So... any of our members here have an interest in firearms?

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German pair

Very Nice!! I had a very old HSc in .32 years ago and foolishly sold it. Very comfortable and reliable.
Beautiful watch also..
 
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Here am I in the woods deerstalking at first light with my Tikka M590 in .243
 
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I guess my Benrus alongside my 1920's Hand ejector would be a good match.

Best sort of gentleman's pocket collection would be a pocket pistol, a pocket knife and a pocket watch, all of the same period if not from the same country.

In which case my Ingraham pocket watch along with the S&W Hand Ejector and my ancient Camilus pocket knife would make for a set.
 
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I had an HsC a few years ago, I thought I'd like it but wound up trading it for a nice Pietta 1858 Remington clone. I liked the heft of it but didn't like the size of the grips to get a good hold on it it was biting me with ever single shot.
 
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I picked up this old Winchester at a pawn shop the other day, it was pretty abused so I decided to make it my own. I refinished the stocks and then decided I was feeling my heritage just a tad and added the furniture tack decorations. I am waiting on a new hood for the front sight and I have requested a Lyman no. 2 peep sight for Father's day. I think I'll take it deer hunting this fall.
 
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Been away on business for a few weeks but back now with an interesting piece I traded a neighbor for a couple years ago.

It's a 1720s Indian Wall Gun, and is a Matchlock muzzleloader.

87 inches long, 66 inch barrel. Over 20lbs as it sits. (compare to 300year newer rifle below it)

Three Quarter Bore (.775in)

A Matchlock was the common design prior to Flintlock, and is a very simple arrangement. The 'match' being a burning ember held in the V at the tip of the match holder.

See from the pics that actuating the trigger simply moves the match holder towards the flash pan and then whoosh! a flash of smoke that blinds everyone around you, and hopefully scares someone on the other end to run away (or worse of course) and stop attacking.

These were used as mid range fort defense, supported in the middle on a pintle or cradle, and placed in a firing aperture at or near the top of the defensive walls around the fort. Designed for 300-600yds, ie farther than smaller arms, bows or grenades...and before cannons (600yd+)

This one was used to defend the Old City of Jaipur in northern India from the 1720s on.
Edited:
 
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I have enough guns now that I decided to move on to collecting some vintage watches
 
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I picked up this old Winchester at a pawn shop the other day, it was pretty abused so I decided to make it my own. I refinished the stocks and then decided I was feeling my heritage just a tad and added the furniture tack decorations. I am waiting on a new hood for the front sight and I have requested a Lyman no. 2 peep sight for Father's day. I think I'll take it deer hunting this fall.

Nice work.
Years ago I could have bought a very rusty example of a Plains Indian cut down musket with copper tack decorations for only $60 USD.
It was in a barrel with a number of old rusty rifles of various types. It may have been used as a motion picture prop but apparently was an original Native American gun. You can't really fake that kind of wear and tear.
May have gone through Bannermans at some point.

It was carbine size and its barrel was worn to an oversized smoothbore and caked with old black powder fouling.
Looked like the only lube it ever got had been animal fat. The lock still worked and the very worn nipple was clear of debris, no doubt it could have been fired with a light load and proper sized un patched ball.
The horseback reloading method was to guesstimate a powder charge from a flask then spit an undersized ball carried in the rider's mouth down the muzzle, which the very short barrel made easy enough. Don't know how they handled the cap, with flintlock versions an oversized touch hole let powder from the chamber fill the pan.
They carried the gun muzzle high till ready to fire so the loose fitting ball didn't roll out.
The Sling swivel, which carbines of the day never had, still had a very bedraggled feather hanging from it mounted in a decorative winding of some sort.
 
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Nice work.
Years ago I could have bought a very rusty example of a Plains Indian cut down musket with copper tack decorations for only $60 USD.
It was in a barrel with a number of old rusty rifles of various types. It may have been used as a motion picture prop but apparently was an original Native American gun. You can't really fake that kind of wear and tear.
May have gone through Bannermans at some point.

It was carbine size and its barrel was worn to an oversized smoothbore and caked with old black powder fouling.
Looked like the only lube it ever got had been animal fat. The lock still worked and the very worn nipple was clear of debris, no doubt it could have been fired with a light load and proper sized un patched ball.
The horseback reloading method was to guesstimate a powder charge from a flask then spit an undersized ball carried in the rider's mouth down the muzzle, which the very short barrel made easy enough. Don't know how they handled the cap, with flintlock versions an oversized touch hole let powder from the chamber fill the pan.
They carried the gun muzzle high till ready to fire so the loose fitting ball didn't roll out.
The Sling swivel, which carbines of the day never had, still had a very bedraggled feather hanging from it mounted in a decorative winding of some sort.

Thank you I just got a wild hair while I was refinishing the stock. That is a cool find, it would have made for a great wall hanger. Many times plains Indians would use these cut down midgets as hide out guns carried under their blankets. Often they'd be loaded with shot rather than ball.
 
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I have enough guns now that I decided to move on to collecting some vintage watches

I am living proof you can do both...come to the dark side
Yes sir. I figured that since I'm divorced i needed to replace my trusty old deer rifle with a new one.

You and I both know you don't need a reason, but having one is nice.
 
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You and I both know you don't need a reason, but having one is nice.
When I was married I sold off most of my guns, at one point getting down to only having my great granddad's 1911 and my .50 t/c Hawken. I'm just now getting back in the groove of things am back up to having a few guns.
 
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Since this seems to shift towards the different.......
300WM custom

Have assload load of Glocks and 5.56/.308 AR’s and then this beast

Now that I am on the beta-blockers the scope work has improved
 
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Gun safes are getting full but I have a lot more room in them for nice watches... My relatively recent interest in watches was spurred on with the eBay purchase of a relatively inexpensive 1940s vintage Omega bumper. Now I'm entering a steep learning curve with a particular interest in 1950s- and 1960s-vintage Omega watches.
 
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Gun safes are getting full but I have a lot more room in them for nice watches...

Watches do have a much higher "collection density" than guns. ie you don't have to stash a watch under the bed so the wife doesn't notice(...nervously looks over shoulder).
 
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And if I were to go hunting, this is what I'd take - the upper one. It is a 45/70. Bottom one is a .30/30.