Thread: "Too pretty to use"

Originally Posted by Sidetrack

I agree. As much as I like pretty things, it needs to be used but not abused.

Grew up in the early days when some thought that a new rifle had to be tied behind a ute and dragged down a grave road for a couple of miles.

Could never understand that brand of fuck-wittery.

Sort of like young guys from town/city who buy a Hilux or similar than fit the required lift-kit, big gumbo tyres and light bars up the wazoo THEN find the biggest big/mud puddle and proceed to drive through it enough times to get the whole ute plastered in enough mud that you can’t tell what colour it is.

Then never attempt to wash it but drive it round town for weeks on end with the ute in that appearance.

Young fellows huh!

Or worse still, the ones that drive around town for a week with the same dead pig on the bonnet..

Originally Posted by Shearer

Or worse still, the ones that drive around town for a week with the same dead pig on the bonnet..

Originally Posted by Hunter_Nick

I’ve been looking a blanks for stock work coming up, and there is some really amazing walnut to be had out there. The blanks in this photo range from $1800 to $2000 USD!

Attachment 197871

As beautiful as they are, they are safe from my chisel. I’m not sure I could find many blokes in this country that would happily for out that money for the raw materials to begin a stock. This next photo is of a blank that is going to go on a model 7, much more appropriate for a NZ hunting rifle. It will still end up a classy bit of kit, and at $285 NZD for the blank, a lot easier to justify taking out and getting wet and dirty.
Attachment 197872

Man the butt on the last blank (218) looks like one I sold to R93 a while back , haven’t seen him on here for ages , you didn’t buy it from him by chance ?

Dads old side be side. The intention was to get it sorted for our sons 30th. The stock was cracked through the grip and the barrels needed sweating together. No one was interested. Mid-Canterbury legend ( prick ) laughed over the phone . “It’s not a Purdy “.
It was worth nothing, but everything to me.
I bought a blank off TM.
Found a guy with a replicator in Hikatia. Once the wood was done I took it to Nelson Collie who very graciously sorted the metal, sweated the barrels together and blued them.
He even did a light upland load for it.

My boy just turned 35, so hope it’s worth the wait ….










B

Originally Posted by Lucky

Man the butt on the last blank (218) looks like one I sold to R93 a while back , haven’t seen him on here for ages , you didn’t buy it from him by chance ?

No mate, I bought that one direct from Brian Kerr in Blenheim.

Originally Posted by Hunter_Nick

No mate, I bought that one direct from Brian Kerr in Blenheim.

Ahh , i got mine of Brian as well , I bet it was from the same slab

Originally Posted by shift14

Dads old side be side. The intention was to get it sorted for our sons 30th. The stock was cracked through the grip and the barrels needed sweating together. No one was interested. Mid-Canterbury legend ( prick ) laughed over the phone . “It’s not a Purdy “.
It was worth nothing, but everything to me.
I bought a blank off TM.
Found a guy with a replicator in Hikatia. Once the wood was done I took it to Nelson Collie who very graciously sorted the metal, sweated the barrels together and blued them.
He even did a light upland load for it.

My boy just turned 35, so hope it’s worth the wait ….
Attachment 203179

Attachment 203178

Attachment 203180

Attachment 203181

Attachment 203182

B

Lovely wood. I’m a bit of a roughy when it comes to guns but I can appreciate nice wood. That shotty is plain nice.


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@shift14 That shotgun came up real nice. Anyone would like that.

Originally Posted by akaroa1

It's even worse when you are looking at buying vintage rifles and you ask the vendor about bore condition ?
And they reply " it's a collectors piece. You can't shoot it " and " the bore is immaterial "
My reply is " it's a rifle and that's what they are for ! "

My Blaser K95 has grade 5 wood and show the scars of many many alpine hunts.
That's what it's for

It's called "history". I don't see the point of collecting mint battle rifles showing only some glorious store room history.

Originally Posted by Noswal

I think everyone in both camps can appreciate this dedication. Must be a hard thing not to shoot it though.
Everyone to their own

I have seen and handled it and it’s an absolute beauty.

Shearer’s Sako 85 I’m referring to there.

Originally Posted by Cordite

It's called "history". I don't see the point of collecting mint battle rifles showing only some glorious store room history.

Yes and no, I certainly enjoy taking old milsurps out shooting and doing what they are designed to do. However I do own some things that by a miracle fluke of history have escaped pretty much unscathed and at this point I will not shoot them. I would rather preserve them for whoever the next caretaker of them will be when I am old and grey. Maybe it's an irrationality but it's part of being a collector I think is wanting to preserve things.

I've had some nice guns that were too good to take into the bush, and they're gone now - but I do miss looking at them.

I also got an .58 Enfield where the wood is so plain and bland I just got no desire to shoot it.

I reckon there's a happy medium - and it's different for everyone.

That's a really nice job on that shottie up up there

Originally Posted by akaroa1

It's even worse when you are looking at buying vintage rifles and you ask the vendor about bore condition ?
And they reply " it's a collectors piece. You can't shoot it " and " the bore is immaterial "
My reply is " it's a rifle and that's what they are for ! "

My Blaser K95 has grade 5 wood and show the scars of many many alpine hunts.
That's what it's for

Hi Akaroa, I appreciate your view but one size doesn’t fit all. One approach doesn’t fit all. I have plenty of rifles that I wouldn’t bush bash with, and would like to keep them in the condition they came from the factory in. Part of the joy of collecting often is finding those rifles from the past unused and in box. And often their value is retained if you keep them in this condition.
I appreciate the precision and engineering and collecting value. I have plenty of rifles also in the high end quartile and use them with care. I don’t have a problem with using a $10k rifle, having the bluing thinning where you carry it, but I don’t see the point of it sliding around in the tray of your Ute or using it as a walking stick down a shingle slide.

So I take your point, but every one has a view on firearms ownership, how they are used and for what purpose they purchased them.