How Has Your Taste In Firearms Changed Over The Years?

When I was in my teens, I was all about machine guns and fire rates, but over time it morphed into accuracy, how many different cartridges a gun could shoot (i.e. revovlers) or be converted to and price.

I've kind of come off the ammo versatility thing, now instead of having one gun that can shoot 5 cartridges, I'd rather have 5 guns mainly because I won't have to have the hold off the target to hit it with 9mm, when with .357 I'd hold right on target.

Another change is I'm not always looking to go against the grain anymore and go with an uncommon gun for the sake of it being uncommon. Like, for a time, I thought the Kel Tec SU-16 rifles were cool, but the triggers suck, the accuracy isn't gonna match the AR, the folding thing can be cool, but if you're just using it to store it easier, the AR's upper comes off just as easy.

Buying what's most popular and common, like Glocks, AR's, Mossberg/Remington shotguns, 1911's, AK's... it pays off in the end because you get options for lots of parts and customizing and for a low price thanks to mass production.

Along those same lines of going against the grain just to go against the grain, when it comes to 9mm or .223/5.56, I can't be a snob to them anymore. I'm not gonna say that in every different size or style of gun that those are the best choices, I think in most cases every caliber has it's own strength and weakness, for example I love 9mm in single stack pistols and carbines, but think it's lame in doublestacks, while .40 is better in subcompact doublestacks and full size pistols for concealed carry and 10mm is better in open carry outdoors/wilderness roles.

When you play to a certain gun's best strength, you're going to get the best efficiency out of it. Asking a 9mm in a Glock 34 to go up against a 10mm in a Glock 40 is a losing proposition depending on what the intended use is going to be.

Years ago when reloading was not on my mind, I bought guns that used common ammo, but now that I reload, I'm not put off by something in .327 or 10mm or .35 Whelen. If I see a cartridge that has a heck of a lot of potential that is superior in performance to the common ammo like .22, 9mm, .45 ACP, .308, I'll buy it if I really want it.

So, a lot has changed, but that's normal with humans. We evolve, we see more things, we gather more intelligence and we either are open and accept it and improve or get stuck in our ways and deny it and suffer.
 
I've gone through phases.
Ugly Surplus phase: the uglier, clunkier, and weirder the better. Back then you could get any number of surplus commie guns for under $150 and ammo was under a C-note for 1,000 rounds. I thought my fingers were stained a permanent shade of Cosmoline brown. Good times.

Cheap .22 phase: pistols and rifles. Back then you could get a number of .22 rifles for under $100 and a pile of ammo for dirt cheap. I put a lot of .22 down range.

I'm coming off a revolver phase. Lots of fun tinkering with springs, grips, and bits. I've been from one end to the other and through the guts in between. The mechanics are fascinating even the single actions and clunky Nagants.

At the moment I'm slowly accepting this notion that polymer guns with strikers and AR contraptions is going to be a common thing now. At the same time I still like my steel frames, hammers, and iron sights. I'm not sure which direction the next fascination will take but it'll be educational either way.

It's the journey ;)
 
My 'history' is quite short. After a about 30 year layoff w/o a gun(started with a S&W odel 39..then a CharterArms .38)...never shot either much..both went away.

Fast forward to about 3 years ago. Oldest son has 'gotten into guns', partially because of his job. HE started with a KelTec, then a Taurus..didn't like eitherof those..traded to a Glock 17, gen 3..and away we go!!..Later bought a Glock 43 for CCW and then he convinced me to go shoot with him...
I started with a S&W model 642 I got from a buddy, then a Ruger LC-9s..really didn't like those(the low $ was the attraction..but didn't like to shoot either)..
Then Glock 42 for me and wife...and the rest is history..Glock 17, 19 and 42 for me..Glock 45 and 43 for youngest son. Thees guns 'do it all' for us three..yes,we are part of the Glock universe.
 

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Wood stock's and blue or black metal is all I ever liked. But abut a year ago I got a Mossberg Patriot with the plastic in it. Wouldn't have done that years ago!Largest handgun I ever owned was a 41 mag. Was way to much recoil for me, same with the 357 mag. Use a couple 9mm's, a 38 and my favorite, a 32 long these days.
 
I started out with a 7 shot h&r Special revolver in .22 and a single shot 20 gauge. Over time, I got some serious target pistols and a skeet gun and enjoyed playing those gun games. I learned what rubbish that h&r was. Then my dad got in to cowboy action shooting and trying out just about every gun ever made. At the height of silliness I was taking the .454 Casull and the Savage MLii (smokeless powder muzzle loader equivalent to an elephant gun at max loads) to the range.

Life goes on, many trades later... without doubt my favorite gun for walking around with in the marshes is the 12 gauge Ithaca Model 37 I found, made in 1946. My dad loved his in 16 gauge until he got tired of never being able to find shells for it and he traded it for something else.

I am rather fond of my ruger bearcat, but I picked up a 6 1/2” Single Six that reminds me of my old h&r except the ruger is single action and better in every way. I am poking around looking for a single seven. This new .327 Fed Magnum looks slick to me. I will pretend it’s a 32-20 without messing with necked cartridge resizing, and load em to 32 long power.

Oh, I am also looking for a nice little bolt action .22 to put a scope on, as my eyes just are not what they were when I was 20.

I guess I went out, tried just about everything, and generally came back to where I started but now I have more money and a far better trained dog.
 
My taste in guns keeps rotating and repeating. I go from rimfire semi auto to rimfire revolvers to centerfire semi autos to center fire revolvers to lever action, semi auto rifles in both rimfire and centerfire and occasionally shotguns (but not in that order). My favorite this week might not be my favorite next week so I keep a little of everything.
 
I now seek guns of higher quality; or which are rare or of unusual design.

I have lost some interest in AK's and AR's. As for handguns, I prefer high quality non-1911's; primarily of European origin.
 
My opportunities for bird hunting have diminished with the years, so my shotgun comes out more often for cleaning than for shooting.

In handguns, I grew up with revolvers, but a few years back with the world changing decided that the capacity of pistols was worthwhile. I own an ugly plastic pistol for IWB carry, but have some nicer stuff in metal and wood for range use and for the sheer pleasure of owning them. For that matter, even my pocket pistol has a little pizzazz - a Sig P238 in two-tone with wood grips (I believe they call it the SAS version). The only revolver still in the safe is one that belonged to my dad, now gone a few years, and kept for sentimentality. It fits in, though - blue and wood.
 
How has it changed? Basically... had nothing but a bolt .22, an over/under (.22 on top, 20ga under, GREAT rabbit gun) for many years, no handguns at all. It started to change rapidly about 5 years ago when I retired, and finally had enough money and TIME to invest in serious firearms acquisition. Somebody gifted me an Iver Johnson .38 S&W from 1903 and I was hooked on handguns. Now almost a hundred weapons in 45 calibers later, I'm slowing down. I mean... how many WW2 8mm mausers does one really need? That said, I'm still a sucker for a good deal on old milsurps. Picked up a Turkish 8mm mauser for $200 not long ago... couldn't pass that up. Barrel looked in pretty good shape, bolt not to sloppy. Haven't shot it yet though.
 
Have my tastes changed? Yes, no longer much interested in anything new, or plastic. Having had the opportunity to either use or own nearly all the guns I was ever interested in, (and quite a few I didn't have much interest in as well), my tastes have turned to the handful of older guns and rounds I've missed.

Got no interest in the newest most modern thing that fits in an AR-15. Don't care about striker fired combat Tupperware pistols.

Show me a nice Luger or P&R S&W, and I'm interested. Show me tacticool rails and I yawn. Show me a nice custom sporter built on a milsurp and my ears perk up...

I'm an old guy now, with old tastes. Wood and blued steel for the most part, some stainless here and there.
 
I started shooting in the early 1960s about 5 or 6 years old. I was always a "gun nut", any gun fascinated me. Shooting 22s was a real prize anytime I got a chance. I probably drove my parents crazy until I was finally able to get my first rifle, a Winchester 94. My dad thought the Remington 788 right next to it would have been a better option, but it was my money and I was doing the buying, so I got what I wanted. Joined the Marines and used an M16, and really wanted one for hunting but the small caliber took it out of consideration. Figured out by hunting with a 94 that it was not great, so I bought a Spanish 1916 Mauser and hunted with that for a while. Bought a Ruger 77 a few years later and hunted with that for quite a while, along with semis and others. I wanted a BAR and eventually got one and got rid of it, but I still preferred bolt actions and owned quite a few. Now as I am getting older I am getting rid of most of my guns and I have come full circle and am drifting back towards the older guns again, Mauser bolts, lever actions and single shot rifles.
 
I started with surplus rifles and modern military style rifles, I use to buy & sell a lot just to try out new guns.

but I prefer modern combat handguns, thats what I use most often
 
I started with a revolver and began reloading.
Since I've gravitated 1st to shotguns and onto rifles.

I like old blued steel and wood stocks in Pre64 M70s.
 
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