Guns you bought that Surprised you with how good they were

[fyimo]

I'll start and that was a H&R 300 Ultra rifle in 243 that I bought in the 80's and it was a great rifle. I took it to the range and it was a sub minute of angle rifle and I was stunned because my cost was $300. I then did some research and found out that H&R imported FN mauser actions and Sako actions to build these rifles. Needless to say I was hunting them down after that as they are a favorite rifle of mine.

I'm sure the same thing has happened to other members with pistols and rifles so lets hear your story.

H&R 300 Ultra rifle with Sako L579 action

A little history of these rifles for those interested.

 

[papajohn428]

Mine was a 1964 Marlin 336RC in 30-30 that I snagged at a local pawnshop for $150. The wood was so rough it almost appeared unfinished, and I immediately named the gun "Plain Jane". Then I shot it, and found out it was the ultimate sleeper rifle. Groups with any ammo you fed it were under 2", ammo it liked went into an inch, and on a few occasions it has bested some high-dollar bolt guns. Some 3-shot 100-yard groups have dipped below the half-inch mark.......after that the barrel heat makes it string shots vertically.

 

[s&wchad]

When one of my older brothers retired and took up hunting, I found him a really good deal on a S&W 1500 bolt action rifle (made by Howa). We topped it off with a Leupold Vari-X II 3-9x40 and took it to the range to sight it in. It's chambered in .270 Win and the darn thing is an absolute tack driver! It hasn't changed zero since he got it and has taken a B&C Caribou, a number of nice antelope including one that's the best of over 25 our group harvested off the property and several whitetail. If I ever find a comparable deal on another one, I'm keeping it for myself!

 

[lebomm]

Mine is a Longbranch No 4 Mk I* SMLE "sporterized" by the now-defunct Golden State Arms in Pasadena CA and sold as the "Santa Fe Model 1944"
Charger bridge and rear sight mount completely milled away, folding leaf rear sight and one-piece ramp front (no dovetail) on bbl, forestock truncated and "ebony" tip painted on, handguards gone, and recoil pad added to mil. buttstock. Bought it for $50 to trade for a "collectible" 94 Winchester that turned out to be a rusty post-64.
Well, I figgered I oughta at least shoot it before I threw it into the Puget Sound, so I bought some W-W Power Point and some Mk VIIZ Ball, and that rascal shot thru its 2-groove bbl. into about 2 1/2" at 100 yds with either ammo! Later found a Monte Carlo buttstock at a gun show for $5 that fit like it was made for me and when I throw it up, the sights fall right in front of my eyeball. Sold the mil. buttstock for $5, and added an early No. 1 MkIII cocking piece for $7.
So for my $57 investment, I guess I can still throw it into the Sound and not suffer much.

Larry

 

[Flint Ridge]

Well, being that I am the new guy on the block, I'll go with the obvious.

Having grown up in the semi-auto world and always purchased quality German made goods like Sig Sauer and HK, I was pleased. Then picked up a LNIB 66-1 that had <200 rounds down it. Wow was that baby fun to shoot! And even at the premium I paid, it was still cheaper than my semi's.

So, here's the first Smith I ever purchased. And now I have more Smith's than anything else.

 

[brucev]

Once had a little Ruger Mk. II that didn't really float my boat. I wandered into a pawn shop and saw a used not so badly abused Winchester M-1917 in the rack. Of course, hearing Oliver calling, I worked a trade... even up. Took the 17 out to a far and benchrest tested it off the hood of my friends pick-up truck. Shooting 180 gr. handloads (which was all I had available at that moment), it punched out nice little 1 inch five shot groups at 100 long paces. Cool. Inside of the barrel looked like a sewer pipe, i.e., dark and bad. But boy would it put .30 caliber 180 gr. bullets into nice tiny groups. Of course I no longer have the rifle. After all... trading is addictive. And I've been addicted for a long time.

 

[BearBio]

When one of my older brothers retired and took up hunting, I found him a really good deal on a S&W 1500 bolt action rifle (made by Howa). We topped it off with a Leupold Vari-X II 3-9x40 and took it to the range to sight it in. It's chambered in .270 Win and the darn thing is an absolute tack driver! It hasn't changed zero since he got it and has taken a B&C Caribou, a number of nice antelope including one that's the best of over 25 our group harvested off the property and several whitetail. If I ever find a comparable deal on another one, I'm keeping it for myself!

I'll agree about the Howa. Mine is the absolute last rifle I will sell.

My surprise was a 25-2 I took as a trade. Love that gun and my most accurate pistol. And to think, I took it as trading stock!

 

[Shooting Padre]

I purchased one of gun owners favorite guns to bash, a Highpoint 9mm carbine, just because it got a good review on GunBlast.com. I was extremely surprised at the accuracy of this ugly gun. Everyone I let shoot it wanted to get one. I finally sold it to purchase a Smith (applaud here) revolver. The one who bought it also remarked at the accuracy and how his friends liked it. Surprise, for a cheap ugly gun, it served well and was fun to shoot.

 

[Gman56]

aCZ75b and RRA lar8 elite oper. Both were very accurate out of the box. CZ was so accurate I bought a 9 mil version same result very accurate!

 

[fyimo]

When one of my older brothers retired and took up hunting, I found him a really good deal on a S&W 1500 bolt action rifle (made by Howa). We topped it off with a Leupold Vari-X II 3-9x40 and took it to the range to sight it in. It's chambered in .270 Win and the darn thing is an absolute tack driver! It hasn't changed zero since he got it and has taken a B&C Caribou, a number of nice antelope including one that's the best of over 25 our group harvested off the property and several whitetail. If I ever find a comparable deal on another one, I'm keeping it for myself!

I couldn't agree with you more as I bought my son a S&W 1500 for his 18th birthday and it's a tack driver also and he's killed all kinds of critters with it.

 

[paperboy98]

Model 945PC. An outstanding pistol in every way.

 

[kingcobra07]

M915

Hey all, Purchased a M3913 3rd gen and got the bug for those. Saw a M915 for sale on this forum for $300.00 shipped, posted an I'll take it. Took it to the range and man what an accurrate gun. I was totally amased, it was better than the 3913. Stay safe and healthy, Steve

 

[ol' geeser]

A moderately used Marlin Mountie 22 lever action that my son aquired in a pawn shop deal. Its as accurate as any match type rifle either of us have ever owned. At one point, he was considering using it in the "sporter" class of his NRA .22 benchrest league.

 

[Hot Toddy]

Colt Double Eagle in 10mm and the S&W 645 ( my first S&W). My only regret it took so long to forget about what everyone was saying about these guns and trying them out my self!

 

[G.T. Smith]

1968 M37 no dash

Picked this little dandy up one time from a friend who needed cash. It was his dad's and he got it after his dad died. He didn't want to keep it because it had killed someone a long time ago.
Even though the grips are rough but numbered to the gun, and about half of the bluing is worn off the barrel and cylinder, the gun is tight. It doesn't appear to have been shot very much. I gave 200 bucks for it and it has been my every day carry gun for a long time. I can actually hit pretty good with it up to about 15 yards or so. I was surprised at how smooth the gun operates and looks the way it does.
Peace,
gordon

 

[DRYHEAT]

I had a Steyr SSG PII .308 rifle that was scary accurate. The dual set trigger was so sensitive I would lightly press the SIDE of it to fire.

As for handguns, I made it 63 years before I bought my first SIG:

It is now my favorite bottom feeder. Accurate in 3 (4th on the way) calibers.

 

[getoff]

savage 1899 i bought from a friends dad. .300 savage. lever action, rotary mag. rear pop up peep sight. took alot of dear with that ole rifle. it was real..real accurate. not to mention .300 savage is a soft shooter. it was stolen from me in CA. house got robbed and they took the whole safe out of my closet. sure miss that thing. it was real beat up. finish was all but gone, and the wood looked like a wood pecker got to it. sure was accurate!

 

[TAROMAN]

OK, flamesuit on, time to step into this one.

Biggest (pleasant) surprice for me has to be the CZ VZ82 pistol. This little thing shoots like a dream. Best DA trigger I have ever felt. Looks crummy with the painted finish and plastic grips, but, boy can it shoot. Someone called it the best $500 pistol that you can buy for $200. As its all steel, its a bit heavy, so my 3913 has supplanted it as a carry piece, however.

 

[Retired W4]

I probably should not have been surprised, but I had no idea how accurate the little .32 HE post war (pre-model 30) would be. I sold it to a forum member, which left me with a 1921 .32 HE. The older gun is not as accurate as the post war version, but still fun to shoot. I had a CZ 83 that would out shoot my Walthers in .380, which always surprised my friends with their Walthers.

 

[A10]

I bought an old ugly Savage 110 30.06 with a Redfield scope on top of it for a couple hundred bucks. That was a tack driver! I reworked the stock, freefloated the barrel, and put a Timney trigger in it. I ended up giving it to a brother in law 'cause he didn't have a hunting rifle. The other is my Marlin guide gun. That one will shoot MOA with the right ammunition! It's a nice light handy rifle that can be used to kill anything on the planet.