Rick's Firearms Main Page
This is the start of what will be my Firearms pages. What will
probably end up here is some fairly detailed pictures of the more
interesting firearms I own, perhaps some accompanying schematics,
history, etc. We'll just have to see what develops.
In the meantime, for now, there are just some basic pictures of the
following:
The Reloading Bench
Space is really tight in our house, and this corner of the spare
bedroom is where everything has to take place. I must have good
floors in this house though, because there's got to be half a ton of
equipment and supplies packed into that bench. And across from
that are the safes... bought long
before "safe storage laws were ever enacted.
Hi Standard Supermatic Citation
If you ever start to feel yourself getting cocky, get a target .22
like this, some of those Olympic targets, and try it Olympic
style. You can have a lot of fun trying your luck on .22
silhouette targets as well. I was fortunate to pick up this
set which contains
three separate barrel/slide
assemblies. There's even the
long range configuration -
but it is rare I ever shoot it rigged up like this.
RCMP Model 10 Service Revolver
I purchased this revolver when we used to have service revolver
matches that were restricted to service configuration revolvers.
The skinny 5" barrel and fixed sights still shoot better than I do
90% of the time with the right handloads.
Model 19/PPC Snubnosed Match
Revolver
The Model 19, popularized by Bill Jordan, was almost certainly the
finest revolver ever issued to police. It was either the most
popular or second most popular revolver for PPC Distinguished matches,
up to the advent of the L Frame revolvers. I own two of these fine
instruments. This one, used for PPC snubby matches, and my
original Model 19 with 6" barrel. The rounds you see in the
Safariland speedloader are Glaser Safety Slugs; the snubby is not my
favoured CCW handgun when at our place in Montana, but I do tend to snap
it on my belt when taking a walk with the dogs in the state lands that
border our acreage. Truly an enjoyable firearm to shoot for
pleasure. Sadly, S&W has dropped this fine revolver from its'
lineup.
PPC Distinguished Match
Revolver
Your basic Smith & Wesson Model 14-6 K-frame .38 Special.
Stock except for the allowable smoothing up. This one in a Ransom
Rest and with handloads shoots better than I do as well...
PPC 1500 Match Revolver
This revolver was built on a Model 10 by Murray Charlton quite a
long time ago. It has a Wichita four position rib on top, and
compared to many of today's PPC guns is pretty ordinary. However,
in a Ransom Rest it will put 24 of my handloaded wadcutters inside
2" at 50 meters. That is better than I can shoot, so I can't
see any good reason to buy a newer one.
Browning Hi Power
Like many other people, the Browning Hi Power is an all time
favorite of mine. This is my latest HP in its' stock condition as
I got it - factory grips and adjustable sights in .40 S&W. Will
have to add pics of it as it looks now after the changes I made.
This is my current preferred concealed carry handgun when in the States
where I have a CCW permit - bitterly amusing that a foreign country
trusts me more than my country of birth, where most of my adult working
life was spent in a police or military uniform. There is so much
content on the internet regarding the Browning Hi Power that I'm not
sure I should add to it. Perhaps we'll just satisfy ourselves for
now with a look at the Canadian version of the HP that I carried while
in the Canadian Forces; here's a quick
picture.
Webley Model VI
My uncle gave me this revolver when I was headed over to Yugo
peacekeeping. He carried it flying Beaufighters over in Burma
during WWII, wanting something with a bit more authority to it than the
cheesy Smith & Wesson .38 revolvers they issued pilots (with no
ammunition to go with them). He also carried a Browning pocket
pistol and a Ghurka kukri (he must have clanged as he walked to his
Beaufighter), but that's another story. Anyway, I'm the next
generation to own this old warhorse, even though I never told my uncle I
couldn't take it to Yugo with me as only the Colonel got to break the
"no personal weapons" rule and .455 Webley ammunition is
scarce in the Canadian supply system now. There is also an
armourer's schematic - although it is about 2 Mb - that you can view
here.
Lee Enfield No. 4 Mk1
This rifle is a 1953 Long Branch product - 95L series serial number,
the last of the best. I bought a case of ten of these rifles back
after they found them squirrelled away in war stores in Belgium.
There should be a good story in that, because at the time the Belgians
would have taken these from Canada for "just in case", they
would have been building the FN49 and probably building the FN FAL as
well. Anyway, I cleaned up and shot all ten rifles for group, kept
this one as it was the most accurate, and sold the other nine.
Seeing what Lee Enfield's are selling for these days and what I paid for
these, I wish I'd put them away for a few years as an investment...
FN/C1
The C1 was, in my opinion, the closest thing we have ever had to an
indestructable battle rifle. It wasn't the most accurate rifle
ever issued, but it was certainly accurate enough for infantry purposes.
When I get the time, I will post detailed pictures of the FN/C1.
Husqvarna Lightweight Sporter aka Series 5000, aka "The Husky", aka
"Thor's Hammer"
I have three of these rifles: the one pictured which is a .358 Norma
Magnum, a 30/06 (now rebarrelled to 30/06 Ackley Improved - I wore the
original barrel out), and a .308 Winchester. These were fine
rifles built for the blue collar worker; no frills, just a light, solid,
dependable mountain rifle. More pages to come, but in the meantime
some additional pics of the .358 Norma Magnum from the
right side,
left side, one of the original
1961 advertisments, and the
"owners manual" that came with
my 30/06.
Browning BLR
My wife is right handed but learned to shoot left eye dominant.
Reason enough for a new rifle in the house! I have a distinct
fondness for .358 caliber rifles as they're simply the best choice in
North America for anyone hunting game bigger than deer that also does
their own loading. I looked for a used .358 in good condition, a
"second variant" beyond the ugly magazine on the first efforts.
About the time I was ready to give up, Browning decided to "uglify" the
Model 81 with their hideous "Lightening" models that sported a birds
head pistol grip. The Canadian Tire on south MacLeod Trail in
Calgary blew all their new BLR's in the old version out for a fraction
of their real value. I got this rifle for
about $450 NIB if I remember correctly. It was in .308 Winchester,
but the barrel was taken off before a shot was ever fired in it (anyone
looking to upgrade a .243 BLR? Good price...). I had Bill
Leeper do one of his invariably fine jobs installing a new barrel on it
in .358 Winchester, chambered specifically for cast bullet use.
You can see a heavy cast bullet hunting load, made with a custom mould
designed by me and cut by Mountain Moulds
here. One of the biggest
advantages of the .358's is their versatility; you can see that
here. The rifle uses
quick detachable Warne rings which you can see
here. It is just
a minutes work to remove the scope and replace it with a large ghost
ring rear sight manufactured by Ashley Sight Systems. It's a lot
trimmer for easier handling as a bush gun while huckleberry picking or
returning to retrieve a bowhunting kill with the scope off as you can
see here. Closeups of
the rear aperture are here
and here.
Reinstalling the scope is a close enough return to zero that it can't be
detected by shooting before and after groups on a target.
To come at a later date:
FN Model 1910 (7.65)
Anshutz Model 1804 (.22)
Sako Finnbear (30/06)
Thompson Center Hawken (.54)
Cooey Model 39 (.22 - they're ubiquitous)
Browning Superposed (12 ga.)
Browning 2000 (12 ga.)
The rest of the stuff in the safe is pretty boring and Remchester-ish...
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