CALLING FOR "SURPRISE GUNS"!!!

Calling all “Surprise Guns”…

Share your “surprise guns”! What I term “surprise guns”; many flavors. You pick! For me and many other folks, the too common ‘negative surprise’ of a purchase less than what expected. Welcome to share, but not central focus here. Rather, the happy surprises. Perhaps the astounding bargain; the ‘grail gun’, the ‘rarity’, the "do not resuscitate" rifle returned to life, or just any gun in some unexpected context.

Today, kicking off, sharing a couple of rifles. Due to photo limitations, the first, verbal only.
Numbe one, both rare and huge bargain price @ $250. A minty NRA Springfield Sporter, one of the earliest offered by the government. Manufactured in 1924 per SN and verified by such from Springfield Research Service. Setting: Fancy sporting goods store. All kinds of athletic & sporting gear. Elaborate glass display area bearing high quality long guns. An ‘also ran’ rack of miscellaneous rifles set apart and “fondleable”. ‘It’, there. Some personal familiarity with the NRA Springfield Sporter genre but no expert. The price, the clincher. Nifty looking rifle and bottom line never to get hurt with such pricing anyway! Making it mine, setting about research as ever; ‘time available’. Finally, confirmed with referenced SRS! No idea what it’s worth today, but almost surely more to me than anyone else! My ‘prize’, with recollections appended!

Number two, a ‘niche’ rifle into my lap. No huge economic windfall. Just ‘really neat’! “H&R brand... say what! Hardly to raise eyebrows in context of anything special at all! H&R the quite decent ‘price point’ brand in rifle, shotgun & handgun products. Myself with several, as good solid, price point performers’ Just not reflecting anything extraordinary.

That particular gunshow day in latter nineties, viewing a H&R Model 340 rifle. Zastava mauser based, confirming 7x57 mauser. That chambering, the only ‘magnet factor’ drawing me to view as a bud providing heads-up, with “7mm”, as magic words! Viewing ‘it’, typically Zastava quite decent mauser action, prominently H&R labeled! Yet the stock… Oh, Momma! I knew of the generic 340 model, or thought I did. Typical to my recollection, alll of Weatherby-esque stock styling. Aesthetics dated and simply not to most contemporary mauser buyer tastes even by nineties. This rifle stock as then viewed, absolutely ‘contemporary & quality’. Yet more, with custom details! A pro-custom essence @ $300! making it mine with knowledge, such most likely about its early eighties retail. The bottom line, a "regular production" Rifle meeting all my requirements, particularly including long length of pull... A rifle that ‘fits me’ well and I really do enjoy.
Pix below - not doing justice. Simply offered as ‘best available!

Do SHARE YOUR SURPRISES IN GUNS (or surprise Gals too; acceptable too)!!!

Best & Stay Safe
John

I like the rifle you posted pics of John. Looks great. My "surprise" guns are not a surprise at all. Look at my screen name. I will search out good sporter m1917's becasue they are damn few and far between. Not saying that every gunshop in America doesn't have a bubba smithed m1917 on the rack, because most of them do. I'm talking about real honest to goodness great sporterizing jobs. Ones where they took the time to remove the ears properly. The best I've seen have been the BSA's. A company out of England. Here are a few:

Yeah, it looks like a pre 64 model 70. I love those too...

Some of my left handed stocked rifles that I've reshaped and refinished the stocks on. This pic shows one where I had just started to re-shape. The reason it is missing some finish:

I turned the one with finish missing to a 308 Norma mag as well:




Look at that sexy left hand palm swell...^^

It may be a surprise that the sporterized m1917's are my most hunted rifles I own. Even though I have pre 64 model 70's, Tikka's and Sakos. Been using the sporter m1917 since I was 12, so they just fit.....

Sweet

Always wanted a 1917, but never ran into the right one. Would REALLY like a 30s, but those seem even scarcer. Guess when the Plague is over I need to start cruisin’ the gunshops up and down 81.

How about this one I built a few years ago....?

This is a “grail gun” for me. Took me 15+ years of searching to come across this beauty. ZG47 in 9.3x62. I am looking forward to getting this one out in the field. Definitely make more than a few rifles in my safe superfluous...

1917 sporter

Another nice 1917🤠

Now that is what I have been looking for around 10 years, so I guess I only have 5 more to go.

That is a great rifle Haverluk. It would make most of mine superfluous too. Dang!

You must be the guy that beat me to that gun from Simpsons.... lucky bugger! Congrats! I snagged one of their ZKKs with the rear bridge peep in -06 and the Euro styled stock. I havent shot it yet, but if it doesn't shoot amazing, it may be a rebore to 9.3x62. Those Brnos are fine guns.

I suppose that was me. After all the times I missed out by seconds or a few minutes I finally got lucky. Sounds like we have similar taste in rifles.

Well I'm glad someone got it who appreciates it!

Not one of those d*mned resellers who buy stuff from Simpsons, add a $200 premium and then throw it up on Gunbroker the next day.

Here's one that popped up cheap. It had a rough stock, but I steamed most of the dents and refinished the wood. It's a no name large ring 98 sporter in 9x57. Very light at 6.5 lbs, it has a metal buttplate, schnabel forend and an Oberndorf style bolt handle. Given the proof marks on the receiver, I imagine it was made pre-war.