Age and firearms choices

[stubbicatt]

Here as I get older my taste in firearms has definitely changed.

Was a time when I would roll around on the ground and shoot high-power and even 3 gun. I enjoyed it then.

Then there were all those cheap com-bloc surplus rifles in the early 90s. A brief dalliance with Class III stuff.

Now? I find myself completely happy with old Winchester High Walls and lever rifles. Heck, I even prefer revolvers to auto pistols -- mostly because it isn't as easy to bend over and do "the pickin' chicken" policing up my brass. That and the versatility of loading lower velocity, lower recoil ammunition for my fun shooting tasks.

Used to be an AR15 was inexpensive compared to a good bolt actioned rifle on the gun store racks. Used to be a rifle was called a "rifle." Now, it is a "platform." (Just as Starbucks has its own lingo which I do not abide- there is small, medium, and large- I do not abide, and will not call a rifle a "platform.")

Similarly I have a fond place in my heart for old British motorcycles.

Anybody else old enough to have transitioned similarly?

Regards,
Stubb.

[phonejack]

Same here for firearms. As for motorcycles I occasionally look at pics of the 1948 flathead Harley I once owned!

[30calflash]

I've always liked blued steel and walnut, a little more now.

Started to pick up some leverguns a few years back as my eyesight started to change a lot with my shooting eye. Makes a better choice to go from right to left eye/hand shooting. I like my RH bolts but if I go lefty for shooting/hunting the Wins and Marlins will go afield.

[JWFilips]

age Plays a factor : I can't even look at a black gun (Dime a dozen)! Old bolts & mil sups from the big wars are great...The old wildcats are too!

[snoopy]

Was out for many years, didn't own not even one. Soo, still experimenting with different things, love a nice stock and blue, but synthetic and stainless is practical for beating around. Definitely prefer revolvers, have given up on the biggest calibers, just doesn't do it for me to take a beating at the range. As for hunting, what little I do, I have every thing I could ever need, with some redundancy, and I usually set out with that in mind before a purchase. IE, not getting something that is so close in performance to what I already have, but tastes change, and a good deal is a good deal, can't turn those down.

[JSnover]

Like most everyone else I grew up with wood stocks and I still prefer them. I caught the Tacticool bug in my late twenties and have since recovered, though I don't plan to part with a couple of plastic-stocked rifles.
I used to love the lever-action 30-30 but after a while I felt like it was too middle-of-the-road. Now my favorite leverguns are in magnum pistol calibers.

[Nobade]

I'm with ya there Stubbicat! I've gotten rid of every semiauto I had except the 1911, and most of my rifles are made to be used with black powder. (Still have a few more modern ones but most of my shooting is BP any more.) Haven't fired a jacketed bullet in 20 years. Got lots of muzzleloaders, they hold my attention mostly any more. I figure as long as nobody is shooting at me I don't have to be in much of a hurry to fire my own rifle.

-Nobade

[Bazoo]

Im only 32, but I much prefer older guns, or older style guns. I like all varieties of guns okay, but really lean towards lever guns, revolvers, and single shots. I prefer guns made for smokeless powder. I like guns from WW1 to about the 1980s. I like gun books from that era too. I am very interested in the history of the 357 magnum, and the 44 to a lesser extent. But the turn of the century is also an interesting area of study also. Mostly though, I like used, older guns, from the 60s-80s or so.

[sghart3578]

Count me in. I have one semi-auto firearm, a 1911 for nostalgia reasons.

I love levers and milsurps. I have a 50 cal muzzleloader also, a front stuffer not these inline abominations.

I cherish my S&W revolvers, all of which are blued steel with walnut stocks and no lawyer locks.

My boys keep pushing me to get an AR before it's too late.

[dragon813gt]

I like Savage 99s. I like Marlin 1894/1895s. I like double action revolvers. I like single action revolvers. I like cartridges that serve no good purpose. But I also like polymer pistols. I like assembling ARs a lot. I like shooting them a little. So I pretty much like all firearms. Variety is the spice of life after all :)

[quilbilly]

I still miss my BSA Lightning

[Kraschenbirn]

While I do have a couple target-model .22 pistols, a 1911 or three, and a Garand, I'm definitely not into semi-autos or the "MSR" thing. Nothing in my safes has a plastic frame or stock and, more than 2/3 of my long guns were manufactured before I was born.


Bill

[Kraschenbirn]

I still miss my BSA Lightning

My first bike was an Enduro Star and my last BSA was a Lightning with a Gold Star in between the two. Had to really love those Limeys to tolerate the faults (no pun intended) of their Lucas electrical systems, though.


Old biker maxim: Why the Brits drink their beer warm? 'Cause Lucas makes refrigerators, too!!


Bill

[Hick]

I grew up shooting my grandfather's Remington 4 22 (Lyman peep sight). For many, many years that was all I had because i don't hunt particularly and the fancy scoped rifles didn't catch my eye. Then my father-in-law gave me his old Winchester lever gun in 32 WS and a set of loading dies. That was what opened my eyes. Now I'm working on my 'stable' of shooters-- all with iron sights of some kind and loading for all the centerfires. This of course lead me to your world of cast-- mainly for that 32 WS. Nothing wrong with old things. My 'new' car is a 15 year old Camaro, my old one is a 30+ year old Corvette.

I think its an age thing-- age helps us appreciate age and workmanship

[goryshaw]

My first bike was an Enduro Star and my last BSA was a Lightning with a Gold Star in between the two. Had to really love those Limeys to tolerate the faults (no pun intended) of their Lucas electrical systems, though.


Old biker maxim: Why the Brits drink their beer warm? 'Cause Lucas makes refrigerators, too!!


Bill
Some more Lucas electric comments, from an english poster on another forum.



Did you hear the one about the guy that peeked into a Land Rover and asked the owner "How can you tell one switch from another at night? They all look the same. " - "He replied, "It does not matter which one you use, nothing happens !"
The Lucas motto: "Get home before dark."
Lucas is the patent holder for the short circuit.
Lucas - Inventor of the first intermittent wiper.
Lucas - Inventor of the self-dimming headlamp.
The three position Lucas switch - Dim, Flicker and Off.
The Original Anti-Theft Device - Lucas Electrics.
>Lucas is an acronym for Loose Unsoldered Connections and Splices
Lucas systems actually uses AC current; it just has a random frequency.
"I have had a Lucas pacemaker for years and have never had any trou..."
If Lucas made guns, wars would not start.
A friend of mine told everybody he never had any electric problems with his Lucas equipment. Today he lives in the countryside, in a large manor with lots of friendly servants around him an an occasional ice cold shower...
Back in the 70's, Lucas decided to diversify its product line and began manufacturing vacuum cleaners. It was the only product they offered which did not suck.
Q: Why do the British drink warm beer? A: Because Lucas makes their refrigerators
Alexander Graham Bell invented the Telephone.Thomas Edison invented the Light Bulb. Joseph Lucas invented the Short Circuit.
Recommended procedure before taking on a repair of Lucas equipment: Check the position of the stars,kill a chicken and walk three times clockwise around your car chanting:" Oh mighty Prince of Darkness protect your unworthy servant.."

[Tar Heel]

I go through phases. I am liking the older stuff more and more now. The tacticool black stuff has no hold on me - never did really. Still love the odd ball stuff. SSK, 32 WS, 41 Mag, 32-20, 45-70 to name a few.

[ndnchf]

I'm old enough, but never had interest in modern guns. When I was a kid my dad had a Colt 1849 pocket pistol. When I was about 10 I took it apart without his knowledge. It took me a week to figure out how to put it back together. Nearly 50 years later I still shoot antiques of all sorts. The most modern I have is a 1918 Imperial luger. I've also been playing with old Indian motorcyles for the last 25 years, thus my screen name.

[pietro]

.

( sigh )........... I STILL miss my 750 Norton Commando..........


.

[MT Gianni]

When I was 8 my cousins came over with a S&W K frame 22. I got to shoot it once. At 61 I will let you know when I tire of S&W revolvers.

[big bore 99]

I've settled in with the 45-70 single shot rifles. No plastic for me. Sold my last bike a few years ago. It was a 1951 Panhead I completely restored. Took me 12 years in my spare time. Years ago, I had an old Norton single and a Triumph Bonneville.

[Fishman]

I like guns of all types. Why limit yourself?

[TXGunNut]

I understand your refinement process. I still keep 1911's around for social equipment and may or may not have an MSR around for the same reason. In the last several years I've stumbled across several investment-grade lever action shooters and really enjoy shooting 1873 Colts and clones with BP. I just wish the old Winchesters wouldn't come along so close together, lol. I have more than a few S&W revolvers from my LE and PPC days but can't recall the last range trip for any of them. At the prices they're bringing a few could be sold to finance other things that interest me more.
The only constant is my old Ruger MKI. Bought new over 30 years ago; my first gunsmithing project (Allen screw trigger stop), excellent target/plinker/plate match gun and just an excellent little pistol regardless of my mood or inclination at the time. It's lost a fair bit of bluing over the years but none of it's accuracy or dependability. I have no idea how may thousands of rounds this little pistol has fired but suspect it's over 50K and 100K wouldn't surprise me.

[TCFAN]

I like revolvers of all types and western style lever action rifles.1911's are OK to play with and I can not forget my Contender pistols and Encore rifles..................Terry

[Lonegun1894]

I figure the new stuff has it's uses for defense and I have a few modern toys for defense and due to job requirements, but when it is for hunting or just fun, I use revolvers or leverguns about half the time, and flintlocks the other half. That's when I'm not using a rimfire.

[NC_JEFF]

When I started accumulating guns (in my 20s), I stuck to more "common" selections. 30-06 rifles, revolvers and it it was semi-auto it was the 1911 in 45 ACP and who dont love most 22 rifles. I've gone thru several 9mm pistols because their popularity really grew in the early 90's, bought a 629 that I loved but it wasn't very practical for me. I never did stray from the more "traditional" guns/calibers of the last 50 years or so. Now that I'm in my 50s, I have def narrowed my list down, i love my old win mod 70 in '06, my k-frame 38 and my 1911, my 10 22 and the glenfield bolt 22. My stepson buys guns more often than groceries sometimes so I get the shoot everything he brings over to the house but I'm completely satisfied with the few old friends in my gun cabinet.

[BigMatt]

I started with modern guns and went through a long range paper punching phase followed by a trapshooting phase.

With age came an appreciation for history and leverguns. Whether Winchester, Savage or Marlin, I am interested....well, I still like Winchester Model 12's too.

I only wish Indiana would allow regular rifle calibers for deer hunting. I would love to take a whitetail with my Marlin 93 in 32 HPS.

[nekshot]

Yup, here you loud and clear. I hate, despise picking up brass and I am too tight to leave it lay so that narrows the field for me. Guns for me are like engines, I am amazed at the performance of the new 8 cylinders and then a old flathead v8 goes by and does that sound good or what!!

[Blackwater]

Variety will always be the spice of life, and my penchant for experimentation has led me into many areas I might have actually been better off not getting into, but it was definitely fun while it lasted. Overall, though, I've followed Stubb's pattern, and really like the leverguns almost as good as nice steel and wood custom sporters. As to picking up that brass from autos, I agree 100%, but like my .45's enough that I'll still do it, even if it is more slowly than I once did it. At least I have the extra time now for doing so. I also like long range rifle shooting. It'll always be a challenge because the wind is never quite the same form shot to shot. Keeps it challenging, and that keeps me focused and thinking. Fast, rapid fire with a pistol on multiple targets is a bigger challenge than it once was, too, but still great fun, and like long range rifle, sure keeps me challenged and thinking. .22's are always just plain ol' fun any way you cut it. Pistol or rifle. Awfully good training for the larger bores, too.

[lobogunleather]

Guns that I am willing to spend my Social Security checks for are all older than me.

Blued steel and walnut, with the occasional color case hardening. Obscure and obsolete calibers that require producing my own ammunition.

[missionary5155]

Good morning
My first center fire rifle was a Marlin 336 in 32 Winchester. Have never lost interest in lever flippers. Have more and am always on the prowl for another interesting one. 32 WCF right to 50-95...
Motor cycles :) Got the first when I was 13... still on them. Most favorite over the years.. A 1972 Norton Commando 750. Bought it new in Austin TX just outside Zilker Park while stationed at FT Hood. Most reliable has been a 175 Yamaha bought new here in Peru in 92. On the 3rd piston and well over 300,000 kilometers. Been over a 13,500 mountain pass near 100 times. Now my "downtown" bike here in Arequipa.
Mike in Peru

[Shuz]

I guess I'm a bit older than most, but I prefer revolvers, bolt action and lever guns. I do fess up to owning a couplea .380ACP's that I load with cast boolits for "close social work", but I will never own a "platform" or black AR style rifle. In fact, I am letting my long time "Guns and Ammo" mag subscription expire because it seems there is more and more articles and pictures of semi-autos of some flavour, and not much of what I prefer to shoot and own.

[missionary5155]

Howdy Shuz
Being older than most is a privilege. It is the alternative we have been blessed at avoiding.
Revolvers :) Simple, accurate and available in any powerhouse quit able to do any task.
Mike in Peru

[Nicholas]

My preferences run to big bore revolvers over pistols; Contenders are great, too. I also like center fire rifles in bolt, lever, and single shot actions. Military bolt rifles are neat and were easy to come by. I like to shoot other people's guns of all types; it might spark a new interest or insight. This turned me on to o/u shotguns for skeet. I too do not like chasing brass and that affects my tastes. I like both aesthetics and utility depending on intended purpose.

Went to a small gun show yesterday and was surprised to see only ONE AR rifle on the tables and racks. Maybe I tuned out a couple more but there was a definite lack. Is the market saturated, or demand excessive? I think the sorts of guns I like will always be interesting to a solid core of shooters and collectors.

[starmac]

I don't know that age has a lot to do with it, folks just prefer what they prefer. I started out prefering levers and revolvers, and that has never wavered, even though I have owned a little of everything, and still do.
What I have found that changes is eyesight, and since I will never scope some of my levers, I now have a few bolts for serious work. lol

[MarkP]

I started out with a 10/22 and a Ruger Standard Auto 4-3/4" and SxS's & O/U shotguns; then got into black powder I bought several kits from local stores and Dixie GW, single shot rifles, pistols, and revolvers then put these aside and moved into high velocity wild cats (the bigger the cartridge and smaller the bullet the better) Also had a fondness for tiny cute cartridges in single shot falling blocks. I have always been a center fire revolver fan and preferred longer barrels, I used to have the mind set that short barreled revolvers were nearly useless. CCW is a relatively new concept and Nebraska just allowed it in around 2007 or so. I now find myself shooting my snubbies more than the longer barreled revolvers. I also find my self shooting the larger slower cartridges now and the ultra high speed rifles do not get used much. Ironically I have used the high velocity rifles with cast and Trailboss more than jacketed in the last (5) yrs. Other than 22's I do not have any auto loading rifles, I have always wanted an M1 Carbine and Garand. I have been tempted to follow the heard and get some black rifles mainly to try the (3) gun shoots.

[dverna]

It all depends on what your needs are as to what gun you prefer. I really enjoy shooting lever actions and my SSA revolvers but they are not good choices for all my needs. So I carry semi-auto pistols for self defense and have a few AR's for if/when the SHTF.

I have a couple of .30/30 lever actions that are all I really need for hunting here in MI but still prefer the .308 or .300 Win Mag. if hunting from a blind. Do I need 1 MOA accuracy??? Probably not. Just me I guess.


About the only guns I do not like are those that are inaccurate, or a royal pain to take down and clean. Have no use for any rimfire other than a .22. But with .22 ammo these days, I wind up shooting .38 spl in my revolvers and lever actions instead for cheap practice/fun.

[Artful]

I also go thru stages - I've poked at most sports, currently trying to make smaller groups at longer ranges - I think I'll always keep my old toys (single shots, levers, milsup, etc)
as periodically I get one out for a range trip down memory lane.

[perotter]

Since I first got one in my late teens, I've liked shooting lever action .357s the best and still do. In 2nd place would be standard type self loading 7.62x39s and .223 rifles. I have to other stuff for working guns.

I raced(flat track) a Triumph 750 in a Trackmaster frame years ago. The bike belonged to some else. I just rode it and maintained it. I was able to keep it in mid pack in the mains running against HD XR-750s.

[fouronesix]

I too have gone through several phases of interest. A few times, circling back over ground already traveled. Never did catch the tactical bug. Sold my Colt AR about 18 years ago and currently own only one plastic Flash Gordon ray gun, a Glock for home defense. Am in the process of drastically thinning the herd to finance other interests. This is the second time I've done this and it will probably be the last.

Will end up, more or less, with a small handful of guns ranging from a 22 up to a dangerous game bolt gun in 450 Mag.

As to motorized toys? Got tired of working on them and spending money I didn't have on them when I was 18 years old. I have noticed the latest trend with the high school age group around here is to get a diesel pick up with a stubby flatbed and set it up to make noise and blow smoke. Lovely I guess when daddy pays the bills. Outgrew making noise and otherwise being obnoxious with a vehicle when I was 5 years old- I took the playing card and clothespin off the spokes of my bicycle.

[Petrol & Powder]

As to guns, I go through phases.
As to British motor vehicles, I've worked on enough to say that everything in post #15 is accurate and funny!

[Steve77]

I started out with a penchant for mid century double barrel shotguns. Drifted into Ruger No.1s. Played with T/C encores. Then Leverguns, and then boltguns. Now, I am into pistols with cylinders or magazines, but primarily 9mm and 41 mag. I am wanting to get a 41 mag marlin lever action and a 9mm carbine so I can shoot handgun or long gun with same ammo.

I really like cartridges that fizzled out or never caught on, especially 41 mag, 6.5x55 to name a few.

[rking22]

if it's age that causes it, I must have always been old. Most of my guns are older than me!
I can't say I've changed much at all. I do go thru cycles, and they frequently repeat. A good reason for not selling nice guns you have not shot in a while! I've always liked blued steel and walnut, and "something different". Whatever is the "in" thing is not likely to me on my shopping list. I did buy an AR stripped lower in 08 (like everybody else), then sold it in 2012 without ever opening it(for 3x what I gave in 08). I get seriously interested in something and learn as much as possiable, then it loses it's appeal and I move on to another. Airguns , first British gas rams, then springers then PCP and back to a springers and an old Blue Streak.
Shotguns have been an always interest, but I have gone thru pump guns to OU and back to pre war pumps and SxS. Hunting and competition will always keep some nice shotguns in hand. I do have a "home defence" shotgun, it's a stock 1962 870 with a short barrel. As tactical as I get :) Vintage and International Skeet are my competion interests for several years now, rifles and handguns for fun.
Rifles, went from International 3 position and hunting to high power, sillewet, 22s , Sharps, levers, pretty much anything that's accurate and useful. Flint guns and mid bore cast fight now at the forefront.
Revolvers have always ruled. I have a long time interest(1976) in Contenders but the Encore leaves me cold, had one for maybe 6 months.I have one 1911, since 1977, and I wore out an ACE kit on it! Oh and I do like Beretta 84 series guns, presently in the background to 32 revolvers.

I'm just fickle, or an accumulator (wife says packrat) but I do have fun.

Now I never owned a British bike, rode several( nothing like loosing lights at midnight doing "way to fast" in the country on a friends Norton) and I do own an MGB. Yes, lucus is as bad as they say, warm beer and all! My Bike is an 87 BMW, I do like most things well aged :)

[sghart3578]

I have a thing for sporterized milsurps. I have a VZ24 7X57 that was originally a cavalry type carbine in South America. My son did it up for me in a Boyd's stock and some cold blueing. I have a Springfield(Remington) 1903 in a Bishop stock. I am about to add an Enfield, also in a Bishop stock, with a 5 round magazine. Very sweet looking.

[Outpost75]

I guess I'm a bit older than most, but I prefer revolvers, bolt action and lever guns. I do fess up to owning a couplea .380ACP's that I load with cast boolits for "close social work", but I will never own a "platform" or black AR style rifle. In fact, I am letting my long time "Guns and Ammo" mag subscription expire because it seems there is more and more articles and pictures of semi-autos of some flavour, and not much of what I prefer to shoot and own.

I am 67 and burned out on ARs and AKs before they became fashionable.

My gun safe looks like a pre-1964 time capsule, except that I do own Ruger and Marlin cowboy guns and some late 1960s production Colt wheelguns.

Expect we be birds of a feather.

[michaelcj]

First rifle was my Grand'da's 1890 ..22WRF [ca 1896] still have it and still shoot it.
Everything else kind of grew out of that. 18 months to pull the plug time as a LEO with 40 years, so Revolvers were my first "short" gun.
Guess I'm kinda vintage and my guns AND cartridges reflect that [which came first? Chicken or egg???]
1890 .22WRF ca. 1896
69A .22RF ca 1939
39A .22RF ca. 1946
67A .22RE ca. 1955
43 .22Hornet ca. 1951
94 .30WCF ca. 1932
1885 Browning 45-70 ca. 1995 [how the heck did that sneak in here?]
1944 Springfield 03A3 action only custom built sporter in .275Rigby [7x57]
98 Mauser custom sporter in 30.06. Don't know the age of the action.
Lefever A grade Skeet 1936 12ga
1897 Riot gun 1924
Citori 20 ga Field

S&W model #10 2" current plain clothes carry…. 1974 [bought new]
S&W modle #10 Davis built PPC gun 1974 [One of the youngsters on the Department refers to it as my "Snake Pliskin gun"
1911A` .45ACP Springfield Armory 1990's [Uniform and tactical carry]

The only real outlier is a Sprinfield MIA from the 90's but that is still pretty old school.

Lukas Electrics are hard to love but I will admit to several affairs over the years, some had four wheels some two.

You are what you eat.

[stubbicatt]

Yep. The decision to sell the Glock 19 was difficult to work through, but in the end I chose to sell it to partially fund a S&W 586 L-Comp for CCW. Unlike most people I guess, an auto pistol for self defense doesn't speak to me like a revolver in that role. Same for automatic rifles, I just don't see a need for one I suppose. I prefer the discipline and slower pace of shooting breach seated, cast bullets, in my 1904 High Wall, to a rapid fire string. Not a thing wrong with a single shot rifle, I can shoot it from my hind legs and really enjoy it.

Or my 1904 vintage 1894 Lever rifle in 30-30, which is a whole lot of fun to shoot in the lever action silhouette game.

Every once in awhile I'll run into a younger person who is all into the tactical thing. Has chest rigs and all that anticipating some sort of Red Dawn situation, and his "platform" all decked out with lasers and optics and flashlights and what have you. I don't discount that such a situation could happen, I just know that if it does, I'm really too old to participate, and so don't see the need to prepare for such a situation. Funny how it goes, now I am a "Fudd" to those guys. Someone to be derided and scorned because I shoot old rifles. They cannot understand what age does to your body and your reaction times, etc. About all I'm able to do anymore is slow fire.

And let's face it, to me a rifle is mostly a hobby, not a weapon for serious social encounters. The aesthetics of the old guns appeal to me. I hope I get to continue to enjoy this hobby into my dotage.

[Fire_Medic]

I'll chime in here with a perspective from a younger person (35).

I have been ill for over 16 months now, where I have had to learn to walk again a couple of times (reason still cannot be spoken of publicly). This time has been both hell and heaven for me. Along the way I have realized what is truly important in life. Couple months into the entire ordeal, I deleted my FB and other social media accounts, and it was the beginning of a big change for me. I guess you could say the Tactical BS has been flushed out of my system, and I just realized life is too short to not enjoy what you want to. I have always been drawn to things from a previous time. For instance as one example, I started shaving with a straight blade razor years ago, and will never go back to the modern day stuff. It was one hell of a learning experience, but to think this is an art that is becoming lost.

I sold the upper half to my SBR and traded away a suppressor, and have three revolvers and a lever rifle en route to me lol. I am very much looking forward to not chasing brass so damn much at the range, and if I can ever make it out to an IDPA match again I plan to bust out one of the wheel guns and have at it just because.

It was not easy to get to the point of letting my G17 go, but I also sold off every last darn extra part, etc, I had for it. Although I do feel there might be a 10MM Glock in my distant future, but we will see if a smith 1006 and a 10MM 1911 cure that itch for me.

Ok enough babbling, shoot straight and stay safe everyone.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Here as I get older my taste in firearms has definitely changed.

Was a time when I would roll around on the ground and shoot high-power and even 3 gun. I enjoyed it then.

Then there were all those cheap com-bloc surplus rifles in the early 90s. A brief dalliance with Class III stuff.

Now? I find myself completely happy with old Winchester High Walls and lever rifles. Heck, I even prefer revolvers to auto pistols -- mostly because it isn't as easy to bend over and do "the pickin' chicken" policing up my brass. That and the versatility of loading lower velocity, lower recoil ammunition for my fun shooting tasks.

Used to be an AR15 was inexpensive compared to a good bolt actioned rifle on the gun store racks. Used to be a rifle was called a "rifle." Now, it is a "platform." (Just as Starbucks has its own lingo which I do not abide- there is small, medium, and large- I do not abide, and will not call a rifle a "platform.")

Similarly I have a fond place in my heart for old British motorcycles.

Anybody else old enough to have transitioned similarly?

Regards,
Stubb.

Here I am in 1982, with one of the 139 V- 1000 Heskeths made. It is a far cry from my 1968 BSA Bantam two-stroke, developed from DKW plans taken as war reparations, which would have been a bad engineon for running a camp generator. If Harley had developed the Hesketh they would have wiped out the Japanese. If Hesketh hadn't wildly overestimated the size of the domestic market, they would have wiped out the Japanese. The Japanese are still in business. Age has added no more waistline than my sheepskin lined jacket did.

One of my favourite shooting memories, from the early 70s, was of seeing some young shooters on a range, with the latest guns, optics, clothing etc., poking fun at an old man with pebble glasses in a scruffy raincoat, who had made a pretty uninspiring ten-shoot group with a totally standard open-sighted SMLE Lee-Enfield. (Later, when we decided we liked him very much, one of us joked that the army had forgotten to take it back in 1919, and just for an instant he looked like a puppy which has desecrated your carpet.)

So he violated range rules by phoning the markers and telling them to leave the target up till he had finished. Then he charged the magazine, repeated the performance in fourteen seconds, and reloaded two more clips in two more seconds.

155700

[Butler Ford]

155714

155715

155716

155717


I don't have a picture of the lever guns! 22, .357, 44Mag, 45 Colt, 454, 30-30 & 45-70




BF

[northmn]

Now retired and have settled in a bit. Always liked revolvers but use a 38 special and a 45 Colt as the magnums are a bit too much to suit me in a pistol. Anything I want to do with a pistol I can do with either. Actually use an old Ruger 22 auto the most but it is nearly as old as I am.
AS to rifles I have nothing against black stocks and kind of like them, but I use either levers or bolts. A while back I sold my 270 I hunted with for years and do not miss it. It was just plain too much gun for my uses on deer. Went to lever actions and picked up an old 35 Remington Marlin about as old as I am and like it, used a 30-30 a bit and now have a newer 243 bolt with a black stock. Kind of like the 243 for the field work. May take out my old 303 MK 4 next year as it was my first deer rifle and my son also got his first with it. Nostalgia, mostly.
I think the biggest effect aging has had on me is my total impatience with those that see to want to use a hammer to swat flies. 300 magnums for deer and that sort of thing. Before buying the 243 I checked out a forum as a guest and read more BS than I could believe. First when asked if it was adequate, one said that you have to be "extra careful" about shot placement with a 243. How can you be "extra careful" if you are an experienced responsible hunter? After using it on deer, any shot I would take with the 270 I would take with the 243 or my 35 or a 30-30 at closer ranges. A couple of arm chair quarterbacks were pushing the fact that you need at least a 7mm-08 to take deer. I think you can get my drift.
I have many years experience with guns on deer, and have shot them with a longbow, recurve, muzzle loader, pistol, black powder cartridge and several center fire rifles. Got a black bear with a 22 Hornet etc. What I settled in on is what I find works for me, and I have been "there done that" with the novelty stuff like muzzle loaders or pistols, such that I find selective hunting for venison more rewarding than worrying about bragging rites because I have shot a deer with some pip squeak caliber like the 32-20 or other forms of novelties. I actually let a very large buck go without shooting at it a couple of years ago because I did not like the shot, he was chasing does and why shoot the prize bull? Age kind of mellows you on these issues.

DP

[Love Life]

Things have stayed relatively consistent through the years. Revolvers and semi-auto pistols on the handgun side of things. Bolt action, semi-autos, and single shots on the rifle side of things. I buy what I want as it pleases me, and to heck with what anybody may think. I can take out a revolver or semi-auto handgun, or a Bolt/semi/Single shot rifle and do quite well with all of them. I guess I just don't want to limit myself, and I strive to be most goodestest at what I do.

Single shots for when I'm feeling like it, and proficient with them. Bolt actions when I'm feeling like it, and proficient with them. Semi-autos when I feel like it, and proficient with them. Etc. for the handguns.

Guns are tools, and I like to have the best tool for whatever task is at hand. I mean, you wouldn't use a screwdriver to paint with would you? That's my outlook on it.

[youngmman]

I still like them all, frankly. I just finished building two long range tactical rifles from the actions up; one in 308 and the other in 300 WM. I'm still working on loads for them. About 30 years ago I built two competition rifles with Hart barrels and Canjar set triggers, one in .223 and the other in 22-250. I can't imagine anything made since has a leg up on accuracy.

The real change for me has come in handguns. I grew up with the S&W double actions with my all time favorite being a Mo. 28 6" bbl I bought used and tuned to cast bullets as I did the 629's. The problem is a woodworking accident with a wood shaper banged up my right index finger so I have limited use of it and can only shoot single action. I also developed a liking for the 1911 and really love developing loads for various bullets I cast.

So the beat goes on. The only real problem is what will happen to them when I'm out of the picture. I'm 67 so I'm not worrying about it now but I don't have any children or relatives who are interested.

[opos]

I'm an old duffer...78 and still have the love for blue/walnut from my youth....First rifle was a 62A Winchester and it's in the safe now. Went to a small Ag college in the 50's and worked in a gun/boat store all the time after school...we could get 1917 Enfields and 03's as well as 98's for about $15 or $20...this will make all the current collectors cringe but I can't count the number of milsurps we cut up for "deer rifles"...cut them down...put a Fajen or Bishop stock on them...mount a 4x fixed Weaver scope and go hunting...I don't cut up anything any more and haven't for a long time but that was 60 years ago when the milsurps sat in barrels in every sporting goods store, sears, western auto, and the magazines were full of ads....In the early 60's the American Rifleman had an ad for 03-A3's for $20 if you joined the NRA (for $5) ... I had every one I knew sign up and order a rifle for me..bet I had 20 or more at one time....

Today I have my 62A, a "sporter" 1917 Winchester in 30-06..a "sporter" 1917 Winchester in 25-06, an 8mm model 98 Mauser in 8mm and a 98 Mauser in 7mm Mauser...

My handgun in the "day" was a 30 caliber Luger that I shot in the police building basement (long concrete hallway)...used cigarette filters or cotton balls for hearing in that echo chamber...I'm 60% deaf today.

Today my handguns are all over the place...I load so have fun with whatever handgun I shoot....my arthritis keeps me away from the 44 mag, etc but I do love a 45 Colt and a 44 Special in a Ruger single action....got some CZ's because I like the way they are built...

Motorcycles? I have major scars from hitting a parked car on a Triumph in 1955...made a real mess of the bike and of me....In high school I had a little single...the pic is from 1953 just about the time "the Wild one" with Brando came out...the picture tells the whole story...had to have just the right look. Ran with a guy that had an old Royal Enfield...it was quite a bike....have not been on a bike in a very long time....very, very long time.

155727

Also know about Lucas electrical...had a 52MGTD with Lucas electrical system..every time it rained or got wet really strange things happened.

155732

[osteodoc08]

I'm 34. I grew up on revolvers, levers and bolt guns. Blued steel and walnut. My first love was a Smith 57 in 41 mag. Still is my favorite and accompanies me to most range trips. I have varied tastes including the MSR. I dont pretend to be a commando, but appreciate the "platform" and what it can do.

My most recent purchase was a pre-64 Winchester 1894 in 32 WS. I love my lever actions. The original high capacity "assault rifle."

[w5pv]

I started out with a single shot Stevens .22 and a single shot 16 gauge Stevens and have went through several shotguns but not many rifles.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Also know about Lucas electrical...had a 52MGTD with Lucas electrical system..every time it rained or got wet really strange things happened.



Ah, Joseph Lucas, the Prince of Darkness! It has to be said, though, that his masterpieces rose to not very good status when they dried out, and old bike enthusiasts salvage them from scrapyards to this day. Until the 1980s at least Italian electricals had a tendency to corrode and stay corroded.

[Blue2]

I think I am regressing-- I played at Skeet and Trap when I was much younger. I liked it as a pastime but never buckled down to get serious about it. I then got into pistol transitioning from bulls-eye to metallic silhouette then finally I.P.S.C. . I really liked the pistol phase of my life and was a top competitor in my area. However once middle age eyes took ahold of me I moved on to long range rifle shooting.I found this sport very satisfying and did well at it but the cost to play kept climbing. As in most technical sports it becomes an equipment race to stay at the top of the field. Now as I am timing out and heading into old age I like the older guns and plinking with cast bullets.

[TXGunNut]

Now as I am timing out and heading into old age I like the older guns and plinking with cast bullets. -Blue2

May want to take another look at trap and skeet. At my club the members are shooting skeet well into their seventies and eighties. Most are pretty good but a few take it pretty seriously. Presbyopia is not a big hindrance in the clay sports and expensive glass or complicated loading techniques are not required. You can spend pretty serious money on a really good trap gun but an off the rack Citori can be had for $3K, often less. I buy cases of target shells on sale to save my loading room time for more deserving projects.
But yes, I'm looking forward to a little plinking and a good visit with my shooting buddy Saturday. It doesn't matter what we shoot, as long as it's old & interesting.

[Tenbender]

And I thought I was alone. I want bolt action, revolvers, blue steel and walnut. Anything I own can go in the field. No wall hangers or safe queen's. No black guns just beauty.
Guess I'm just old or old fashion . \
Cast my own and roll'em up. Then when I'm gone they can be scrapped or become " Wall Hangers "

[fatelk]

Cool thread. I feel like I'm in pretty good company here!

Like most of you all who have been into guns for decades, my interests have run the gamut and evolved over time. I went through the typical phase of having to have an AK and an AR, then lost interest. Nowadays I enjoy some black guns, black powder that is! Nothing wrong with the tactical stuff by the way, to each their own. They just seem like a practical tool to me, a tool with all the history and aesthetics of a hammer on the shelf at Home Depot. Old guns are much more interesting to me.


Every once in awhile I'll run into a younger person who is all into the tactical thing. Has chest rigs and all that anticipating some sort of Red Dawn situation, and his "platform" all decked out with lasers and optics and flashlights and what have you. I don't discount that such a situation could happen, I just know that if it does, I'm really too old to participate, and so don't see the need to prepare for such a situation. Funny how it goes, now I am a "Fudd" to those guys. Someone to be derided and scorned because I shoot old rifles. They cannot understand what age does to your body and your reaction times, etc. About all I'm able to do anymore is slow fire.

And let's face it, to me a rifle is mostly a hobby, not a weapon for serious social encounters. The aesthetics of the old guns appeal to me. I hope I get to continue to enjoy this hobby into my dotage.

I think this is a very common idea for younger guys, a fantasy if you will- facing the bad guys with superior firepower, saving the day and getting the girl just like in the movies. In general as a guy gets older the idea of armed confrontation or combat is not so much a fantasy as it is a nightmare.

I once asked someone on a different forum why he had a hundred loaded 30rnd AR magazines piled in his safe (he posted a photo). I'm not against any law abiding person having any quantity of whatever they want but was curious about the rationale, since I personally don't have much use for more than two or three magazines for any particular gun.

I received a very tart response something along the lines that they were serious guys with serious weapons preparing for serious situations, not just stupid old duffers poking holes in paper with obsolete junk at the range. OK, you got me there, whatever...

[sghart3578]

If I can find the classified ad again that I saw recently I will post it for your enjoyment. It was in reference to a rifle for sale, some magnum such and such, decked out for long range hunting.

To paraphrase the ad, it stressed the merits of the rifle's powerful cartridge, stating that it was a vast improvement over the "woefully underpowered 30-30's and 32 Specials".

Damn!!!

[Tenbender]

fatelk::: I'm not into bad guys. I'm into a hobby of casting, hunting, shooting and friends. I never think of my guns as a way forward. I'm old and not very well so don't push me but that is not what I'm about. I love my sport. I love my hobby. Hunt when my body allows. Shoot when the sun shines. All my friends on this forum should enjoy the sport and 2nd amendment . Should the force of our union come to arms against our foe's God bless our effort. I should hope all the forum only think in this manor . We can take care of business when necessary . Just hope it does not ever become necessary .

[Lonegun1894]

Cool thread. I feel like I'm in pretty good company here!

Like most of you all who have been into guns for decades, my interests have run the gamut and evolved over time. I went through the typical phase of having to have an AK and an AR, then lost interest. Nowadays I enjoy some black guns, black powder that is! Nothing wrong with the tactical stuff by the way, to each their own. They just seem like a practical tool to me, a tool with all the history and aesthetics of a hammer on the shelf at Home Depot. Old guns are much more interesting to me.



I think this is a very common idea for younger guys, a fantasy if you will- facing the bad guys with superior firepower, saving the day and getting the girl just like in the movies. In general as a guy gets older the idea of armed confrontation or combat is not so much a fantasy as it is a nightmare.

I once asked someone on a different forum why he had a hundred loaded 30rnd AR magazines piled in his safe (he posted a photo). I'm not against any law abiding person having any quantity of whatever they want but was curious about the rationale, since I personally don't have much use for more than two or three magazines for any particular gun.

I received a very tart response something along the lines that they were serious guys with serious weapons preparing for serious situations, not just stupid old duffers poking holes in paper with obsolete junk at the range. OK, you got me there, whatever...

I figure there's those who think of combat as a fantasy of some sort, and then there's those who have been there and pray that they never will again, even while living their lives ready to do it.

"The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war." - Douglas MacArthur

[fatelk]

I certainly won't disagree with that.

[stubbicatt]

Amen.

[irishtoo]

ill add my two cents. im 61and will shoot anything with a trigger, but i much prefer wood and steel. i have a ar15 cause i won it. i do the bulk of my hunting with flints or a win1885 or a ruger #3 both 45-70. i really like a maple stock with 100% stripe/curl.

[shdwlkr]

I find as I grow older my firearms interest seems to be going back where I was when I started with firearms, have some bp ones, some bolt action, some level, some semi, some black from when I was in the military. I find though that levers seem to suck me in easily followed by 1911's first smoke less powder pistol I ever fired and that was in the Army many decades ago, I remember up setting the DI's because I knew enough to find the 1911 that rattled the least to use when I qualified with it.

[Smoke4320]

I like most anything that goes bang when its supposed to ..hits what its aimed at and I can afford

[snowwolfe]

My likes and dislikes are mostly determined by the hunting situation. During the 35 years I lived in Alaska all the rifles were stainless bolts with plastic stocks. Handguns were all big bore stainless revolvers. Hunting was tough and often around salt water.
Fast forward and now we live in Tennessee on 42 acres of mostly white oak trees. Now my primary hunting rifles are levers with 1x4 or 1.5x5 scopes.
Managed to shoot a bison this year with a Winchester 1895 in .405. Big medicine, bully!
Still own some black rifles and semi auto pistols for practice and to carry when walking the property.

[Wayne Smith]

Still have the 45-70, 405 Win, etc but as I get older the 32-20 and 25-20 are more attractive. Likewise the 44Mag SuperBlackhawk doesn't get as much exercise as the 45's and the 32's.

[fatelk]

I forgot that this thread started out about guns AND bikes. I guess I don't have a lot to add in regards to changing taste in motorcycles because I never rode any late model or high performance bikes.

I was always either too broke or too cheap to afford anything nice. For road bikes, I think I miss my old KZ650 most. That was a fun bike. Maybe some day I'll get another.

[Ithaca Gunner]

My "taste" in firearms hasn't changed over the years, but the weight of said arms has tended to slide to the lighter side from a somewhat heavy custom Mauser .30/06 to a Winchester M-70 Featherweight .308 and from a full size 1911 to a lightweight Commander. Such is life when we survive the younger years I suppose.

[twc1964]

Im only just past the half century mark and i love guns of all sorts. I bought my first lever action just a couple years ago and am just now beginning to load cast for it. I own tupperware pistols, ruger single actions an old spanish mauser and a few modern military type guns of military type. All are fun at times but i really do enjoy my revolvers. Luckily for now i have a daughter who picks up brass when i a spraying with the tupperware, otherwise i might shoot my revolvers a lot more. One day id like to try a handi in 45-70 as i have never had any gun in that caliber. To each their own but i believe all shooters, reguardless of preferences must support other shooters right to own what guns they want to own. If we dont we will all lose our rights. Just my 02

[Lonegun1894]

Im only just past the half century mark and i love guns of all sorts. I bought my first lever action just a couple years ago and am just now beginning to load cast for it. I own tupperware pistols, ruger single actions an old spanish mauser and a few modern military type guns of military type. All are fun at times but i really do enjoy my revolvers. Luckily for now i have a daughter who picks up brass when i a spraying with the tupperware, otherwise i might shoot my revolvers a lot more. One day id like to try a handi in 45-70 as i have never had any gun in that caliber. To each their own but i believe all shooters, reguardless of preferences must support other shooters right to own what guns they want to own. If we dont we will all lose our rights. Just my 02

Now those are words of pure wisdom right there!

[rbuck351]

I'm older (67) and I tend to like older stuff. I like most guns although the AR ugh Platform doesn't do anything for me nor does the Ak. I did buy an SKS for $75 to see what the fuss was about. It shot 2 foot patterns at 50Yds and was kinda fun to get it to shoot 3" groups at 100yds. After that it got parked. Bolt gun, levers, single shots, flint lock, percussion, old pistols and revolvers even my old Rem M8s are good. Plastic and stainless just don't have the class of wood and blued steel. My favorite calibers lately are 22H, 25/20, 32/20, 30/30 and 45/70 all with cast. I have visions of a Win 92 in 256W joining this group.
As for motorcycles, my tastes have remained the same for a long time. At 19 I started working as a Honda motorcycle mechanic and I still like them as a good reliable bike but for looks the mid 60s British bikes had it going with the Royal Enfield being about the prettiest bike ever built with the Triumph Bonneville being a beauty as well. The Norton Commando wasn't quite as pretty but had more of a brute force look. HDs have never done much for me with the exception of the 66 Sportster. I will be retiring shortly and will have a BMW. Probably an 80s R75 or R90, black with white pin stripe and a white upper fairing maybe Wixom or Windjammer. I like old proven designs.

[michaelcj]

Holding out for a "1952 Vincent Black Lightning" ……. and then we'll "Riiiiiiiiiidddde"

[wv109323]

I have exactly 2 rifles with replaced black synthetic stocks. A 700 ADL that I hunt with and a Ruger 10/22 that I replaced with a heavy barrel. I do have an AR-15 but there is no option there.
It is walnut and blue for me and always has been. I walk by the guns in Walmart and never break stride. Nothing there interests me.
I wish I had a couple more revolvers but I do like the 1911.

[bluelund79]

I'm 36. I refer revolvers and 1911's, down to 2 polymer guns (1 10mm Glock and my carry Shield 9mm). I prefer my long guns to have wood stocks and blued finishes, some of them are older than I am. I use the M4 platform at work, so those are okay to have in the safe for fun and hog hunting. I had the poly guns and synthetic hunting long guns, but they don't have the same feeling while out in the woods, and the handguns have zero personality. Give me a revolver or 1911 anyday.....I prefer my lever guns in revolver calibers too

[Walter Laich]

Old biker maxim: Why the Brits drink their beer warm? 'Cause Lucas makes refrigerators, too!!


Bill

Ah, Lucas, Prince of Darkness

My first was a Triumph then because I love to bang my head against the wall got an MGB after the army. FIL got me on Hondas and never looked back. I like to ride and not break down on side of road

I'm 69 and still have Honda 1100 Shadow which I plan to ride today cause it's going to be 79º and Sunny

[twc1964]

Thanks lonegun, its just how i see it. I just pray that everyone gets outs and votes next year. We need a turnout like never before. They can cheat easier if the numbers are fairly close but get caught when they try to reach to far.

[Wolfer]

Since I still have and use most of the guns I started with I guess my likes haven't changed that much. My shooting style has changed. Early on I was a spray and pray shooter. Later on I became more of a one shot, one kill sort. I liked plenty of power and wanted to be able to hit critters way out there.
Ive always been a hunter and as my hunting skills grew I became more interested in hunting up close as opposed to long range.
I also don't enjoy recoil like I once did. Hence my 338 mag and 06s are fed much more cast than jacketed these days.

Ive also come to enjoy hunting with guns I built myself.
Ive always only been attracted to wood and blue. Revolvers, Mausers, Marlins etc

[mac266]

I'm probably way below median age for this forum, as it seems the vast majority of boolit casters are older. I have not yet turned 40. That said, I own, enjoy, and shoot all types of guns. I have everything from muzzleloaders to AR-15s, and everything in between.

That said, my preference, and what makes up the bulk of my collection, is 19th century firearms. I like lever actions, SAAs, etc., and have designs to buy a Sharps within the next year or two.

For the other types of guns, I tend toward the traditional end of things. My M1A, for example, is wood and parkerized; it is not dressed up like Springfield is making them these days. To me, it is not a "tactical" rifle, but rather a piece of history. My muzzleloaders are traditional muzzleloaders that load from the muzzle, and do not use 209 primer ignition, scopes, etc.

I own a slew of revolvers, both single action and double action.

On the other hand, my 1911s barely resemble anything military. I'll admit I've gotten into the 1911 craze.