My Wish List

A few years ago, the company I worked for brought in a training consultant who taught us about goal setting, or as I imagined him saying it, GoalSetting. One thing he presented that stood out to me was a study that looked at the goal setting habits of a group of people. He claimed that only 3% of people actually write down their goals, but those who do have a higher net worth than then other 97% combined. I don't know if this is true, but I've made it a habit to write down my goals in most areas, like home projects.

JP at the Eyes Never Closed blog and the Empty Mags Podcast recently waxed about his gun wish list, and it got me to thinking about my list. Like most shooters, I've had this vague list in my head of guns I would like to own, but it occurred to me that my list wasn't written down. So, with this post, I plan to remedy that oversight.

My list is a little less eclectic than JP's, but he told me that he has another list that is "more attainable and not as crazy." Well, call me boring, but, with thanks and a hat tip to JP, and in the hope that I can indeed increase my odds of actually owning these guns, here is my list, in the rough order of desire.

1. AR-15

My plan is to build my own, starting with a stripped lower. I recently stripped and rebuilt a friend's AR so that part isn't a concern any more.

I suspect, however, that this choice will also move me into the world of ammunition reloading. That's not a bad thing, though.

2. M-1 Garand

I live about 2 hours from the Anniston CMP Armory, so I could drive over and select my own M-1 from their inventory. As a GSSF member, I qualify.

3. AK-47

Image courtesy of WarriorTalk News


I go back and for on whether this is number 3 or number 1. Since I already own an SKS, an AK would be an easy addition from an ammo standpoint. I would have to see what was available at the time to decide whether I want an original Kalashnikov or a modern Saiga.

4. Glock 35

Courtesy of 3gun.se

Here the idea is to build an Open gun for USPSA. This presumes I have already moved into the ammo reloading business, since this is a new caliber for me. It also means about double the cost for add-ons.

5. M-1 Carbine

I shot one at the Blogger Shoot in May, and it was a lot of fun. Again, I could get one from Anniston easily.

6. A pair of Ruger Vaqueros

These and the two below are for my desired entry into SASS, Cowboy Action Shooting. That opens a whole other can of worms that I will be happy to fish with. It also means I definitely have to get into reloading, unless I hit the PowerBall.

I would probably get them, and the Winchester clone, in .357 Magnum.

7. Lever Action Winchester Clone

This goes with the Vaqueros for SASS, although I could also hunt with it if I had to. (Keep telling myself that . . . )

8. Coach Gun

I've looked at the Norinco imports and they seem quite servicable, and they're cheap. This one has use in a home defense mode, beyond that of SASS.




Yes, there are probably more. Some are a less attainable and a little crazy. I'll talk about those at a later date.