Firearm Wish List

These guns are currently being built or are on order:

1. Montana Rifleman .338 Federal (left-hand) [collection]

These are things I would like to add to my collection, in order of their priority: 6.8mm SPC AR-15 Upper Muzzleloading Rifle Savage Varmint Rifle in .204 Ruger Sendero in .300 Remington Ultra Magnum .500 Smith & Wesson Remington 870 Express Super Magnum Turkey Camo Kel-Tec SUB-2000 Calico M-100 Carbine Chiappa Rhino .357 Magnum Revolver Barrett M82A1

I am also thinking about guns in these categories: Open Top Revolver .338 Lapua Magnum .375 H&H Magnum Springfield Armory 1911 12 ga Rifled Slug Barrel Whisper AR-15 Upper Large Caliber Precision Whisper Rifle Semi-Auto Hunting Rifle .44 Magnum Carbine Hunting Handgun

Supressed, Subsonic Rifle

There are a series of "whisper" cartridges, which are all heavy bullets traveling at subsonic muzzle velocities. If ever I am going to spend money for a sound suppressor, these seem like the appropriate applications. Ideally, this would be a relatively heavy barrel. It should be threaded for a suppressor.

The .300 AAC Blackout has been rapidly gaining in popularity. It seems to be very similar to the .300 Whisper, but it is backed by a large conglomerate of manufacturers (the "Freedom Group", which includes Bushmaster, Remington, AAC, DPMS, and Magpul). It also is free of trademark licensing restrictions.

Savage has just announced a Model 10 Precision Carbine in .300 AAC BLK. It looks to be exactly what I would want. A short, heavy barrel, and I even like the pattern of the stock. Also, the barrel comes threaded for a suppressor. The rate of twist is not mentioned on their web site. The MSRP is $899, the SKU is 19626.

Decisions, decisions. Remington has introduced a similarly spec'd rifle in this caliber. A short, 16½" barrel, threaded, with a 1:7" twist. Their X-Mark Pro adjustable trigger. A Hogue overmold "Ghillie Green" stock. Not sure what the capacity is, but I'm not sure I care. The shorter barrel length is probably preferred for this caliber. I wonder what the price will be.

6.8mm SPC AR-15 Upper

Bushmaster lied.

I want to build out an AR-15 upper in 6.8mm SPC. Lightweight barrel, "optics ready". I'm not going to mess around with piston operation or a side charge handle. It will just be very basic.

At this point, I am leaning toward buying a complete upper, customized, from Wilson Combat. They make the barrel I like, they sell the BCG I like, they make a forearm I like, and they make the flash hider I like. The cost of all this is going to be upwards of $1200.

Ooo! Geissele Automatics has released a new forearm that I like.

• Recon 16" Fluted Barrel, SS (pay for black coating)
• Rifle-length T.R.I.M. Forearm
• LMT 6.8mm SPC NP3 coated BCG
• Accu-Tac 6.8 Flash Hider
• No sights or optics

• Samson made skeletonized forearm photographed by Oleg Volk
• Mega Monolithic Receiver

Open Top Revolver

I've been watching too many spaghetti westerns lately or something, and now I would really like an open-top revolver. The one I want is the Uberti 1872 Late Model in .45 Colt with a 7½" barrel. Uberti's item number is 341350.

Ugh. This turns out to be another item which is difficult to acquire. Able Ammo has a good price, but there is a 60-90 day lead time. I have been collecting components and dies for .45 Colt, but I do not yet have anything in which to shoot the cartridges. Denny Dennis had exactly this gun, but in .44 Special; if I hadn't already bought .45 Colt stuff, I might have bought it, even though it isn't the caliber I want.

Hunting Handgun

I'm thinking about getting a handgun, like a Thompson Encore, in a caliber capable of taking deer out to 300 yards despite the short barrel. It would be scoped, and my goal would be to become proficient with it out to that distance.

In what caliber? For three hundred yards, I want some decent velocity. From a shorter barrel, I can expect to get at least 85% of normal velocity of the cartridge. A larger caliber is going to get better acceleration in a shorter barrel, but I still want a good ballistic coefficient. I can have pretty much any caliber I want from Match Grade Machine. To comply with Illinois cartridge limitations for handguns, I am pretty much limited to straight-wall factory cartridges.

.405 Winchester — Of the straight walled cartridges, the .405 Winchester seems like the coolest. Unfortunately, the bullet selection is very small: two from Hornady, one from Barnes, and a few oddballs. The TSX looks awesome. Brass is available from Hornady. Hornady, RCBS, Redding, and Lyman all make dies, and there is a Lee Factory Crimp die available. There is one factory loading from Hornady. Is is an available chambering from Match Grade Machine.

.444 Marlin — This is the second option. The bullet selection is huge, and the availability of everything is fine. However, I just don't like it as much. The BC and SD are lower, even with bullets that are not designed for handguns.

An Encore stainless pistol frame assembly (without barrel) is available for a street price under $350. With all of the most expensive options, the barrel would cost $695, but a fairly reasonable selection would be $370. I would also need a handgun scope.

Wow. A Leupold 2.5-8x32mm handgun scope costs $550. The 4x28mm handgun scope costs $350. The Bushnell Trophy XLT 2-6x32mm pistol scope is only $170.

I should probably also get a barrel in a more common cartridge for range practice. Something I can reload cheaply and which has minimal recoil. It should be a factory offering from TC, so that the barrel doesn't cost much.

Springfield Armory 1911

This was on my list a long time ago, and somehow it was removed. I would like to get a 1911 style handgun, probably one made by Springfield Armory. I like the look of stainless steel with black grips.

The PX9152LP has a 5" barrel, adjustable rear target sight, 3-Dot tritium, match grade trigger, G10 composite grips, stainless steel frame and slide with matt black rounds. It obviously fires .45 ACP. MSRP is $1244.

500 Smith & Wesson Revolver

If I am going to hunt bear with my 450 Marlin, I need a backup weapon. The minimum I could use for this would be a 44 Magnum. There is also 454 Casull, 475 Linebaugh, and the new 460 Smith & Wesson. However, the ultimate is the 500 Smith & Wesson.

I would like to get a long barrel with a compensator. It will be very loud, but it should be relatively easy to handle. I also want a shoulder holster for it.

It looks like the 8-3/8" version is available with a fixed or a removable compensator.

.375 H&H Magnum

I'm still sort of thinking about getting a rifle in .375 H&H Magnum. I might not keep it forever. I like the CZ 550 Safari Magnum.

I won't bother getting a scope for this, mostly because I don't plan to do any real hunting or serious target shooting with it. Fortunately, these things tend to be made with iron sights on them.

Muzzleloader (Rifle)

I am thinking about getting a muzzleloader. I don't have any particular interest in shooting them, but they do offer an extended deer hunting season in Missouri. The accuracy and ergonomics of modern muzzleloaders are as good as a standard rifle. The range is limited, but still well within the normal hunting range in Missouri.

A guy at the Cabela's store recommended that I get a break-breech model. He was recommending a CVA unit. There was a CVA package that had a Konus scope mounted to it.

However, Randy Wakeman has written that the CVA brand is dangerous and known for a lot of kabooms. This appears to be related in part to the powder recommendations in the manufacturer's printed instructions. I think I will avoid that brand. He claims that Knight, NEF/H&R and Thompson/Center are all good (safe) choices.

There was a nice T/C model there. A bit more expensive, but it was nice. I may go that route.

Maybe I'll buy a Cabela's scope for this one.

Varmint Rifle in .204 Ruger

I want a long-range varmint rifle, especially if I am going to be moving out west. For a while, I thought I wanted to use .223 for this, and I even thought about .17 HMR. However, there is a new cartridge called .204 Ruger, and I like what I've read about it. Theoretically, it fires a 40 grain bullet at 3900 fps or a 32 grain bullet at 4250 fps! The bullets are slender and aerodynamic. Compared to either a 40 or 55 grain .223 Remington, the .204 has better energy and a much flatter trajectory, both at short and long ranges.

The cartridge has low recoil. In fact, the recoil is so low that people testing and reviewing rifles chambered for this cartridge consistantly report being able to watch the impact through the scope.

Factory ammunition is a little expensive still, but that is changing now that there is more competition in the market. It is a reloadable centerfire, and Hodgdon has reloading data for it. It appears that the same H4895 powder that works so well for .223 Remington is also good for .204 Ruger. Maybe VARGET will work well, too. I think Lee is making dies for it now, too.

Grr. Savage keeps changing around the Model 12. There is no longer a LRPV DBM model. The LRPV models are single-shot, with a left-hand or dual port receiver, but they have a nice synthetic stock. The VLP DBM model is a brown laminate stock, but has a magazine.

The LRPV weighs twelve pounds due to the 1" diameter extra heavy barrel. It has a synthetic stock with a molded alloy bedding system. Stainless steel.

Gallery of Guns doesn't show the repeating version. On the single-shot version, they show it as having a 30" barrel! Can that be true? Street price for that is under $1100. Savage shows the 12 LRPV DBM to have a 26" barrel and a detachable box magazine.

I am thinking I will get a Leupold VX-3 8.5-25x50mm Long Range Target with a Varmint reticle. Street price on that is $1050. I might think about going with the 6.5-20 version instead.

Given that I will probably end up using this in the eastern plains of Colorado, it would be kind of cool to put a desert tan finish on this, the scope, and the bipod. Maybe some camouflage grass pattern, as well.

Sendero in .300 Remington Ultra Magnum

I have lightweight rifles for hunting deer at short ranges: up to 300 or 400 yards. I have a luggable precision rifle which is theoretically suitable for long ranges: 1200+ yards. I would like to have a medium-weight rifle capable of taking deer and elk at medium ranges: up to 600 yards. The solution seems to be a heavy .30 caliber bullet with a high ballistic coefficient fired at fairly respectable velocities out of a gun with at least ½ MOA accuracy. In my opinion, the ideal total weight of rifle and scope for this rifle is 10 lbs.

The bullet for the job appears to be the 200 grain Sierra GameKing. I have been very happy with the accuracy of the .358" SGK. If fired with a muzzle velocity of 3000 fps, it will retain 2000 ft-lbs of energy at 550 yards and 1500 ft-lbs of energy at 750 yards, and it will reach the target with fairly low wind deflection. The cartridge for achieving that velocity is the .300 Remington Ultra Magnum.

The Remington Model 700 Sendero SF II meets my weight requirements. It weighs 8½ lbs. without optics, has a fluted 26" heavy-contour barrel, and is stainless steel with 3rd party synthetic stocks with full-length aluminum bedding blocks. The Sendero is polished stainless steel with a black H-S Precision stock. The rifle comes with no accuracy guarantee, however it is intended to be quite accurate for a factory rifle. I have had many people report that the Sendero reaches ½ MOA accuracy out of the box.

I want to mount the Leupold VX-3L 4.5-14x56mm Long Range scope on this rifle. This is the one with the lovely crescent cut out at the bottom, allowing it to mount lower. It weighs 23 ounces and has a street price of $900.

Bullet	BC	MV	1500 ft-lbs	2000 ft-lbs
Sierra 200gr GameKing	0.560	3000	750 yds	550 yds
Nosler 200gr Partition	0.481	3000	650 yds	450 yds
Barnes 200gr T-TSX	0.546	2940	700 yds	500 yds
Barnes 200gr LRX	0.546	2940	700 yds	500 yds
Barnes 200gr TSX	0.550	2940	700 yds	500 yds

So after my good experience with the rebarrel job on my Browning A-Bolt, I am tempted to have this rifle built as a custom job by the same gunsmith. I think I would like to have it chambered for the 200 grain Sierra GameKing. Krieger makes stainless steel barrels. Are they cryo-treated? Is there a performance or weight penalty? Or maybe I should get a Sendero and see how accurate it is, and if I'm not happy, I can send it to the gunsmith.

Kel-Tec SUB-2000

The Kel-Tec SUB-2000 is a cute little novelty: a folding carbine that fires 9mm or 40 S&W pistol cartridges. It folds down to 16" x 7". I keep thinking of situations in which it would be nice to have a stocked rifle that requires very little storage space.

Not being one to settle for what's available, I would really like to have one of these in 357 SIG. This caliber would make it a true survival gun, able to take deer-sized game in a pinch. I doubt I can convince Kel-Tec to do a custom job for me, so I will have to buy the 40 S&W version and have it rebarreled in 357 SIG. I wonder if I could buy a replacement 9mm barrel from them and re-chamber it. Hmm, more research is needed, but there are rumors that a few 357 SIG versions are already floating around.

Calico M-100 Carbine

Another cute little novelty is the Calico M-100 Carbine. This is a .22 with a 100 round helical magazine. They make several products utilizing this magazine technology.

Chiappa Rhino .357 Magnum Revolver

This is another gun in the neat-to-have category. The Chiappa Rhino fires from the bottom cylinder position, which drastically reduces muzzle climb and improves handling. It is to be available in 2", 4", 5", and 6" models.

The thing is ugly and beautiful at the same time. The action has been described as "glass smooth". Distributed in the US by MKS Supply (don't they sell the Hi-Point?), the 2" model has an MSRP of $775 and the 4" barrel has an MSRP of $899). I have not decided if I want the 4", 5", or 6" model, but I am fairly certain I want it in stainless.

I have been seeing the 2" blued model everywhere, and the longer blued models are also available. I think the stainless model is still only available with the 2" barrel.

338 Lapua Magnum

For a long time, I have wanted a rifle in 338 Lapua Magnum.

The obvious answer is a Lou Andrews custom rifle. He has been building these lately on a Lawton action. My plan, in this case, would be to get a switch-barrel setup, capable of firing 338 Lapua, 30 Wolf, and 510 Whisper.

A factory option to consider is the Sako TRG-42. As a factory rifle goes, it is expensive, but it is certainly less expensive than the custom rifle I have. It is available with a stainless barrel or a chrom-moly barrel. Street price appears to be around $2800.

Accuracy International: Arctic Warfare Super Magnum. "Due to precise lug-to-receiver-face dimensions, shooters can swap barrels at will using the factory-supplied kit." Does this mean I could have 30 Wolf and 510 Whisper barrels made and swap them easily?

Update: Accuracy International has released a new rifle, the AX338. "The action is longer and wider to accommodate a ten round double stack magazine. The bolt head is larger, and stronger, than the AX Magnum bolt head. The stock is more ergonomic and, in my opinion, nicer looking than the older stock." It's a handsome rifle. I may have to consider it versus a custom build from Lou.

I will definitely have to try some Naturalis Long Range bullets.

Barrett M82A1

One of these days, I'm going to get one of these. It is rather expensive, but my collection won't be complete without one. It fires the 50BMG cartridge, but it claims to have recoil similar to a 12 gauge shotgun. It is semi-automatic with a 10 round magazine. Maybe after the war, they will be easier to get, and I will have the money for it. I will need a taller gun safe if I get one of these. The standard model has a 57 inch overall length, but there is a model that is 60 inches long.

Montana Rifleman 338 Federal (left-hand)

I have received a barreled action from Montana Rifleman. It is a left-hand bolt action chambered in the new 338 Federal cartridge. I will keep it for my dad to use when we go hunting together in the U.P. It should be sufficient to take deer, elk, black bear, and even moose. Recoil should be reasonable.

The barrel and action is chrome moly, blued with a polished finish. The action is a left-hand short action with a .473" bolt face. It has a magazine length of 3.125", and it comes drilled and tapped for a scope (I was told to look for a "Winchester magnum two piece" mount, and that it has an 860 spacing. The barrel is a #3 regular sporter, 22" long with a 1 in 10" rate of twist. It will have a recessed crown.

Reloading data is getting easier to come by. Hodgdon has lots of data online, including data for the 160 grain Barnes X-bullet. Barnes has 338 Federal data in their newest reloading manual (but not for the 160 grain bullet). Speer has published some on their web site.

Status: The stock is shaped, fitted, sanded and stained. It needs to receive the final finish, and then I need to do the glass bedding job.

Turkey Shotgun

For turkey, I want something that can take 3½" shells. It should be well camouflaged. Remington has several options that look good and don't cost a lot. The Remington 870 Express Super Magnum Turkey Camo looks like their best option. It is a pump-action that can handle any size shell, and it comes with a Turkey Extra Full choke. The magazine holds four 2¾" or 3" shells, or three 3½" shells.

Rifled Slug Barrel

The time may come when I want to hunt in some state where the best option is a shotgun with slugs (also, part of Wildwood falls into this category). In such a case, I will want a rifled slug barrel. Getting one for my Benelli M2 seems like the obvious solution, but it is excessively expensive. The part number (matte black) appears to be 80114, and the street price seems to be in excess of $500.

Perhaps a more reasonable option would be to get one for the Remington 870 which I intend to buy eventually. However, I may have trouble finding one that fits a Super Magnum (3½") receiver. On the other hand, it may be that a receiver isn't made to fit 3½" shells, but that only the barrel is. Also, rifled slug barrels appear to be available with cantilever scope mounts. Street price appears to be $300 or $250. Cabela's has the cantilever barrel sold as a package with a pre-mounted scope for $260.

Large Caliber Precision Whisper Rifle

The whisper cartridges make up for lack of velocity by using heavy bullets. The ultimate, of course, is the .510 Whisper. I would like to have a precision rifle built for this caliber.

If I have Lou Andrews build a precision .338 Lapua rifle for me, I will probably do a switch barrel configuration with a .510 Whisper barrel. There may be some challenge in finding a supressor in this caliber, however.

Semi-Auto Hunting Rifle

Hunting at Mom's place made be think it would be good to have a semi-automatic hunting rifle. The application would be deer and possibly feral hog. Of course, I could use the PTR-91 in a pinch, assuming I can find a ten round magazine. However, I prefer a more traditional style of rifle for hunting.

I suppose the choice is down to the Remington 750 or the Browning BAR. The Winchester SXR is out of production and essentially the same as the BAR. The Benelli R1 is too expensive, too unknown, and nothing special.

Among the Browning BAR models, I think the ShortTrac Stalker would be the most suitable. I think I would get it chambered in 7mm-08, although .25-06 would be a possibility (in the LongTrac). The .325 WSM might also be interesting. The ShortTrac Stalker in this caliber has an MSRP of $1160 and a street price around $1000.

I like the look of the stock that Remington puts on their nicer, high production firearms. I'm not sure I like the lines of the 750 or not. I might go with .270 Winchester on this one. Of course, if I got it in .35 Whelen and got a ten round magazine for it, it would be a heck of a pig killer. MSRP: $915, Street Price: $745.

.44 Magnum Carbine

I was thinking I would like to have a hog gun. Ideally, this would be a rifle in .44 Magnum, and it would be semi-automatic. No one really makes such a thing.

But Ruger used to.

All I had to do was look on GunBroker. I had searched Davidson's Gun Genie, and manufacturer web pages, and nothing came up. I thought it would be a good thing to design, but I never found anything I could buy in the near term. I eventually gave up on the idea. But then I just happened to search on "44" in the semi-automatic rifle category on GunBroker. Apparently, Ruger used to make a semi-automatic carbine in .44 Magnum.

There may have been a couple different designs for this. An original side-eject and a newer top-eject. Most of these have barrel bands, but I have seen at least one without a barrel band. Some of these are tube fed, with a 4+1 capacity. There was apparently a version with a rotary magazine, also with a 4+1 capacity.

It would be awesome if I could make the Beartooth 300gr WFN GC bullet work in this rifle. It has a .340" meplat. "... delivers outstanding accuracy due to long bearing surfaces and Hammer-of-Thor terminal performance."

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