Unusual guns owned/seen

oldgit1897 · 19-06-2019 9:55pm

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

BigCIllAodain · 19-06-2019 10:02pm

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

cookimonster · 19-06-2019 10:49pm

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 · 20-06-2019 10:18am

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 · 20-06-2019 5:06pm

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

notobtuse · 20-06-2019 6:03pm

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 · 20-06-2019 6:15pm

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 · 20-06-2019 10:11pm

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 · 21-06-2019 5:48am

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 · 21-06-2019 9:59am

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 · 21-06-2019 10:13am

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 · 21-06-2019 1:26pm

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 · 22-06-2019 2:05am

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 · 22-06-2019 4:44pm

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 · 22-06-2019 5:10pm

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 · 22-06-2019 8:58pm

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 · 22-06-2019 10:10pm

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 · 23-06-2019 2:50am

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 · 23-06-2019 3:09am

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 · 23-06-2019 4:36pm

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.

cookimonster · 23-06-2019 5:02pm

On further internet trawling the L2A1 automatic rifle was developed and used by the Canadian and Australian common wealth armies.

I did my recruit training during the winter and I can tell you that slapping the hand gaurd repeatedly with the palm of your freezing cold hand will bring tears to your eyes.

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Unusual guns owned/seen

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