Part of my “Grail Gun” quest is complete. Do you have guns you have always wanted?

[Pat Riot]

My grail gun list has always been simple. I never really wanted anything truly rare or expensive. 
Recently I got one of my grail guns; a Sig Sauer P229 M11A1.

Yesterday I picked up another of my grail guns, an Sig Sauer P226 Mk25. 
Both of these Sigs were military and government issue pistols. The M11A1 was a Coast Guard gun for a while. The FBI, NCIS and a few other alphabet agencies used them. 
The P226 Mk25 was the gun of the Navy SEALs. I have wanted one of these for years. Now I finally have one. A brand new one, not a used gun. 
 

Here they both are.  Mk25 (top) M11A1 (bottom)

 

 

Do you have guns that you have wanted for a long time or a “grail gun” list?

[Dantankerous]

My list will never be completed because I keep finding more I want. 🙃

 

Nice Sigs! If I wasn't a Glock guy and fully stocked with Glock stuff I would definitely be a Sig guy. Great firearms.

[Cypress Sun]

My realistic "Grail" guns are,

 

- Marlin Model 62 in .30 Carbine

 

- Winchester "Thumb Trigger" single shot .22 LR rifle

 

- AMT .45ACP Longslide 1911 style pistol

 

- Winchester Model 55 .22 LR single shot, semi auto rifle that fires from an open bolt.

 

 

I've found one of the four, I guess that makes me 25% successful!

 

 

Don't ask why I want these firearms, I don't really know. 

[Eyesa Horg]

3 minutes ago, Cypress Sun said:

My realistic "Grail" guns are,

 

- Marlin Model 62 in .30 Carbine

 

- Winchester "Thumb Trigger" single shot .22 LR rifle

 

- AMT .45ACP Longslide 1911 style pistol

 

- Winchester Model 55 .22 LR single shot, semi auto rifle that fires from an open bolt.

 

 

I've found one of the four, I guess that makes me 25% successful!

 

 

Don't ask why I want these firearms, I don't really know. 

I've got an older AMT 45 long slide Hardballer with both slides, barrels,and springs. I'd consider pedaling it. Don't know how much of hassle it would be shipping these days though! I got it from a friend years ago and it's been a safe queen. Looks like it was mostly in the short slide configuration IIRC.

[Cypress Sun]

4 minutes ago, Eyesa Horg said:

I've got an older AMT 45 long slide Hardballer with both slides, barrels,and springs. I'd consider pedaling it. Don't know how much of hassle it would be shipping these days though! I got it from a friend years ago and it's been a safe queen. Looks like it was mostly in the short slide configuration IIRC.

 

I'll send you a PM.

[Blackwater 53393]

Stumbled onto one of mine earlier this spring!  I like the Marlin exposed hammer pump shotguns.  I have a Model 19G, (my match gun ‘til they banned ‘em) a Model 49, the gun built for rewarding investors when Marlin reorganized, a Model 42, the slickest and most well built of all of ‘em, and I had a Model 24 as my first of the breed. I sold the 24 a few years ago.

 

Anyhow! I always wanted an original 1898, just to say I had one!  They’re the much vilified “Widow Maker” that so many folks associate with ALL of the Marlin hammer pump guns.  
 

I spotted this one, advertised as a Model 17, and contacted the seller.  He wasn’t very familiar with the breed and sent me a couple of more detailed photos.  We made the deal, he helped arrange transport and I picked it up a couple of weeks ago!!

 

IT IS A MODEL 1898!! Built in late 1898 or early ‘89!

 

It’s had the receiver and slide nickel plated and the barrel has been polished out and reblued.  None of this bothers me in the slightest.  The previous owner bought and sent me a couple of screws missing from the fore end and I have installed them.

 

I’m going to strap the gun down and test fire it with some Black Powder rounds to make sure it’s safe to shoot, (I have done the function tests to ascertain that it’s safe to shoot and it’ll be disassembled and checked out thoroughly) and then I will fire a couple more rounds, shooting “from the hip” Outlaw style, just to satisfy my soul!!

 

 

 

[Dr. Zook]

@Blackwater 53393, now i know what model the term 'widowmaker' refers to...a man came into Legendary Guns in Phx to see if he could sell them some guns. When the gunsmith came out to look at them, she called one of them by that name.  I don't know if he sold it to them or not. 

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

Since seeing "Tombstone" I always kinda wanted a 10" SAA. When Cimarron started marketing them, I looked at the prices and said "Nope" 

Recently, I spotted one on Gunbroker for a ridiculously low price, and surprisingly I won it. It doesn't have the plaque on the grip, but that's fine, 'cause I'm not Wyatt Earp. 

  

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

3 minutes ago, Dr. Zook said:

@Blackwater 53393, now i know what model the term 'widowmaker' refers to...a man came into Legendary Guns in Phx to see if he could sell them some guns. When the gunsmith came out to look at them, she called one of them by that name.  I don't know if he sold it to them or not. 

The term refers to the guns blowing up when fired. 

[Blackwater 53393]

2 minutes ago, Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 said:

The term refers to the guns blowing up when fired. 

And the crazy thing about that is that there have been many more reported incidents of ‘97s blowing up, generally for the same reasons!  Failure to properly maintain them and failing to take the time to make sure that they ARE functioning as designed!!

[Alpo]

I've had several.

6-inch Python. Series 70 Gold Cup. 1898 Krag carbine. M1 carbine.

 

Got just about all of them so far (the Krag is a cut down rifle, but I don't care because I didn't get it for the collector value. I got it cuz it was neat).

 

The problem is I keep finding new things to add to the list.

 

Currently I want a pre-war 410 hammer side by side. Why? Hell if I know. I don't hunt anymore. 410s cost way too much money to shoot. But I want one.

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

Ithaca Featherlight 12 gauge pump shotgun (Number seven...I traded a few but never again) bought four years ago.

SKB 200E12 gauge bought at the factory in Japan in 1974.

S&W (Uberti) First Model American .45 Colt bought four years ago, but not received for five months.

 

Forgot a plain as can be ( except for low profile three dot tritium sights) 1911 .45 with double diamond walnut grips.

[Crazy Gun Barney, SASS #2428]

I've got a grail gun list.  A good number of them have been guns I wanted since I was a kid.  and a lot of them are not really expensive things, just stuff I always wanted for one reason or another.  I dont necessarily hunt them down, but if I happen to see one and I have money to spend....

 

Some I have got include:

NAA mini revolver

snub nose 38 special (watched way too many cop/detective shows growing up)

Trapdoor 45-70

Win 1887  (watched terminator 2 too many times as well)

 

Still on the list:

Desert Eagle 44mag

Browning Hi Power

Sig 220

Marlin model 1895SBL  (in case dinosaurs show up at my front door)

Elgin Cutlass Pistol

 

Guns get added all the time.  I know it is a weird list, but nobody ever said I wasn't weird.

[John Kloehr]

I'm building a 300 BO AR Always liked the thought of a pistol caliber AK done up as a "commie tommy." There is some Sig I might consider at some point. Think it is one of the Legion items. Do sometimes think about upgrading my SxS to an SKB.

 

Really nothing stands out as an OMG if I ever see it I'm getting it.

[Black Angus McPherson]

3 hours ago, Cypress Sun said:

My realistic "Grail" guns are,

 

- Marlin Model 62 in .30 Carbine

 

- Winchester "Thumb Trigger" single shot .22 LR rifle

 

- AMT .45ACP Longslide 1911 style pistol

 

- Winchester Model 55 .22 LR single shot, semi auto rifle that fires from an open bolt.

 

 

I've found one of the four, I guess that makes me 25% successful!

 

 

Don't ask why I want these firearms, I don't really know. 

 

The highlighted rifle really has me shaking my head.  Is it a single shot, or is it a semi-auto?  Is it a rifle without a magazine that automatically ejects the fired round?  And it fires from an open bolt?  That's not just weird, it's bizarre.

 

It sounds like an AI generated or hollyweird creation.

 

Angus

[Cypress Sun]

7 minutes ago, Black Angus McPherson said:

 

The highlighted rifle really has me shaking my head.  Is it a single shot, or is it a semi-auto?  Is it a rifle without a magazine that automatically ejects the fired round?  And it fires from an open bolt?  That's not just weird, it's bizarre.

 

It sounds like an AI generated or hollyweird creation.

 

Angus

 

Believe it or not, it's a single shot, semi-auto rifle in .22 LR that fires from an open bolt. It ejects out of the bottom of the rifle and resets the bolt upon firing. It is actually extremely accurate even firing from the open bolt although it feels and sound weird when the bolt is closing. A very cool rifle, I've never seen anything like it. I've actually looked for another just for grins but haven't found another except for one and it wasn't in decent shape.

 

A short video about the Winchester Model 55 .22 rifle below.

 

 

[Perro Del Diablo]

Mine was caliber 257 roberts. Didn't think was still made until found the kimber, few years later added an unfired winchester 70 same caliber. I still want 454 causal just never broke down to get 1. Currently I want a 41 mag snubnose to go with the blackhawks.

[Rip Snorter]

1 minute ago, Perro Del Diablo said:

Mine was caliber 257 roberts. Didn't think was still made until found the kimber, few years later added an unfired winchester 70 same caliber. I still want 454 causal just never broke down to get 1. Currently I want a 41 mag snubnose to go with the blackhawks.

Now you need the Ackley Improved version!

[Linn Keller, SASS 27332, BOLD 103]

Alas, now that I've retired and entered what Sir Arthur Conan Doyle referred to as "a state of Genteel Poverty," my acquisitions have come to a fast, "I Hate Reality" halt!

Otherwise I would be fulfilling my Great-Grandfather's incisive observation, when we were discussing guns we've had and guns we'd like to find:

"I'm like a 'coon. If I sees it and it's shiny, I wants it!"

😁😁😁

As the wise man said, "I resemble that remark!"

[Pat Riot]

3 hours ago, Dantankerous said:

My list will never be completed because I keep finding more I want. 🙃

 

Nice Sigs! If I wasn't a Glock guy and fully stocked with Glock stuff I would definitely be an Sig guy. Great firearms.

I think I became a Glock guy because I couldn’t afford Sig Sauer pistols. At one point I had several Glocks but after my bike crash in 2019 I bashed up, but didn’t break, my right hand. I started noticing the accuracy of my Glocks going bad. It wasn’t the guns. It was me. My hands no longer fit the ergonomics of the Glocks. 
I traded my last 3 Glocks for the Sig P229 M11A1. 
I also traded a S&W model 63 .22LR 3” and a Ruger GP100 for the P226 Mk25. 
I decided that guns I no longer shot or couldn’t shoot well needed new homes so I could get guns I truly wanted.

 

As others have mentioned, my Grail Gun List has changed over time, but the Sigs always remained on the list. 
A few of the other guns that I had on my list from years ago are in my safe now
S&W 25 .45 Colt

Colt Detective Special

S&W 36 Chief’s Special

S&W 19 6”

S&W 17 6”

S&W 66 4” - my latest acquisition prior to the Sigs. 
The above were just handguns I wanted and for no particular reason. 
 

One revolver still on my list is the S&W model 27 4”. Though my desire for one isn’t what it once was. 
Also, I want an Sig Sauer P232 .380 stainless just because. 

[DeaconKC]

I have been very fortunate in having 5 "Grail Guns" over my life. And have actually owned all of them.  They were:

A genuine Colt First Generation SAA

A Luger

A C96 Broomhandle Mauser

A S&W Triple Lock

A Tommygun

 

[Cypress Sun]

12 minutes ago, DeaconKC said:

I have been very fortunate in having 5 "Grail Guns" over my life. And have actually owned all of them.  They were:

A genuine Colt First Generation SAA

A Luger

A C96 Broomhandle Mauser

A S&W Triple Lock

A Tommygun

 

 

I've owned three of your four listed. Here's what I found with the three,

 

C96 Broomhandle Mauser Red 9 w/aftermarket stock - I really wanted one of these for the longest time. Finally bought one. It just didn't fit me well at all. Felt clumsy and awkward in my hand with surprisingly snappy recoil for a 9mm. It was fine with the stock attached to it. Didn't like it at all otherwise. Sold it for slightly more than I had in it.

 

Interarms/Mauser Luger - As with the Broomhandle, it felt clumsy and awkward. It wasn't an original, needed the cash for something else, so I sold it.

 

Auto Ordinance 1927 A-1 semi-auto Thompson w/pistol grip forend, stick mag and drum mag. I loved that gun, surprisingly accurate, 100% reliable and a ton of fun to shoot. Also a very heavy gun. Would have kept it but needed the cash.

 

I suggest trying out someone elses C96 and Luger BEFORE buying, I wish I would have.

[Yul Lose]

I’ve always wanted a Gatling gun. The one that Battery Gunworks builds  I’ve slobbered over for years. Tippman builds a 9mm Gatling gun and I’ve nearly worked out a trade of a Gatling gun for a gun cart for one a couple of times but none of the ranges out here will let me shoot one. So I guess having a Gatling gun out here would be like being married to a beautiful woman that you could look at but never do anything else.

[DeaconKC]

22 minutes ago, Cypress Sun said:

 

I've owned three of your four listed. Here's what I found with the three,

 

C96 Broomhandle Mauser Red 9 w/aftermarket stock - I really wanted one of these for the longest time. Finally bought one. It just didn't fit me well at all. Felt clumsy and awkward in my hand with surprisingly snappy recoil for a 9mm. It was fine with the stock attached to it. Didn't like it at all otherwise. Sold it for slightly more than I had in it.

 

Interarms/Mauser Luger - As with the Broomhandle, it felt clumsy and awkward. It wasn't an original, needed the cash for something else, so I sold it.

 

Auto Ordinance 1927 A-1 semi-auto Thompson w/pistol grip forend, stick mag and drum mag. I loved that gun, surprisingly accurate, 100% reliable and a ton of fun to shoot. Also a very heavy gun. Would have kept it but needed the cash.

 

I suggest trying out someone elses C96 and Luger BEFORE buying, I wish I would have.

Fair assessments on all three. I would like to get another Broomhandle though.

[Possum Stu]

I’ve got several “bucket list” guns that I’d like to own at some point or another:

 

Browning High Power

Freedom Arms Model 83 in one of the 50 calibers

8 Gauge hammered double (realistically it’ll probably be a 10 gauge, since shootable 8 gauges are so hard to find)

MP5K (unlikely given the cost of a transferable one…)

M1 Garand

Ruger Redhawk 7.5 inch

Remington 1863 pocket

And of course, any time I see a USFA single action for sale, the wheels start turning

 

[Alpo]

2 hours ago, Cypress Sun said:

It ejects out of the bottom of the rifle

I'm glad you said that. Because they didn't mention that fact in the video, but they showed the bottom of the gun three or four times and you can see what looks like a magazine well.

 

Made me think that if you take the magazine out, well then yeah it's a single shot. So is a Ruger 10/22.

 

But your comment allowed me to realize that that was an ejector port.

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

 

I have had TWO AMT Hardballer 1911s.  They were without doubt the best 1911s I've owned.  the first was a three digit gun that was also my "Duty Carry Gun" and I really don't remember why I sold it along with the Safariland IPSC Comp rig.  The second I just "fell into."  I sold it to fund a CAS gun.  Of course in hind sight, I wish I hadn't sold either.  My only current "Grail" is also an AMT Hardballer Long Slide (sigh).

 

EYESA:  If Sypress doesn't jump . . . . Shoot me a PM and start wrapping it for shipment 🤠

[Eyesa Horg]

CC, I'm really glad to hear that. Sun and I were able to make deal. I "bought" it years ago to cover a debt and have never even fired it!!! It's been just sitting in the safe! 

Always though it would make a great bullseye gun with the long slide. 

[Chantry]

I don't have a lot of "grail" guns.  The current one is a Scottish round action shotgun.  It is a true "round action" not one with the corners just rounded off.  On edit:  Oops, the picture is a double rifle, but a shotgun would look the same, just without the rifle sight.

[Cypress Sun]

19 minutes ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

 

I have had TWO AMT Hardballer 1911s.  They were without doubt the best 1911s I've owned.  the first was a three digit gun that was also my "Duty Carry Gun" and I really don't remember why I sold it along with the Safariland IPSC Comp rig.  The second I just "fell into."  I sold it to fund a CAS gun.  Of course in hind sight, I wish I hadn't sold either.  My only current "Grail" is also an AMT Hardballer Long Slide (sigh).

 

EYESA:  If Sypress doesn't jump . . . . Shoot me a PM and start wrapping it for shipment 🤠

 

Sorry CC....I'm soon to be at 50% Grail coverage thanks to Eyesa and this thread!

[Cypress Sun]

36 minutes ago, Alpo said:

I'm glad you said that. Because they didn't mention that fact in the video, but they showed the bottom of the gun three or four times and you can see what looks like a magazine well.

 

Made me think that if you take the magazine out, well then yeah it's a single shot. So is a Ruger 10/22.

 

But your comment allowed me to realize that that was an ejector port.

 

Actually, Marlin made an .22 that was bottom detachable mag fed and fired from an open bolt, the Marlin Model 50.

 

It's actually one of my "Grail" guns also.

 

Problem is that they made less than 5,000 of them after running into a conflict with the Feds over a mag fed, open bolt firing mechanism. Feds figured that they could be converted to full auto. From what I understand, the Feds didn't ban them or restrict them but Marlin limited their production none the less. While it's a "Grail" gun for me, it's not a realistic "Grail" gun due to the limited number produced and the high price demanded if you do miraculously find one.

[Stump Water]

4 hours ago, Perro Del Diablo said:

Mine was caliber 257 roberts. Didn't think was still made until found the kimber, few years later added an unfired winchester 70 same caliber.

 

When Remington restarted their "Classic" series (or , rather, mode of operation) the 257 Roberts was the caliber one year.  Got one.

[Stump Water]

7 hours ago, Alpo said:

Currently I want a pre-war 410 hammer side by side. Why? Hell if I know. I don't hunt anymore. 410s cost way too much money to shoot. But I want one.

 

With an English stock.

 

Cowpoke brought one to a match some years back and... well...

 

 - Always liked an English stock

 - Savage model 24 O/U .410/.22 Mag was the only gun my dad ever had when I was growing up.  A .410 can do stuff a shell that size shouldn't be able to.  Likewise .22 Mag.

[Pat Riot]

For a long time I wanted a Browning Hi-Power and a CZ75 (before they were cool). They were on my grail gun list.

I finally got to rent and shoot both. I didn’t like either one. That was the day I realized that my “grail guns” should be guns I truly wanted, not guns that others thought I should want. 

[Whitey James]

Patton's pistols and the Colt Python Elvis gave Nixon.