I have been a certified gun NUT since I was three. There is no way I can pick a favorite type of gun to shoot. That said I shoot most with rifles then pistols then muzzle loaders then shotguns. Nobody in the family ever had to wonder what to get me for Xmas or birthdays. Just pick the best caliber for my age at the time.

Handguns! If I'm deer hunting with a T/C handcannon or my 480 Ruger, squirrel hunting with a 22lr Ruger or just popping off a few rounds at the range with my Kimber 45, I'm happy.

Its hard to only use one method of hunting for me. I love them all from bows to rifles. I'm just as proud of my animals I've taking bowhunting as I am the ones I've taken with rifle,muzzleloader, and pistol.

Caliber and manufactor is a personal choice. When it comes to my ole reliable its my Ruger #1 300 win mag, S&W 657 41 mag, and my Lyman great plains 54 cal.

Hmm...good question.

My gun preferences change periodically, but to say right now what my strongest gun passion is I'd have to say I really like super-accurate bolt action rifles. My passion before that was really muzzleloading, but I've gotten kindof tired of the frustrations and the lengthly messy cleanup. I also love shooting my pistol a lot. My uncle really sparked my interest in the idea of handgun hunting, as he hunted with a Ruger Blackhawk .41Mag this year. I think that a Ruger Super Redhawk might find its way into my safe over the next 6 months or so.

But I will say that my truest passion was, and will always be even though I can't indulge myself anymore, for machineguns. Those of you who have never had the distinct pleasure of free-gunning a M2 .50 Browning Machine Gun off a Humvee pintle mount, or let loose with a M240G Med. machinegun or Mk-19 40mm grenade launcher (belt-fed, full-auto grenade launcher too, btw), haven't lived life. Unfortunately, however, unless you are rich, the only way you'll get to experience the pleasure of fully-automatic military grade firepower is by visiting your local Marine Corps recruiters office and sign up for 5811 (Military policeman...what I was), 0311 (rifleman, aka grunt) or 0331 (machinegun infantry), among others. Being a former Marine I can't in good conscience recommend joining the Army, but they've got some cool toys too (not the Mk-19 though [>:]).

Mike

Single shot rifles

Driftrider,

The army does have and use the mk19. Right before I got out in 96 our headquarters unit got one. 400 rounds a minute capability. Its a mighty mean machine. If I had to defend a base my vote would go to the 20mm vulcan. 1000 rounds a minute especially high explosive rounds is just plain scary. Geneva what I was shooting at his canteen. lol

Cherokee,

I never saw the Army using them, and I knew that the weapon system was developed for the Marine Corps. But it makes sense that the Army would adopt it. It is one bad MF. The Army always confused me when it came to their equipment.

The Army always had brand new, state of the art trucks (i.e. the 3rd generation HMMWV's, fancy deus and 1/2's with push button shifters and fancy automatic tire inflation systems on the dash), where almost every HMMWV the Marine Corps has would be deadlined by Army standards because they are just getting old (and leaky).

But the Corps always has the better personal weapons, with the exception of the M4. For instance, the M16-A2 was developed to meet Marine Corps standards. The Marine Corps had completely phased out the M60A3 in favor of the MUCH better M240G machinegun before I went in in '96, but I know that the Army still uses the M60's quite a bit and I even trained on the M60A3 during MP school (which was a Fort McClellan, Al when I went through...an Army run joint service school). The Marine Corps had the Mk 19 developed to provide indirect fire support during amphibious operations.

I'll admit that the Army has some cool toys. The Longbow Apache is one bad a** machine, and far better than the Supercobras. I just can't help but get my digs in against you army doggies!

What's the difference between a soldier and a Marine?

A soldier will show up and kill the enemy, a Marine will show up and kill the enemy with a fresh haircut and pressed cammies because combat is no excuse for looking like a s***bag!

Semper Fi!

Mike

Contenders, Old style frames please.

And a Ruger #1 ocasionally

Shotguns. Hand-made side-by-sides from Scotland, England and Spain. I'd give just about anything for a mint-condition John Dickson Round Action.

Long range bolt action rifles seem to have a place in my heart! I love to shoot at tiny little targets way out there!