Fourth: My First Rifle

Up until this point, rifles and shotguns hadn't been much of a consideration. And, to this point, I was also not much of a fan of anything in the used counter. But a throaty boom and a warm stock changed my heart and, truth be told, was the beginning of the end for this girl.

It was a co-worker named Chris who began this trip for me. Chris was an avid collector and a colorful bird. He liked talking guns and to this day I've never met a person more knowledgeable about firearms than him. But he sat me down one day with an unlikely rifle on the shop's firing range.

I shot rifles and shotguns before this, but none had tweaked my interest. And when he pulled the old, worn looking rifle with the steel butt plate out of the bag, I had my reservations. But a few rounds later and my heart was turned.

At the very next gun show, I was on a mission. I was going to bring home my very first rifle, and another lesson would be learned.

I picked up my Swiss K31 (Karabiner 1931) back in 2006. The first thing I did was take it to the firing range.

With a beaten in walnut stock and slightly damaged steel butt plate, accompanied by an odor that can only be described as old wood, my love of long guns was forged.

My K31 was made in 1936. That makes it 75 years old. Weighing in at around 9 lbs., this straight pull bolt, magazine fed rifle was an innovation for its time. Not as famous as the Mauser, the K31 is best known for the bolt system which requires two movements to do a lot of work inside. Pull back, push forward... this motion causes the bolt itself to turn and cock the gun. It made it a fast shooting bolt rifle and still held accuracy only a bolt rifle could give you at the time. The iron sights on this gun were easily adjusted to sight you in at 1500 meters. Of course, with iron sights, 1500 meters is pretty optimistic even for the best of eyes.

So what's the fascination with these old guns? Well, for starters... the history. I like an old gun with some dings in the stock. Each ding and funky colored stuck, each proof mark and fix tells a story.

One of the things that grabs the attention of history buffs when it comes to the K31 is the fact that the Swiss tended to put name tags for the soldier the gun was issued to under the plate. So many people have taken that steel plate off to find the name of the soldier who depended on that rifle, and in some instances that soldier was still alive. Chris had contacted the soldier and sent him a photo of himself with the rifle. In return, he received the bayonet that went with it and a photo of the soldier also holding the same rifle. Upon getting the rifle home, removing the plate was the first step. Mine had no tag under the plate, but I didn't regret removing the plate. I found two interesting pieces under there. One was dried grass... the other was a few pieces of blonde hair stuck to a stain by the damaged section of the plate. Imaginations can run wild assuming how that got there... but I left it all untouched and replaced the plate, so to the best of my knowledge, it's all still under there.

A rifle like my K31 is extremely accurate and fun to shoot, but the history is the best part. You find yourself researching each individual marking and how the dings got there. For instance, you may notice a color difference in the back to that of the front... it's a water stain. The Swiss would camp for the night and plant the rifles in the snow, barrels to the sky, and over time the stocks darkened where the snow was. The dings are worse in that area, too. The Swiss soldiers wore boots with spiked cleats on them, and while walking they would bang the rifles on those cleats to clear ice and snow and give them better traction.

On the modern day side, this rifle is always a lot of fun at the range. It can group as well if not better than most modern rifles it lays next to. Chambered in 7.5x55 Swiss, it is close to the .308 round. However, being designed as a complete fighting tool, the K31 has no padding or anything to make it lighter or shorter. So most at the range will take a step back when you hand them a round and offer to let them have a shot at it, especially after getting a view of that steel butt plate! And it does shove the shoulder. As I always say, "It's a good pain!"

When I worked on a firing range we broke in new employees this way. If they wanted instant respect, they had to go a full magazine with the K31. A full magazine is six rounds. Only one or two actually took the challenge, and only one succeeded.

But I fully blame this rifle for my love affair with older weapons. I love WWII vintage rifles, but have a soft spot for anything older than myself.

You'll be seeing plenty with the K31 in this blog. Although I have a lot more rifles in the ranks these days, "Alden" is secure in his position as a mama's boy and my favorite.

Third: The Noisy Cricket

We all have one... a gun that doesn't cost much, that you don't expect much from, and aren't real sure why you bought it to begin with.

I picked up my Bersa Thunder 380 in 2005. This was back before they gained any real popularity as a viable carry gun, back when the price was about $200. Not being the type to buy a lot of guns in the same caliber, I chose an inexpensive 380 as my carry gun, with the explanation that I didn't want to carry - and beat up - a more expensive gun. And even if it wasn't accurate, I'd still be able to defend myself at close range. I didn't expect much from it in performance or strength, but figured it was enough.

This was yet another caliber I wasn't familiar with, and was really only beginning my full ahead thrust into learning about guns and really studying them. I was no longer working for the armored car companies, and was now working as a cashier in a gun store, the same one I'd come to weekend after weekend with the Ruger in the little red tool box, with the hopes of gaining enough knowledge to become a sales person - where the learning really begins. I had a brand new concealed carry license, and nothing small enough to carry. My Sig had a shoulder holster, but that was proving to be a daunting gun to carry. And the 686 wouldn't conceal on the best of days!

So I showed up to work one day with my new little Bersa in my purse. Out to the range I went on my lunch break... only to have my heart shatter. Even if you aren't expecting much from a gun, it hurts when it fails.

The Bersa survived a good 30 rounds before it just quit firing completely. My co-workers and I spent the rest of the day trying to figure out what had happened to my new paper weight. One of them finally told me to let him take it to his gunsmith for a look.

A week later, I got it back and went onto the range once again.

What I now had was a $200 piece of pure magic. The only thing I am 100% sure was done to the gun was that the magazine disconnect safety was disconnected. According to the gunsmith, it had malfunctioned. A free fix was just to have him cut it off without actually removing it. So my gun was now able to fire a round with the magazine out, but that wasn't something that bothered me. After all, my Sig could do that, too, by nature (all my semi-autos now are devoid of magazine disconnect safeties).

The tiny gun had a little more recoil than I had been lead to believe, although it still wasn't much. It was, by far, the smallest caliber gun I had shot to date (it would be another year or so before I shot my first 22LR), and the smallest framed gun I owned. So I began calling it "The Noisy Cricket" after the surprising little gun in "Men in Black."

Now, I still wouldn't shoot a pistol match with this little gun, and truth be told... I still have it, but I haven't shot it in years. It proved to be a poor carry gun unless strapped onto the ankle. The tail tends to stab you right under the ribs when you sit down if you carry it IWB. And I'd lost the rear sight during a road trip with it strapped to my ankle. Since then, it has also been painted by a formed co-worker to deem it the world's ugliest pistol.

But for some reason, I haven't been able to bring myself to sell the Noisy Cricket off. I don't know if it's the low price I'd get considering the ugly paint job or the fond memories I have of the little gun, but it's still around.

Maybe I'll take it to the range with me next time...

Second Purchase: The Hand Cannon

As many people do, I began my collection by stating all I wanted was one semi-auto, one revolver, one rifle, and one shotgun. Let's face it, a good number of people reading this remember saying that at one time, or are currently swearing on their soul that this will be the case, no doubt about it.

Well, I was adamant about that, too. I figured with the purchase of my Smith & Wesson 686 I was half way done with my collection! Boy, was I wrong!

At this point, my knowledge of guns was limited at best. I hadn't shot many calibers, and the only revolver I'd bothered with was the Ruger I had been issued. That Ruger was chambered in 357 magnum, but would not actually accept one, so I was itching to shoot a 357 magnum for real.

As you will soon notice, I have a thing for large framed guns. I don't know why, but they always held a special place in my heart. So the day I went to the gun show with my second purchase permit in hand, I was out there looking for a revolver with a good bit of size to it.

This handsome revolver jumped off the table at me... not literally, but you get my point. It was sitting on a box at one of the first tables I came across when entering the show. This was also my first gun show, so I didn't know how to work a gun show, either. LOL! Knowing how to work a gun show is a skill learned quickly, believe me.

I remember the day well because it took me 45 minutes to decide to buy this guy. Right next to it was another gorgeous revolver. I haven't got a clue anymore what it was, but it looked very similar to this one but with a light colored wood grip. It was also a 44 magnum. It's amazing what goes on in your mind when you fall in love with two guns sitting next to each other, both in calibers you've never shot and really don't know much about. As time has proven, my love for large frames has also given way to my love of large calibers. But something may have told me the future would be bleak at best with that 44 magnum... it would be only a few years later that I'd break my wrist (thanks to a large caliber handgun in a small frame) and be unable to shoot it.

Somehow, common sense won out over beauty. That 44 magnum was, by far, the better looking gun. High polished with stunning grips, it had the same price tag as the blander looking one I chose. But I chose the the 686 and never looked back. Much. I will admit I still think about that 44 magnum, but this revolver has never let me down.

I kept the price tag, too. I don't know why, but it is still in the box. $373, NIB. A smile point, since the current listed price at galleryofguns.com is $715.90. 

I'll discuss gun show shopping tactics sometime in the future, probably on the main page. I've learned a lot since then, and with a little practice, you actually CAN get a deal at a gun show.