Picture Thread: Post Your Grail Gun

[GaBoy45]

Kaso,

I'd have to say I've got a couple of Grail Guns:

First is the same as yours...a S&W Triple Lock either 1st model or a 3rd Model "Wolf and Klar" version.



I'd also like a Thompson Submachine gun...preferably a 1928A1 model but I'm not picky I'd have to put the cost of a new truck into one.





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[WeTheArmed.com]

[stephendutton]

Practically any gun at all would be my grail gun given my circumstances.

[tokugawa]

At last I have found myself a gun to desire, that is just out of reach.

I have recently become aware of the S&W Hand Ejector model in .44 Special.  Specifically, the 1950 Military Model.  While I can not justify a purchase right away...  I need to get one of these before I die.



Go ahead and post pictures of your grail guns.

 Kaso, I had a mint S+W .38 in a box like that- same beautiful satin blue.  The real treat is the box- you know how modern guns have a 50 page manual, most of which is stuff like "don't point the gun at your head and pull the trigger? The instruction manual for those gold box S+W's is printed inside the box lid! I eventually gave it to a friend as I had no real need of it.

[TINCANBANDIT]

we have to pick just one?

I guess it would have to be this big boy

[booksmart]

Go big or go home, eh?

[armoredman]

When I first started noticing a particular firearm, it was first in print. We heard of the mythical BREN 805 rifle coming to the US...for LEO only, thanks to the infamous Hughes Amendment.    A brand new full blown military spec rifle made by my favorite company? What's not to love? Except that Uncle Sam said I can't ever have one.

I got the chance to grope and stroke a LEO only 14" version with Happy Switch at SHOT 2015.



It fit so well I was hooked. Flash forward a year or so later...and I saw this...



http://cz-usa.com/product/cz-805-bren-s1-carbine/

I gloried! The BREN was coming in for civilians! Then the price hit me...But I could admire from afar...

Then lightning struck. Three times in one place. OK, not winning the lottery lucky...BUT DADGUM CLOSE! How close???



This baby is mine. I have used up every penny of my "new gun fund" for the next two years, (more like three), AND every bit of good luck I could burn in a hurry. But I got it!

So I guess that is SORT of a Grail Gun, meaning it is one I've wanted every since I found out about it, but it's not as rare as a Singer Colt or an unfired Volcanic...but it works for me.



My best friend liked it, too.



So, next I suppose I want to figure out how to talk that guy out of his one and only fully functional M-41A Pulse Rifle he built from a Thompson...

[Gabrielus]

An EAA/Tanfoglio Witness Elite Match in 45 ACP.

[digiroc]

S&W Performance Center built "Shorty Forty"  Spherical Titanium barrel bushing with hand fitted barrel and slide, trigger action job.




Special Order model 410

digiroc

[JesseL]

My grail guns don't exist yet.

First, I want an L-frame .41 Magnum. 4" please.

Second, I want a semiauto rifle in .308 that weighs 6.5 lbs unloaded (but with sights), that handles and balances nicely, is reliable, and that's affordable enough that I don't mind really using it.

[Kaso]

...I want a semiauto rifle in .308 that weighs 6.5 lbs unloaded (but with sights), that handles and balances nicely, is reliable, and that's affordable enough that I don't mind really using it.

Your parameters defy the laws of physics.  Any .308 rifle that weighs that little, is going to be unpleasant to shoot.

[JesseL]

I've got a .308 rifle that light and it's not bad in my own opinion.

But it's a bolt action.

[Kaso]

I've got a .308 rifle that light and it's not bad in my own opinion.

But it's a bolt action.

Recoil is subjective, I guess.   I recall my FR-8 being brutal.

[Kaso]

Since the point of grail guns are that they are either out of reach, or almost impossible to obtain, Jesse does have the right idea.  Mine probably exists *somewhere,* but there are likely only a handful left in existence...  I want a Gewehr 98 in 'true mint condition.'  That is to say, one that looks exactly as it did the day if left the factory - no dents, scratches or pitting.  Light patina on the white parts allowed, so long as it can be polished off to 'like new.'

As I said, only a few, maybe, left in the world.  It would have to be a late 1918 production model, as that is the only way that it could have possibly escaped combat use.


Beyond that, I still wouldn't mind laying my hands on a S&W Hand Ejector, such as the one in the thread OP.

[JesseL]

Recoil is subjective, I guess.   I recall my FR-8 being brutal.

I've spent the past several years building an immunity to recoil.



Shooting a Mosin carbine a lot does it.

[Roper1911]

My mosin is down right fun to shoot and in my opinion has very little recoil.
keep in mind I started with a 5lbs NEF Pardner in 12 gauge.

[digiroc]

       My grail gun is the Sig 550... Always thought they were about the sexiest modern combat rifle ever designed.

  The reason I got my (very meh) Sig-Sauer 556R, because it's as close as I'll probably ever get...

Your 556 is a great gun not meh by any means. Using the 7,62 x 39 make for a great tactical weapon.

Not a Grail Gun by any means as anybody can buy one today. An unfortunate fact as the Orlando shooter used a Sig MCX:


Sig Sauer MCX in 300BLK

digiroc

[cpaspr]

I want a semiauto rifle in .308 that weighs 6.5 lbs unloaded (but with sights), that handles and balances nicely, is reliable, and that's affordable enough that I don't mind really using it.

Your parameters defy the laws of physics.  Any .308 rifle that weighs that little, is going to be unpleasant to shoot.

Au contraire.  He didn't say anything about pleasant to shoot.   

[cpaspr]

Grail gun?  Hmm.

Lesptr just got given what is probably my (currently) most desired grail gun : https://wethearmed.com/handguns/50th-birthday/msg423730/#new

My dad gave his 1955 Winchester 94 to my brother.  That one was probably on my list, mainly because of whose it was, and I grew up hunting with it.  But that was a very specific gun I wanted, not necessarily that I wanted a nice version similar to it.

Dad also had an M-1 Carbine he got in 1962 from the CMP (or rather, it's predecessor) for about $22-$23.  He sold it a few years ago.  Mine's nicer, or rather, more unique, but I wanted his because, well, it was his.

[MTK20]

The grail gun has to be production, doesn't it?

I would love a 3 or 3.5 inch barreled TRR8.

I would also love a DA/SA .38 super with a decocker, but I don't know anyone who makes one of those. The closest thing I could think of would be just get a Sig in .357 Sig.

[coelacanth]

The SIG P 220 was chambered in .38 Super early on in its production.  Some were even imported under the Browning label as I recall.   

[MTK20]

The SIG P 220 was chambered in .38 Super early on in its production.  Some were even imported under the Browning label as I recall.   

How much would you say one would cost today? 

ETA: found one for $850 (currently being bid on, though, so that'll change). I couldn't own it though, because of the European mag release.

[coelacanth]

I think the Browning version was called the BDA ( Browning Double Action ).  They also came with the European mag release as all were manufactured by SIG Sauer in what was then West Germany.  And yes, they are a  bit pricey these days.  Actually, if you wanted a 220 in .38 super the SIG custom shop might be able to hook you up but the current 9mm parabellum loads are pretty close on the heels of the .38 Super and the .357 SIG probably equals it or bests it slightly so it may be a moot point unless you're just going for quirky. 

I went for the .38 Super in my "grail gun" and although it was all I hoped for, both in terms of performance and execution, in the final analysis I would have been just as well served by an off the shelf semi-custom 1911 in 9mm.  It was an expensive range toy, albeit one built for my hand and to my specs, and a very accurate one when I did my part but it was also a lesson learned in practicality.   When money was tight and necessity reared its ugly head, the "grail gun" was the one that would bring the most money in the least amount of time so off it went to a new home.  Mission accomplished and as I said in a previous post I doubt that I would buy it back for the same amount of money I sold it for even if that opportunity presented itself. 

[MTK20]

I think the Browning version was called the BDA ( Browning Double Action ).  They also came with the European mag release as all were manufactured by SIG Sauer in what was then West Germany.  And yes, they are a  bit pricey these days.  Actually, if you wanted a 220 in .38 super the SIG custom shop might be able to hook you up but the current 9mm parabellum loads are pretty close on the heels of the .38 Super and the .357 SIG probably equals it or bests it slightly so it may be a moot point unless you're just going for quirky. 

I went for the .38 Super in my "grail gun" and although it was all I hoped for, both in terms of performance and execution, in the final analysis I would have been just as well served by an off the shelf semi-custom 1911 in 9mm.  It was an expensive range toy, albeit one built for my hand and to my specs, and a very accurate one when I did my part but it was also a lesson learned in practicality.   When money was tight and necessity reared its ugly head, the "grail gun" was the one that would bring the most money in the least amount of time so off it went to a new home.  Mission accomplished and as I said in a previous post I doubt that I would buy it back for the same amount of money I sold it for even if that opportunity presented itself.

I remember that post.

I'm curious about what I have bolded. I thought in your previous post, you said that .38 super mimics the ballistics of .357 magnum, or pretty close to it (which is basically what I've always heard as well). How is 9mm just on it's heels then?

[coelacanth]

Well, a hot loaded .38 Super +P out of a five inch barrel with 124 grain bullets can reach about 1350 fps.  My 1911 barrel was a six incher so I picked up a bit of velocity over that so I was in the vicinity of 1400 fps which is pretty close to what a four inch barreled .357 magnum service revolver gets with a 125 grain load.   Buffalo Bore, Cor Bon, Double Tap and a few others are advertising 115 grain +P+ 9mm's in the vicinity of 1400 fps and 124 grain loads over 1300 fps in real world testing.  The same outfits are listing .357 SIG at about 1500 fps for the 115 grain loads and still in the range of 1425 fps for the 124 grain loads so while the .357 magnum will beat them when you load up the heavy stuff ( 150 grains and above ) all of these calibers make their reputations based on the street performance of the lighter, faster loads. 

Improved bullet performance has put the 9mm and the .357 SIG pretty close to the performance of the vaunted .357 magnum 125 grain load so the .38 Super is just another face in that crowd at this point.   It was made to run in the 1911 platform and it does so very well but the bugs have pretty much been worked out of the system vis a vis the 9mm in the 1911 or even the .357 SIG for that matter.   Other pistol designs that were built around the idea of the 9mm or even the .357 SIG are just as viable and many have become classics in their own right.

[MTK20]

Well, a hot loaded .38 Super +P out of a five inch barrel with 124 grain bullets can reach about 1350 fps.  My 1911 barrel was a six incher so I picked up a bit of velocity over that so I was in the vicinity of 1400 fps which is pretty close to what a four inch barreled .357 magnum service revolver gets with a 125 grain load.   Buffalo Bore, Cor Bon, Double Tap and a few others are advertising 115 grain +P+ 9mm's in the vicinity of 1400 fps and 124 grain loads over 1300 fps in real world testing.  The same outfits are listing .357 SIG at about 1500 fps for the 115 grain loads and still in the range of 1425 fps for the 124 grain loads so while the .357 magnum will beat them when you load up the heavy stuff ( 150 grains and above ) all of these calibers make their reputations based on the street performance of the lighter, faster loads. 

I've noticed that with some cartridges, the lighter loads have always been street tested. I'm curious why this is.

Improved bullet performance has put the 9mm and the .357 SIG pretty close to the performance of the vaunted .357 magnum 125 grain load so the .38 Super is just another face in that crowd at this point.   It was made to run in the 1911 platform and it does so very well but the bugs have pretty much been worked out of the system vis a vis the 9mm in the 1911 or even the .357 SIG for that matter.   Other pistol designs that were built around the idea of the 9mm or even the .357 SIG are just as viable and many have become classics in their own right.

While this is a win for technology, I still like my 6 shooter so that I can "magnumise" things. Who knows, maybe one day the wheelgun actually will sunset  (he types as we have seen more new wheelguns released this year/SHOT show than in any previous one).