7th and 8th - Ruger 10/22 and Springfield Armory 1911 MilSpec

I'm making this a two fer post because there really wasn't a story to go along with the Ruger 10/22. I always wanted one, it took me long enough to decide on one, and I got it. I settled on one with the red laminate stock.

This was one of those "why did I bother?" purchases. I love the rifle, and do believe there isn't a 22 LR out there today that can out shoot a 10/22. But I was apparently not made to shoot a 22LR. I put 30 rounds down the barrel, took it home, put it in a silicon sock, and then forgot about it for a few years. Only a few weeks ago I took it out of that sock and decided to go shoot it again. I managed 100 rounds this time before I caught myself yawning. 22LR is a great round. You can shoot all day long and not go broke on ammo. And it is a fantastic round to teach a new shooter on. But I learned on a 38 spl and my first rifle was a large caliber... having something this small - and that accurate - was pretty boring. I put 100 rounds down range that day and could fit the group into a shot glass. I was beyond impressed. And I love a rifle that is great for marksmanship (and I have a few). But it got boring real fast. LOL! Just me, I guess.

So the purchase after this Ruger was a Springfield Armory 1911 MilSpec. Another gun I had always wanted.

Anyone who ever had the urge to buy a 1911 can tell you... they can be had from anywhere between $350 to $5000. Your standard reproduction of the Colt 1911 issued to the military is usually on the cheaper side, mostly because it doesn't come with all the bells and whistles. And being a fan of the old military stuff and style, that was all I really wanted. But I wanted a good one, too. I wanted this Springfield.

At the time, the store I worked for ran their own firing range in the back. It was indoor, 50 yards, and took everything under 50 BMG. But somewhere along the line the firing range got to be too much for the shop to hang on to (contrary to popular belief, firing ranges are not the billionaire makers people think they are. The care and insurance of a good range - even with a large amount of users like this one had - is enough to bankrupt the store. You'll notice many ranges have stores attached... the store keeps the range going). So the inevitable happened... the range was closed down for good.

Well, they had a ton of rental weapons back there, all needing good homes. Sold as used, these guns were cleared out fast and hard at sweet prices. One benefit to working at a gun store is you see what goes up for sale before anyone else... and we shop, too.

Among the pile of guns going out to the floor was this Springfield Armory 1911 MilSpec, just as pictured above with the wrap around grip. I wasn't fond of the grip, but 1911s are very popular so your grip choices are endless.

It wasn't pretty. It had spent two years as a rental gun, being tortured by everyone who rented it, and it was a very popular weapon. Rental shooters don't treat the guns well, it's the "I don't have to worry about, it isn't mine" factor. So it was dropped, kicked, thrown, beaten into walls, etc. When I got it, it was an ugly gun.

And it still is! Other than the grips, I haven't changed a thing. It works great for startle factor. The gun is so ugly that when it comes out at the range or at matches, people chuckle a little and look away. But that is one tough gun to beat. Even with the original barrel it had as a rental, the gun performs flawlessly at matches and hits right where it is aimed, every time.

One day I went out to the mailbox and found a package from a friend I had met via a gun forum. He was several states away, but we shared the joy of new purchases with each other via the forum itself. I opened the package and found a note that simply said, "Lose the Goodyears." With the note was a set of maple wood grips.

That began the downfall. LOL! I'm the type of person who changes the look of everything a million times. A few months after getting these grips, the gun ended up looking like this instead:

You don't hand a highly customizable weapon to a girl who enjoys accessorizing but isn't girlie enough to buy jewelery!

This gun quickly became my go to girl. Fast and accurate without ever giving me so much as a hiccup, I realize the time is coming for a new barrel. Lord only know how many rounds are down that thing, and she's finally starting to show her aches and pains. Our last range day was a bit of a struggle. But she'll get the very best, of course. This also began my love affair with Springfields. I can't say enough good about the guns or the company itself. The XD isn't my cup of tea, but this was the first of two Springfield pistols I brought home. Both are beyond stellar weapons, and Springfield stepped up on both of them, continuing the lifetime warranty of the 1911 even with it's less than stellar history.

Sixth: Glock 21SF - Changing Minds

Up until this point, I was pretty much a Glock hater. I never doubted they were good guns, but it felt like I was holding a brick. Which is something I hear rather often. So when I sold off my Sig P226, I found myself needing a new gun to carry at the shop. All of the employees at that gun shop were armed, and I was heading toward a management position, so going unarmed wasn't an option. And nothing I already owned fit the rules of the shop for what we could carry.

I quickly began saving money and looking into guns that fit the bill. Somewhere during this period of time Glock released their slim frame models - which we correctly guessed were a sort of tester for their generation 4 guns. Our first one arrived at the shop - a Glock 21SF.

This Glock was the black sheep of Glocks. Being the largest frame Glock makes, it now also became one of the slimmest. The first batch released came with an ambidextrous magazine release and a 1913 (picatinny) rail. The last two features were useless to me, but the slim grip made it so I could get my hand wrapped around it comfortably.

And I was pretty much sold. Not long after that I brought my own home. I was tickled to find I could shove it into the leather holster left behind by my Sig's departure. It wasn't a glove fit, but it went in and stayed.

I drove from the gun shop to an IDPA match. As I say, we cut the seal on the box at the match. I don't usually recommend shooting a gun you haven't cleaned yet, but Glock comes with a break in fluid inside they don't recommend you clean off, so I figured... go for it. And the gun proved it's worth right there. I did not place in the match. But the gun shot very well. Even after we both took a nice roll in the red Carolina red clay. Wiped it down, made sure the barrel was clear, and kept on shooting. No problem.

Two weeks later I was at the firing range with this same gun when we got some bad ammunition. An over charged load had made it's way into the box somehow (factory ammo) and blew the gun clear out of my hands. It actually slammed into the wall behind me, but I was out of that range before it hit the ground. Nothing like a "pop... pop... BOOM!" to make you need to sit down for a minute! The gun came out just fine. Inspections were done by Glock certified armorers and we were on our way.

To this day, this gun still sits on my hip at the gun shop. It's been a few years now, since 11/12/2007. I'm not shooting matches as much as I used to these days, but I still trust this gun with my life daily. No burps or hiccups since day one. And now I'm one of the Glock armorers, too.

Fifth: Benelli Super Nova - Free Guns Shoot Best!

My Benelli Super Nova is an odd bird in my collection.

Here's something you might not know. Many of these gun companies have their own moves to drum up sales. Any gun person has seen various promotions for customers who buy their products during a certain period of time. But many don't know the other step... some of these companies have special promotions for gun sales staff, too. Because if they get something, they'll push the product.

For example, a famous one is Bushmaster's promotion. I have no idea if they still do this, but for a period of time if sales people in the shops presented the paperwork that proved the sale of one of their products, they got a certain number of lobsters for every certain amount of paperwork. Yeah, no kidding. I was shocked the day our box arrived and I popped open the top to find a dozen live lobsters inside. I had personally been awarded two live lobsters from this lot, and I was tasked with getting them home. In nothing. So for the 30 minute ride home from work I had two lobsters walking around the passenger seat of my car. When it arrived that time again the following year, I "forgot" to collect the paperwork for my lobsters. It's kinda hard to eat something that keeps crawling into your lap for warmth on the way home.

Most companies compensate the sales people with a small cash bonus (S&W was known to give out $15 per handgun, and Springfield Armory and Ruger allowed you to collect points towards a free gun, which sounds a lot easier than it actually was).

The shop I worked for at the time had been chosen as one of the gun shops allowed to participate in a Benelli program. The deal... the sales person in the chosen stores who sold the most Benelli products won a free Super Nova of their choice, one per chosen shop.

Now, for those not familiar with Benelli, they are very good shotguns... with a very big price tag for a production gun. The Super Nova is a pump action shotgun, and it held the smallest price tag out of their selection. The one above, at that time (about 2006) was $560. Their semi-auto selections at the time were reaching above $1500 a pop, some breaking that $2000 mark. So selling Benellis in quantity - especially over the one month period the contest took into consideration - was no small task.

At the end of the month I had paperwork proving four sales of Benelli shotguns. So did one other sales person. We had a tie.

The winner was decided by a "guess the number I am thinking" game. The store owner told a witness his number and me the other sales person had to guess as close as possible. His number was nine. The other sales person said four, I said six. The shotgun was mine.

I decided to be the weird one, so I chose the Super Nova with the Advantage Timber camo finish and ComforTech stock with a 26" barrel. Which shocked everyone working there, all of who wanted the shorter, black version with the pistol grip stock.

I spent a few months with customers and others telling me to give the shotgun to someone else because a female can't possibly handle a 12 gauge shotgun.

Well, in response, I kept my shotgun and took up sporting clays! So there! :P

I am one of the weird masses who names my guns, and I take great care and pride in those names. This shotgun is nick named the obvious "Nelli" but her name is actually "Zes." Dutch for six, the number I chose to win it. I don't shoot it often anymore, but still have it and care for it.

Zes has stories of her own at this point, the most popular being the flash flood I got caught in with my "puller" at the sporting clays course. The area was in the middle of a several months long drought when a sudden thunder storm moved in and caused the lake to flood over the course. My puller and I were soon up to our chests in water, me with the shotgun over my head. He found something we could use as a make shift raft to get us to higher ground before we had to swim there, and when we realized we lacked a paddle, Zes ended up in the flood waters, used as a very efficient raft paddle. When I got home and got dried out completely, I cleaned her off and found a new selling point for the duck hunters who came into the shop regularly. Not a spot of rust formed and no damage was to be reported. Zes passed a test no other gun I've ever owned had to try out!