All the talk of Thompson's reminds me, we have a full auto, us army issued Thompson in my departments armory. How we got it was lost to history, but it was re-discovered in the 70s. When we asked Ft Carson if they wanted it back, because they weren't using them anymore, they let us keep it. Being a range instructor, I get to shoot it whenever I want. Too much fun to describe.

Another one is a Remington cap and ball pistol owned by a local gun store. When I moved here in 08, they had it on display and theyd let people hold it. The owner has singed taken it off display unfortunately. It was found in a collapsed barn and has, if I remember the number correctly, 3 or 5 notches cut on the barrel.

A Newton rifle.

Three rifles I own. The history I'm holding always makes me stop and think where they were and what they've been thru.
Springfield Model 1898 in 30-40 Krag.
Lee-Enfield SMLE.
M1 Garand.

One of my handguns, S&W Model 29. Every time I pick it up I say, "Feel lucky, punk?" Juvenile? Yeah, but nobody can hear me.

I'll have to second Loeman's (post #10) vote for the H&K P-7 PSP. I never thought I'd be able to find, or afford one, and I was lucky enough to find one of the West German Police turn-ins a few years ago. The piece is an engineering marvel - I think there only about 4 moving parts in the entire pistol.

I also shot a Coonan Arms .357 Magnum semi-auto pistol once. It was fun, but it was also LOUD!

Probably the coolest gun I ever shot was a an old Sharp's .50 caliber. I was shooting my 30.06 Winchester Model 70 on the silhouette range at Ft. Bliss, El Paso, TX, and an old timer was shooting the Sharp's. I kept trying to work up the nerve to ask the gentleman if I could shoot it when he finally said: "Boy, come over here and shoot this rifle before you stare a hole through me." He loaded the piece and gave me a brief tutorial including how much holdover was needed. When I pulled the trigger, I immediately said "Dang it" as I thought I had missed the target. The old gent said "Just wait a second now", and about that time we heard the "thunk" of the bullet hitting the steel target. The old timer looked at me and said "that old .50 ain't as fast as your '06". Uh, yep, that old guy sure schooled me that day.

Regards,

Dave

BMG
Sweedish K
Sawed off Stevens pump (SEA)
the marvelous M-14

I was invited for a shoot at the Western Australia Police range and took a AK47, UZI,M16 and a SLR (308) converted to full auto from the armory and spent an hour shooting them all whilst Recruits picked up my empty brass!

The coolest gun I've ever handled, and I've seen, handled and shot many of the guns mentioned in this string, has to be a Collier flintlock revolver. I was in college, visiting my college roomate and he took me to see the collection of a friend of his father's. The old man left a gun with us while he went to get some more. I took one look: "Scott, that's a COLLIER!!". I did NOT try to cock it or work the mechanism. He heard us, realized I knew something about guns, so he was more than generous showing us what he had. That was a long time ago, and I still remember it. I've never seen another Collier flintlock revolver.

I've always had it for the Luger. It looked and still looks futuristic. You can recognize one from a mile away.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Before being shipped off to boot I got to check out some weaponry at the local National Guard armory. The only thing that stands out was checking out an original M16A1. It was holding an awesome piece of history.

Just before my enlistment was up I got to handle a former Russian issue Dragunov SVD. Some folks with fancier jobs than me were using it for familiarity training. I convinced the man in charge that I knew what I was doing and proceeded to diss./***. the gun and fondle it for as long as I could. It felt so good to me that years later I purchased a Romanian PSL for my self. It's not nearly as sexy, but has similar ergos, balance, weight, and performance.

Definitely the most historic got to handle the two Thompson's used in the Saint Valentines day massacre and years earlier one of Fredrick Courtney Selous's rifles owned by an African friend and the other Ruby gun owned by a local friend.

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Len

I agree that the coolest gun I own is my H&K P7M8 RTB Import pistol. Great history and a flawlessly functioning pistol, not to mention a great southpaw piece . . . (I still really really miss my MP5 . . . )

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

From a WWII historical perspective, over the last dozen years, I've got to hold/handle most of the important guns. We have a local WWII re-enactment every year. The "actors" are mostly all nice folks and will let you hold their real guns. The German MG34 & MG42 are cool. One guy told me he had well over 50K into his MG34, with extra barrels and all. This, as we stood in the pouring rain after he just got done slogging through the mud in one of the fake battles. These guys take there reenacting very seriously, as I don't think I would have my 50K investment out in the mud!!

Recent hardware: Checked out a Sig Saur MPX 9mm the other day. Was mighty impressed, but don't have $1495 laying around

16"on a Battleship.

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Foster Positivity.

A boxed and matched set of Purdey Imperial grade Side lock double barrel shotguns! I don't own them, cant afford them, but I would like to.
Valued in the $200000.00 to $250000.00 range.

After the last pheasant hunt of the 2015/16 season my hunting buddy and co-worker uncased his Belgian 4 Gauge double for members of our hunting party to shoot. I can't say it is the coolest gun I've handled but it is near the top.

Posing for this photo my only thought was...hurry and take the picture. This thing is heavy

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Bill Bates

5"/54 Mk. 42 Mod 10

It was the aft gun on the USS Cochrane DDG 21, and my GQ station was the one man control at the top of the gun. I was on that boat for 10 months, and got to "pull the trigger" a total of 11 times. Pretty big stuff for a 22 year-old kid!

Second to that would be the Ma Deuce, the Browning M2 .50 Cal.

Thirdly, a select-fire M-14 on full auto.

I suppose I'm odd, crazy, or just unusual.

The coolest gun I ever shot or handled is the Parker
Bros Trojan Model 20 gauge my Great Uncle bought
in 1916. I killed my first Bobwhite with it in 1961, and
a good many more quail after that. It is still in my safe.
I fire a few low-pressure 2.5 inch shells in it every few
years.

A close second and third place is a US Property Govt
Model I gave to my nephew, and my S&W Combat
Masterpiece from 1953.

When you get right down to it, what could possibly be
more cool than vintage Parker shotguns, Colt pistols,
or S&W revolvers?

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Georgia On My Mind

A friend of my Dad showed me a Pre-64 Winchester Model 70 Bull Gun, in .30-06. It was used in the Olympics, or at least the trials, sometime in the 1950s or early 60s. I remember he had a card with it, that had the pet load for it.
When I was working in our city warehouse, we got a box delivered by UPS. I signed for it, but had no clue what was in it, since it wasn't something I ordered. I cut the tape on the top, and looked at the packing slip. Colt Industries, 3 M-16A4 submachine guns, with 11" barrel. It didn't take me long to get one of those out and look it over. This was on a Friday, and the PD wouldn't come get them until Monday. I asked my boss if I could take one home for the weekend. Nope.

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Wayne
Torn & Frayed

Ernest Hemingway's double rifle. A friend bought it at auction in, I think Main a few years ago. He collects old English double rifles. At my last count he had 42. Really cool guns.

H&K P7 - The Squeeze Cocker.
Even the name sounds cool.
Finest handgun I ever felt in my hands.

One of theses days I'll be able to afford one.

Attached Images

image.jpg (43.3 KB, 31 views)

Power,,,


You gotta love a Delta,, or you never shot one,, the GC just makes it great!!

Beauty,,,


Some guns were just meant to be stared at,,,

Pocket gun,,,


That is all I got,,,

I've handled and even fired a lot of cool rifles in the last 30 years, full autos (a must shoot for any gun guy, no matter the cost), double rifles, fine shotguns and fine old handguns.

The most recent "cool" gun I got to handle was a Johnson semi-auto rifle (WWII vintage) that had been sporterized by a company in California (I believe) with a high gloss beautiful blue and very nice wood. It was not a one off either, according to the seller at the gun show backed up by paper work, this company made maybe 2500 of these after WWII from surplus guns, not sure on the number though.

Either way, it was a very "cool" gun. Very unusual and the first Johnson rifle I ever had the pleasure of handling.

TRE

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Fine guns and fine smokes.

I was once offerd to buy a Valmet (like this one) 100 made
However i rememberd it to have silver birch stock like the case (could be wrong?)
and it had a chrome bayonet with scabbard
Unfortunatly it was fullauto (very NO GO here)

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Jamie wants big boom

To this day (and I'm 50 years old), the coolest gun I've handled was the 1911 my grandfather brought back from WWII. My Mom kept it in a kitchen drawer as a defensive gun, but don't think she ever fired it in her life. She trusted me not to take it out and hold it................ which is why I lock my guns up in a safe. I can still remember how it felt.

I once had the opportunity to handle a Durs Egg musket at Collector's Firearms in Houston. Durs Egg (1748–1831) was a Swiss-born British gunmaker, noted for his flintlock pistols and for his company's production of the Ferguson rifle. Egg was apprenticed in Solothurn and Paris before establishing his own business in London in 1772. He was a contemporary of Joseph Manton, Jean Samuel Pauly, and the uncle of Joseph Egg.

I've had the honor to handle several original Hawkens, a Manton and other fine old flintlocks and percussion rifles and pistons.

As for modern era arms, I think my favorites would include a Thompson SMG, a HK MP5 and an M60.

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Isaiah 55:8-9
Phil. 4:13

When I was about eight or nine years old, ca 1952, we lived in a neighborhood that was built about 1910, all four-square and craftsman style houses. A few doors down the street from me lived Mr. & Mrs. R, who were about age 60-65, which seemed very old to me at the time. They were friendly, and we often spoke as I roamed about the neighborhood, playing and walking to and from school.
I was invited in one time, and was surprised to see Mr R's easy chair had a small bronze cannon just in front of it for a foot rest, facing the front door, and he had a pair of flintlock pistols on the table along side the chair. That was cool, but it got better. Mr. R was an antique arms collector. He showed me to the basement, which was very well lit, but unfurnished except for the boiler and a large table/workbench. Where the footer met the walls, there was a ledge about a foot off the floor and eight inches wide that went all around the perimeter of the ~25x40' room.
There were long guns of every description sitting on their butt plates on this ledge, leaning against the wall, completely around the room. These were the "old guns" he told me. His "new guns" were hundreds of civil war era percussion rifles, tied in bundles of ten or twelve, stacked horizontally on the floor like bundles of kindling. He told me he had "about" 2000 long guns in that room. He took me on a tour, taking down one from the ledge here and there and telling me about it. I remember a matchlock, a wheellock, a blunderbuss, some middle eastern arms with fancy wood carving and unusual curves to my cowboy movie educated eye, some long, graceful Kentucky rifles and flintlocks forever.
The gun that sticks in my mind the most was a wall gun, the biggest thing in his collection. It was matchlock, taller than me, had a barrel that seemed about the diameter of my wrist, and was so heavy I could hardly manipulate it. I remember thinking "It must take a really big strong man to shoulder and fire this thing" and Mr. R. explained what it was and showed me the Y shaped support that went into a hole in the top of the wall. He told me it weighed 37 lbs and could hit a man at 500 yards.
Shortly after that, we moved away, and Mr. R died a couple years later. I wonder to this day what became of his collection. Other than a major museum, I've never seen so many muzzle loading guns in one place in all my life.

HK UMP .45 (full auto)

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Ret. LE, FA Instr, S&W Armorer

At the Marine Corp's Landing Force Developement Center ,Quantico Va I had the opportunity to test and evaluate many weapons of the day.

The ones that Impressed me the most were the Stoner 62 and Stoner 63
Modern Firearms - Stoner 63

With a weapons like this available back in 1964 why was Colt given the contract to produce the M16 that were pieces of junk when compared to the Stoners?

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NEVER GIVE UP YOUR GUN

My brother-in-law's father is a retired 3-star US Army General. Steve now has his father's pistol. It is essentially unfired condition and is absolutely beautiful to see and hold.

Here she is, an original US Colt converted to 22 rimfire by Alonzo Krull, I hear he was blind at the time, but he had been making them for years. Front sight adjustable for elevation, rear sight in dove tail. Milled ramps on top and for the ejector rod, made his own cylinder and it shoot like a rifle. Best part - I own her. You have to look her over carefully and you will find an amazing example of the art of the true gunsmith.

Hi Ed Fowler:

Thank you for your post about the Colt Conversion by Alonzo Crull. I did a quick internet search and found the following information on this gentleman that I thought was very interesting:

Shooting with Hobie

Regards,

Dave

I've noticed that several in this thread have really enjoyed shooting Thompson's. Up until a few years ago I used to assist in maintaining the 250+ rentals we had at our local gun club. We had everything from Thompson's,UZI's, H&K MP5's,P90's and just about any type and brand of rifle shotgun or pistol imaginable.
I had free rein to "test fire" any and all of these whenever I felt it was necessary and this was often the case when one was malfunctioning. With the amount of use the rental machine guns received parts replacement was a constant activity.
Jim

Shooting machine guns isn't for me but I would like to fire a short burst from a Thompson. Just enough to feel that 'climb'.


I think it was best to shoot to the lower left side of the target and let it climb and move to the right. Or maybe that's just personal technique.

One of the coolest things on 'Sons of Guns' was a police chief that wanted to update a Thompson into a modern weapon, feeling that the basis was very good. They put on some rails and a few other good to have accessories. I can't remember if they did anything to the actual GUN, but when they tried it out, everybody was immediately impressed. It really spit out a lot of lead in a short time.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Being in Massachusetts for the summer, visiting my aunt and uncle in the early 1970's, my uncle gave me his old Model 10 S&W and a box of cartridges. I was probably 18 at the time. He told me to go out in the woods behind his house and have some fun. "But don't do anything stupid"....My first revolver experience. No earmuffs, no eye protection except for my glasses, no RSO standing by...it was a ....blast.

It belonged to my Dad. He died when I was 10 years old. I'm 42. Most of his material things are long gone. Other than 1/2 my genetic code, this is the only thing I have of my dad's. He bought it in 1970. He cleaned, lubed, and put it away in 1974: the year I was born. It sat in climate controlled storage. My mom kept it safe and hidden. A year ago, she gave it to me.

I don't shoot it often. When I do, I get to share an experience with my Dad.

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-John

H&K MP5 supressed is close to the top of my list

M2 was a bit of fun when I got to put a few hundred rounds down range

But I can't really decide between my M1 Garand or my RPR at the moment as far as "Coolest Gun"

The NYPD Emergency Service trucks had M1919 Thompsons when I first worked in the Unit.They were very low 2 digit serials and some were among the 1st made.

It was said that the NYPD had #2 to #20.

Yep,I got to fire them for free.

They were replaced by the god awful S&W Model 76 9mm submachine gun.

Sorry to say that most if not all of those great Thompsons were destroyed or secreted away?

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NEVER GIVE UP YOUR GUN

My dad's Winchester '73. Long octagonal barrel, in .38 cal. He got it as a teenager in the 1930's. A neighbor gave it to him, and my brother has it now.

I also have my dad's .22 cal. Steven's Buckhorn rifle that he bought brand new back in the 1930's, probably when he was 15 or 16. It's really hard for me to imagine my dad at that age.

German FG42 1st model

Looks like I'm going to have to test function on that Thompson......DARN!!

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Maybe not the coolest to some but...

When my however many great grandfathers came to the US to homestead from Germany, the locals gave him a gift. It is a Belgian Damascus barrell shot gun with two hammers.

The thing is fully engraved...I mean literally every screw on it too. It has the most unusual mechanism for opening, it is a long arm underneath that you move to the side, which opens the breach to then drop in the two shells. Supposedly, part of the stock is made with carved whale bone...i think this is not accurate and just made for a good story. My guess on its age is 1870-1880. It is still in the family. Believe it or not, it is still in operable condition, although with the barrell and age I obviously nor my family will shoot it.

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Rather be outdoors

Thank you very much, learned a little more about him. I did know that Hamilton Bowen held him in high regard and that is a compliment.

Pedersen Device on a 1903. The owner was in town for a gun show, and a friend of mine knew him. We went through a couple hundred rounds, with a big blue tarp spread out to catch the precious brass.
Next up was a Springfield M14 modified to semi-auto. It was loaned to our club briefly before Uncle Sam repossessed it for duty in the sandbox.
Also went through a magazine of 9 mm. on a friend's S&W M76. It ran fine, but it's no Thompson.

So, a little story.....

I was at a Dallas Safari Club Expo about ten years ago (I go annually!). I was in Butch Searcy's booth B. Searcy & Co. The All-American Double Rifle looking at several guns that he made and a few others that he was selling. Those expensive double guns are always cool, I've handled guns at the DSC expos and in the Beretta shops in NYC and Dallas with price tags in the $150 to $200K range and Butch's were a mere $25K to $50K. So we're talking top of the line cool guns.

But I'm not that rich and a lot more practical so I start looking at some more normal African bolt guns, a Gibbs something, a .416 Rigby, you get the picture. None are what you would call inexpensive but, okay, I'm having fun. While he's letting me check his guns out one rifle catches my eye. It's kind of plain, not bedazzling, and has a price tag of around $3500. I'm not going to buy that that day, either, but at least it was reaching the realm of affordability. It's a REAL rifle, I mean it looks all business, top notch bolt action (which I love), looking like this gun will get it done and I mean boy howdy! The caliber is .500 Jeffrey.

You might not know Butch Searcy but he's a large, impressive man, not a little squirt like me. I don't know if he's 6 feet or not but he has massive shoulders, expansive chest, I mean you want him ON YOUR SIDE!

He watches me pick up this .500 Jeffrey and put it to my shoulder. He looks at me and his face loses all expression and he says, in a muted voice:

"Now that one will hurt ya...."

Coming from HIM, that was an impressive statement - and that's why that .500 Jeffrey is the coolest gun ever!

At a LGS at his gun club range I shot a FA M14. In his shop I shot a FA 1927a1 Thompson it was awesome.

In the Summer of 1984 I was with the 5th Combat Engineer Bn when we got to go out on a Saturday to shoot our 90mm recoilless rifles.

It was awesome. Loud as hell, huge back blast area, and you could actually watch the round go down range through the sight assembly. Did some serious damage too.

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My sgntr is mor thn 30 chrctrs

ICS Yoda - "Now that one will hurt ya...."

I've admired the art of those double rifles, but I'd never want to shoot one.
Reminds me of something I read or heard once:
A 160 lb. Englishman with a 16 lb. rifle fires at a 16,000 lb. elephant at 16 yards.
The Englishman goes down; the gun goes down, the elephant goes down.
Whoever gets up, owns the others' possessions.
If none get up, their possessions are divided according to the law of the jungle.

I also have fond memories of the H & K MP5. But for pure coolness factor, a Thompson with a drum magazine.

Winner of the "Biggest Gun" right here. Any challengers?

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Cory
SWCA #3015 SWHF #465

I'm guessing that you mean the US state of Maine, not down on Main St. in some town.

Seriously, do you recall the maker and the caliber?