I was inspired to write this post by watching Brandon Herrera’s love song to the Sturmgewehr (StG)44, and when I’d finished wiping the drool from my chin, I thought: “Man, I would love love love to own one of those”, which was quickly followed by “Who are you kidding? You wouldn’t be able to find the gun, couldn’t afford it even if you did, and FFS think of the cost of the Unobtanium ammo, dude!”
…which led to the thought: “How many other guns fall into that category, more or less?”
And here we are.
First off, I think the aforesaid StG-44 would head up the list.
Looks cool, reduced recoil (reduced-power 8x43mm vs. 8x57mm ammo), semi-auto/full auto, designed by Hugo Schmeisser… the list goes on and on. WANT. But even the newly-made semi-auto-only PTR-44 sells for close to $8,000 (instead of $30,000+ for the real thing). STILL WANT.
Next, the FG-42 as used by German paratroopers:
Okay, this one uses the full-strength 8x57mm ammo, but it was and remains one of the best gun designs not done by John Moses Browning. And it’s super-rare so forget all ideas about affordability, plus it’s full-auto all the time. So no, I can’t have one. Don’t care. WANT.
Next comes the Ljungman AG m/42B:
Lessee: light recoil, wonderfully reliable, semi-auto (so no gummint paperwork/NFA nonsense) fires my favorite rifle cartridge (6.5x55mm Swede)… what really scrapes my scabs is that I actually used to own one very much like it: the Egyptian Hakim chambered in 8x57mm; but I think I’d prefer the original Ljungman because of the chambering. WANT, very much, all the more because it’s far more available than the two Kraut rifles above. But $2,000-odd? Not gonna happen.
Finally, the M3 Grease Gun:
‘Nuff said. I’ve shot it before, loved it, was cheap to make, works well, shoots a manly cartridge (instead of some wussy Europellet)… and costs too much (now), plus all that gummint paperwork. So I’m never going to own one, but still WANT.
That’s all. Maybe I’ll think of more later, but these three came to mind immediately, which just proves how much I want them.