The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: bestseller92 on August 27, 2009, 08:09:23 AM
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I wrote this about a year ago and posted it on a couple of other boards. If anyone here saw it there and grows weary of seeing it again here, I apologize. I just didn't have anything else to post today :).
HAVE YOU HUGGED YOUR BEATER GUN TODAY?
Beater guns might not be much to look at, but as a group and as a concept, I think they're downright beautiful.
Plain and sometimes even homely to begin with, devoid of pretense or polish, well-used, knocked-about, scarred and yes, beat up, beater guns nonetheless have a gloriously utilitarian charm. They're here to work, thank you very much, not sit around and pretty-up the joint. They have a job to do and they do it, appearances be damned...or at least darned.
'What is a beater gun?' you might ask. Excellent question, Grasshopper, and one that I'll answer first with a few examples. No -- on second thought, since I'm rather fond of examples, I'll answer it with more than a few.
What is a beater gun? The 2" Charter Arms Pathfinder .22 that an old gentleman keeps in his tackle box, loaded with shotshell ammo, to shoot water moccasins with -- that is a beater gun.
The old model Ruger Blackhawk .357 that a rancher in New Mexico keeps under the driver’s seat of his F250 work truck (loaded with 5 rounds instead of 6, of course) to deal with the odd coyote or to dispatch an injured cow critter -- that is a beater gun.
The old Marlin .30/30 that a deer hunter takes out on those snowy/rainy/muddy/icy/sleety (select one) days that he doesn’t want his shiny new walnut-stocked, Zeiss-topped Sako .280 to even know about, let alone be exposed to -- that is a beater gun.
The Remington Nylon 66 that a man stows in the bottom of his canoe to (hopefully) harvest a squirrel supper while on a river float/camping trip with his son -- that is a beater gun.
The Ruger P89 kept in a toolbox drawer in a one-man auto repair shop, collecting dust and assorted grime but still ready to defend its owner should the need ever arise -- that is a beater gun.
And the old Smith Airweight Bodyguard .38 that a young woman inherited from her police officer uncle and now stashes in the side pocket of her backpack whenever she goes hiking in the mountains -- that is a beater gun.
Beater guns are dependable instead of dainty, strong instead of shiny, functional instead of fancy, and earthy instead of eye-catching. You’ll never see a beater gun painted pink and lime green, unless you happen to spill your bubble gum-and-lime mix Slushee behind the seat of your pickup truck and on the old Savage .30/06 you keep stashed back there.
A beater gun MUST be reliable, rugged and reasonably accurate. A beater gun cannot be cheap junk (Lorcins and RG’s need not apply), but few of them ever begin life as top-end, high dollar status symbol “barbecue” guns, either. People brag on beater guns because they ‘take a lickin’ and keep on ticking’, not because they glisten glamorously behind the glass of a fancy oak display case.
Beater guns can bear any quality brand name, though some makes do seem to fill the bill more readily than others. Most any Ruger, Smith, Colt, Mossberg, Marlin, H&R, Taurus, Stevens, etc. can eventually graduate to beater gun status, but HKs, Benellis, Weatherbys, Brownings and the like, while top quality firearms, just don’t have much “beater gun cred”. A Ruger Blackhawk will black the eyes (cylinder holes) of a French-made Manhurin revolver, should you screw up and leave them in the same glove compartment.
Some might argue that Hi Points deserve beater gun status right out of the box, but let it be known that Hi Point’s application for membership in the BGSA (Beater Gun Society of America) is still pending, and has not been approved. Generally, the well-qualified beater gun will have at least ten years of solid service under its belt (or on someone else’s belt), and most will have a good deal more.
Beater guns can be inherited, they can be purchased as such, used, or they can be bought new and turned into beater guns over time. If a man creates his own beater from a brand new firearm, though, it should always be through honest hard use, never actual abuse or neglect. Too, whether a used gun is a true beater or not depends in large measure on the price you paid when you purchased it. Get a great deal on an old Smith Model 10 skinny barrel and it makes a fine beater gun. Pay too much for it and every scratch and scuff is just one more reminder of how you got screwed.
I think of beater guns as being sort of like junk yard dogs (or at least how junk yard dogs ought to be). They eat the cheap, discount-brand dog food, sleep out in the heat and in the cold, they ask for little and get even less, they never complain, and they still stand ready to bite some bad-guy booty should their masters ever need them to.
So give ‘em a break, k? Clean your beater guns today, and give ‘em a drop of two of good gun oil and a fresh magazineful of ammo. They may not look like much, but then, good friends don’t have to be beautiful.
Have you hugged YOUR beater gun today??
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This thread is useless without pics!
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I have a whole case full of beaters i will inherit someday. Browwning A5, Remington 7400, Model 92...
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It does have some merit. I prefer the term "working gun". I have a couple that see daily carry, and at least weekly use, here on the farm. That is why they are tools. :)
-Bidah
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I've got a couple. A Glock (yes Glock) 17 that keeps going through many a IDPA and USPSA match plus sits near the bed nightly. It may not get cleaned like it's supposed to but it keeps working. The other is an old IAI 1911 that shoots "minute of trash can lid" but has been beat to death. I finally had to break down and replace the springs after 10 years and 1000's of rounds. Found two bent and one completely broken but it still worked. Unfortunately I can't carry here otherwise the G17 and 1911 would be on the belt daily.
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If I own it, shoot it and hang on to it, it is a thing of beauty. Beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder.
Because they work hard and work when needed, "beater guns" are noble additions to anyones collection.
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As far as I'm concerned, with the exception of my great grandad's parker, they're all beater guns. I did have a nice browning clays gun with an adjustable stock and a silvered, engraved steel reciever that I could see get a few rust spots after a wet day in the blind if it wasn't polished immediatly after use.I traded it in on a plain jane Merkel that didn't make me feel guilty for getting it wet. It was more just a case of knowing I had to get rid of it before the trade in value was gone though.
I won't own a gun I can't get wet, shoot hard and clean next week, because I know all of those things are going to happen to all my guns. There are some where I do wince a bit about scratches and dings. But that's just like a new truck. You worry about the first one and then get pissed when it first happens. After the third you stop caring, see it as a sign of character, and are much happier for it.
FQ13
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I HAVE A 10/22 THAT HAS SEEN AT LEAST 10,000 ROUNDS AND I WORKS JUST FINE. I HAVE HAD THAT RUGER SINCE IS WAS 12 AND SHE'S NOT GOING ANYWHERE.
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If you have a Nylon 66 or a 3 screw Blackhawk, just laying around under on the floor of your car/truck/boat, let me know.
The better word for those is, "collectibles"
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My Taurus 617. I've carried it so much the bluing has been rusted off it from sweat and sawdust. I think that qualifies for beater status.
(http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h17/Walter-45-Auto/Taurus617IWBCarryRig9.jpg)
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(http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff150/m25operator/100_1395.jpg)
(http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff150/m25operator/100_1398.jpg)
My well worn but reliable, Colt agent, home hybrid comped before I bought it.
(http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff150/m25operator/100_1357.jpg)
My rescued essex frame, GI slide and barrel, it was awful when I bought it and I made a project out of it. I used take off parts from other guns and only a few new parts. Total expenditure is 176.00 including the cost of the pistol, the rest is Sweat equity.
(http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff150/m25operator/100_1349.jpg)
My well worn with me everyday Glock 21 with grip reduction, untold rabbits, coons, snakes, squirrels and 2 white tail.
I'm hugging them right now.
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I've got an old shotgun I need to get out, the church I have been going to is sponsoring a trap shoot on the 12th. I need to replace the charging handle (current handle was broken off) and find a way to test out the Vari-choke thingee on the front that looks like a combined comp and breaching tool. Porn once I get the dust off.
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My rescued essex frame, GI slide and barrel, it was awful when I bought it and I made a project out of it. I used take off parts from other guns and only a few new parts. Total expenditure is 176.00 including the cost of the pistol, the rest is Sweat equity.
(http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff150/m25operator/100_1349.jpg)
My well worn with me everyday Glock 21 with grip reduction, untold rabbits, coons, snakes, squirrels and 2 white tail.
I'm hugging them right now.
I sold one just like it on this board. It was a G17, but same principle. Shot a lot, cleaned when I felt like it, but still went bang every damn time after 15 years of owning it. It wasn't shiny and new, but was the pistol you'd grab if you heared glass breaking at 3 am. I sold it for $350 (which I think is a fair price), but I will say, that the one and only time I had to pull a gun on someone, I was very glad to have it and would have paid awhole lot more right then. A beater gun, is one you trust, don't worry about, and will take anywhere. They do need hugs. ;D
FQ13
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My Glock 17 was purchased in beater condition...... It is a 1st gen and when I got it about 3/4 of the finish had been worn off. I got it for a song, and it has shot like new since I bought it about 9 years ago. I sent it back to the factory about 2 years ago to have the slide and barrel refinished..... Now it looks as good as it shoots. Love the gun....... wish I knew the history on it....... right now it serves as my nightstand gun with 33+1 rounds of Hornady TAP.
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.... I got it for a song, ....
Which song?
.....it serves as my nightstand gun with 33+1 rounds of Hornady TAP.
What do you do for a living again?
;D
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My choice. ;D