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?