Snapshot of my relaxtion

handofzeus

handofzeus

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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Location
Trout Creekish Ontario.
Anyone who knows me understands that I rarely get to go shooting. My friends joke about how my guns are pretty much "as new" even if it's a 70 year old military piece. Sure, I love to shoot but, time, obligations, blah blah blah. Every night (almost) I like to go into the 'secret room'.....pick a gun and clean it. By clean I mean beyond field stripping. I will take down a bolt to it's basic parts and remove any lubricant that I can find and re-lube it....yes, knowing it hasn't been fired since last take down. Tonight I had a brief moment when I realized the absolute beauty of craftsmanship and lack of use I had in front of me. Made in the Soviet era and looked down on as a crude tool for some lowly factory worker to bring home some food, I find myself staring at a gorgeous Baikal IJ-26 SXS. Case colour hardening 100% vivid. Removable firing pins with locking screws on boltface and 00### serial#. This is not considered a high end gun by any means yet it holds the key qualities of such. The wood is as plain as it gets with a very tight Russian hardwood grain that doesn't especially stand out but could probably resist a whack better than most fine American walnut. And one feature that really clicks with me in the quality area is the checkering that wraps around the curve of the foregrip. I love that feature on older Brownings. Many mass produced guns have awesome looking machine or laser checkering but only on the flatter surfaces. Wrap around checkering really catches my eye. It's not always about the cost of an item but more the appreciation. (BTW.....not for sale!):redface: Cheers!

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Yup... but make than a scotch :p

Remember when the wife and I first got together. She gave me the funny look when I'd be sitting in the living fondling this or that firearm (and yes, she has her RPAL)
- Fast forward to today, it's just business as usual...
- But it did make for some interesting discussion when friends are over (or in a Zoom call)...
 
I used to love gazing at my modest collection of long arms hanging on the wall or, later in life, in their lighted glass doored case, but the government took care of that.
 
I think that you've acurately described how many gun owners feel. A lot of us don't shoot as much as we'd like to so admiring the collection is the next best thing. Most of the guns that I buy I do so becuase they have a particular appeal to me so I spend quite bit of time handling them and appreciating the workmanship and beauty.
 
People buy art for the feeling of what it means to them ,classic cars for the memories and to reminisce about days gone by .Why not Brownings ,Winchesters ,Westley Richards, makes total sense to me
 
The simple appreciation of a well-made gun is something that is not often voiced on CGN, and I salute the OP for starting this thread. Mankind has valued hunting weapons since realizing catching game with one's bare hands was not conducive to our development as a species, at least 500,000 years ago. For me, recognizing the invention, thought, and craftsmanship that has gone into the most basic gun designs is a large part of gun collecting. Some guns bring forth fond memories of days in the field, often with good friends; other guns are past their shooting days, but tell entirely different stories of bygone times, about those who made them, and those who fielded them. Holding a gun in one's hands is a visceral experience, very unlike looking at something in a museum display case. Several hundred years of trial and improvement went into perfecting the qualities of a hunting gun, and a remarkable amount of behind-the-scenes science.

One comment above likened guns to art; I agree.

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Pinfire said:
The simple appreciation of a well-made gun is something that is not often voiced on CGN, and I salute the OP for starting this thread. Mankind has valued hunting weapons since realizing catching game with one's bare hands was not conducive to our development as a species, at least 500,000 years ago. For me, recognizing the invention, thought, and craftsmanship that has gone into the most basic gun designs is a large part of gun collecting. Some guns bring forth fond memories of days in the field, often with good friends; other guns are past their shooting days, but tell entirely different stories of bygone times, about those who made them, and those who fielded them. Holding a gun in one's hands is a visceral experience, very unlike looking at something in a museum display case. Several hundred years of trial and improvement went into perfecting the qualities of a hunting gun, and a remarkable amount of behind-the-scenes science.

One comment above likened guns to art; I agree.

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I love that underlever.
 
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