Looking at Para's thread on Clyde Barrow's "Whippet" shotgun:

https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...0601935/m/4930026125

YES! Indeed a "Famous" firearm! Used by, at the time in history, one of the more prolific criminals out there. And looking at some of the comments; "If I had a million dollars", The pictures of the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame. A few years ago, some of Al Capone's handguns went up for auction as well.
In my past, I've been to a few Military Museums, Buffalo Bill Museum in Wyoming, and seen some amazing "One of" firearms.
So here's the question I pose to yous/y'all/you (depending on which part of the country you're in):

Take money out of the equation, what would be your FAMOUS FIREARM(s)?

Historically related- Even if it's your grandmothers .25cal pocket auto. Teddy Roosevelt's "Big Medicine" lever action, Gen G.S. Patton's Ivory handled single action, Hitler's gold engraved Walther PP, John Hinckley's cheap ass Rohm RG-22, Clint Eastwood's / Dirty Harry's actual S&W Mod-29, Jessie James, Napoleon, Washington, Kalashnikov's #1…

So what is it? What would be the gun(s) you would obtain?

And toss a little "why" in there too. Why would your Grandmothers .25 pocket pistol be at the top of your list to get? We know it's Dear Old Granny, but WHY is her pistol special?


I actually know approximately where 2 of mine are:
Chicago Typewriters with a "Chicago Police" stamp on them
The "Why": 31 years as a Chicago Cop dealing with a lot of Gang stuff, that history hanging on the wall would be phenomenal!

Now that you mention it, Dirty Harry’s mod 29 would be an excellent addition to anyone’s collection.

Big fan of the early Henry rifles here. The Lincoln Presentation, Ser.#6 would be it.
They were instrumental in changing the way Indian battles were fought, the Fetterman fight with the two civilians (they were eventually over run) showed the firepower.
I can not imagine how someone would feel back then to get a rifle like that, seeing a lever action for the first time.

https://www.si.edu/object/henr...-rifle%3Anmah_881516

Even before the movie Quigly Down Under I was enamored by long range single shot rifles. Billy Dixon was an early hero for me. To have his Sharp's buffalo rifle from Adobe Walls would be the ultimate gun for me.

Any Secret Service issued Sig P229, so long as it could be identified by department stamp or serial number. Preferably an early non-railed model.

I think SS (as well as FBI) destroy their retired firearms, so I doubt any exist in the wild.

As to "Why", I first became aware of modern Sigs watching "In The Line of Fire" with Clint Eastwood playing the fictional role of the last SS Agent from the JFK assassination still on active duty, and he carried it as the then-current issue SS pistol.

Speaking of Eastwood, when the first Dirty Harry movie was made, no M-29's were available, so the famous "Did I shoot 6 rounds or 5" line was filmed using a .41 Magnum.

The rifle (or musket) that fired the first shot from the militia at Lexington Green on April 19, 1775.

Maybe the pistol that Gavrilo Princip used to shoot Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914.

One of the big cannons used to take down the walls of Constantinople in 1453, that'd be cool.

Maybe Michael Wittman's Tiger I, and any garden variety Tiger II, if vehicular weapons are included.

Maybe not exactly famous outside of my family but I have my ultimate firearm. I have a front page newspaper article written about my Great, great grandfather from when he was a Texas county sheriff and captured a murder suspect. I have his 1903 Colt .45 Peacemaker, it is by far my most prized possession.

Well maybe there's still one ultimate firearm out there. My uncle sent off to Colt in the 1970s asking about the history and they sent back that the pistol was shipped to New Orleans in 1903 as a matching consecutive serial number 2 gun rig. I have the one with the pearl handled Longhorn engraved on the right grip. Somewhere out there is a consecutive numbered pistol with the Longhorn on the left grip. Some 4th cousin that I have never met, might have it, but if I ever were to come across it I would pay handsomely for it.

From a historic perspective, I'd pick the Twin Sisters cannons. I wouldn't want to personally own them, but rather see them found and one go back to Cincinatti and one in the state museum in Austin.

quote:

Speaking of Eastwood, when the first Dirty Harry movie was made, no M-29's were available, so the famous "Did I shoot 6 rounds or 5" line was filmed using a .41 Magnum.

Here is an article describing the way the 44 magnum were obtained

https://www.americanrifleman.o...ica-s-shooting-star/


This is definitely the one collectible I would acquire.

Jack O'Connor's Model 70 would be pretty neat.

Custer battlefield Colt SAA.
St. Valentines Day Massacre Thompson.

quote:

Originally posted by 4MUL8R:

Here is an article describing the way the 44 magnum were obtained

https://www.americanrifleman.o...ica-s-shooting-star/


This is definitely the one collectible I would acquire.

Thanks for de-bunking one of my favorite Hollywood stories!

In 1972 I stopped in a gunshop in Ann Arbor, MI and they had one for sale with a price tag of about $400. I passed, never did get a M-29.

An original USMC 1903/Unertel sniper rifle.

Frank Hamer
Colt Single Action Army .45 with a 4-3/4-inch barrel and Type C (almost full coverage) engraving, which he nicknamed “Old Lucky.”

Bill Jordan
Smith & Wesson Combat Magnum, which later became known as the Model 19, he used during his time/career with the Border Patrol.

Colonel Mosby
.44 caliber Colt Model 1860 Army percussion revolver. If it could be found and
authenticated.

The pistols and Rifles carried by Bass Reeves
From my research/readings, he carried two Colt Single Action Army revolvers, often in .44-40 or .38-40 caliber to match his Winchester rifles.


I wouldn't say these are world famous as the ones the other members have mentioned but to me personally they are/were.

The Girandoni air rifle that Lewis and Clark used on their famed expedition of discovery. IIRC it now resides in the NRA museum in Fairfax, VA.

Not really iconic or even famous, but as I’ve told friends, if I were 30 years younger, very rich, and living in a free state, I would collect military sniper rifles from WWI forward. I would have also made the effort to acquire the specific ammunition used in the weapons. It would have been interesting to determine with live fire under properly controlled conditions how accurate each one really was.

Russian PSM with 5 extra mags and a thousand rounds of 5.45x18mm. Because I read about it in Shotgun News and thought it was cool.

The Smith .44 Special used by Jelly Bryce.