What is the Most Beautiful Firearm You Own

hm1996

hm1996

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This question was posed on another forum resulting in some beautiful pictures. I'm in the middle of shutting down my reloading room and packing away the firearms that (other than family) have been my number one passion for over 7 decades. It has been a very long and depressing task but I find a certain amount of relief in viewing all those beauties and seeing what floats others' boats as to what qualifies as a beautiful firearm. Lets see your "prettiest" firearm(s). It is permissible to have more than one favorite. ;)

There is nothing as beautiful to my eye as a classic sporter w/high quality wood stock on a steel rifle, circ 1950's-60's IMO, but accuracy trumps looks. In fact, some of my "most beautiful" rifles are plain Jane AR's completely lacking in eye appeal, but which shoot very impressive sub MOA groups on demand with the added benefit of fitting the bill of the perfect predator rifle (IMHO) :D

I was in the process of cleaning out drawers in the loading room today and in a blue mood when I ran across the high master pin I had intended to inlet into the stock of the rifle with which I shot my last 10 years of competition. What better excuse to end this daunting and depressing cleaning chore! The poor old familiar rifle, having been sorely neglected for years, had found it's way back a couple of rows in the safe, but that didn't discourage me and I spent a large part of the afternoon fulfilling a long neglected promise of inletting the stock which really brightened my mood.

This Pre-64 Model 70 in 30-06 has a Cloward stock and is now on it's 3rd barrel but is otherwise just as it came from the factory, having fired just a bit south of 20,000 rounds; plus probably at least twice that number of "dry fire rounds". In my book, this qualifies as a 10 in both looks and performance. No wonder the Pre-64's were known as the "rifleman's rifle".
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And how is it in the performance department? A solid 10.....
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I have a Henry Golden Boy in 22 LR that is absolutely beautiful and fun to shoot.
But my prettiest gun is a 6.5 Grendel that I painted with a sponge. It's pretty because I love love this rifle. It shoots straight and accurate and is just simply fun to shoot. The nicest guns that I own have all been given to my sons.
A 1922 LC Smith 16 ga side by side that was my great grandfathers. I've never had another shotgun that shoots better.
A Marlin 336 C in 30/30 that was the first rifle I bought at 18.
Simply a fun, accurate and reliable weapon.
A Remington Model 58 12 ga that was my father's who in turn gave it to me. It is a semi auto that was fun and reliable.
I kinda miss those.... but they're in good hands now.
 
I also have 7 decades of shooting behind me. That must be a very hard project, I don't envy you.

i was headed to the range this morning, weather predicted a light head wind at the range. I got up at 5 am, made a pot of coffee and went to the garage for a quart of creamer. The metal garage door is rattling "What the heck", I stepped outside and the wind is waving the trees around, pine cones are rolling around on the roof and a trip to the range to shoot my 22LR at 500 yards is just a dream so here I sit looking at the net at 5:30 wide awake.

Like you say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I have a rifle that when I picked it up it was the ugliest rifle I'd ever seen. A quick trip to the armorer and some serious work with rasps and files and we have a presentable rifle and unknowingly knocked a few thousand dollars off it value even as a used rifle. It turned out to be an Rem 600 in an uncataloged caliber that was never meant for civilian hands. As far as beauty, it was in its function. It killed monkeys in Taiwan, deer in MT, ground squirrels in ND and MN, fox in MN and WI and even won a club BR match. With the barrel gone it it too k on a new life as 6x45 and has killed coyotes in NM, AZ, NV, MT, WA, CO and WI. To me it is beautiful in function.

To the really pretty ones, I have a Rem 788 with the prettiest piece of factory walnut on it. A Sako full-stock vixen that while having pretty plain walnut the shape of that walnut that does it for me, kind of like the girl you could dress in feed sacks and she'd still turn every male eye in town.


Most of my rifles and shotguns are working guns 60+ years old and their beauty has faded in time. Kind of like an old actress, once stunning but time has taken it's toll. I'm sitting here looking at a 150 year old London made upland 10ga you can still see under the darkened varnish figured walnut barely peeking through, imagine the vibrant case colour worn from the action and sidelocks, worn checkering that was so sharp and fine and Damascus patterned barrels that seemed to glow, now just an old shotgun. New it would have cost as much as a new P/U, now not worth more than a tank of gas.

It's 7AM and the wind just died time to head to the range, pics later.
 
Most beautiful, this is a hard one because the one’s I have left are mostly favorites. They shoot well and hold memories better than a diary. I don’t want many frills because my rifles get used.

One of my favorites was a .22 Colt Lightning that Dad refinished, it was my Great Grandpa’s rifle, a family heir loom.

My Winchester Model 70, chambered in .338 Win mag is my favorite elk rifle, she’s far from beautiful any longer with scars from saddle scabbards, branches, and abundant use. All I have to do is close my eyes, slip into the saddle, and I’m in the mountains again!

My 6.5x55 Swede is a favorite and she’s beautiful. I put a new mannlicher stock on her and she’s too pretty to hunt with. I had to dress her up with camo to cut down on the glare. She’s my favorite Antelope rifle and now loaded up with 95gr. V-Max for coyotes. Can’t begin to remember the times I belly crawled through the sage brush to get a shot on an antelope in a vast Wyoming basin.

And there’s my Rem 700 VLSS-TH chambered in a .204R. She left her residence as a laminated thumbhole rifle to be fitted with AtlasWorx bottom metal, and then moved into a chassis. She doesn’t possess the beauty she once had but shoots like a dream. I still have the original laminated stock and she lost about 2 ½ lbs going to the chassis.

My 6.5x.284 Savage 110 is a beautiful rifle and a safe queen, just never shot her much. Probably should let her go to another home, doubt I’ll use her.
Colt Lighting .22

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6.5x55 Swede
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she's dressed for hunting
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My Rem 700 with AtlasWorx bottom metal
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My Rem 700 when she moved to a chassis. She's since been threaded for a suppressor
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And my safe queen 6.5x.284 Savage 110
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Of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder, when I think of "beautiful" guns, high gloss bluing & fancy wood comes to mind, so in those regards, I don't have any nor pics to share.

In fact, there are no wood stocked guns at all in the safe, all have McMillan or Manners on them, most with custom tubes.

The most beautiful, fanciest, coolest, rarest gun I ever had was a Remington 40-XR Sporter 22 long rifle repeater from the custom shop, of which they only made somewhere around 700 total units. It had fantastic wood & the expected great high gloss bluing. I sold it to a local collector by word of mouth, &, unfortunately, never had or took any pictures of it.

Here's a random pic stolen off the net of one that is real similar to mine:

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For reasons I cannot explain I can envy someone else’s beautiful collector, but I have no reason to hang onto them myself. Every true collectible or custom I have ever built myself or bought has gone down the road, mor often than not at a loss, with a few exceptions.
 
Well the wind never really died enough for stretching out the 22LR but got some trigger time on a pair of 20P's

Here's the 788.
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I put the stock in storage and put a cheap beech stock on it and tricked it out for hunting.

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And the Sako

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Like Hunter55 I made a camo sleeve to cut the shine and protect the stock

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The old 600, new in 66 can still do the job.

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And a handsome AR, thank you PM

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That's a hard question. All mine are beautiful, at least to me. My St. Hubert Mauser has a beautiful highly figured walnut stock and deep dark blueing. Then there's the Remington 700's, 222 and 22-250 Varmint Specials in their glossy walnut stocks. Then the Sako Vixen in 223 or the Cooper 6.5x284 and then there is Frank. Frank is short for Frankenstein. He's the ugly step brother that does all the work. When I need reliability, Frank is who I go to. He was built from parts and pieces I scrounged up here and there but what a shooting machine. I do have a very nice 308 but its in a composite stock (red and black) with a CF barrel and in its own way very nice but compared to wood and deep blueing puts it in a different class. But still very attractive as far as guns go. And then the AR's than have no class at all. LOL But they do have a purpose.
 
Well I figured my non-classy AR's and such should be here (haha, I take no offense of any statement by Bill or anyone else on the AR , I really like the looks of Royal Blue steel and highly figured wood myself, the AR is a tool and in my opinion a pretty decent one for it's purpose).

That said I think my ugly boom stick should feel at home here.
This one is a billet lower and upper I actually machined out myself, back almost 20 years ago. Before the term ghost gun ever even thought of being spoken or used, instead the term was PMF (Privately Made Firearm). And is referred to in that manner in laws of the CGA 1968. She was my first and last at a AR PMF, easier and less costly to just buy a "matched mated" billet lower and upper, than setup and mill all that out.

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for just getting out in the open spaces and vaporing gophers, she does fill the bill, a bit long, and sometimes heavy depending on the distance covered dismounted.
(explains the other post I have going with a rimfire) At one time not really that long ago she wouldn't have been considered heavy by me.

I've pink misted a few gophers with her. (right now her Bipod is on one of the other AR's for testing some 77/and 80 gr loads in the 5.56mm chamber)
Satern 24" 1-12 T barrel (this one is her 3rd barrel BTW, need to order another in the next year or so), clambered in .223 Rem. 50mm Obj. 30mm tube Leupold. Match trigger breaks clean at about 2 lbs. and will give her big sister in the AR's ( A full NRA Match Space Rifle configuration and quite a bit heavier, back when Rock River was doing actual Mated quality Match receivers) I have a run for the money at 400 yards, and less. At the 600 plus yeah the Big sister rules the roost, none of the other Colt NM's, or other vendors in the AR's will come close.
Although at the long line the Remington 721 ought -six does deliver the mail predictably (30" barrel @1.250" dia muzzle, 1-13.5"T barrel by Brux, tips the scales at almost 30 lbs @hm 1996 I'm sure knows her true purpose in the build). This one, is the most accurate one's in the safe, and shot the least. She is just waiting for my son's inheritance, with a low rounds count.
The Remington 722 in 244 Rem in her factory configuration of the 1950's era is no slouch either, when the need to vaporize a varmint / critter beyond the 400 is needed. And is lighter believe it or not those billet receivers are heavy.

For just knocking around general wise the Needs More is available...
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This is the youngest in the stable. (yes that is her factory configuration except the pistol grip, it was produced in the last 2/3 maybe 4 years before bankruptcy )
The Oldest well that goes to the Ole Remington Sidecock 12 gauge (1893 aka No. 3) and the Winchester 1890 pump in 22 LR that was handed down. And still in shootable conditions although the Remington 1893 shot gun kills at both ends as my Grandfather said about it.
 
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Those competition dies should turn out ammo worthy of your 721, Mike. If you can find any H450 it really shines w/about 53 gr. behind 190 gr. SMK's. Might have to cut it a bit w/that longer barrel, but worked well in my #1 Mod 70's 26". #2, also 26" Chandlin barrel, but had to cut about .5 gr to avoid heavy bolt lift.
They didn't have any of the VLD's back when I was shooting, but they probably would do even better.
 
LOL yes Sir Clarence they will which is why I got them LOL, But the Ole girl does Looooovvess the 155gr Palma SMK's being pushed by IMR8208 XBR. With that slow twist, I have to watch the bullet length carefully, although I have shot "some" 190's that stayed stable (mostly SMK). 175's is not a problem as the jacket length is pretty much the same on the 155's Palma's .
She does like H4350 as well with the older shorter 180/190 designs, I think there are two boxes of JLK's in that weight (maybe they was 175grs) in the bullet cabinet made by Swampy before he passed away. Which if I recall correctly his 190gr (JLK VLD's or actually the ones I have on hand if they are not 190's) is the longest I can get away with according to the miller formula.
(at some point I'll pull her out of the wardrobe, yes she stay close to me when I sleep and take a photo. The wife was asleep when I took photos. And if you think I want to wake up grumpy ha NOPE lol)
She is sitting in a Laminate stock modified with a barrel clamp built in that support / locks the barrel in place. Thus with the clamp the barrel thinks it's 24 /26" for droop. Both barrel and action free float as well as the scope in the stock. The clamp being aluminum also works well as a heat sink, although at a barrel diameter of 1.250" takes a bit to warm it up ;)

Placed in a rest and bags properly she will free recoil all day long. This was the rifle that I used to teach my son that a aught- six doesn't kick. Ever so often when he comes down from Campbell we drag her out stretch her legs a bit. With me mainly watching him shoot. I think I out grin him every time. especially when he sounds off with the "ha beat you old man" that he loves to do.
But I get my revenge later with the varmint AR, or the Space gun with irons against his AR. (he knows what coming when the old man grabs the 1907 sling, mitt glove, jacket, and a 20 rounder magazine and gets off the bench)
 
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Mine is a S&W M642 Airweight .38 Special. When I worked on a multi-jurisdictional Narcotics Task Force, I was issued a Walther PPK .380. It wasn't a traditional law enforcement weapon and was supposed to prevent suspicion if a bad guy happened to see it. I hated that gun. It had tiny sights, a long, rough trigger pull, bit the web of my hand, was heavy, and worst of all, it jammed often. Way too often, regardless of the ammo tried, it would choke and puke. I didn't trust it, and strictly against policy, I went back to my old street duty back-up, the Airweight snubby. I took the grips off my snub nose and wrapped electrical tape around it to hang on to. I carried three different loads in the cylinder: old ammo with tarnished brass cases and two with nickel cases. It looked rough, and the ammo looked to be scrounged off the street. That gun was most often taped to my inner thigh under my nutsack. Sometimes I needed some street credentials and would brag about having a gun and would show it off. One night, things went south on me, and I got my card pulled. Three serious bad guys decided my time was up and were in the process of going to work on me. At a point, they decided I was dead enough that they could take a break, high-five each other, do a little bragging, and smoke a cigarette. They say smoking will kill you. It was really bad for the health of two of those goons. The third set a new land speed record out of the door. He eventually went to federal lock-up for 31 years. That little .38 is the most beautiful gun I own. I trust and value it so much, it is now watching over my daughter. And that is a very beautiful thing.
 
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