen or fired?

I'm more into the functionality of a firearm rather than how exotic it is but I've shot expensive .22s such as Pardini's, Walther SSP-E, and some other Olympic style pistols. The Olympic style pistols are very accurate with exceptionally little recoil. But I like Gallery pistol comps so they are pretty much of no use to me.

I've also shot .22 conversions such as a Sig and other guns such as GSG 1911 pistols (can't remember models). They are fun to shoot but aren't as accurate as a S&W Model 41 or an Feinwerkbau AW93. I'd pick the more accurate pistols all day long.

I've fired a .40cal pistol in a competition in Northern Ireland. That was fun. Can't do that down here though.

I've fired all sorts of rifles in the States, most of which aren't allowed here. Never fired a fully automatic, just lots of semi automatics. I also fired a Desert Eagle 50cal over there. To be honest, that wasn't fun. Way too powerful for me at the time.

cookimonster

BigCIllAodain wrote: »

Whats the most exotic or unusual pistol or rifle you've seen or fired?

Ammo wise nothing unusual, a good few .22LR in dedicated semi autos, .22 Clones (1911) and a few centre fires with rim fire convertion kit add ons. Centre fires were all 9mm- Browning Automatic Pistol (nasty little jumpy sh1t), Beretta M9 (too big for my small hands) and the HK USP ( nice piece of kit)......
.....but the most exotic handgun I've fired is an WWII issued Pistole Parabellum 9mm Lugar. That was the dogs' to fire, it was snappy in the hand but the fit and feel was beautiful.

tac foley

BigCIllAodain wrote: »

What firearms do you have yourself?/QUOTE]

I have nineteen and they ALL make me happy. : ) Most of them, however, would bore most here totally f*rtless.

cookimonster

I'd say you could turn a few heads!

tac foley

Not here, Sir!! They are all made of old-fashioned steel and wood, with not a single composite stock among them. Some of them are old, and I mean old as in OLD, and here that tends to mean more than five years......and therefore of little value except as tomato posts.

cookimonster

My last modern (circa 2001) firearm, a Baikel MP 153, a plastic monster, resides besides its slightly younger sibling, the short lived Mauser 96 American ( an unusual design) alot more wood and steel then plastic, but still some to be found (like an aging socialite). They keep a rather nice if not tired French o/u company that dates to around 1980 give or take. Another unusual design feature with its trigger set up - double trigger but the first trigger can be used as a single trigger, discharging each barrel with separate pulls.
My .22 Brno is getting on in age pushing 50 years and still as accurate as the day I got it 33 years ago with its original magazine, there's no plastic to be seen. While lastly my BSA Majestic Feather Weight (previously discussed with you ) is nearly due its old age pension and bus pass coming up to its 60th year and still bowling over deer and boar.

Now I know you can put them all in the ha'penny place, so for us who have some nostalgia please feel free to tell us more.

By the way do you have a few modern day (100 years new) full/ big bore stuff?

GolfVI

Fired a ww1 Vickers Machine Gun used in the Irish war of Independence

BigCIllAodain

GolfVI wrote: »

Fired a ww1 Vickers Machine Gun used in the Irish war of Independence

Cool! Where did you get to shoot it?

GolfVI

BigCIllAodain wrote: »

Cool! Where did you get to shoot it?

Fired it in the army, for the 100th anniversary of the 1916 rising in 2016 the defence forces reconditioned serval weapons to full working order, i was part of a group that test fired them

tac foley

cookimonster wrote: »

Now I know you can put them all in the ha'penny place, so for us who have some nostalgia please feel free to tell us more.

By the way do you have a few modern day (100 years new) full/ big bore stuff?

Save me getting them out -

1 x 1862 Three-band Snider .577 Snider cal rifle, saw service in the last Fenian revolt in Canada in the late 1870s, owned by a family member who was in the 44th Battalion of Infantry, Welland & Lincoln Militia.

1 x 1862 Two-band Snider Short rifle in .577 Snider, issued to Québec Garrison Artillery of the Citadelle, Quebec City. Pre-Confederation, this rifle has no DC in diamond stamps. You can see me shooting it on Youtube - tac's guns - Snider.

1 x 1897-built Ludwig Loewe Mauser carbine in 7x57, property of Piet Huijsen, who surrendered it after the Battle of Korannafontein on May 10 1901, page 264 of David Goerge' book 'Carved rifles of the Veldt'.

1 x 1898-built 6.5x55 Swedish Carl Gustaf m/96 service rifle with ultra-rare inter-war Wehrmann peep-sight.

1 x Mauser Model B in 7x57 recovered from Rhodesia in 1990.

1 x BSA .22 Model 2 rifle in unique take-down format by Alexander Martin of Glasgow, passed down from the original family.

1 x Swiss K11 7.5x55 carbine.

1 x Walther Model 2 semi-auto .22 rifle with original x2.5 scope dated around 1930-ish.

1 x Walther DSM .22cal from around 1937, sadly bubba'ed in the early 1950s.

1 x Mauser ES350B .22 rifle with matching 2.5 Ajack scope from 1937.

1 x Swiss 7.5x55 K31 carbine - with choice of Swiss Products diopter sights or x4 Weaver scopes various, on no-drill clamp-on mounts.

1 x 1957 .22cal BSA Martini International MkII, left-hand, with 1952 x18 Unertl Supertarget calibrated head scope.

1 x 1960 .22cal BSA International MkII with one-off laminated thumbhole stock and Tasco T707 x16 scope.

1 x late 1960's K31-actioned .308 Win 300m target rifle with Schults & Larsen barrel, W+F and Gehmann front and rear sights.

1 x 1972 Parker-Hale .577cal muzzle-loading Musketoon black powder short rifle.

1 x 1986 Krico 650SS practical/tactical .308Win rifle with 8 - 32x56 Nightforce NSX illuminated reticle scope.

1 x 1986 Ruger Old Army .44cal black powder stainless steel revolver.

1 x 2002 Ruger Super Redhawk UK mainland compliant .357Mag stainless steel revolver with Burris 2 - 7x35 scope.

1 x 1963 Anschutz Model 1409 .22 target rifle with Tasco x18 T707 scope.

1 x Uberti Winchester High-wall single shot rifle in .45-7-Government. New in 2015.

Seems there's twenty. Sorry 'bout that.

Lots over in the USA but they are not mine any more.

Nekarsulm

Own nothing unusual, unless you count a Mossberg 500.
Always been interested in unusual operating designs, so bought an old Spencer-Bannerman pump action in an auction just fir the novelty value.
Shame it had been "decomissioned".

tac foley

tac foley

Since you count airguns over 12/6 ft lbs as firearms in the RoI, I thought I'd mention these as well -

1 x 1960 Walther LG55 target air rifle.

1 x 1950's Diana model 16 air rifle.

1 x mint and boxed Walther Model LP53 w/brown grips

1 x mint and boxed Walther Model LP53 w/black grips.

1 x EmGe Model LP2

1 x Steyr LP5 Olympic PCP pistol

1 x FAS Model 604 single-shot pneumatic pistol

A few gas-powered BB guns as well, for poppin' off at paper cups and tin cans.

meathstevie

GolfVI wrote: »

Fired a ww1 Vickers Machine Gun used in the Irish war of Independence

That's hard to beat but I give you an 8mm Nambu pistol and a 1916 vintage German Imperial Armaments Factory Erfurt Luger in 9mm Parabellum..

The Luger was in amazing condition and the precision engineering of it is astonishing. The Nambu looked and felt like something out of a Provo or UDA clandestine workshop in the eighties.

cookimonster

tac, that's some list, I'm drooling so I am.

GolfVI.....still can't beat the Vickers,

.....but I had a go of a Sten Gun and shooting that will put a smile on your face:).

Grizzly 45

LAR Grizzly 45 Win magnum mk1[hence the boards.ie moniker]. Lovely gun if you have big hands[I do] and plenty of noise out of too.

A copy of "the Terminator" pistol.AMT stainless longslide 1911 45 ACP with API predator lazer sight.State of the art stuff back in the late 80s.Thing was as big as a pistol scope today.But nice to shoot, the longslide really brought the 45 flip down to that of a .22.IE nothing

Mauser 1898 Broom handle"schnell feuer"[full auto ]M12 pistol. Utter waste of time without the buttstock holster,and even then barely controllable.

Those would stick out as exotics in a long list of guns.

tac foley

I came second in a competition a few years back and got to shoot a Gabbet-Fairfax Mars pistol TWICE. Third place got to shoot it three times. That ought to tell you something about it.

I also got to shoot the disposable 'Liberator' pistol - five shots - and hit the Fig. 11 target three times at five feet.

Then the SOE Welrod 'silenced' pistol.

...and then, the very rarest of all Lugers, definitely, Krieghoff contract pistol #00001. Only fair, since I was the one who found it, right?

LIFFY FISHING

1970 Lee Enfield Enforcer .308.
It was the dedicated British Police Force sniper Rifle.
767 commissioned...of which less than 240 are still in existance. This beaut makes the Enfield number 4 T look like a cannon gun for percision .
These were so good and accurate that when they were updated to the AICS and were recalled back by the British police forces that they destroyed nearly all of them so that they could not be used.
I am happy to say I own one..and to the best of my knowledge its the only one on the island..
Its a beaut to shoot and a privelage to have.

cookimonster

LIFFY FISHING wrote: »

1970 Lee Enfield Enforcer .308.......

You had me on 'Lee Enfield Enforcer....'

....then you bowled me on "I am happy to say I own one..'
Do you have the original case etc with it, even if you don't thats a fantastic rifle to own.

I have a Pecar 6×42  scope, the same company supplied the scope for the Enforcers but with a variable zoom.

sfakiaman

The most unusual one I've handled was a Dolne Apache pistol with folding nuckelduster grip and spring loaded blade under the barrel. That was back in the day in Afghanistan when every man and his dog carried a gun (at least one)

sfakiaman

While I think of it I've seen a full stocked Luger carbine and an 8 bore Paradox Gun, the weight of the Paradox explains why hunters had a gun bearer.

LIFFY FISHING

cookimonster wrote: »

You had me on 'Lee Enfield Enforcer....'

....then you bowled me on "I am happy to say I own one..'
Do you have the original case etc with it, even if you don't thats a fantastic rifle to own.

I have a Pecar 6×42  scope, the same company supplied the scope for the Enforcers but with a variable zoom.

They were not issued in cases/ crates like the military L39a1 or L42's.
They were also issued with just one magazine.
The reason been... if used, as a percision piece , it should not have required a second follow up shot.
It was up to the individual police forces to specify what magnification scopes were required, I have the variable 4 10 x50 Pecar scope on mine.
I met a Metroploitan Police Firearms instructor recently who was behind one during his time as a SO17 firearms team, where he was the Team sniper, as a professional he claimed it was the "finest" sniper rifle he ever used.

tac foley

Mine was ex-Cambridge police issue and bought from the dealer after a police firearms auction. I had the straight 6x42 PECAR scope and Harris bipod.

I still have the Harris bipod on my Krico - it was the best part of my Enforcer that sadly shot like a garden hose. I offloaded it as soon as I was able for twice what I paid for it.

cookimonster

Ahhh I got the two mixed up. I thought it was issued as a complete kit.

For those who want to know a little more and like me don't want to read...

L42A1
https://youtu.be/-6sfVyQ4i-0

Enforcer
https://youtu.be/8GxCNB1fwZY

Gorgeousgeorge

LIFFY FISHING wrote: »

They were not issued in cases/ crates like the military L39a1 or L42's.
They were also issued with just one magazine.
The reason been... if used, as a percision piece , it should not have required a second follow up shot.
It was up to the individual police forces to specify what magnification scopes were required, I have the variable 4 10 x50 Pecar scope on mine.
I met a Metroploitan Police Firearms instructor recently who was behind one during his time as a SO17 firearms team, where he was the Team sniper, as a professional he claimed it was the "finest" sniper rifle he ever used.

Any pictures? Pleeeeease

hedzball

Not unusual but I shot a few coyotes in the states with a semi auto 338 lapua belonging to my boss at the time.

Wasn't really anything special per say. Alexander arms I believe.


'Hdz

LIFFY FISHING

Gorgeousgeorge wrote: »

Any pictures? Pleeeeease

It wont allow me to add pics...says the "file is to big"...loading pics from the phone is a bit of a ball breaker...pm me ur number if u really want to see some pics...where r u based...I take it to the range with my other older service rifles

jb88

For me its my all Parts correct, along with matching scope, Scope case and Transit case of my 1945 No4 MK1 T.

Known for having better accuracy than its later cousin the L42 ;-)

oldgit1897

Westley Richards 1897 falling block and a Webley Wyley single shot.

BigCIllAodain

Any of ye ever shoot the older FALs? Or even an L1a1?

cookimonster

BigCIllAodain wrote: »

Any of ye ever shoot the older FALs? Or even an L1a1?

If by older you mean ones dated from around the 1960's ..Yep.
Lovely rifle much better then the awful Styer.

Anyone serving in the PDF from 1961 until 1989 would have used them, the RDF also would have had later use before they went to a single force program in the '00ies and the Steyr AUG became the main personal weapon .
A rather expensive upgrade exsists as a designated Marks Man or sniper support weapon.

In my unexciting career I've fired the Lee Enfield both 303 and .22LR:), FN FAL 7.62, the Karl Gustav M/45 9mm, the Steyr (horrible, horrible :eek:), FN MAG GPMG and had a range practice with the German Army Heckler & Koch G36 5.56MM.

Now there's bound to be lads here who have shot the likes of the Bren Gun, fabulous gun I believe, the Browning .50 Caliber Machine Gun as well as several support weapons and artillery pieces.....
.... but I envy the guys who fired the '90' - Pansarvärnspjäs 1110S 90 mm recoilless gun. Unless you were on a crew that had to manhandle it around the Glen.

Managed to get my sweaty hands on a Garand NATO 7.62 and an .30 cal M1 (common here, I belive, among gallery shooters) but unfortunately there was no way I was going to get a shot out of either one.

meathstevie

sfakiaman wrote: »

The most unusual one I've handled was a Dolne Apache pistol with folding nuckelduster grip and spring loaded blade under the barrel. That was back in the day in Afghanistan when every man and his dog carried a gun (at least one)

Dragon slaying weapon of mass destruction that was.....

Brontosaurus

If Americans or Swiss saw this thread they'd laugh at us

notobtuse

Unique guns I’ve fired were a fully automatic .45 Thompson submachine gun and a pen gun personally owned by the chief of police in the town I grew up in. Firing my ex bother-in-law’s .44 magnum Smith & Wesson Model 29 (the Dirty Harry gun) was a kick in the pants. I own a WW2 Type I Arisaka produced by the Kingdom of Italy for the Japanese navy, and a 16 gauge bolt action shotgun owned by baseball great Ted Williams, who gave it to my uncle (they played in the MLB together and were friends).

notobtuse

Brontosaurus wrote: »

If Americans or Swiss saw this thread they'd laugh at us

LOL. Not all Americans own guns. It's an interesting thread and those of us who do own guns, and are constantly battling for our right to keep them, understand the limitations of gun ownership in other countries. I only own 8, 2 of which were passed down to me (and a taser). My uncle owns over 60 firearms, and most people who own large amounts of guns didn't purchase them. They were passed on from generation to generation or given to by various family members over the years. May people here just can't seem to part with family guns.

Scalachi

I have been lucky enough to fire a few guns, and now own a few ..

Fired the 303/FN/Bren/Gustaf and BAP in FCA days got to fire some nice and not nice guns here and there as well, one such was the .50 Desert Eagle (one shot was plenty thanks).

I am lucky enough to have an M1 Carbine best fun you can have with your clothes on.

But I recently bought a quite unusual rifle I had never seen before, a Browning Model SA22, made by FN in Belgium .22 Semi loaded through a hole in the middle of the side of the stick, Rifle is cocked from under the action and the spent brass drops out the bottom - oh and its a takedown as well - all weighing in at under 5LBS

Pkiernan

Fired: MP40 submachine gun.

Owned: toss up between 1970 S&W M29 44 Mag with 8 3/8" barrel or my Freedom Arms Mini 22 with 1 1/8" barrel.

meathstevie

BigCIllAodain wrote: »

Any of ye ever shoot the older FALs? Or even an L1a1?

Yes, the British pattern FAL is a common enough rifle among target shooters who like their more modern military rifles in continental Europe. It's often a straightforward enough one to licence since it has no full auto capability.

meathstevie

Scalachi wrote: »

I have been lucky enough to fire a few guns, and now own a few ..

Fired the 303/FN/Bren/Gustaf and BAP in FCA days got to fire some nice and not nice guns here and there as well, one such was the .50 Desert Eagle (one shot was plenty thanks).

I am lucky enough to have an M1 Carbine best fun you can have with your clothes on.

But I recently bought a quite unusual rifle I had never seen before, a Browning Model SA22, made by FN in Belgium .22 Semi loaded through a hole in the middle of the side of the stick, Rifle is cocked from under the action and the spent brass drops out the bottom - oh and its a takedown as well - all weighing in at under 5LBS

That little semi-auto .22 was at one stage common as muck in Belgium. That was back in the good old days when the only requirements to own sporting firearms were being an adult with a clean criminal record.

oldgit1897

Scalachi wrote: »

But I recently bought a quite unusual rifle I had never seen before, a Browning Model SA22, made by FN in Belgium .22 Semi loaded through a hole in the middle of the side of the stick, Rifle is cocked from under the action and the spent brass drops out the bottom - oh and its a takedown as well - all weighing in at under 5LBS

I love those little brownings, quality little things. But sadly i think they are classed as a bullpup here ?

Grizzly 45

Hard one to call.As it isnt a traditional bull pup design in the fact most BP designs have a detachable box mag behind,not a tublar permanent mag in the wooden buttstock.

Another unusual gun I've only ever seen one of in Ireland during the TCO years,in Nestor Bros Limerick ,was a Unique .22 rifle /pistol combo.You could demount the .22 pistol lower,and put a slide and barrel assembly on it,for a handy little .22 pistol.Removing the pistol slide& barrel,you locked the assembly into a wooden rifle stock and barrel assembly and you had the rifle ready to go. Nedless to say back then the .22 pistol slides and barrels were confiscated under TCO 1972,so I'd say this is a rarity here in Ireland,always wanted to own one of them.So if anyone knows of one FS??

BigCIllAodain

meathstevie wrote: »

Yes, the British pattern FAL is a common enough rifle among target shooters who like their more modern military rifles in continental Europe. It's often a straightforward enough one to licence since it has no full auto capability.

Im guessing it wouldn't be possible to license one here because they aren't chambered in .308 and it would take a lot of pricking around to remove the fully automatic capability. I've seen some conversion kits but none for .308

cookimonster

The British version, L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle, is not capable of full automatic fire unlike the FN FAL used here by the Irish Defence Forces.
You could unless things have recently changed own a L1A1 (not sure on restricted magazine capacity) on a restricted licence if you could prove justification or (again not up to speed on this) licence it as a classic military firearm.

Unlike the Styer we never trained on the FN in automatic fire mode always in normal function. We were told the auto was for 'spray and pray' moments. I belive altough they were manufactured with 'full auto' the barrels weren't really up to the task of even repedative controlled bursts let alone sustained fire. I did get to fire it on auto but couldn't tell you about accuracy as it was off the back of a moving ship.

Grizzly 45

If it is a converted select fire to semi auto only,it is a CAT A [prohibited] under the new EU directive. So that means the Irish Metric pattern SLRs are a no no

The UK/Commonwealth[?] inch pattern SLRs were only ever in semi auto,so it would put them in the same category as M1 Garands and carbines,so should in theory be purchaseable as a surplus rifle.

Whether it is a classic or not is irrespective in liscensing here.Its the action type and/or overall length and caliber that decides if it is restricted or not.

If it is a civillian modern sporting rifle built to look like a FN /FAL/SLR and comes issued from the factory with a 10 round mag then it is still a B3 firearm and is a restricted firearm here under Irish law due to its action.Be proably the easier way out of it.

cookimonster

The FN FAL as used by the Irish is the orginal of the species with select fire option semi auto / full auto.
It was the British who came up with thier own version the L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle, not capable of full automatic fire in the L1A1 configuration. I don't know if this option originated from the 'conserve ammonition' mindset that plagued many army's when orginaly faced with an option of a select fire weapon.
The British did utilise a select fire version of the SLR with a heavier barrel but it was not the light section weapon of choice, more so opting for converted Bren Guns and GPMGs all in 7.62.

meathstevie

cookimonster wrote: »

The FN FAL as used by the Irish is the orginal of the species with select fire option semi auto / full auto.
It was the British who came up with thier own version the L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle, not capable of full automatic fire in the L1A1 configuration. I don't know if this option originated from the 'conserve ammonition' mindset that plagued many army's when orginaly faced with an option of a select fire weapon.
The British did utilise a select fire version of the SLR with a heavier barrel but it was not the light section weapon of choice, more so opting for converted Bren Guns and GPMGs all in 7.62.

That's a FALO, a heavy barrel version called the Fusil Automatic Lourd as opposed to the Fusil Automatic Legere. I suppose it was to be an equivalent for the older BAR.

meathstevie

BigCIllAodain wrote: »

Im guessing it wouldn't be possible to license one here because they aren't chambered in .308 and it would take a lot of pricking around to remove the fully automatic capability. I've seen some conversion kits but none for .308

Plenty of 7.62 NATO surplus knocking about. There wouldn't be .308 conversion kits going around because 7.62 NATO and .308 Win are the same dimensions.

A relative in Belgium actually has one with a .308 stamped barrel and Liege proof marks. He bought it from a local gun dealer.

I reckon a batch of British surplus rifles were acquired and submitted to proofing with .308 Win proofing loads ( higher pressure than 7.62 NATO ) before selling them retail.

tac foley

cookimonster wrote: »

The FN FAL as used by the Irish is the orginal of the species with select fire option semi auto / full auto.
It was the British who came up with thier own version the L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle, not capable of full automatic fire in the L1A1 configuration. I don't know if this option originated from the 'conserve ammonition' mindset that plagued many army's when orginaly faced with an option of a select fire weapon.
The British did utilise a select fire version of the SLR with a heavier barrel but it was not the light section weapon of choice, more so opting for converted Bren Guns and GPMGs all in 7.62.

When I joined the Army in 1967, the SLR was the main infantry service weapon and recruit training weapon. Thereafter, depending on the role of the soldier, his main weapon MAY have been the Sterling SMG, particularly if you were based in a vehicle of some kind as part of your MOS - tanks signals, sapper et al.

My part of the Army didn't do much in the way of ceremonial of any kind, so the only time we saw the SLR, as non-commissioned personnel, was on the frequent promotion upgrading course that came around about every three years or so. Foot drill was an important part of the upgrading courses, and foot-drill inevitably involves lots of marching around waving rifles. The longest I ever stayed in one rank was at Staff Sergeant, which I endured for just over three years. The shortest was Warrant Officer 1st Class - just ten days.

Then I was commissioned.

So I never saw a heavy-barrel SLR, the L1A2.