The I LOVE THIS GUN Thread

Single shot Brownings are elegant. 35 years ago I took a pass on a B78 in 30 06. Saw one about four years ago and I didn't make that mistake again...





This one has the octagonal barrel, too. Sweet shooting rifle.

I drooled over one in the early eighties. It was a 25 06. I already had a No. 1 in 270 so I passed on it. I've regretted it ever since. I can remember it sitting at the gun shop for months. Nobody seemed to want it. Good for you, beautiful rifle.

I almost traded this for a Daniel Defense AR. I'm glad though I still have it.

A lot more than an M1 Carbine. They may be close in $$$ value but nowhere near the same in usage. With an M1 you get a pistol cartridge that is not that easy to find in a easily handled rifle. With your .45 you have a good pistol cartridge in a good pistol. Your gun to do with as you wish but no way I'd swap for the carbine.
50 years ago when you could get the carbine for 20.00 from the CMP program you could find rounds pretty cheap and they were abundant, today not so much. Shot one tons and it was fine for vienna sausage cans at 40 yards, even reloaded some with the lee hand loader but all in all its nowhere near the .45 auto in value to me and I'm no big 1911 fan.

On top is an older Browning B78 High Wall in .22-250. This was the model Browning made from 1973-1982 before they started making the new 1885 High Wall model. The B78 has one pin visible on the side of the receiver, and as I recall the 1885 has two. I used to have another B78 in .25-06 back in the 70s but it was traded off for a Colt Gold Cup back in time. This one has the octagonal barrel and Timney set trigger and is a sweet little rifle. It has a number of prairie dogs to its credit. You will love yours!

Both of those rifles are nice and they both have great wood. I am a big fan of the Browning rifles. Thanks for posting the photo.

I would tend to agree for an inland carbine, I don't really know the value of a Dan Wesson, but I can tell you the value of a real nice M1 in the mid west is right at $1,000, a nice shooter about $800....now if you are talking rock-ola, IBM, or one of the other "rare" ones that is something different in tearms of value. Currently the juke box company command the highest prices....2-3x that depending on what kind of shape it is in.

The days are LONG gone in buying one for $20. They are great rifles...I have two and one 1911...if I had to sell one or the other the 1911 would be sold in a hot second.

IIRC there was a guy who did .45 ACP conversions to M1 carbines.

That said, I am not a big fan of pistol power cartridges in carbines/rifles - IMO if you are going to carry a rifle, then carry it with a rifle cartridge. My father owned an M1 carbine and I shot it a few times - I would rather have a Mini14 if you want that style of rifle, or an AK or AR, all are better rifles IMO.

I passed on a .308 at a show, and also regret it to this day. Won't happen again.

Problem is that it is not a rifle...this is the key thing many get hung up on.

It's an extremely underpowered shoulder-fired weapon that was supposed to replace a 1911 .45. It didn't.

I recently bought a ruger 10/22. Used to shoot one as a kid.

First shot at the range and I almost wondered if it had fired. A little dissapointing but don't regret buying it. If I could find a place where I could shoot at some cans or something other than paper I'm sure it will be a fun gun.

I then bought a Ruger SR22 pistol, haven't shot it yet but I'm hoping it will be more fun than the 10/22 at the indoor range. The lure of 400 rounds for $20 has me determined to enjoy shooting a .22 to supplement my other guns.

Of course now I have spent a few $$ to have the ability to save money by shooting .22 but hey it is what it is and the SR22 seems like it will be fun.

I have a bad habit of adding, "just one more box of ammo" to my bill at the range. It can add up quickly with 45 or even 9mm at the rate I go.
Now I hope to shoot that one box of the fun stuff and plink away with the .22 for a while instead of doing the, "just one more box of ammo" thing.

You will enjoy that pistol. She almost shoots like a "real" pistol and as you said the ammo is cheap. I have that, the SR40c and last week bought the SR9. The SR9 is for IDPA and steel challenge and the SR40c I will probably sell. I am not in a position to concealed carry, so that is a bit of an overkill.

Lovely pistols all of them. Trouble free with no issues. Both shoot just about any ammo out there. The SR22 is a bit finicky with Federal bulk, but it good practice to clear the pistol.

Enjoy...



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The idea being that the average rear echelon troop can make a 100 yard shot with it vs a 45 pistol. Being a light weight carbine, they are more likely to have it with them when it is needed versus handing them a big heavy rifle and expecting them to lug it and their typewriter or tool box around. I bet more enemy soldiers were killed with an M1 Carbine in WWII than with a Colt 45ACP.

Officers carried them. Serious officers carried a Garand. REMFS carried carbines and hogged all of the good combat boots and fighting knives until Patton put a stop to it by threatening to send anyone found with those items to the front line.

for those on a budget that have to shoot at only paper targets here is a cheap way to make " shoot n see targets " rather than paying a buck a piece for them , and they are reusable .

material list

cardboard ( empty beer or soda box or anyother free cardboard you have laying around to recycle ) cut it into the shape you want , I make them into silloetts

flouressent or white spray paint
black spray paint
clear packing tape

instructions

1 spray the cardboard with the bright colored paint and let it dry

2 cover the whole thing with clear tape, over lap the seams slightly so that the 1st coat of paint is completely sealed

3 spray the tape with the black paint and let dry

4 shoot at it , your bullet holes will crack the tape revealing the colored bullet hole . to reuse , simply cover each hole with a piece of clear tape and respray it black , this can be done in the field .

here are 2 , the black one was shot with 410 bird shot and the white one with pistol rounds . you can also play around with multi colors in the base layer , like adding red or pink to " vital " spots



for comparison there is a store bought "shoot -n -c " target stuck to the home made version



happy shooting

You have some nice guns, FatChance! What's the lower one?

Here's my 1885, a 45/70 BPCR acquired from a former client who owed me some $ and turned this over as part of his fee back around 1997. I've fired it a fair bit and it's a good shooter.

The stock comb is a bit low. OK for shooting off a bench, but too low to get a good cheek weld when shooting offhand or prone.

It is a Sako Varmint model in .22-250. It is ridiculously accurate. When I was working up loads for it I was able to shoot flies on the target at 100 yards. It has accounted for many prairie dogs over the years.

That is a beautiful 1885! Love those old classic designs.