Well, I've mostly been a good boy the past year and have managed to pay off debt and set aside a little cash. It's been about 3 years since I've bought a gun, and it's time to reward myself for staying on course. I really have only 2 main options, and I'm looking to stay under $1000, and even better if it's under $800.
Option 1: An original (unmolested and not sporterized) Krag rifle. These can be found for under 1k if you are patient. I really like this piece of history and want to own one sooner rather than later. I do reload, so I could shoot for less than $4 per round. The big downside here would be adding a vintage military bolt action to a collection that consists mostly of... vintage military bolt actions. I do like variety too.
Option 2: A vintage lever action in 30-30. Probably a Marlin 336 or Winchester 1894. While much more boring than the Krag, I already have 100 rounds of ammo given by my BIL. And I don't currently have a lever rifle... I feel compelled to remedy that. And it's honestly a safer bet, condition wise. Obviously much less a collector item than the Krag, but I am trying to stick to the mid 20th century era when these rifles exhibited craftsmanship. This will be much easier to find under 1k, and possibly even as cheap as $600.
Option 3: I've already kicked around other options. A 1909 Colt would excite me a bit, but I'm worried about buying a revolver that I can't feel and check time on first. I also would be interested in a Colt Official Police if it fell in my lap for $400 bucks. I'm also open to suggestions for anything I may not have thought about.
I get that my options are quite different. That's part of the reason I bring it here. If I was picking between 2 similar options, I can usually make a choice. Picking between completely different directions... I'm interested in other people's thoughts.
Option 1: An original (unmolested and not sporterized) Krag rifle. These can be found for under 1k if you are patient. I really like this piece of history and want to own one sooner rather than later. I do reload, so I could shoot for less than $4 per round. The big downside here would be adding a vintage military bolt action to a collection that consists mostly of... vintage military bolt actions. I do like variety too.
Option 2: A vintage lever action in 30-30. Probably a Marlin 336 or Winchester 1894. While much more boring than the Krag, I already have 100 rounds of ammo given by my BIL. And I don't currently have a lever rifle... I feel compelled to remedy that. And it's honestly a safer bet, condition wise. Obviously much less a collector item than the Krag, but I am trying to stick to the mid 20th century era when these rifles exhibited craftsmanship. This will be much easier to find under 1k, and possibly even as cheap as $600.
Option 3: I've already kicked around other options. A 1909 Colt would excite me a bit, but I'm worried about buying a revolver that I can't feel and check time on first. I also would be interested in a Colt Official Police if it fell in my lap for $400 bucks. I'm also open to suggestions for anything I may not have thought about.
I get that my options are quite different. That's part of the reason I bring it here. If I was picking between 2 similar options, I can usually make a choice. Picking between completely different directions... I'm interested in other people's thoughts.