What should I add next to my gun collection?

Those of you who said contract mil-surps like VZ-24 and South American mausers like Argentine I have to disagree with you and I say that as someone who collects them and has them. VZ-24 are mostly beat up that you see available, and south American contract mauser for one that shoots good in very good or more condition are not cheap and neither is the ammo.

bos19 don't count on Garand not going anywhere soon, they don't make them anymore. Fact is the mil-surp supply is dry these days compared to ten years ago and prices are rising.

What I would get to start with in mil-surps is that will probably hit point of aim @ 100 yds or less
M1 Garand
Swedish Mauser (VERY ACCURATE) available in great condition on GB or gun shows
Swiss K31 (Very accurate) available in great condition on GB gun shows
Enfield .303 N4 MK1 or MK2
Mosin of some sort

or get a M1A or 7.62mm AR

handguns, get a .22 for practice, get a .357 of some sort you can also shoot .38 special in it.

for target shooting to get best accuracy get a adjustable sight handgun.

then make another wish list lol

bos19 said:

For some reason, shotguns don't really excite me all that much, but I will eventually buy one.

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They never tripped my trigger either. The only shotguns I own are a pair of double barrel 16 gauge handed down to me by my grandfather.

That said there are plenty of reasonably priced 22 rifles out there as well as 22 revolvers and semi auto handguns. This will always go back to budget. The Ruger MKII or Single Six are nice but also carry a price. Just a matter of personal taste in a gun.

Ron

bos19 said:

I really like guns with historical significance and have a preference for American guns with historical significance, but I also own a SKS and Mosin Nagant.

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and a Glock 19 and S&W M&P 15. Out of your collection so far, the only one that has any sort of American specific historical significance would be the G19 and that might be a stretch. It seems as if the theme is really more "guns that are inexpensive and common" than it is "American guns of historical significance". Personally, I'd forget about a particular theme, sell the Mosin Nagant, SKS and M&P 15 and get a better quality AR and attend some good training classes with that and the G19.

bos19 said:

I would say the glaring holes I notice in my collection are the lack of a .22 rifle or pistol, a revolver, and shotgun.

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Hard to determine where the "glaring holes" are without knowing what the goal is. What is the goal? Owning a gun of each major action type perhaps?

bos19 said:

What should I add next to my gun collection?

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Having an ammo cabinet next to your gun collection would be handy. That way you can grab a gun with one hand and ammo with the other.

bearcreek said:

get a better quality AR

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For 99% of shooters, the M&P will take anything one could throw at it, judging by all of the satisfied customers. Yeah, a DD or BCM might be top-tier operator-level stuff, but the price difference would better be spent on ammo and training.

bearcreek said:

guns that are inexpensive and common

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I agree. The OP's "collection" seems more like an eclectic array of firearms all suited for different purposes. Which is what I have. So, if that is the goal, I would be looking at what holes your current battery has, and what would best fill those holes. A Garand would be great, I just picked one up myself this year. A .22 pistol, .22 rifle, and pump 12ga would be, IMHO, fine additions to a well-rounded battery, if not a themed collection.

badkarmamib said:

For 99% of shooters, the M&P will take anything one could throw at it, judging by all of the satisfied customers. Yeah, a DD or BCM might be top-tier operator-level stuff, but the price difference would better be spent on ammo and training.

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A large majority of shooters (maybe not 99%) don't use their AR's enough to know whether they have a reliable weapon or not, which leaves open the possibility of people being satisfied with something that is less than good quality. My suggestion was to sell several of what I would consider to be lower quality firearms, which would provide enough to fund the purchase of a good to excellent quality rifle, especially since the OP seems to have some extra money to spend right now. Anyway, we don't really know what type of "collection" the OP actually wants so this is all just random opinions being thrown about right now. The subject of quality variation between different AR's has been beaten to death and then beaten some more on this forum and others, so I'll say no more about it on this thread. The OP needs to decide what kind of "collection" he really wants, (and more importantly, can afford).

bos19 said:

I guess a well-rounded battery is really what I should be aiming for,

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Again, this is all just opinion, but you asked for ours so.... What you should be aiming for, IMO, is a good quality rifle, a good quality pistol (you've got the pistol), and as much good training as you can afford, especially for the first few years that you own firearms. You should figure on spending $500-$2000 on training in the next 3 years.

bos19 said:

What is considered a good quality AR-15? Something like Daniel Defense, LWRC, etc?

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I'm partial to BCM myself, mainly because they have an excellent reputation and customer service and I like their politics. There are certainly other good quality rifles out there though. DD and LWRC are two of them. Guns are no different than any other machined product. Most of the time you get what you pay for. If an item is the least expensive in it's category, there's generally a very good reason for that.

If you ask "what's the best brand of AR?" on this or any other firearms forum, you'll invariably ignite an extensive debate that ultimately goes nowhere and very rarely convinces anyone of anything they didn't already think before. Much of the reason for that, IMO, is what I mentioned before and that is the fact that you'll get a bunch of people saying "I've had this $350-$500 brand X AR for five years and never had a problem! They're just as good!" The problem is, most of those people haven't put more than a couple thousand rounds at very most through those guns in that time and it's all been on a flat range in nice weather. Again, that's just my opinion, (and the opinion of every professional firearms user with real world experience that I've ever talked to or trained under, FWIW).

Back to the subject of the thread though, (and once again, more of just my opinion ), I think that it is every American's responsibility as a free person to own and train with a military pattern rifle (or as close as you can get) and the gear that goes along with it. I also think that every American should own, carry and train and practice with, to the best of their ability, a good quality handgun, like your Glock 19. I'm not a wealthy person, in fact, I'd generally be considered to be on the low end of the economic spectrum. Because of that, it doesn't make sense for me to be a "collector" just for collecting's sake. My firearms are tools, to be used for training, fighting and getting or protecting food. As a free, but economically "low class" American, I have what I consider to be the minimum, which means a good quality, semi automatic fighting rifle (and the mags and load bearing gear to go with it), a good quality center fire hunting rifle, a .22 rifle, a handgun and at this point, hundreds of hours of professional training to go with them. Over the years, I've managed to collect a few other things as well, but they're all tools with a purpose, I'm not just "collecting" them. If you're in an economic position that allows you to go beyond the minimum into hobby territory, then more power to you, by all means, have at it. Just don't skip the basics on the way there. Anyway, that was rather long and I'll clarify once more, this is just one freedom loving American's opinion.

I collect pre lock S&Ws. I used to collect pre safety Marlins but there are a few cool guns that have safeties so I have a few of those now. I also seem to buy random guns chambered in .22 magnum.

Those are my main collections.

I also enjoy Remington 7600 pump rifles, pump .22s, lever .22s, pump shot guns and double shotguns. I have one or two of each but don’t pursue them while out shopping.

My only rule is no bolt actions. It’s a good rule too because it makes a huge majority of rifles null and void.

I have an AR and may get another but that’s it. That makes another huge majority of rifles off my radar entirely.

I don’t buy guns for the sake of a collection though either. I will usually shoot whatever I buy within a week or two of buying it. Maybe I’ll shoot it again and maybe not. If not, I will sell it and move on to the next. Also, I have enough S&W .38s and .357s. I don’t need any more. I also cooling on K frames and have started liking N frames better.

It’s good to impose limitations.

bos19 said:

What is considered a good quality AR-15? Something like Daniel Defense, LWRC, etc?

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Depending on your budget there is no shortage of very good AR rifles out there to be had. Now if you have a retro type AR in mind Brownell's and a few others offer a retro revolution line of AR type rifles including the AR design many of us dragged around Vietnam. There is also the Colt SP1 rifles which last I looked on the used market are running in the $1,500 range give or take a few bucks. What you end up with is a retro type AR similar to the original GI issue of the Vietnam era. The Colt SP 1 rifle is pictured on the top.



Another popular rifle along the military lines would be any of the M1A type rifles out there which are a civilian version of the M14 Rifle. The Springfield M1A pictured below the AR 10 in the below image.


So again it becomes a matter of your personal taste in a rifle and your budget for a rifle or any other gun of your liking. All that matters is what you are comfortable with and certainly not myself or anyone else thinks is the best rifle as the word best can be pretty subjective. Both of the above rifles go back at least 25 years or more with me, the M1A was a gift from my wife and the AR 10 is an old Armalite AR 10(T) I built up for match shooting. My Colt SP1 rifles go back much further.

Anyway, the truth in my opinion is there are likely a half dozen companies out there making AR type rifles under own assorted brand names and many are as good as the next and even some of the best are frequently tweaked and peaked for improvement. You also can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear. Whatever gun you choose try to start with a good quality gun.I saw mention of some of the finer S&W revolvers of which I have several as well as a few Colt revolvers in the mix. Quality revolvers like the S&W Model 19 are plentiful and last I saw well priced and in keeping with Blue the S&W 586 is a nice revolver. When you start looking at guns like the S&W 27 or Pre 27 or the Model 28 they start getting a little more pricey. I also personally like the older Colt Series 70 MK IV guns as to the classic 1911 45 Auto and also have one in 38 Super. If you go with a 1911 theme gun there is a dozen manufacturers cranking them out Many are very good serviceable guns if you are into that type of gun, another S&W revolver I really enjoy is the S&W Model 17 22 LR revolver. Again, just a matter of what trips your trigger.

Ron

Colt Woodsman

bos19 said:

That being said, I don't feel like M1 Garands are really going anywhere soon.

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They might not be going anywhere but their prices are and the availability to buy from the CAMP

Since you already have a great modern pistol, I think you should pick up one of the greatest fighting pistols in the history of handguns…

As mentioned... you need a 1911.

Six million plus M1 Garands were produced between 1936 and 1957. Now figure in how many were lost assaulting beaches in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, France and all the islands in the Pacific. Now throw in Korea and Vietnam.
Garands are going away, just because the CMP got 86,000 from the Philippines last year does not mean all of them are serviceable.

I have been collecting guns since I was a preteen. It started with a Winchester Model 62, that my Grandfather have me when I was 10. Next was a High Standard 104 Citation my Daddy bought for me to shoot in school sponsored target matches. Over the years I have put together a very nice and large collection. I have everything from Smith and Wesson revolvers and older auto pistols to Colt Saa's and autos in 45acp, 38 super to Woodsman's. Long guns from M1 Garand to .22's. Thing is I always bought what I liked. I did try to collect one piticular thing. Collect what you like. There is history and beauty in all firearms. Just buy and collect what you like. If it pleased you, it will not matter what others think. People can tell you, all day long, what they like but if it doesn't appeal to you, what's the need. Build a diverse collection of what you like to shoot in the make, model and calabers you want and enjoy them.

Gary W. Strange said:

I have been collecting guns since I was a preteen. It started with a Winchester Model 62, that my Grandfather have me when I was 10. Next was a High Standard 104 Citation my Daddy bought for me to shoot in school sponsored target matches. Over the years I have put together a very nice and large collection. I have everything from Smith and Wesson revolvers and older auto pistols to Colt Saa's and autos in 45acp, 38 super to Woodsman's. Long guns from M1 Garand to .22's. Thing is I always bought what I liked. I did try to collect one piticular thing. Collect what you like. There is history and beauty in all firearms. Just buy and collect what you like. If it pleased you, it will not matter what others think. People can tell you, all day long, what they like but if it doesn't appeal to you, what's the need. Build a diverse collection of what you like to shoot in the make, model and calabers you want and enjoy them.

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Good advice!

What direction do you want your "collection: to go in? You have stated several different directions and preferences. As for having a well rounded collection, you are correct. You need a rimfire(could be .22 mag), a magnum revolver and a shotgun. But if you don't have desire to shoot those platforms, having a "well rounded" collection is moot. Buy what you like to shoot first, not what others tell you to.

No collection is complete with out a old single shot 22lr rifle.

Like the AR15 the Ruger 10/22 has many add ons and modification that allow a shooter to make the gun just right.