Beginning to get out of the old military gun hobby. Sold one of my old M1 Garands, had one of last Springfield mfg barrels(1964) beautiful laminated stock,NM front and rear sights and operating rod! My son wasn't too happy when he found out but I'm leaving him the best of the bunch: A DCM beautiful Garand,two M1 carbines(one Winchester,one a DCM Quality Hardware, both all matching correct parts) Mt6700 Colt match target competition HBar, a SLR95 milled Bulgarian AK, an 1886 Winchester 45-70 with a 26 inch octagon barrel, and a 1890 Winchester pump 22,both with factory letters! Along with my Colt 45 Tactical officers light weight pistol and a few other rifles and shot guns! If he bitches too much,I'll just sell the rest and take a good trip! Wish I could post some pics! OPT

 

That sounds like a nice bunch of guns OPT. Some real collectibiles.

 

You've got quite a collection there! Some I would even drool over, though firing some of them would kill my shoulder these days.

You're missing one very important rifle, though: a good Belgian made Mauser '98K. I love the one I inherited from my Dad, even though I can't really fire it any more. That puppy was pretty darned accurate for such an old and well used rifle, even at long ranges, so long as you used the adjustable rear site for the distance.

 

Have an 1891 Argentine carbine which is basically the same as the Belgian Mauser. Does have quite a kick with the old metal butt plate. Equivalent to shooting a 7.62 x51(308), (7.65x53) but in a very short rifle...

 

The nicest Military Guns are Italian WWII 6.5mm and 7.35mm.
Only dropped once and never been fired.

 

Along with the French rifles,but never wanted one as ammo was and still is hard to find an expensive...

 

I don't think French rifles even had bullets.

 

Yes, it is very nearly the same rifle. My Dad had one of those too, but that one went to a friend of his. And you're right about that metal butt plate. I freely admit I used a sissy-pad on mine, because even when I was in my 20's and had the muscles in my shoulders to deal with the kick and no arthritis, that Mauser left some serious bruises without the sissy-pad. And, yes, I definitely had the rifle snugged tight into my shoulder, that thing would've really hurt otherwise!

 

Another tough one on the arms was the old Russian Mosin model 44. 7.62 x54r Have one of these along with a very accurate Finnish model 39 in the same caliber. Both in beautiful laminated stocks. Only regret I have is selling a H&K compact pistol in 40 S&W a few years back. Gave about $500 new for it,now they're close to $900.. Plus I'd love to have a Walther PPK stainless,but the price and finding 380 ammo is about as tough as finding 22 ammo now.Other that that I still have way too many rifles,shotguns, ammo,magazines, etc although my son thinks other wise..

 

My Ex (who is still a good friend) is talking about picking up a Mosin. He has the same fondness for old military rifles that I do, though he is also in the same boat health wise.

Never fired a Walther or an H&K pistol, though I hear both are quite exceptional. I've always wanted an H&K, but just balked at the idea of spending that much on a handgun, so I bought my Steyr S A1 .9mm instead. I'm quite pleased with the way my Steyr shoots and it makes a very nice CC piece, even though I had to have my IWB holster custom made because there just aren't many holster manufacturers who bother to make holsters for that gun. Lack of ready made accessories is my only complaint with my Steyr S A1.

Back to the topic of military rifles, though not quite so old, the one I would dearly love to get my paddy fingers on is the German G-3, or even just the civilian H&K 93. I got to fire one when we went and qualified with our sister unit the last time I was stationed in Germany and fell absolutely in love. 7.62 NATO, accurate enough to swat a fly off someone's nose at 300 yards and not that much felt recoil (my cheek was a little bit red from keeping good cheek to stock contact to maintain sight picture). That's pretty much my Lottery Rifle.

Can't say as I blame your son all that much for wanting you to hold onto your collection, as he'd likely enjoy all of those firearms too. Then again, if you really want to take that trip, you could always offer him first crack at buying them.