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Calm down. This is not a revised version of the Kama Sutra.
Rather, the recurring phenomena I'd seen in others before I finally understood and engaged in it myself:
That of the accrual of an accessory to a gun before you ever possess the gun (and VERY often, doing so ignites the search for the gun).
I have a very close friend that I have openly ridiculed for buying ammo, dies, bullets, etc.,etc., for guns he does not have. Then he embarks on the search for the gun. Sometimes he rat-holes the stuff for years, only to reference it later (probably just to piss me off) when he locates the gun.
I have another friend that (almost literally) fell into a pile of .375 H&H stuff 2 years ago, and has been hunting for the "right gun" ever since.
At the Albany show this spring, I found a hidden treasure in a brand new Weaver V22 in the box with all papers. A reliable classic Weaver rimfire scope from the '70's-'80's.
I have always considered one of the worst "trend-follies" in guns to be the sudden and almost complete departure from the slim-tube optics (3/4"-7/8") rimfire scopes that were so well-developed for their guns. But somebody in the late '70's said that "today's .22's deserve man-sized optics", and the switch was thrown almost overnight, and .22 owners and buyers came to settle for nothing less than a 1" tube. Even the optics manufacturers were caught unprepared, but suddenly developed "rimfire" segments to their lines (parallax free at 50 yards, or Adjustable Objective, or Extended Focus Range). The high-end stuff was wonderful for rifles that needed it and could use it.
For most .22's, and in almost all usage of them, they'd be far better served in all aspects by something smaller and trimmer.
And so, I had this beautiful Weaver. A veritable time-capsule from when rimfire optics matched the slim little guns they made better. Steel tube, deep blue finish, like somebody gave a rat's azz.
And the hunt was on. I sent a picture of my treasure to a buddy and said I needed to "find a rifle just 'chintzy enough' to match it". (I sorta had visions of a Winchester 190/250 something-or-other: another statement of the period).
At a large gun show later, I was exploring a fine assortment there of the Winchester 69/72's (bolt classics), and the Remington 510 series and later 580 (bolt guns). Winchester 190's and 250's ("chintzy" autos and levers) were not in abundance.
Prices on anything in decent shape (and it had to be new enough for a dovetail: V22's came with rings) were exorbitant, beginning at $450 for the bottom feeders. At a fast moving show, lots of money was seen, and lots of guns moved on and off of tables. On the second day of the show, on a table I'd bought from the day before, a new gun appeared.
"This wasn't here yesterday", I said with a smile.
"Oh! Yeah. Good to see you again, I went home last night and got it. It's a personal gun. I'll never shoot it again."
"How long have you had it?"
"Bought it new. Forty or fifty years ago."
And it was still new. A Marlin 780. untouched. 1981. A nice gun was bought for a scope for less money than anything on the Bi-Mart rack.
Rather, the recurring phenomena I'd seen in others before I finally understood and engaged in it myself:
That of the accrual of an accessory to a gun before you ever possess the gun (and VERY often, doing so ignites the search for the gun).
I have a very close friend that I have openly ridiculed for buying ammo, dies, bullets, etc.,etc., for guns he does not have. Then he embarks on the search for the gun. Sometimes he rat-holes the stuff for years, only to reference it later (probably just to piss me off) when he locates the gun.
I have another friend that (almost literally) fell into a pile of .375 H&H stuff 2 years ago, and has been hunting for the "right gun" ever since.
At the Albany show this spring, I found a hidden treasure in a brand new Weaver V22 in the box with all papers. A reliable classic Weaver rimfire scope from the '70's-'80's.
I have always considered one of the worst "trend-follies" in guns to be the sudden and almost complete departure from the slim-tube optics (3/4"-7/8") rimfire scopes that were so well-developed for their guns. But somebody in the late '70's said that "today's .22's deserve man-sized optics", and the switch was thrown almost overnight, and .22 owners and buyers came to settle for nothing less than a 1" tube. Even the optics manufacturers were caught unprepared, but suddenly developed "rimfire" segments to their lines (parallax free at 50 yards, or Adjustable Objective, or Extended Focus Range). The high-end stuff was wonderful for rifles that needed it and could use it.
For most .22's, and in almost all usage of them, they'd be far better served in all aspects by something smaller and trimmer.
And so, I had this beautiful Weaver. A veritable time-capsule from when rimfire optics matched the slim little guns they made better. Steel tube, deep blue finish, like somebody gave a rat's azz.
And the hunt was on. I sent a picture of my treasure to a buddy and said I needed to "find a rifle just 'chintzy enough' to match it". (I sorta had visions of a Winchester 190/250 something-or-other: another statement of the period).
At a large gun show later, I was exploring a fine assortment there of the Winchester 69/72's (bolt classics), and the Remington 510 series and later 580 (bolt guns). Winchester 190's and 250's ("chintzy" autos and levers) were not in abundance.
Prices on anything in decent shape (and it had to be new enough for a dovetail: V22's came with rings) were exorbitant, beginning at $450 for the bottom feeders. At a fast moving show, lots of money was seen, and lots of guns moved on and off of tables. On the second day of the show, on a table I'd bought from the day before, a new gun appeared.
"This wasn't here yesterday", I said with a smile.
"Oh! Yeah. Good to see you again, I went home last night and got it. It's a personal gun. I'll never shoot it again."
"How long have you had it?"
"Bought it new. Forty or fifty years ago."
And it was still new. A Marlin 780. untouched. 1981. A nice gun was bought for a scope for less money than anything on the Bi-Mart rack.
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