Category: Gratuitous Gun Pics

Following on from last week’s sighing and longing comes yet another man’s work, one Norbert Fashingbauer.  (His details  can be found below the fold.)

At Steve Barnett’s Emporium of Death, Fashingbauer’s FN Mauser in 7x57mm:

Wait… a full-stocked FN Mauser in 7x57mm ? Ah, man… [wondering which of my children would sell for $7,000]

Okay, back to Hallowell & Co., this one a left-handed Savage 110, also in 7x57mm:

Good grief, that’s just gorgeous — and finally, an “affordable” option for the kack-handers amongst us, who always have to pay more for their Satanic Persuasion [/nuns], only $2,500.

Still at Hallowell, and sadly already sold, an Oberndorf Mauser in .270 Win:

I don;t know how many hours it took Fashinger to create this stunning masterpiece, but that’s why his guns fetch the big bucks.

From another Fine Purveyor of Exotic Death Devices, M.W. Reynolds of Denver, is a Fashinger Winchester Mod 52B in .22 LR:

Okay, as beautiful as this rendering is, I will concede that $8,000 may be a tad on the spendy side for a .22 rifle.  But then, so is the $400,000 currently being asked for a 50-year-old rebuilt Dino Ferrari, and people seem to have no problem coughing up that amount.

More Norbert:  this Oberndorf Mauser sold at auction, so I can’t give the price… but phew.

I have to say, I like the man’s work.  Now, about those lottery tickets…

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I was browsing through the wares at Hallowell & Co. out of Livingstone MT, sighing deeply and cursing the Gods of Powerball for ignoring my pleas.  (Okay, I do that with pretty much every Merchant of Death’s website, but Hallowell really got to me on this occasion.)

Specifically this time, I was drawn to custom rifles — always a Bad Thing for a man of my gentle disposition and tender sensibilities — when I became aware of the exquisite timber used in almost all of them.

Here are a few examples (and right-click to embiggen).

I have talked betimes about wanting a decent varmint rifle for those long-awaited prairie dog shoots:  something more powerful than a simple .22 LR or .22 Magnum (which I’ve got covered).  Well then, how about this Ruger No.1 from Bowerly & Stratton, in .223 Rem:

Like many a keen rifleman, I am besotted with lovely wood (don’t go there) and good grief, this one’s magnificent.  I am also a huge fan of Bill Ruger’s No.1 rifles — have never owned one, sadly — but this one, at about $10,000 is sadly confined to the Powerball category.  Have mercy.

I have also spoken of an urge towards a rifle chambered for the venerable 9.3x62mm Mauser cartridge, a cartridge that can (and has) taken game of all sizes and ferocity all over the world.  So there’s this Husquvarna Mauser from Ed LaPour:

While this wood is not as spectacular as the Bowerly Ruger’s, it’s most certainly not boxwood either.  However, this LaPour is asking $13,000… [la sigh]

I guess that one could always go “down market” (!) and, in the same 9.3x62mm caliber, look at Dave Norin’s large-ring FN Mauser:

I love that tiger-striping effect on the walnut… and at $4,500 it’s a steal compared to both the above rifles.

Of course, there are many more such fine guns at Hallowell & Co., so I shall leave you alone to lose an hour or two in browsing and sighing, as I did.

Why should I be the only one?

As Longtime Readers (and even a few casuals) will know, my primary carry piece is a Springfield 1911 in, of course, .45 ACP:

…and my backup piece a S&W 637 in .38 Special:

However, I recently acquired (through inheritance, don’t ask) a very battered Colt 1911, not anywhere near in the condition as pictured, but which puts all my 175gr .45 ACP boolets into a half-palm-sized group at 25 feet:

…and I had an evil thought.

Imagine being asked:

“What’s your primary carry piece?”
“A 1911.”
“And your backup piece?”
“Also a 1911.”

Hey, as the saying goes, “Two is one and one is none”… right?

And because the four spare CMC mags can do duty for both guns, I wouldn’t have to carry those bulky lil’ .38 speedloaders either.

Yeah, I know: “But but but… two 1911s are heavy, Kim!” 

I just lost over 40 lbs, so another 1lb or so of gun weight isn’t going to hurt me at all.  And besides, if that skinny old fart Clint Smith can carry two 1911s, then so can I.

I made an observation the other day that the prices of new bolt-action rifles of any kind of quality seem to have crept up over the $1,000 mark.  (I make exception here for the “budget” rifles like the Savage Axis line, by the way.)

But it’s even worse for that old stand-by of the impecunious, American mil-surps.  Here, some guy sounds off about this phenomenon, and he’s absolutely right.

Given that mil-surp rifles were almost by definition produced in the jillions, they should cost no more than a few hundred dollars, even supposing that a half-jillion people want to buy these old beauties (unlikely) and especially during these times of Bidenflation.  [FJB]

Here’s a random sample from Collectors:

Even an old beater is over $500:

Don’t even get me started on the Garands and M1 Carbines:

The furrin bolt-action rifles of the same vintage aren’t any exception:

These old bolties shouldn’t cost more than $600, even today.  They have outdated (ergo expensive-to-feed) chamberings and are mostly battered beyond belief.  That’s always been their charm — that, and the fact that you could pick one up for a few hundred bucks.

Nowadays?  No chance.

In fact, the only “bargains” below $1,000 are the crappy Arisakas, Carcanos, Mosins and such.  (The good Arisakas — not the “last-ditch” ones made in uncle Yoshi’s garden shed — fetch prices very close to the Enfields and Mausers as above.)

(A special mention goes to the Swedish 1896 and Schmidt-Rubin 1911 rifles, which remain well below the $1,000 red line and are still excellent rifles, albeit expensive / hard to feed, especially the latter because of their ammo costs.  Even Prvi Partizan stuff is spendy.)

“Yeah, Kim,”  I hear you say, “but those are Collectors prices — and they’re not known for bargains.”

Tell you what:  go to your next local gun show, look for quality rifles of the above makes (i.e. that haven’t been bubba’d and have matching serial numbers and decent bores), and if you find one below a grand, buy it, send me pictorial proof thereof and I’ll send you a box of ammo for it.