.410 Lever-Action? Yes Please!

A few years ago Gander Mountain had Rossi’s lever action .410 shotgun on sale and I came very close to taking one home. Reviews were mixed and mostly centered on the firearms dislike of certain ammo. It was enough for me to take pause and not pull the trigger on the purchase (pun intended), but I still sometimes gaze longingly at the firearms when I see it at a dealer. Recently Henry announced they were releasing several new shotguns and one of them was a lever-action .410 shotgun. Since Henry has no history with scatterguns and their prices are at the higher end of the spectrum I will probably just gaze from afar, but I already like what I see.

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Photo Updates – (Like Us On Facebook)

Recently it became clear the links to many of our photos are broken. It is a cumbersome process to go back through all the posts over the past three years to fix the issues. In some cases it may not be possible, but many of the photos are mine and I just need to revise each post. If you find a broken photo link, feel free to post a comment and I will get to it. I’ve gotten about half way through both 2014 and 2012 and will continue to work on it with the goal to have the photo links restored where possible in the next two months.

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Wishlist Revisited

Back in September I posted a Wishlist. Then in March I updated the list. I got to thinking about it today and some things on my list have been procured while others are still elusive due to either price or scarcity. Currently my list looks like:

• SAA – .44-40
• Uberti Buntline – .44-40
• 1873 Winchester replica – .44-40
• Ruger Red Label – 12 gauge
• Benelli Ethos – 12 gauge
• Rossi Rio Grande – .410

What I find interesting about the list is only two firearms on it are handguns and both are in .44-40. The SAA comes in many replica variants and I just haven’t found the one I want. The Buntline is a ridiculous pistol with an 18″ barrel. I saw one on GunBroker and thought it would relist for less, but it never came back. Since then that may be the only one I have seen.

Lately I’ve been on the lookout for an 1873 Winchester in .44-40. I like the case hardened look and thus far have only seen a few which appeal. There have been a few where the appearance wasn’t what I was after and I let them go. It is a wishlist after all so I can be choosy.

The last three are firearms I definitely do not need. A Ruger Red Label is a thing of beauty and the Benelli Ethos is a fine-looking shotgun. Both are more money than I care to spend so the chances of adding them to the safe are slim. the Rossi Rio Grande is affordable, but again, something I really don’t need. If I find one for a song I might sing, but otherwise paying full boat is out.

So there you have it, the current wish list. I’m sure something else will pop up and catch my eye, but currently that’s what I’m after. What’s on your Wishlist?

Wishlist

I’m sure every gun owner has a wish list somewhere out there. Often they will pine for a gun their father owned, or something new which is coming out. Me, I typically go for the firearms which speak to me on some level. So with that in mind here is what I have on my wishlist at the moment and why:

• 1860 Henry Rifle -.44-40 – I’ve loved this rifle since I first noticed it in a movie called Silverado. For some reason it speaks to me. I’m not looking for an authentic, but I do want to take a gander at the one Henry Repeating Arms is releasing soon.
• SAA – .44-40 – I’d like to get a companion pistol for a Henry and Uberti has a Cattleman, but it is difficult to locate in the caliber I would like. Pretty much any Single Action Army would suffice, but the Uberti is the most affordable.
• H&R 676 with 12″ barrel – 22LR – I actually have a 676 with a shorter barrel, maybe a 7 1/2″, but one with a stupid long 12″ (or longer) barrel just makes me giggle.
• Ruger Alaskan – .454 Casull – Anyone can get a Ruger Alaskan in .44 Magnum, it takes a real man to shoot it in .454 Casull. These things are about as rare as a Dodo bird egg right now, maybe one day I will come across one at a reasonable price.
• Rossi Rio Grande – .410 Shotshell – I think for me it is just the thought of having a lever action shotgun. These were on sale at one time and I passed up the deal, but I probably won’t make that mistake again.
• Star Model B – 9mm – Just because it is a 9mm which is very close to a 1911. These pop up quite often and are military surplus.
• Coonan 1911 – .357 Magnum – Are you kidding me, what is not to love about a 1911 which is chambered for .357 Magnum!
• Ruger Red Label – 12 gauge – They don’t make these anymore, but it is a handsome shotgun.
• Ruger Gunsite Scout – .308 Win – I’m not quite sure why this one speaks to me, but it does.

I could probably think of more to add, but what’s on your wishlist?

Why a shotgun?

Unfortunately I have no idea. I rarely to never fire a shotgun and it had been at least two decades since I had fired one until my recent Sporting Clays excursion. You may recall I was pining for a Rossi Overland and after watching it on a forum for quite some time finally made it mine. I like side-by-side (SxS) and over-and-under (OU), call me traditional. I’ve been watching various forums to see if any other scatterguns show up and saw a few which caught my eye, but all were wall hangings. One was particularly interesting but had Damascus barrels and those guns should not be fired. I remember sitting in my hunter’s safety course back in elementary school and we were instructed to never fire a gun with a Damascus barrel. I don’t own an OU, but had a heck of a good time shooting the one at Drake Landing.

Anyway, I was trying to decide what to jaw about this morning when I saw a SxS on one of the forums and now I am hoping it will be mine. I think the allure is because I like all the old guns and cowboy guns and a SxS shotgun just speaks to me. I sent the gentleman a note to make sure it was still available and if so there is a high potential we could have a new addition to the family. Stay tuned!

Sporting Clays

Yesterday I spent the morning at Drake Landing where I fired a shotgun for the first time in over 20 years. I’ve had shotguns forever and recently purchased a Rossi Overland, but just have not shot one in two decades. Being rusty I went online and of course looked up skeet. Skeet is a different bird (pun intended) altogether where there are two towers and multiple positions. Turns out that is not at all what we were doing.

On the course were 13 stations and each had two different positions to create two courses. To get around the course you use golf carts and once there you launch one clay pigeon followed by the other to get a sense of where they will be coming from. When actually shooting the person with the control box will launch the first when you say pull and then they wait until you fire the first shot and upon hearing the report then they launch the second pigeon.

We were with a large group and divided up into teams of three or four. Turns out we were with the best shot of the group and a member at Drake Landing. That certainly made it nice for someone as rusty as me to work on improving my shot. I could generally tell when I missed how and why I had missed. In the end I shot a pathetic 32%, but in hindsight that was not too bad for someone who had not picked up a shotgun in 20 years.

After we had lunch we stepped over to their Pistol Pit and I tried out some of the new Ruger pistols I had purchased to use with my classes. I’ll write about those firearms after I spend a little more time with them, but the pistol range at Drake has several different pits. We were sent to the 50 yard pit which has a weird setup where they have to put the target supports into pipes and fully setup the target every time. I noticed they have a 25 yard pit which had what appeared to be a better setup. They also had pits with steel targets. I’m not sure why we were sent to the 50 yard instead of the 25 yard, but the price of admission is a little steep. $20 per hour so I assume if you went for more they would prorate or perhaps go to the next hour. That is a bit of a pain since it takes at least 5 min to leave the office and get to the range.

All in all a very enjoyable morning in Harnett County. I’d suggest you check out the clays if you have a few hours to play the course.

Rossi Overland

Tomorrow I will discover if in 2012 people are still good to their word. One of the forums I frequent about firearms has a buy, sell and trade section. I’ve had my eye for quite some time on a Rossi Overland 12 ga which was overpriced. A week ago the owner dropped the price to a reasonable amount so I offered what I was willing to pay and it was accepted and tomorrow we will seal the deal.

To provide a little background, Rossi made the Overland from 1978 to 1994. It is a double trigger coach gun with exposed hammers. It was the type of gun which was carried on a stagecoach and the style is where the term “riding shotgun” comes from. I believe it came in several different calibers, 410, 20 or 12 and with two barrel lengths, 20″ and 28″. The shorter lengths were what was actually used on the stagecoach to allow freedom of movement. Back when they were manufactured it was an inexpensive shotgun and now they are becoming popular with Cowboy shooting events. Below is a photo I pulled off the web which shows the double trigger and exposed hammers.

It is a handsome gun and appears to be increasing in value over time. Considering I have not shot a shotgun in over 20 years it certainly is not a long gun I need. However, this particular gun speaks to me. It says classic and timeless and I will be happy to own it. Anyone got a coach which needs protecting?

Are firearms a worthwhile investment?

Some would have you believe that one you purchase a firearm the value will never decrease. That, as it turns out, is not generally the case. Today’s gun shops are filled with polymer wonders the most popular of which has to be Glock. A brand new Gen 4 Glock 19 with fixed sights is always listed at online shops for $540. Of course law enforcement can purchase it for much less so immediately it should be apparent the new $540 pistol is not worth that amount. When I purchased mine it was $505+tx, so $35 less or 6.5%. Once those pistols get used the value generally depreciates to $450 or even less depending upon wear. So IMO with a polymer framed firearm their worth decreases after being fired and I have not seen evidence it will rebound and surpass the initial investment when new. You may be able to obtain a firearm at a reduced cost due to instructor discounts or other programs, but unless you do the value will never increase on a polymer frame pistol.

So how about a rifle or shotgun? With them it is the “University Answer”…”IT DEPENDS.” If the long gun is old and in good shape the value can far surpass what it cost new, but you have to be careful when purchasing new if looking for an investment. Let’s say you purchase a Remington 870. Once it is used the value will not be increasing and there are plenty of used guns out there. Now let’s get something more rare, perhaps an extremely low production and very expensive model from some manufacturer. The firearm will most likely increase in value in most cases. Right now I have my eye on a used Rossi The Overland 12 ga shotgun (shh, don’t tell my wife). It was discontinued in 1994 and now the values are starting to creep upward. The seller wants more than I am willing to spend, but is close to what I believe the value of the shotgun is in the current market. It remains to be seen if I will negotiate a price with the seller or not.

Now back to pistols and my favorite the revolver. Revolvers do not seem to be dropping much at all in value immediately after purchase and certainly a well maintained revolver with the original box and paperwork can be worth quite a bit of money. I purchased my Ruger 357 magnum after I turned 21. It is now worth nearly double what I paid for that lovely mass of stainless. The S&W Model 36 I spoke of in an earlier post is worth about what I paid for it, but I wanted it to shoot. The original grips are long gone, the manual was not included and there was no box, but the 3″ pinned barrel will help that pistol hold value forever.

So to answer the question are firearms a worthwhile investment, probably not initially, but over time any rare or non-polymer framed firearm should increase in value.