Show us your lead-emitting tools (guns, that is). Pic heavy

Nice! I'm definitely going to have to give that a try!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lczZWgN4Kg

Staying true to BLF I wont be posting any 1911 pictures. Maybe a S&W later. I have two budget choices here.

First the Solarforce\Romisen of budget concealed carry pistols, the KELTEC PF9

This is my baby. I love this thing. Is so small and light. It is a handful to shoot though because it is so small. Always fires when you tell it to. I shoot alot both personally and professionally and I have a wierd love for this ball breaker like I have never had before for any pistol.

Next is one of the cheapest, ugliest and incredibly, the most reliable guns you will ever find. The HI-POINT 9MM. I cant tell you how many rounds this gun has fired but it is in the thousands for sure and it has never malfunctioned once. Plus it could hammer nails if you ever needed it to.

I dont let the kids shoot alot with the 1911 and they just cant handle the the PF9 so they shoot the HI-POINT all the time. They also have an old S&W .32 long that they shoot. Dont let anyone tell you any different, the HI-POINTis a shooting son of a gun.

Being that this is Budget Light Forum, gun snobs dont have to read and reply. Even if it hurts.

The business end of my Smith and Wesson model 629 Classic 44 Mag.

Another with my Beretta model 96 Centurion 40 cal. I'd love to find a decent light mount for the Beretta. I haven't looked so, probably is one somewhere. Pic quality is bad - I was in a hurry.

I reload; got a couple of presses and enough gunpowder to . . . well, I have enough. I have an awesome Burris scope for the Smith but I didn't like it as I thought I would. Maybe I'll sell it.

don'tgetmestartedongunsFoy

Ok. I have to admit, that is a hard one for any non-Beretta-enthusiast (berettaholic?). It's the Beretta 92 Stock. Even some lesser-informed Beretta-ppl don't know what it is. Beretta ppl consider this as one of the most sought after M92's there is. The original price for it was about a double to a standard 92, and today they sell (in the U.S ) for more than $1000. It's very rare special model Beretta built for sport shooting, mainly IPSC and USPSA. Only Billenium is higher than Stock in the holy grailness of 92's (Combat and maybe also Steel-I are on par with Stock on that). Most folks on Berettaforum thinks that these should be refurbished and safe queened for life. I'll have none of that, I use it as my primary IPSC competition gun. Differences to basic model is the barrel bushing for improved accuracy, brigadier slide for durability and weight and frame safety to eneble cocked and locked start in competitions. Also the internals are finished by hand from the factory. Mine has the D-spring (less stiff main sping from DA-only model, 92D) and the trigger is best I've ever met in semi-auto handgun. It's extremely reliable and accurate. Even with cheapest ammo (I mainly use Sellier&Bellot and Magtech) there's no problems and accuracy exceeds what is really needed in IPSC. I have shot three IPSC seasons with this with 0 failures.

It's a fine combination of aluminium and steel and I just love it.

Those are some nice pieces guys!

Not trying to offend you but I just must say that I have tried so very hard to find a Beretta that wouldn't jam and would shoot straight although I never owned your particular model.

I love the look and the feel of the 92, it just seems so right in all aspects aside from the point that every one I have owned was hard pressed to make it through a magazine without at least one stove pipe jam or actually hit your target. I used mags from USA and Italy all factory Beretta and they all jammed.

I have owned 3 Beretta's and they were all 92FS one was brand new and the others were like new. They all were some of the finest machined weapons I have ever owned and the actions felt like they ran on ball bearings, I have never felt anything smoother and never would have figured this weapon to ever have jammed or shoot poorly but all of mine jammed. I have also tried two Taurus clones as well and they jammed also but my Taurus's did shoot better.??? The Taurus's were no where near as smooth felling as the real Beretta.

Sorry for my long post flaming on the Beretta 92FS but I just had to get it off my chest. Apparently your 92 Stock doesn't have the problems of the 92FS I speak of but I sure couldn't afford the price of a 92 Stock just to find out.

I sure do like those Rugers you have there though! My buddy has a really old MK1 and man is that thing a tack driver!! After seeing yours I think I will find me one since I no longer have a 22 pistol.

Here's a few pictures of some of my lead-slinging toys. The holsters picutured are ones I made myself.

Another Keltec fan here; I have the PF9 as well with the same Hogue grip and love it!

Another favorite, the EAA Windicator. 2" 6-shot .357 Magnum snubby holstered here...

...Unholstered...

...and as pictured in my avatar!

Another budget favorite; mostly worthless and inaccurate, but still a lot of fun, my massive Cobra Derringer in magnum (.22 that is):

and again at night!

The relatively inexpensive but still high-quality and accurate Bersa Thunder 9; 9MM Hi-Capacity:

Reliable, inexpensive, and extremely fun plinker, the Phoenix Arms HP22:

And finally the Beretta U22 Neos:

As a bonus, here's my photo of the Winchester PDX1 in 9mm +P as recovered from a water-jug test. Anyone from the ktog.org forum might recongnize this as I've posted a number photos of similar expanded bullets in various calibers.

I just bought one of those Cobra derringers for my brother in laws birthday present in .22 mag as well. Pretty cool but unbelievably hard trigger! I worked it about a few hundred times with snap caps and lubed the crap out of it and it’s a lot better now but still pretty stiff.
The Bersa is a sweet pistol. I have been thinking that it will be my next weapon.
Nice holsters too.

I highly recommend the Bersa; I really want one of the .45ACP ultra-compacts but can't really justify the expense. Flashlights make such a cheaper hobby! Yes, the trigger on the Cobra derringer is really stiff until you learn to roll it down/back instead of sqeezing it like you do with a real pistol. The price went up since I bought mine but I ordered the .22LR barrel to go on it which saves money when plinking. .22Mag is almost as expensive as 9mm! I carry it with .22Mag shotshells loaded for a snake gun when in the yard. We have copperheads here which can be dangerous. I wanted the .38 spl derringer but it's built on a larger frame and won't chamber the shotshells anyway.

No problem, none taken. It's only a gun after all.

But it's strange that you could not get M92 to perform. I have owned only the Stock, but have shot with couple 92FS's and they have functioned perfectly also. The whole point of open slide is to prevent stovepiping and other feeding issues.

Jam?

I bought my 96 new in 1994 and it has not jammed even once to this day. I have not fired as many rounds through it as a match shooter might but I'd say perhaps 1,000 or so, with 80% of those my reloads.

Not a single jam.

Foy

I was pretty sure that my comment wouldn't offend you and it wasn't my intention to do so either. I was just sharing my experience.

These and the comments above by Foy are usually what I hear about the 92 also. Maybe I have bad luck??? I would love to have one I could trust.

I also own a Kel-Tec sub 2k and it was a jammer as well although most ppl love them. I sent my to Kel-Tec and it came back still jamming so I fixed it myself by changing the angle on the ejector, now it is a reliable carbine.

There was no offense Blue, at all. It's too bad facial expressions/body language can't always be accurately conveyed in print. This isn't CPF so, no worrys.

The thing is; I can't say that about any other automatic I've owned. I've only had about a dozen different semi-automatic pistols in my day - all but one has jammed on occasion. That may explain my deep feelings toward this gun. (the Beretta model 96 Centurion) I could hit anything I aimed for after emptying the very first clip. For me, it has been the easiest automatic to shoot accurately I have ever fired and with the variety of rounds I've loaded and sent through its beautiful chrome barrel, it may be a miracle that it has not jammed yet.

I have freind that stopped his jamming issues (in a Glock I think) by simply bending the top lip of the clip. Also, some guns just don't digest certain types of ammo very well. Some automatics in particular must have just the right amount of gas pressure, with powder that burns at exactly the correct rate . . .

okayImdoneFoy

Some very nice Go Bang toys pictured!

I find it interesting the number of KelTecs, Bersa, Hi-Points, etc shown.... budget guns. Don't see any of the higher-end firearms like Dan Wessons or Ed Browns, or even something mass produced like Kimbers. Perhaps the value-to-bang principle of BLFers applies not only with flashlights, but firearms too. Makes me wonder if budget/value applies to our other things ....cars, clothes, houses, tools...uh, wives & girlfriends

For me its probably true. Sold my Kimber Custom & bought a Rock Island 1911. Fit & Finish may not be as nice, but just as accurate, and doesn't jam. And I could get 3 Rocks for the price of my Kimber!

Similarly, fit & finish on my wife may not be as nice as a trophy model, but she's never cost me much. And a DAMN good thing she would never read this forum!

Wow, those are some very nice firearms y'all have. Keltex, I agree 100% on the Phoenix HP22...extremely underrated little .22.

To conserve bandwidth, I'll post the 3 that get the most use:

Kimber Custom SS .45acp. Bought when they first released them in '97 and has been a daily CCW companion since.

Ruger MK II KMK678 .22LR. My 'lil "squirrel-getter" first choice for all small game hunting.

Freedom Arms Model 97 .44spl. I grew up reading old Elmer Keith stories, so needless to say I'm smitten with the .44 special. Due to the fact that Freedom Arms revolvers are the offspring of a Bankvault and a Rolex, it's easy to load rounds that will match 44mag ballistics...which is convenient because this is my go-to for deer/hog hunting. Besides also being an excellent hiking companion, this particular gun has the distinction of being the only firearm I own that I haven't modified in some way. It's absolutely perfect (to me).

JohnnyMac and Keltex, those are very nice holsters you've made. I tried my hand at making a pocket holster for my keltec P32, and while very functional, it's not pretty

Elmer Keith - 75% of the rounds that pass through my big Smith are .44 special, leaving the muzzle at around 850 fps. Some of his .44 spl loads in a SAA left the barrel at 1,200 fps. Used to read Elmer Keith a lot . . . . he wrote about bringing down a deer from 600 yards with a model 29, 6 1/2 barrel, same length as my 629. I actually have some old Guns and Ammo magazines from the '70s with reprints of his ealier articles. Reading those take me back to my formative years when I was first learning to reload.

I learned with a Lee Loader!! To resize you held the die in one hand and hammered it home with the other. It was perfect for me as a young boy to learn - makes me appreciate my Rock Chucker every single time I use it.

reflectiveFoy

[quote=Flashlight Foy]

I learned with a Lee Loader!!

[/quote]

Hehe...yup! That was my first loader too... At first it was quite unsettling using a hammer and loader to seat a primer, and agonizingly slow, but still fun :)

Current reloading is provided courtesy of an old rcbs single stage, and a newer lee pro1000 progressive.

I want to carry! I want to hunt with handguns!

Can I? No! They would lock me up for life. God damn socialist government and their suppressive legistlation.

You think there would be employment for Finnish speaking insurance specialist in U.S?

It's interesting to hear people from less gun-tolerant countries talk - firearms were such an integral part of growing up for me. I remember walking down my semi-rural street after school with my buddies, each of us 13 years old with a shotgun resting over our forearm . . . neighbors waving a casual hello. Our dads all started us in similar ways; with shotguns you began with a 410, then dad's 20 gauge and one memorable Christmas, Foy got a new Remington 870. With hand guns, it started for me with a standard barrel Mark II, then my dad's model 10 (that's the one I Lee Loaded .38s for) and on and on . . . .357s, 41 mag, 223, 30 carbine, 30-40 Krag, 30.06, 7 mag, multiple .22s . . .

I've been away from it a few years but after talking here, I'm thinking I need to blow the dust off my presses.

ramblingFoy

Unfortunately Mr. Foy, times have changed for the worse. In high school, used to bring 1 or 2 of my long guns on the bus with a few boxes of shells, stash it in my locker all day, then afterschool practice pluggin clay pidgeons & paper with other members of 'the rifle club'. Similar to the chess or debate club - we just went behind the school after normal classes to compete in a mini IPSC, & had weekly meets with other high school rifle clubs.

Can you imagine 40 or 50 teenagers bringing shotguns & rifles to a high school nowadays!!!

And yup, Remington 870!!! My 14th birthday present, went pheasant hunting same day with my Dad! Also bagged my first deer with that lovely shotgun few monhs later shooting slugs thru it.