Well, what is it? A Colt .32 or .380? The later GO .45?

As a 30 year LEO/armorer/SWAT/sub gun instructor, I've shot just about everything with a go-fast switch. Zillionss of rounds out of an MP-5 but the two that stood out were the WWII grease gun and the Glock 18. Or maybe the STEYR TMP.

I brokered a deal for a buddy's H&K PSG-1 several years ago. It was up for sale again this last weekend at Wannamacher's in Tulsa.

And last, a hand me down Colt SAA that belonged to an Oklahoma Territorial Marshall. The gun was previously undiscovered until a descendant decided to sell it.

While visiting the Patton Museum at Fort Knox, I had the opportunity to hold General Patton's S&W Registered .357 Magnum. What a piece of history! It's certainly no "95%" revolver, and the ivory stocks weren't earlier cared for very well.

Touching off a few 36 cal muzzleloader rounds with a beautifully crafted 300? year old flint lock/primer cap converted. The trigger was great, the wood & metal work amazing. No real way to date it. It did have a rifled bore. When younger I got to shoot Singer 1911, snuck back from WWll? & didn't realize what I had. The Germans made some way cool military rifles/pistols/sub machine guns/ tanks.... V2. I like the US stuff too.

An extremely rare bird, a Luger in 45ACP with US and an Eagle on the barrel as I recall.It was one of the several made for procurement testing,loosing to the wonderful Colt 1911.

Didn't get to shoot it, but I wasn't too far from a 5"/54 during a NGFS exercise. The bang of the gun going off was a very flat WHAM. Hooray for hearing protection, because I then heard the shell departing. Hard to describe, it was almost like a rising tone. But unmistakable.

My favorite was the M60 Machine gun when I served in the US Army...or my 155SP & 8" Howitzers.
Really the M60 MG... When i as in W Germany we were doing training in Graf. 4 of us were the last to shoot the M60 course that day and the LT did not want to return any rounds so he let the 4 of us, in 2 teams, shoot about 5000 rounds. Maybe more, I am really not sure. We fired continuously for about 25-30 minutes. Changing barrels with the Nomex mitten (I think it was Nomex) that was provided with the 2 barrels. I was 21 years old and we were actually tired of shooting. The belt had the tracer rounds and it was dusk so it was even more fun to see the rounds following each other. This was in 1977 and I still think about that day occasionally.
It was also alot of fun firing the Howitzers too! Especially at night with that awesome muzzle blast.

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John 1:17
NRA Life Benefactor

Full auto Thompson 1928 with 75 round drum. Epic shooter.

This one makes me jealous!

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Even older, even crankier....

Coolest fired? Toss-up between the .45cal. M3A1 and 7.62mm M60.
Coolest handled ? M1896 Borchardt carbine.

Larry

The coolest thing I've handled was a Gyrojet pistol. Interesting and unique.

Close runner up is a H&R T-48.

Coolest thing I've shot is my Father's M1941 Johnson rifle.

The coolest gun I've owned was a Thompson SMG. At MG shoots I have tried out many other full-auto. Personally, the MP-40 was the neatest SMG.

Ten years in the Army gave me the opportunity to shoot most of what was in the inventory at the time, and several things from other countries (FAL, G-3, AK/RPK, etc.).

The coolest though was the Gyrojet.

Reading this thread made me come to the sad realization that I don't have a coolest gun ever. Perhaps I should go out and try to find one?

But first let me say that just seeing or touching or holding a "cool" gun shouldn't count IMHO. It should be one that you've at least shot for a time or been assigned responsibility for or actually owned in order to count.

Quite the trouble maker, aren't I.

The fact is that while I own quite a few interesting guns, there isn't a single one that I'd call uniquely "cool." And I've never shot a fully automatic weapon (unless you count the occasional malfunctioning semi-auto ) so I can't draw on that sort of experience.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a legal, non-full-auto gun that's available today that is truly "cool"? Maybe that's what I need to add to the collection next... for once, a truly "cool" gun!

I'm afraid I don't have much sense of what's "cool" anymore, but the new manufacture semi-auto FG42s are interesting enough that I had to have one:




About the same size and weight as the 18" barreled SAGE stocked M1a but rather less "bulky".


Side loading magazines. (Would be particularly useful in it's original open-bolt full-auto role, along with an assistant to swap mags for the gunner. It functioned as a closed bolt semi-auto rifle as well, but emphasis in design was on burst fire.)

Not exactly the easiest thing to cycle (!!!), but otherwise fairly sophisticated for it's time. For example:

1) Folding iron sights
2) QD scope rail built integral to receiver
3) QD and recoil absorbing stock
4) Excellent muzzle brake
5) Integral bipod
6) Integral magazine well dust covers

Downsides:
1) No bolt hold open in semi-auto
2) No match trigger!
3) Hard to cycle bolt (on the semi-auto rifles at least)

M-79 Grenade launcher?. Leave it to the Coast Guard to come up with that. Those were very cool.

Sig P210, swiss made.

The owner of my LGS shows me all the cool guns that pass through his shop, and he let me handle a Sig P210 and experience the trigger. Very nice gun.

My brother's H&K USP 40.

Quite a few years ago I was working the chronograph stage at a USPSA Area 5 match where I had the opportunity to handle the race guns of a good number of the top shooters in the country at the time, including Rob Leatham, Jerry Barnhart, and eventual match winner Todd Jarrett.

Pretty cool I suppose, but it doesn't hold a candle to handling and shooting my father's Remington Rand 1911 he carried during WWII.



Roe

Yes, I did mean the state of Maine. The caliber is a .577 nitro express. I do not remember who it was made by, except it was made in England. My wife has a bullet collection, and wanted one of his, do not remember the caliber but when she found out it was custom made and cost around $100.00 she thought better than to ask for one.

1. My 1943 1911A1 vet bring back from Iwo Jima.
2, An 1876 Winchester with British proof marks in 50-110 (?)
3. Thompson
4. My 1900's Bisley in 41 LC, engraved in a tribal motif, carved ivory grips with ruby eyes

Earliest- the Broomhandle my father brought back from occupied Japan after WW II.
Most poignant- the damaged revolver- model 60 maybe ? that a first responder carried into the World Trade Center, later found in the rubble and preserved at the NRA museum.
Most historic- a revolver, I think it was a Remington, attributed to Jesse James, also from the NRA museum. It had an original holster with it !
Various- a Singer .45 that a pharmacist invited me to see in his safe in the back of his store.
All the machine guns I've had the good fortune to shoot- Thompsons, Reisings, M60, Uzi, Mac-10 & 11, MG-42, S&W model 76.
And this one-
My first Smith and Wesson, a birthday present when I was 16 from a mentor and friend.

Regards,
turnerriver

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turnerriver

When I was in Vietnam in 1969 I also fired the M79 a few times and I carried the M16 from March until September when I took over the M-14 sniper rifle I posted earlier in this thread.

Another gun I got to check out was the Captains Car-15 a carbine version of the M16.

There are a lot of opinions in re "cool". My CZ Duo make in German occupied Czechoslovakia in 1944 is cool. My Walther P-4 is cool (just try to find one). I fired those so that makes them cool guns I have fired.

I didn't count the Ma Deuce I fired in the Army, M-60 from the hip, or howitzers I fired. M14s, too, and that's my favorite rifle of all time but it's a favorite, not necessarily the most cool. All big military guns are pretty cool, I guess, but they don't light me up like that 500 Jeffrey I wrote about earlier.

I don't think of full auto weapons as all that cool. I've fired an UZI, MAC 10, probably others I can't think of. Fun, exciting, yeah, but not that cool. Wasteful of ammunition, hard to hit anything, etc. Someone once wrote, maybe PF Ackley or Townsend Whelen, "only accurate guns are interesting". That might include a coolness factor, too.

So, as for a current gun that is legal today that is very cool, well, we're back to taste - what qualifies to YOU as cool? My Walther PPK/S .22 with a suppressor affixed ranks WAY UP THERE in the coolness department, totally legal, outrageously fun. So there ya go!

I love that!

I had a CZ 550 European style .416 Rigby for awhile. Gorgeous gun and very impressive when it went off. I imagine that .500 Jeffrey was far more impressive.

A 16 pound rifle would have been something made back in the day when they measured bore size and not caliber. I reckon a 4 bore blackpowder elephant gun would weigh 16 pounds. VERY COOL - shooting it would not be quite so cool but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do!!!

I refer you back to Bill Bates post in this thread - it shows just such a gun.

In 1983, I was at a OGCA show in Columbus, Ohio and stopped at a table to see if he had any unusual double rifle ammo. He had brought about 15 assorted rounds from his "junk ammo" box for my collection. Sitting on the table was a Holland & Holland Side-by Side, Royal Grade 4 Bore rifle at $80,000. It was like new and may have been unfired. All the accessories were with it! I had bought a WR 450 3 1/4" N.E. SxS from him three shows before, so he told me to see how it fit. I said there was no way I could afford to buy it, and it would be pointless to "Try it on." He replied he probably had it sold at that show anyway, and I should pick it up because, "When are you going to get a chance to pick up another one?" So I hoisted it to my shoulder, It was as if it had a mind of its own and wanted nothing more than to be at my shoulder and aiming at the African Big 5. I ask about ammo, he replied that he had all I wanted at $400 a shot! I didn't try to justify buying it. But every now and then, in the middle of the night it still calls to me, like some lost lover. As tears roll down my cheeks, I refuse to answer back and roll over and fight my way back to sleep!

Iven

There are many online photos of battleships firing their guns so to save having to post copyrights I recommend you just search and you will find them. I assure you they are the biggest and baddest and COOLEST it's sad they're all mothballed now.

My Colt '21 is a good candidate:

Immediately after I win the lottery, I'm going to find one of these and pay whatever it costs. (Dad was a BAR man in WW2)

In order of what I think are the coolest firearms that I have handled and shot would be MK-19 grenade launcher, tommy gun, MP5, MP10, Uzi, Ma Deuce, and the like new pre 1960 Savage 99EG in .243. The savage I bought 2 years ago for a total sum of $350. But it was given to my father for Father's Day. But it will come back to me, hopefully a good many years from now.

Not sure if you're aware of this, but those 45 caliber lugers are now literally worth a million dollars each. Only 2 Are known to still exist.

Yes, Serial number 2 is the one that's been on the market several times. Highest it went for was $985,000. Don't know whee it is now. Sereial number 6 is supposed to be in a museum somewhere in Louisiana. Publicity about it is scarce, and I've never seen a picture of it. Anybody know anything more about serial number 6?

The coolest, in order: Colt Single Action Army 45 Long Colt 7 1/2" Brl/ German 7.62mm Luger all numbers match!!
1886 Winchester 45/70 Octagon Brl.,1898 30/40 Krag, U.S.Army Rifle Team Rifle, belonging to my Grand Uncle on the U.S.Army Rifle Team circa 1906!!

Back in late '68 as a USAF SP in RVN. I was issued and M16A1 with a XM148, 40mm tube on it. It had a strange trigger on it. Before that in the SAC Missiles fields of MT I carried a M2 Carbine as the AF had sent all the M16s to NAM.

MP5 with silencer and of course the giggle switch. Was the best box of 9mm I ever had fun with.Frank

Had fun shooting a suppressed full auto Uzi. Like fondling my Model 1892 Krag/Jorgenson, Broomhandle, and Luger too. An interesting one is an Remington Model 51. Feels nice in the hand, points naturally, and shoots great. Hate taking it apart though! Same thing with my Second Model Colt Woodsman. Webley Mark 2 that is unit marked is cool too.

The coolest gun? A Walther single shot rimfire match rifle when I was about 6 years old. The first shot from a real gun, a memorable moment that gave me direction in life.

I am surprised at the love of full autos. I hate machine guns although I was more than once the best in my batallion with the belt fed beast.

Re: OP. Had a chance to handle a few nice guns. A nice .30 1919 was fun to fiddle with and shoot. Same w/ a M-16 and AK-47. Handled a BOSS shotgun... gorgeous. Perhaps the one that sticks out in my mind was a pre-WWII Merkel... double barrel shotgun w/ a rifle barrel centered below the shotgun barrels. Stunning carving and engraving. Some sort of Luftwaffe gun. Absolutely gorgeous... breath taking. Held it and handled it one afternoon while visiting one of my church members about 1994. He pulled it out from under the couch where it was wrapped in a oily cloth. He'd picked it up out of a pile of confiscated weapons before they crushed everything under a tank and then threw the scrap into the river. He sent it home to his wife. Fifty years later... it was simply beautiful... a joy to hold. Sincerely. bruce.

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<><

Coolest gun I have handled is the Savage 45 ACP at a Dallas Market Hall show many years ago. If my memory serves me correctly it was serial number 2 or 3.

I have been fortunate to have owned several cool guns. A Whitney Wolverine, which I sold as well as my Luger and H&K P7 M8, which I still have.

I have had the opportunity to shoot an MP 5, no Thompson yet.

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I am a sheep dog!
1601 (ret)

GREAT string!! Keep 'em coming.

H&K P7 . . .

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

Wish I had something exotic to add. I have shot, however:

Hard Chromed 5" Bren Ten ala Sonny Crockett/ Miami Vice

6 1/2" North Hollywood .44 AutoMag early serial# made from mostly Pasadena parts.

8 3/8" .45 Win Mag Wildey, actually two different ones.

6 1/2" LAR Grizzly .45 Win Mag.

.45-70 custom single action revolver before the BFR.

Bruce

An original 95% Luger Black Widow owned by a friend and shooting buddy. He acquired it from a local small college president/gun collector

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John

Couldn't really think of what stands out in my mind until reading other posts but what comes to mind are likely the top 4 in order:
GE M134
German FG 42
Quad 50
Grant Hammond .45ACP from military sidearm trials.
ETA:
the FG and Grant Hammonds were pretty unique while the mini needs no explanantion and the quad 50 was awesome times 4.

Hi Brucev:

From your post, my first thought was that you were describing a Luftwaffe Drilling - which was designed and issued to German pilots and aircrews during WW-II:

Luftwaffe M30 Drilling - World War II Wiki - Wikia

But the Luftwaffe drillings were made by JP Sauer, not Merkel, and I don't think the Luftwaffe drillings had elaborate carving or engraving. In any event, the weapon you are describing sounds like a drilling:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combination_gun

Regards,

Dave

As was my dad.

Regards.

Bob

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R. M. Bob Horton
#2170

It has to be a suppressed H&K MP5 at a SWAT School I attended.

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Join the NRA today

To me the ultimate hand held gun I have got to fire is an M60. To me nothing says gun like one of these chugging out 7.62s. When a Marine in my day said "the gun" it meant the M60.

I am a man of peace who strives to live without enemies. Sometimes the only way to get rid of an enemy is to out live him, which is a lot easier to do if you own an M60.

Here are couple owned by a friend. They are full auto, and they have Nazi markings.

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USAF AMMO

Definitely the 240B. Must be a similar experience to those who tout the M60. There's just something about 7.62 running on full auto... really gets the blood pumping in some certain places.

The M2, or Ma Deuce was also a lot of fun. 50BMG on full auto is one hell of a trip. But it's just not nearly as portable as the 240 series light machine guns.

Sent from my 0PJA2 using Tapatalk

........to handle some very historic treasures of America's Firearms past.

I had a good friend who served as the Curator of the NRA collection for a spell and during a visit she introduced me to many of their treasures. Offered me a job but not enough salary to live on in DC, but then who would want to live there?

Friends with the late Gaines de Graffenried who served as Curator of the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame Museum in Waco. I spent many hours with him there and he would allow me to handle any items that I had a strong interest in. The most memorable were the firearms of the Barrows and of Frank Hamer. Many other lawmen and outlaw firearms also.

Have been fortunate to have friends that shall remain unnamed that have magnificent collections of artifacts of old west history particularly from lawmen and outlaws and had the opportunity to handle many treasures in those collections.

Served as a Guest Curator for a Museum here in our State for an exhibit on Law & Order and was honored to handle and examine many artifacts of this subject including the 1873 Winchester in 38-40 that killed the Noted Bank Robber Henry Starr.

One instance that sticks out above all in my mind was the Colt 1911 .45 acp and Winchester Model 12 that were carried by the Chief of Police of McAlister Oklahoma, Otto Reed on June 17th 1933 when he was killed in the Kansas City Massacre. The 1911 was probably used to stop their prisoner Federal Fugitive, Frank Nash, from escaping.

Lots of good memories of all these experiences.

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LEX ET ORDO

My great-grandfather's Civil War musket. Used between 1863 and 1865.

I learned the manual of arms on it between 1950 and 1951.