Preface: Okay, so this might be a little long on words and short on pictures, but posting pictures of firearms (especially "relatively unique" or ClassIII ones) on the internet is not something I am comfortable with.
One of my many jobs over the last decade, and actually the longest-held job (excepting my current one), was as a salesperson at a local independently-owned fairly small Military and Police Firearms, Weapons, and Tactical Gear/Supplies store. By small, I mean that it was the two owners, myself, and one other salesperson in a store that had walk-in hours from 9AM to 7PM Monday thru Saturday, and 10A-5P on Sunday. Where we stood out from the rest of the "gun stores", and how we were able to compete with places like Wal-Mart, ****'s Sporting Goods, etc., was that we were a Class 3 dealer (FFL), and thus supplied a number of police, DEA, etc (as well as individuals with C3 permits) in a very wide radius. If I am anymore descriptive, however, I am afraid that I will lose my anonymity and it is something that I wish to keep.
That said, over the years, I collected firearms that came through the store that where either unique, unusual, rare, new, "bad*ss", and that I just plain liked (as well as any combination of the aforementioned traits). I started out with handguns, shotguns, bolt-action rifles, etc; then moved on to "assault weapons" when I was able to buy them without paying the C3 tax on every purchase, with the same going for accessories such as sound suppressors, incendiary ammunition, etc. Dealer cost was so low compared to sale price on many of these that I got some really, really cool stuff for a great price, and more importantly I was fortunate to have the chance (over and over) to handle a literal armory's worth of different firearms, becoming familiar enough with many to fix/repair them, and familiar with all of them to at least be able to pick it up and use it should my life depend on doing so.
I also was involved in Practical Pistol, Practical Rifle, and Long-Distance Rifle Shooting "competitions", with the quotation marks there because I never pursued any of them beyond the "amateur" level (although, without sounding like I'm bragging, I am a much better-than-amateur shot). I had the good fortune of being taught how to shoot by a former Marine Force Recon Scout-Sniper and then-current Army Ranger Sniper Instructor, who became a good friend but who was one h*ll of a hard*ss when it came to teaching me how to shoot, lol. He and I have not talked in a year or so, and the last time I saw him, he had gotten back from a two-year deployment in Afghanistan with an "unnamed Special Forces unit" that had been combing the mountains for Bin Laden and every other "Most Wanted".
Anyway, enough background...
The following is a very-incomplete list of firearms that I have owned (some for years, some for months; I have since sold off most of my collection to pay for Grad-school and car stuff) since I started buying/selling weapons:
*I typically sold weapons in factory-condition, so many of the same accessories, I only had 1-3 of, and would rotate; I did not have all of the below at the same time*
Handguns:
- Sig Sauer P226E2 "Tactical" (threaded barrel) in .357SIG with SureFire X300 weaponlight and Gemtech Custom Suppressor (favorite)
- H&K USP.45 Tactical with Knight's Armaments Suppressor
- Ruger MkII AWC TM-Amp"S" (.22LR, integral suppressor, "SEAL" variant)
- Kimber Custom TLE II .45 with Synthetic Grips and Threaded Barrel
- Strayer-Voight Infinity Custom 4.7" (double-stack 1911)
- Taurus Raging Bull 6" in .454 Casull with Hogue Grips and pistol-scope rail (really wanted the .500S&W Magnum model, but was really rare)
- Colt Anaconda 6" in .44Magnum
- Colt Python 6" in .357 Magnum (never fired, Special Edition model)
- 6 or 7 different Glocks (never found one I really liked except the 19 and 18c)
- about two dozen others...
Shotguns:
- Remington 870 "Police Super Magnum" 12ga (3" to 3 1/2" shells) with 20" Barrel and full-length shell tube, pistol-grip stock, Optic's Weaver rail, "Ghost Ring" sights, synthetic furniture and a SureFire integrated weaponlight
- Mossberg 590A1 18.5"-barrel 12ga (WITH Heat Shield!), 6+1 tube, Pistol Grip with Collapsible Stock (Magpul CTR), Weaver rail on receiver, Trijicon Reflex Sight, SureFire Dedicated Forearm Weaponlight (200lumen), receiver-mounted shell holder (used as home-defense weapon)
- Benelli M3 Super 90 "Tactical" 20"-barrel 12ga with Ghost Ring Sights, Pistol-Grip "SpeedFeed" Stock, and SureFire Dedicated Forearm Weaponlight (200lumen LED), 6+1 tube
- Benelli M1014 (Militarized M4S90) 12ga 18.5" Barrel (full 7+1 tube), Collapsible Stock and Pistol Grip, Receiver-Mounted Weaver Rail with EOTech XPS2, mil-spec SureFire Dedicated Weaponlight, etc
Sub-Machine Guns:
- H&K MP5A4 9mm (Safe/Semi/Full) with PDW-style folding stock, Knight's Armament Rail System and Weaver Rail sight mount, GG&G Foregrip, SureFire G2 Tactical Light, Dual Magazine Clamp, AimPoint M68 Red Dot Sight, MagPul Side Rail Covers, Gemtech 9mm Suppressor
- Intratec MP-9 9x19mm (Safe/Semi/Full) - very fast rate-of-fire, 32rd mags
- FN P90TR 5.7mm (Semi/Full) with EOTech Holo Sight, Gemtech Suppressor, 50rd magazines, and integrated laser sight (lens integrated in front of front grip; pressure activated by "off" hand)
*I always wanted an MP5SD5, but they were MUCH harder to get than the "regular" ones, so I got a regular one and put a suppressor on it... not as quiet, but with subsonic rounds, it was still darn quiet...
"Assault" Rifles:
- About 8 different gas-impingement M4's (mostly Rock River, etc; but 1 real untouched Military Colt)
- Rock River Arms "M4" "Tactical" (Safe/Semi/Full) in 6.8SPC with 14.5" barrel, Rail System, GG&G Foregrip, Surefire G2 Weaponlight, EOTech 553, (can't remember what brand) Back-Up Iron Sights, "Bird Cage" Flash Hider, Magpul CTR Stock, etc
- H&K HK416 with both the 10.4"(D10RS) and 14.5"(D14.5RS) uppers (5.56, Safe/Semi/Full) and HK Rail Systems, EOTech MPO-III (EXPS3 + G23 3x flip-to-side Magnifier), SureFire M900V Weaponlight and Vertical Foregrip, Knight's Armaments Sound Suppressor, Magpul CTR Stock and 30rd EMAGs (w Magpul Ranger Plates), GG&G Rail Covers, etc
*The HK416 was my favorite, I had one of the first civilian-owned C3 HK416's, and I wish I had it still... I made a nice profit, but d@mn I love the "piston" M4's better than the gas-impingement*
- AKMSU (5.45mm, semi/full) side-folding metal "triangle" stock, synthetic furniture, KCI Rail System, GG&G Forward Grip, Some Knockoff-Brand Reflex Sight (wasn't bad, though)
- Ruger AC556/K (5.56x45, Semi/Full: Mini-14 with full-auto, I had both the full-stock and the "compact" stocks), synthetic black furniture, H&K-style "Triangle" Folding Stock, 30rd Magazines, Stainless-Steel, 3-9x50 Rifle Scope w Mesh Anti-Glare
- ROCK SOPMOD M14 (7.62NATO, Safe/Semi; M14 carbine heavily-updated) with longer buttpad, EOTech 553 and G23 3x Magnifier (or Leupold 5-45x40 Rifle Scope), SureFire G2Z Weaponlight, GG&G Vertical Foregrip, SureFire 7.62NATO Quick-Detach Sound Suppressor
- M39 EMR (Mil-Spec, 7.62NATO, upgraded barrel though) with Harris Bipod, Leupold 5-45x40 Rifle Scope (OR EOTech MPO3), SureFire QD Sound Suppressor, GG&G Vertical Foregrip, etc
"Distance" Rifles:
- Accuracy International Arctic Warfare Magnum .338 Lapua Magnum with Black Synthetic Stock, upgraded 2-Stage Adjustable Match-Grade Trigger Assembly, Titanium Bolt Handle, Gemtech "Partial-Sleeve" Sound Suppressor, Harris Bipod, and Leupold 5-45x40 Rifle Scope with Mesh-Type Glare Diffuser
- Remington 700P 26" barrel (official-issue, HS-Precision Stock and all) in .300 Remington Ultra Magnum with an "upgraded" fluted and chrome-lined barrel with threading, Harris Bipod, Leupold 10-50x45 Scope (limited edition; came with the rifle, don't know its pedigree), unknown upgraded bolt assembly and two-stage fully-adjustable trigger assembly, and stock-mounted round-holder *(this gun was extremely accurate... only the AI AWM could best it at range out of all of the firearms I've owned)
- Karabiner 98K Vintage 1941, only took it to the range once as it was in incredible condition (sold at auction)
- Multiple Ruger 10/22's including an AWC Ultra II (chambered for .22WMR rounds allowing for very heavy bullet and same powder weight; subsonic but more powerful within 175-200yd), an SR22, a fully-customized-by-me 10/22 in .22WMR, a "tactical" AWC Ultra II that was modified by myself (AR-style stock, RIS, etc), and a plain-Jane 10/22 in .22LR with the 18.5" barrel and synthetic stock (3-9x50 scope; this was used for killing pests, as the AWC Ultra II in .22WMR made a mess) - Note: all had 10rd rotary magazines, as well as 20/25/30/40rd "standard-style" Magazines (very cheap to get on clearance in bulk)
I'm forgetting/leaving-off about three dozen firearms, ranging from .17HMR caliber rifles and .410 shotguns up to .458WMR, .475NitroExpress, and a few .68cal black-powder rifles.
Hey, when you're getting a full-auto authentic newest-generation MP5 for the cost of a pair of Glock 19's (and about 10 full-cap mags), you'd do the same thing
Oh, and ammo was cheap... about $10/250rds of match-grade 9mm or $14-18/250 match-grade 5.56x45mm rounds, so a day at the range lasted, well, all day. The .338 Lapua Magnum (my favorite distance rifle round, and the AI AWM being my favorite distance rifle) still cost about $0.80/rd for top-flight stuff, and the really-rare Nitro Express and such was as much as $5.00/shot... eek.
Oh well, hope you enjoy. I know I did, and this brings back many fond memories
Sincerely,
nleksan
