What makes a gun "beautiful" or "ugly"

Blued steel and walnut, elegantly arranged.

Examples:
Browning SA-22
Smith & Wesson M27
Winchester M71
Browning A5

As in art, the more time and effort that is spent on the creation, the more people appreciate it.

Injection molding takes no effort and time, that's why polymer guns won't be found in the "Top 10" list of most beautiful firearms. I've not yet seen select AAA grade plastic, case hardened plastic that you can't take your eyes off of, or engraved polymer that shows the skill and imagination of the artist.

Wood, steel, and blending the two into a unique piece of artwork will still dominate the "best looking guns" category.

The eye of the beholder, as with all things.

Deep bluing and unique grain patterns.

The Thompson submachine gun looks like a collection of spare parts forced together, but its legendary history makes it “beautiful on the inside.” Same with tha Ma Deuce, it’s nothing to look at but I’d sure love to have one.

Beauty :
Wood , bluing and engraving , less so with the engraving .

Ugly :
Plastic and rubber .

Like jeepnik said...... It's in the eye of the beholder. Personally there are guns that scream history or fame to me and while they may not qualify as beautiful in the traditional firearms sense they are still beautiful to me based on their merit and reputation. So in a way, maybe that could be called classic but not necessarily beautiful. Either way it's beauty to my eye. There's even plastic and synthetic that pleases my eye depending on how it hits my senses because there is also beauty in function.

I can appreciate beautiful guns, but what I like more are good looking guns. A good looking gun usually has looks that are a product of its design, IMO.

Some designs look so unconventional that they may be ugly, but are eminently functional.

Some designs have styling added around them by people that don't have the same sense of what looks good that I do. For instance, I think a Hi-Point carbine could have its outer appearance improved without changing its internal design. Yet, I'm sure Hi-Point (the company) doesn't want to pay for a team of designers to make it look better. That would raise costs to make it compete against a different tier of gun, which could be a sales killer.

Anyway, I like wood and steel. I like stainless steel. I like quality "plastic", too.

That new Ruger PCC? Well, I think it looks better than some other things Ruger has put out. Depending on the angle of the photo, of course.

Craftsmanship, go look at longrifles inc or patriot valley arms photos they put on facebook and tell me they are not beautiful. most are not walnut or blued, but they are incredibly well built, engineered and accurate rifles.

the same goes for handguns, I think well engineered and crafted handguns like a springfield TRP are beautiful. but then again, I also like to not stress about my equipment too much, I'd rather shoot it a lot and not worry about wear and tear.
a person goal of mine is to shoot out a barrel in one of my glocks

Different strokes for different folks. That said on rifles, I like walnut maple and rosewood with fiddling and swirling grain patterns brought out by a high luster oil finish. High-polished blue with a matching gloss scope finishes it off for me. I'm not huge on metal engraving so pass on that, maybe except for a tastefully done bolt-handle ring. Hand-checkered grip and fore-end are a nice touch as well. A Schnabel on the tip of the fore-end can be really pretty too. Classic Weatherby Mark V rifles usually fit the bill for me as do Winchester super-grades. Mannlicher (full-length) wood stocks are cool too! I have a CZ 550 FS in 6.5 Swede that I really like.

Conversely, anything that looks cheap (ie: matte finish, plastic stocks and components, and anything where you can still see the machine marks) I would consider to be ugly. I think AR-style rifles are ugly but that doesn't mean they aren't cool and fun to shoot.

It’s the same as women. A beautiful woman can be ugly and an ugly one beautiful, depending on how you look at them, or who’s looking at them. And there are those that can find beauty in a pig rolling in the mud.
You should never concern yourself with what others think is beautiful or ugly in your choice of guns. And then sometimes the ugly ones are more fun.

I'm an engineer, at heart and by profession, so:

A gun (or any machine) is elegant when it BOTH:

1. Exhibits thoughtful design, economy of parts, simplicity of assembly, ease of use, and reliability in use. Bonus points of it's difficult to reassemble it wrong!
   • examples include: the AK-47 and AR-15, the Glock, J.C. Garand's M1, many Mauser action bolt guns (are there any non-Mauser action bolt guns still in production?)
   • counter examples include: Ross MkIII (easily assembled in a way that will kill you!)
2. Exhibits a form following its function ie. is pleasing to the eye.
   • examples include: fine double shotguns, double rifles, J.C. Garand's M1. the Browning A12 Humpback, most anything designed by J.M. Browning, most any classic revolver.
   • counter examples include: AK-47, AR-15, any bullpup, anything Russian since the Mosin, anything Glock, and that butt ugly Rhino revolver

I try to own guns that exhibit both thoughtful design and pleasant form, but I also own some ugly tools (like the ARs).

Sometimes beauty is in the price. Budgeted for a rifle from an individual, guy backed out.
Next day an Armalite AR 10 popped up. Same price. It had exactly 23 rounds through it.
600 bucks under retail.
Beautiful.
Ugliest fire arm in the world is the FAMAS.
Get the willies just looking at one.

The lines and general aesthetics have a lot to do with it for me. Slender and sleek is where it's at. A deep shiny bluing adds to the appeal, as do expertly executed fittings. Every time I look at the sideplate seam on an old S&W revolver, I'm in awe. Beauty: Colt 1903, old 6" S&W revolver with a tapered barrel, any decent 1911. Angles and proportions are important. I do own and carry some things that are basically ugly, like a Kimber K6 (better shaping on the trigger guard would go a long way to improving the looks) and a Sig P220 (too blocky), mostly because they handle and shoot well.

jeepnik said:

The eye of the beholder, as with all things.

Click to expand...

That pretty much sums it up.

For me personally i think a lot of guns look "cool" and are "attractive" in that i like they way they look for some reason or another. Pretty much all military rifles, and most MSRs fall into this group for me. Most handguns fall into this category as well, tho a well executed revolver will often fall in to the "beautiful" category.
The only guns i find really "beautiful" are generally ones that follow the classic lines of a fine sporting firearm. Materials can change and dont necessarily have to be top shelf (or traditional), but the application must be well thought out, and executed in a way that produces a graceful look and feel to the firearm.
In pure aesthetics and handling i find that the basic design of the Remington 700 and stocks (fit and finish issues aside) one of the prettiest production rifles on the market.

one of the classics that almost everyone thinks is a beautiful design, that i just cant make myself like even after shooting and handling some truly magnificent versions is the 1911. For some reason its lines just dont appeal to me.

This..... And the same thing in a Mannlicher Stock. However, this is not something I would take to the woods.

Obviously a subjective topic. Polymer guns, (I call them "square barrels") are ugly, but generally speaking, supremely
reliable. Many times it's an elegantly simple design. The Beretta 92 subtracted metal from it's slide, which serves the dual role
of helping eliminate jams, while giving it an appealing look, for example. The 1911 was sexy, compared to most other handguns,
back when it first came out.

Nothing beats a well built long rifle of the Kentucky or Pennsylvania style. Dark wood, maybe a little weathered in appearance, blued or browned, percussion or flint, steel or brass furniture. Now that's beauty in a firearm.

1st handgun pic in thread.
It ain't ugly.

I agree it’s subjective and in the eye of the beholder. It also changes.

For instance I find ARs beautiful but a friend of mine says they’re ugly.

I also used to like carry handles on them, now not so much.

BigBore44 said:

View attachment 773151This..... And the same thing in a Mannlicher Stock. However, this is not something I would take to the woods.

Click to expand...

Id hunt that rifle! ....thats pretty much exactly what i think of when beautiful comes up in gun conversations.

Sometimes the beauty is in the history of the gun. Some see the battle scars and just see an old gun. Others see the a war veteran.
Some will want to scrub away the scars and bring it back to it’s former glory.
Others will see the beauty in the history of those scars and preserve them.
To each his own, but I see the beauty in the scars, and preserve that history.