If I had it to do all over again, I would have collected rimfire military trainers.

[aarondhgraham]

I would have an entirely different selection of guns.

Back in 2005 I finally got the job of my dreams,,,
It was the first time in my life (54 years at the time) that I had disposable money.

I bought a single-shot .22 rifle and a range membership,,,
I knew I wanted to do recreational shooting,,,
The single-shot was a good choice.

But then, having money to burn, I just went a bit crazy,,,
Buying just about anything that caught my eye.

I ended up with an interesting selection of rimfire rifles,,,
With no rhyme or reason to their selection,,,
Other than I simply "wanted" them.

Now I'm in the situation where as a retired man,,,
I find myself selling or gifting away a lot of the rifles (and pistols) I have amassed.

I'm keeping one bolt-action for it's precise shooting characteristic (CZ-457 Pro Varmint AT-1),,,
I'm keeping one semi-auto ( maybe two) for the same reasons (CZ-512 Rifle and CZ-512 Carbine),,,
I'm keeping one bolt-action single-shot with iron sights just because of the nostalgia (ES340B Mauser).

All the other rifles will be sold or gifted away by the end of this summer,,,
After I shoot each of them one more time for nostalgia's sake.

But as I sit and contemplate my somewhat eclectic collection of rifles,,,
I kind of wish I had gone another direction with them.

I wish I had gone with an early desire,,,
To purchase military rimfire trainers.

Just those short 17 years back the rifles were still relatively inexpensive,,,
I remember a Springfield trainer at a Wanenmachers show,,,
But at the time I thought $375 was too much,,,
Look at their prices now.

It's not that I would have bought them only as investments,,,
I just truly like (love) the look of old military rifles,,,
And most of them were damn good shooters.

But then again my OCD tendencies would have demanded,,,
That as soon as I purchased a .22 training rifle,,,
I would have to own it's centerfire sister.

That's what happened to me with handguns,,,
I searched out and obtained a nice collection of centerfire/rimfire pairs,,,
That was quite satisfying as I have nearly all of them encased in nice wood presentation boxes.

Several years ago I viewed a thread over at Rimfire Central,,,
Where a gentleman had a collection of 19 (I thing it was 19) pairs of battle-rifles and their matching rimfire trainers.

He took very nice pictures of the pairs,,,
And I drooled over each and every one of them.

I only have one military trainer myself,,,
It is a Polish WZ-48 single-shot,,,
An extremely precise shooter.

I should probably sell it quickly,,,
Before I succumb to my OCD tendencies,,,
And purchase a Polish Nagant to pair up with it.

Anyways, I am just musing on a very lazy Saturday morning,,,
On how different things might have been for me,,,
If I had just bought that Springfield trainer.

Aarond

.

 

[sherrick13]

I have a few .22 trainers. They are super cool. I will get more.


They are so fun to shoot.

 

[El Pablo]

I would have an entirely different selection of guns.

Back in 2005 I finally got the job of my dreams,,,
It was the first time in my life (54 years at the time) that I had disposable money.

I bought a single-shot .22 rifle and a range membership,,,
I new I wanted to do recreational shooting,,,
The single-shot was a good choice.

But then, having money to burn, I just went a bit crazy,,,
Buying just about anything that caught my eye.

I ended up with an interesting selection of rimfire rifles,,,
With no rhyme or reason to their selection,,,
Other than I simply "wanted" them.

Now I'm in the situation where as a retired man,,,
I find myself selling or gifting away a lot of the rifles (and pistols) I have amassed.

I'm keeping one bolt-action for it's precise shooting characteristic (CZ-457 Pro Varmint AT-1),,,
I'm keeping one semi-auto ( maybe two) for the same reasons (CZ-512 Rifle and CZ-512 Carbine),,,
I'm keeping one bolt-action single-shot with iron sights just because of the nostalgia (ES340B Mauser).

All the other rifles will be sold or gifted away by the end of this summer,,,
After I shoot each of them one more time for nostalgia's sake.

But as I sit and contemplate my somewhat eclectic collection of rifles,,,
I kind of wish I had gone another direction with them.

I wish I had gone with an early desire,,,
To purchase military rimfire trainers.

Just those short 17 years back the rifles were still relatively inexpensive,,,
I remember a Springfield trainer at a Wanenmachers show,,,
But at the time I thought $375 was too much,,,
Look at their prices now.

It's not that I would have bought them only as investments,,,
I just truly like (love) the look of old military rifles,,,
And most of them were damn good shooters.

But then again my OCD tendencies would have demanded,,,
That as soon as I purchased a .22 training rifle,,,
I would have to own it's centerfire sister.

That's what happened to me with handguns,,,
I searched out and obtained a nice collection of centerfire/rimfire pairs,,,
That was quite satisfying as I have nearly all of them encased in nice wood presentation boxes.

Several years ago I viewed a thread over at Rimfire Central,,,
Where a gentleman had a collection of 19 (I thing it was 19) pairs of battle-rifles and their matching rimfire trainers.

He took very nice pictures of the pairs,,,
And I drooled over each and every one of them.

I only have one military trainer myself,,,
It is a Polish WZ-48 single-shot,,,
An extremely precise shooter.

I should probably sell it quickly,,,
Before I succumb to my OCD tendencies,,,
And purchase a Polish Nagant to pair up with it.

Anyways, I am just musing on a very lazy Saturday morning,,,
On how different things might have been for me,,,
If I had just bought that Springfield trainer.

Aarond

.

Could have, should have… just not worth the effort to ask such questions.. You would still most likely be in the same boat you are in now, selling and gifting them away.

I need to get rid off all the stuff I don’t use. Have a hard time doing it

 

[aarondhgraham]

You would still most likely be in the same boat you are in now, selling and gifting them away.

True,,,
But again I was just musing,,,
You know how it is on a lazy morning.

I'm definitely going to post my WZ-48 for sale,,,
I just checked gunbr4oker and Polish Nagants are going for insane prices.

I need to thin the herd,,,
Not add to it.

Aarond

.

 

[Mr.Glock]

Damn 19 years ago it was 2005! That blows me away!

 

[El Pablo]

Damn 19 years ago it was 2005! That blows me away!

Me too, I was single and in my 20s… Time flys.

 

[Btown]

Time does fly been retired from the AF for almost 18 years seems like just last week. Keeping on track with the military trainers they are a blast to shoot. I have couple of Mausers and a Springfield trainer that is very close to the feel of an 1903. All 3 are great shooters.

 

[dlbleak]

Time does fly been retired from the AF for almost 18 years seems like just last week. Keeping on track with the military trainers they are a blast to shoot. I have couple of Mausers and a Springfield trainer that is very close to the feel of an 1903. All 3 are great shooters.

I wish I had gotten into the trainers too. Had a couple of the polish VZ 22 trainers. I think it was the model 58? Should have pursued the trainers some more.

 

[dennishoddy]

In 1970 in Basic Training, we never had any .22 trainers.
We had "buddies" toss up 3" aluminum discs we shot with daisy red ryders to teach instinctive shooting at close range.

 

[Catt57]

I wish I had gotten into the trainers too. Had a couple of the polish VZ 22 trainers. I think it was the model 58? Should have pursued the trainers some more.

Are you referring to the WZ-48?