Within the past two months, I’ve purchased two new Springfields. The first is my EDC XD(m) 9mm 3.8 Compact. The second is my M1 Garand. While I enjoy my XD, I’m just not that excited about it. For me, it’s the very definition of a tool. It goes on my hip, it gets dinged around and I drop the magazines in the dirt. I field stripped it the other day and made a half-assed attempt to clean it, but I’m sure it wouldn’t pass R. Lee Ermey’s inspection. And if the worst comes and I actually have to use it, I won’t shed a single tear if it spends months in an evidence locker. I’ll just go buy another one. Good luck hearing the same from a Wilson Combat owner . . .

My Garand, however, is my new favorite piece. I spent twenty minutes the other night manipulating the trigger mechanism just to watch it work. I’ll run the rear sight up and down so I can hear the positive engagement of the mechanism. I get the same feeling looking at my Garand that I did looking at John Britten’s V 1000 for the first time. And while my XD looks all scary and nasty, my Garand looks warm and inviting.

This retro groove thing really hit home when I took the M&P 45C by the gun store for a trade-in evaluation. I wasn’t super interested in keeping it, but I got a good deal on it and I figured I could trade it in for a nice bolt action .22LR. Much to my surprise, my dealer quoted me a trade value about $50 less than what S&W had offered and less than half of MSRP. I sat there looking at this still mechanically perfect plastic gun and realized that, like a brand new car driven off the lot, it lost half of its value the moment it left the gun store.

I hate commodity items. I want to purchase firearms that I know my kids and grandkids will shoot some day. Much like my 1911 and Charter Arms .38 snubbie. But more than that, I’m getting into firearms that are a little cooler and a little more funky. Same goes for weird calibers. Anybody can rock an AR, but how many people shoot an AR in .458 SOCOM?

So here’s my little list of cool guns and gear that I’m lusting for these days.

Henry Lever Action in .45-70
Henry Mare’s Leg in .357 Mag
Ruger Super RedHawk in .454 Casull
S&W 586 in .357 Mag
Any Savage Mark II
.458 SOCOM Upper
National Match M1A
Phoenix Precision Rear & Front Sights

What’s on your list?

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71 COMMENTS

  2. Everything…lol. But on a more serious note, a semi auto .308, AR-10, M1A, G3, FAL…not sure which one yet, but I’ll have one.

  4. For me it’s the Sig P938. I own a P238 and really like it. It’s small, easy to carry and quite accurate. The idea of a very similar in sized gun with familiar features that comes in 9mm caused me to set aside sufficient funds to pick one up as soon as they appear in the local shop. Which is odd for me, usually I wait for the bugs to be worked out and folks to weigh in with their impressions of what I am interested in.
    This is one I’m willing to take the chance I might beta test a bit.

  5. The only gun I really really really want is a Winchester Model 52 match rifle. I shot one in Junior Rifle for five years. I miss that gun.

  6. Her name is Lacey. Shes hot.

    Then a .450 bushmaster upper
    6.8 spc upper
    Ar-10
    kel-tec ksg
    S&w 625 jm

  7. My short list:
    HK P9S Sport
    HK P7 PSP or M8
    HK SL-6
    Manurhin MR73
    S&W M10 HB round butt
    Colt Government Model (50’s or 60’s vintage)

  9. I’m anticpating the develery of a 22 LR Savage MKII BV that and the Nikon Prostaff Target EFR 3-9x40AO scope should be a sweet combination.

    I realized I needed to spend more time shooting and I can with a 22LR, the other calibers are just too expensive for me to shoot as much as I want.

    The other guns on my wish list are a Ruger Single Ten and a Beretta Bobcat.

  10. Baby Eagle ( Jericho 941 ) along with his big brother in .50. Also a Tavor and Galil. Notice a trend here…. I need a TDY to Israel to do some shopping. 🙂

  12. Lust list:
    Beretta 90-two (9mm)
    PTR-32K SBR
    Remington 700 in .308 w/ fixins’
    Savage TRR-SR
    Glock 17 SBR w/ KPOS Gen 2 kit

    I expect to be most of the way through that list within a couple years (at least to the point of owning the guns and submitting the NFA forms).

  14. An M1 Garand
    A Mosin Nagant
    An SKS
    Something chambered in .375 H&H (probably one of the nice little CZs)
    An M1903
    The means to get my Ishapore as close to factory shape as possible.

  15. M14
    Custom 1911 Longslide
    JR Carbine in .45ACP
    Kel-Tec KSG
    .460 S&W
    Lever action rifle in .45 Colt

    Just to name a few.

  16. I actually got to see a Britten V1000 in person about15 years ago……it was quite an experience. She’s something to behold.

    Personally, I lust after a Fulton T26. And a Grizzly Custom Guns Brush Hawg in 45-70.

  17. a Ruger SR556 and an AK74 with green laminated wood stock. But I live in Cali, so like hell that’s ever gonna happen…

    • Move to America. I did and love it! I had a party when I received my orders out of that (very long bleep) state.

    • I live in Cali, and so does my Ruger SR-556! Turners has relatively decent prices on them.

  19. I have the Phoenix sights on my match AR, (awesome) own a Savage MK2, (meh) have fondled a SA NM M1A, (nice!) and I’ve raced against Brittens. (totally awesome) How do I rate? 🙂

  20. My lust list:
    Ruger 10/22 Takedown
    AKM-type (stamped Russian-pattern) semi-auto in 7.62×39
    Springfield M1A Scout Squad
    M1 Garand (WW2 vintage)
    M1903A3 (WW2 vintage)
    M1 Carbine (x2: one of WW2/Korea vintage; one to tinker with )
    Precision bolt action rifle (haven’t determined model or caliber yet)
    Springfield Operator 1911 w/ Heinie Ledge rear sight
    1860 Henry in .44-40 or .45 Colt
    1973 Winchester in .44-40 or .45 Colt
    5.5″ Single Action Army in .44-40 or .45 Colt
    7″ Schofield in .44-40 or .45 Colt
    …
    That’s all I can think of off the top of my head.

  21. Walther PPQ Foty (to go with it’s sister PPQ 9, and distant cousin P99 9)
    Jericho 941 (or Baby Eagle II), steel, .45 or 9 (on the fence about the caliber)
    M4gery (just sold the carbine one), mid-length.

  22. -A lever-action .30-30 or a lever-action .357 carbine (I’m not sure if I can trust the quality of Marlin these days).
    -A .22 long gun; one of the following: 10/22, Savage bolt-action, Henry Arms Frontier .22 lever-action with the octagon barrel.
    -A .22 pistol (Ruger or Browning)
    – A second Ruger Sp101 .357
    – Maybe, just maybe, in the future a 1911 (it’s classic)

  24. Want to build an AR10 using Mega Arms monolithic upper and something chambered in 338 lapua and suppressors for both.

    Currently waiting on my Volquartsen Scorpion and tax stamp for the 22 Sparrow suppressor I plan to use on it.

    But my current favorite is a stainless Rossi Puma in 454 casull. I also have an Eotech sight on it. Holds 10 454 rounds and is just more fun to shoot than anything in my collection.

  26. To have two safes full of guns that I don’t shoot enough, it seems somehow wrong to want another. But, there is always another. Armalite SASS. I don’t own one but have had the opportunity to shoot the Henry and Rossi lever “handguns” in .357 Mag and .45 Colt and this platform dropped off my list. I found that the novelty appeal wears off quickly and you are left with the question of what is this useful for as they are virtually impossible to aim with any degree of precission.

  27. Super Redhawk Alaskan in 454
    A henry leveraction, not sure what cal.
    AR in 556 with an ACOG.
    Ma Deuce

  28. LWRC PSD
    My Grandpa’s 1911 from WWI (this one I’ll actually get)
    Henry Big Boy in .44
    .22 Gatling gun
    Weatherby Mark V
    Springfield Armory M1A1

  29. Volquartsen custom 22lr, pistol and rifle.

    Freedom Arms revolver in .454 Casull.

    Colt Python .357 with Cylinder & Slide trigger job.

  30. M-1 Garand
    M1903 Springfield
    P08 Luger
    WW2 issue M1911A1
    Henry rifle
    M1A socom 16
    6.8 spc upper for AR
    Russian manufactured AK-47
    Mossberg 590A1 with ghost ring sites
    SAA
    S&W model 3
    ACOG site
    S&W 500
    OHIO Ordnance Works semi auto BAR & M240 if class 3 versions are unavailable
    H&K SL8 with the G-36 part kit

  31. A shootable Martini-Henry

    Mauser m1896 broomhandle

    Webley mk VI that hasn’t been butchered to shoot .45acp.

    (I like old guns)

    And if I lived in a state that allowed me to own automatic weapons, I want to Chauchat, just so I could have the worst machine gun ever made.

  32. A real SVD.
    A real AUG.
    A Paul Jaeger rifle.
    Any Holland & Holland firearm.
    Any Merkel firearm.
    A Winchester Model 71.

  33. SBR’d 12″ .300 BLK Barrel for LMT MRP with the following:

    – Dual-illuminated trijicon RMR on picatinny mount cowitnessed with Daniel Defense fixed irons with a CSAT aperture

    – Surefire RAID weaponlight with pressure switch and MB556K Brake

    – .30 CAL surefire suppressor

    – Magpul AFG and CTR Stock

  35. Mateba M2007 .357
    Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle .308
    ANY Nighthawk 1911
    Beretta 90 TWO
    Replica of Dillinger’s Colt .38 Super “Machine Pistol”
    And a BAR

  36. XD over an M&P for EDC? Bah.

    As for the article’s question: not much. Whether because I’m new to guns or don’t have much of a family gun history (not the family I’m attached to/grew up with, anyway) I don’t have much affinity for the old stuff, at least in the sense of actually paying for it.

    I’m a big function over form guy, so the stuff I want would be mainly modern/future tech… and I don’t have a “lust” list so much as a “plan to buy eventually” list, which at the moment includes:

    M&P Shield 9 and/or 40 – coming VERY soon, I hope
    .357 revolver of some sort
    .45 ACP pistol ”
    Short-barreled shotgun ” (much later down the road, I’m sure)

    And that’s about all I can think of for the minute. Once I’m done with those acquisitions I’ll have time to think about what else I want to expand the collection to.

  37. A drilling gun, a mateba auto revolver, 357 carbine, detective special, sp 101 in 327 mag, 6.5 Grendel upper, dads mauser collection

  38. My lust list;
    Springfield RO 1911 .45 (got it, am fixing to bob the rear sight, have put in tritium front, holster and mag pouch have been ordered from EPsaddlery)

    .300 Win Mag sniper rifle (It is being built now, off of a Remington 700 action with Macmillan stock, and Leupold scope.)

    Springfield M1A Scout (saving up the $$$ for it, going to turn it into a Jeff Cooper-esque scout rifle)

    SBR AR upper with silencer (haven’t decided on caliber)

    CZ 550 Safari Magnum .458 (only if I ever get around to a Cape Buffalo hunt, probably in 30 years…..)

    H&K USP tactical compact .45 with silencer

    Mauser “Red Nine” Broomhandle

    There’s a whole lotta others, but I’ll save you guys the drooling……

  39. Smith & Wesson Model of 1891 Single Action Top-break revolver, in .38 S&W.

    And when I win the MegaBucks lottery, a fully-restored WWII Half-Track with a Quad-.50 mounted on it. And a Walker Bulldog M-41 tank.

  40. Other than an AR, which is boring, my lust list consists mainly of training. Lots and lots of training, both with pistols and rifles, in all sorts of techniques.

    • Ah, I miss the edit function…

      Boring compared to the weapons listed above. It’s going to be fun. Oh, and I might get an M1A Socom 16 at some point and a shotgun of some description too.

      But yeah, training.

  42. *Walker Colt
    *M14
    *M1 Garand
    *M1 Carbine
    *Springfield 1903
    *Spencer rifle
    *Sharps carbine
    *Dad’s department issued Colt Police Positive .38

  43. STI USPSA Single Stack in 45 acp. (love the sabre tooth cocking serrations)
    Remington model 512 Sportmaster. (great shooting .22)
    M1A National Match (Tyler and I agree)
    Custom Savage single shot chambered for 250 Savage.

    I fully expect to own all of these, but I’m sure the .22 will be the most difficult to come by, even though it’s the cheapest of them all.

  44. Ah, the Quigley gun! RKflorida, you just added one to my wish list.

    Which already included a levergun in 45-70 (Marlin or Henry? decisions, decisions…), a Stoeger Supreme coach gun, a Ruger Vaquero in 357 mag, and a really good bullpup carbine like the FN FS2000. And an *actual* 1860 Henry rifle (oh, if only it could come to pass).

    I have a thing for the old classics. I do have modern semiauto pistols, and I like them, but there’s nothing more satisfying than shooting a smooth lever-action rifle.

    • I recommend an Uberti made 1858 Remington New Army Conversion in .45 Colt. Think Clint Eastwood in “Pale Rider.” I bought 1 a couple of weeks back. It is a lot of fun to shoot. I found a company that makes a holster rig just like the one used in the film.

  45. Sig P220 Equinox TB with a can
    AR in 300 BLK, also with can
    BAR. Silencer neither required, nor desired. 😀

  46. FNH AR w/ 20″ HBAR
    Henry Mare’s Leg in .44 Magnum
    Kel Tec PLR
    A working Chiappa Rhino
    Ruger M77 Hawkeye African in .375 Ruger
    That bad ass S&W 686 with scope reviewed on here.

  47. A Sharps 1874 in .45-110’s been on my list for years. I’d love to try my hand at paper-patching.

    Wildey .475 Magnum.

    Vintage P.08 Luger.

    Vintage FG-42.

    Vintage Spencer.

    Winchester Model 1907 in .351 WSL.

  48. I have a decent collection already, but there are a few firearms I have and continue to lust after:
    1. A Dan Wesson .22LR pistol pac
    2. A mint condition Colt Woodsman National Match .22LR
    3. Mossberg MVP bolt action rifle in .223
    4. A decent bolt action rifle in .308 with a decent scope (still debating between Remington & Savage on this one)
    5. A decent AR rifle in 5.56 with a decent night vision scope
    6. A decent AR10 in 7.62 with a decent scope
    7. A Smith & Wessom 59 series 9MM that would share mags with my Marlin 9MM Camp rifle.
    8. Speaking of Marlin Camp rifles, I’d like one in .45 as well.
    9. A Ruger Blackhawk single action in .45 just because….
    10. And lastly, a “tactical” semi-auto 12 ga set up to hold 10 rounds, with Aimpoint optics, sling, light, and maybe even a bayonet. Probably a Benelli, but maybe a Remington 1100, it’s been too long since I’ve looked at shotguns, I don’t really know what is available out there.

    I’ll stop at ten, no sense in being greedy. I would consider myself VERY lucky to get any 2 of the 10 I listed.

  50. Oh god, my list is pretty much limited only by my income.

    As for you wanting the Henry Mare’s Leg? I have a Puma Bounty Hunter mare’s leg in .44 magnum and I must say, they are fun guns.

  51. Easy, Walther WA 2000. Of course thats just my one in a million OMG i won the lottery i have a shot at buying/ or even finding one. The list of wants is way too long for this post.

  52. Thompson 1927A1

    M2 Carbine

    M14 Select Fire TRW

    Long Slide 1911 for .45 Super

    M1903A3 Star Barrel

    Browning M2A1

    M134 Minigun

    Robar SR90

    Accuracy International AX338

    Barrett M82A1

    Not necessarily in that order except for the Thompson. The Thompson will always be my #1 choice.

  55. I am trying to decide between a few:

    1. Colt Rail Gun 1911;
    2. Glock 10mm
    3. S&W in 44 Magnum with a 4 inch barrel

    That is about it for me.

  56. Lust list?
    Perhaps a glock 18, a PTRS-41, and just to go into the extreme, a BOFORS L/70 BOFI-R

  58. M1 Garand
    several Mosin Nagant
    SKS
    m1911
    Kel-Tec KSG
    Russian manufactured AK47
    Russian manufactured AK74
    one or more preban gun with full auto
    Lee-Enfield
    .22 long rifles
    .22 pistols
    m14
    m16
    ar15
    Mauser I forget the exact model
    1874 SHARPS BUFFALO – “QUIGLEY”
    Silencers for most of the guns

  59. ak 74u in 5.45
    spas 12
    colt python 4” barrel
    original cz 75 (1st model)
    fal para
    scar 17s
    sig p220
    m1 Garand
    Lee-Enfield smle
    s & w m&p 15-22
    piston ar-15 suppressed (5.56 1/8 barrel twist)
    thats my short list.

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