Share what C&R means to you

[NOTABIKER]

to me it is having 30 minutes free to go in the garage and open the gun safe and smell what it smelled like in a WW 2. taking my 1903A3 out for the 30th time and opening my can of BLO which i also like the smell of and rubbing another coat of it in that wonderful walnut wood .
Or taking another rifle out and running another patch down the bore just to be sure it is clean and oiled. hoppys # 9 has a smell that takes me back to my childhood. cleaning my Remington 22 scoped rifle. and being trusted to shoot it at 10 years old on my aunts land in Fresno. i never get tired of taking them out and giving them loving care.

[Milsurps]

Simple for me, History.

[Capybara]

Engineering genius, design, craftsmanship, history, provenance, manufacturing excellence. Also the fact that many of my guns literally shaped world history, it is the closest I can get to time travel. Plastic guns are fun and have their place but if I could only have one gun, it would be my M1 Garand because I feel without it, we could have easily been living in a vastly different world.

[JohnnyMtn]

We cannot go back in time and experience that world. While we can watch shows like Band of Brothers, Private Ryan, etc., as good as those programs are I don't think we still can even fathom what it might have been like to be involved day after day after day in something of that magnitude. We can, however, touch relics from those ages in an attempt to better understand what those experiences might have been like. To touch History if you will.

For me, shooting an M1 is a fun and rewarding experience. But carrying one around or slung over the shoulder for 10-20 minutes, let alone a whole day, gives me some idea as to how hard it must have been to carry a rifle such as that day in and day out but also gives a hint of the bond that the man must have had with his rifle.

[MasterChief]

"...the closest I can get to time travel..."

Ditto and well said.

[SVT-40]

Art made from wood and metal....

[DennisCA]

History - Guns that were made to stand the test of time

[bigbossman]

What does C&R mean to me?

It means my wallet is empty, my garage is full, my wife is angry, and I eat a lot of Ramen.

[quadmx301]

^^^^ Yep...

[nastyhabts26]

It means holding a piece of history in my hands.
I can only imagine where this weapon has traveled and what it had been through, did it see combat, did it take down a Deer to feed a family?

[pschorrXD]

It means a lot more to me right now than it did 5 minutes ago.

[morrcarr67]

Originally Posted by Capybara

Engineering genius, design, craftsmanship, history, provenance, manufacturing excellence. Also the fact that many of my guns literally shaped world history, it is the closest I can get to time travel. Plastic guns are fun and have their place but if I could only have one gun, it would be my M1 Garand because I feel without it, we could have easily been living in a vastly different world.

Pretty much covered it right there.

/thread

[NOTABIKER]

i will take a # 4 and clip my own THIN hair.. i will save all the money i can to buy my next C&R . nothing else matters to me hobby wise. not interested in black rifles, pistols,shotguns. just C&R.I get excited about taking my guns to the range like a kid going to Disneyland. just puttering around with them in the garage is Therapy for me.

[kygen]

it means Big Sister doesn't know about it

[knucklehead0202]

all very good points. most of my rifles are not on paper anywhere, except maybe in some bombed-out factory in Europe/asia/wherever. can't help but appreciate what they've seen. the craftsmanship, design, and quality of manufacture that is scarcely available today, even with modern technology and metallurgy. i'd take a last-ditch arisaka over a new Remington 700, because I know which one is less likely to blow up in my face. the fact that some 100+/- year old rifles shoot as well or better than their modern contemporaries. best thing i'd have to agree though, is the smell. they just smell like they've been there and done more than i'll ever do, and i'm totally OK with that. after the initial smell when opening the safe, give them a little bow of respect, then handle them, they deserve it.

[Canucky]

C&R........ Can't Resist

[Gutter]

It means I'm ready to fight some Nazis

[spb_la]

I never got to meet my grandfathers. Even worse - my parents never got to talk to their dads. Both my grandfathers went to war when their kids were infants, and died fighting Nazis, one in 1941, another in 1944. I feel very much connected to that war, and am drawn to historical pieces from that era. Feels weird to know that my grandfathers died in their twenties, half my current age. Knowing that the old Mosin or 1895 Nagant revolver, or TT-33, or SVT-40 is possibly the same type of gun that they held when they died is important to me. And I want my kids to have a better understanding of what war means and what their great-grandfathers did - not through video games, but through actual artifacts of that war.

That, and I really like my SKSs

[G-Man WC]

C&R whore. Collecting, history, and reloading the old
warhorse's.
-g

[NapalmCheese]

To me it's about finding guns that were built in a time when craftsmanship was paramount.

Sure, wartime milsurps weren't the best guns built, but the peacetime guns, or the civilian guns of the era really paid attention to how they were built. SxS shotguns were just rugged enough to deal with being shot while being slim and well balanced. Rifles that were meant to be handled on a daily basis still made some attempt at being pretty. There was more pride in general gunsmithing back then.

Of course, back then people didn't flinch at paying months worth of paychecks to own a single gun, and some of them simply couldn't afford another.

There's also a sense of knowing your history and understanding what our forefathers went through to put food or the table or ensure our freedom.

[Foresight88]

Originally Posted by bigbossman

What does C&R mean to me?

It means my wallet is empty, my garage is full, my wife is angry, and I eat a lot of Ramen.

Lol so fn funny

My K-98 and my M1 Garand are still some of my favorites.. I like to shoot big boooolits Not to mention they're historical pieces of art that changed the world

[Capybara]

Originally Posted by NOTABIKER

...not interested in black rifles, pistols,shotguns. just C&R.

What about C&R pistols and shotguns?

[TS77]

Quality guns bought pennies on dollar per value, history, been-there-done-that, shift in strategy and tactics

[gunboat]

Well to me C&R means win hi-wall, marlin 1894, Rem 722, stevens 416, stevens favorite, rem 141, etc --
Krags, springfields, 89 krags, 89 swiss and such are all milsurps to me and for the most part a different aura.
To me, living in a tin pot, having the runs with three sheets of tp in your rations and some bugger shooting at you is not particularly nostalgic.

[Garandimal]

...and that's a man-sized Vote, all the way out to 500 yards.




GR

[CharlesV]

Originally Posted by bigbossman

What does C&R mean to me?

It means my wallet is empty, my garage is full, my wife is angry, and I eat a lot of Ramen.

NO JOKE. I DIDNT SAY THAT IN JEST EITHER.

[CharlesV]

Someone we all know on youtube said that it was practically unamerican not to own a levergun. That notion is like the first level of a pit that C&R digs further into.

1) high quality machinery at low prices
2) tangible ways to remind us where we came from, C&R sets a foundation
3) a firmer reminder of the horror of war and human disagreement

Im not trying to be profound or cute. C&R weapons were born to kill in harsh and effective ways. We needed them to get where we are, an ugly place as that may be to some of us. They look nice, gleaming and interesting but they are nasty killers and they never made excuses for that. Is that what we are, just killers with no sense of alternative conflict resolution? Blow a fellows head clean off his shoulders and call it a happy day and happy life? Yes, if a person is pushed that far a C&R weapon can easily spring out of its hiding and do dirty work again and Im there, too. Do I WANT that? Of course not. But C&R is that bridge or link between what is truly a peaceful life and what may be the horrible way, maybe the only way to really settle a national score. A cartridge like a 7.62X54R sits there straight up on the table, swaying in the breeze, at times leaning towards the gun and at times leaning towards the trash can. What will decide its final fate? That fate can be nothing at all or something tragic and its all contained in a small package. Its as much of a bleak reminder where we can go as where we must never go. By this description youd think we are talking about a nuclear bomb. To the person who got that load through his head he wont know the difference. I hope to never put any situation to that test but if I do, C&R shows how it done.

There is more but it makes me sick to say more. C&R is that good.

[NOTABIKER]

i do have a C&R problem, within a few days after buying something another deal comes along. right now i am trying so hard to get the funds to get my M1 carbine. it took me a month to save up 400 bucks. i need 800 more because i am getting all his M1 carbine gear and 400 rounds. at least i do not buy on credit YET .

[6mmintl]

No, another mindless search for meaningless communication.

[kygen]

Originally Posted by 6mmintl

No, another mindless search for meaningless communication.

someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed

[Dutch3]

Originally Posted by NapalmCheese

To me it's about finding guns that were built in a time when craftsmanship was paramount.

Sure, wartime milsurps weren't the best guns built, but the peacetime guns, or the civilian guns of the era really paid attention to how they were built. SxS shotguns were just rugged enough to deal with being shot while being slim and well balanced. Rifles that were meant to be handled on a daily basis still made some attempt at being pretty. There was more pride in general gunsmithing back then.

Of course, back then people didn't flinch at paying months worth of paychecks to own a single gun, and some of them simply couldn't afford another.

There's also a sense of knowing your history and understanding what our forefathers went through to put food or the table or ensure our freedom.

This.

To me, 'C&R' means a remembrance of when we were a nation. Wartime rationing, "Rosie the riveter" working 3 shifts, supply ships being built from the keel up and launched within days. Pulling together for a national cause instead of whining "Its all about me".



And the surplus stores of the 60s and 70s. Tarps, not China plastic, but US canvas. GP tents, cots and ammo boxes. Camo netting by the acre. Boots, socks, pants and jackets. All US surplus and cheap, returned to the citizenry that bought it, at cost. The essence of cosmoline in those stores was a free bonus.

[SFBA]

LOL. I could have said it any better.

In addition, save the $35 DROs (until 2014) have firearms under the radar and actually own something that will appreciate. I am not big on history, but more bang for the buck fire power. Would I pick and FN49 over the Garand...sorry, but yes. My other fav semi is the SKS!

Originally Posted by bigbossman

What does C&R mean to me?

It means my wallet is empty, my garage is full, my wife is angry, and I eat a lot of Ramen.

[NOTABIKER]

Originally Posted by Dutch3

This.

To me, 'C&R' means a remembrance of when we were a nation. Wartime rationing, "Rosie the riveter" working 3 shifts, supply ships being built from the keel up and launched within days. Pulling together for a national cause instead of whining "Its all about me".



And the surplus stores of the 60s and 70s. Tarps, not China plastic, but US canvas. GP tents, cots and ammo boxes. Camo netting by the acre. Boots, socks, pants and jackets. All US surplus and cheap, returned to the citizenry that bought it, at cost. The essence of cosmoline in those stores was a free bonus.

that mushy smell of a 1950s ARMY surplus store. i will never forget the smell but i was to young to take in all the cool stuff they had. how about the flash light that was operated buy you pumping your fist. and real metal canteens.

[rdfact]

I have always had an interest in military history, especially WWII. My wife and kids likely think my interest revolves around weapons and destruction. That could not be further from the truth. I am drawn to WWII because of the incredible sacrifices these young men gave for their country and to make the world a better place. War is hell and I can’t fathom what these young soldiers endured on the battlefield. Films like Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers provide a glimpse into what WWII was like but cannot possibly tell the whole story. I feel compelled to own pieces of that era. If I was filthy rich I would gravitate to my first love – aviation of WWII. But since owning a P51 Mustang is not in the cards, I will be content to hold and fire the tools of the infantryman.

[Capybara]

Good post rd, I agree wholeheartedly. Every time I shoot one of C&Rs, it really takes me back to what the soldiers whose lives depended on them must have felt. I don't see how anyone can shoot a nice C&R and not feel something about that.

[Army GI]

I just had to have the guns that were in this game:

[Vasili Arkhipov]

For those who have not yet read it, post #4 here (written by a man named Dennis):
http://thefiringline.com/forums/show...threadid=31817
... sums up perfectly my emotions as I hold my United States Rifle, Caliber .30, M1.

Trust me, its worth a read.

[fal_762x51]

Divorce.


Physical history of era, person, and place.

[timmyboy450]

Rehashing an era long gone and another way to express my 2nd amendment rights.

[OniKoroshi]

Showing off to EBR folks that your K31 can shoot similar MOA on surplus ammo.