What’s not to like?

[tenngun]

All, or almost all ml are something. Most are easy on the eyes, many are works of art. Even plain janes have these eye pleasing lines. Rugged, worn out, or cobbled together they have a story to tell. Even a guy like me who with a thousand dollars can make a six hundred dollar gun…. Even less if I try.
But
While I find wheelocks and match locks pretty neat I just have no desire to own one
I fell in love with plains guns, but in truth percussion largely bores me these days
Not a pistol guy, I’ve got some but really not an excitement for me.
Fowlers and flint rifles, muskets, carbines, blunderbuss shot guns I can’t get enough.
So many guns so little time. Arab and Indian and African trade, whew.
What do you stop and droll over and what do you pass by with barley a glance?

 

[Nobody85]

I tell you; I’ve always loved a Tennessee Bean style rifle. Love the lines. Love the mid sized to small caliber. I like large bore fowler too, but something about the Appalachian style rifles. One thing that never really turned my head, was a short barreled jager. If I happened to acquire one I wouldn’t turn my nose up at it; it’s just something about the thick wrist and heavy set lines on them that turn me off. Maybe it’s just because I’ve never shot, or had one? Who knows…

 

[Phil Coffins]

I’m a rifle guy, smooth bore is nothing to me. A nice double shot gun can keep my attention for bird hunts but I like the precise placement of a single projectile afforded by rifling. The finer designed and built the better will keep my interest longest.

 

[Brokennock]

All, or almost all ml are something. Most are easy on the eyes, many are works of art. Even plain janes have these eye pleasing lines. Rugged, worn out, or cobbled together they have a story to tell. Even a guy like me who with a thousand dollars can make a six hundred dollar gun…. Even less if I try.
But
While I find wheelocks and match locks pretty neat I just have no desire to own one
I fell in love with plains guns, but in truth percussion largely bores me these days
Not a pistol guy, I’ve got some but really not an excitement for me.
Fowlers and flint rifles, muskets, carbines, blunderbuss shot guns I can’t get enough.
So many guns so little time. Arab and Indian and African trade, whew.
What do you stop and droll over and what do you pass by with barley a glance?

Early, as in 1760s to early 1770s rifles associated with Colonial America, whether built, stocked, or restocked here, or built in England or Germany and imported here will make me stop and take notice. Early fowling pieces, 1750s through 1790s, too, especially of English or New England origin or restocked here. Type-G trade guns are always a source of longing for me. It isn't the best reproduction Fusil des Chase, but I do love the way my Centermark Fusil des Chase handles and would be interested to handle and study an original ir exacting bench copy. Early Dutch fowling pieces are really cool too.
Colonial era and early post-AWI half stock smoothbores can get my attention, but usually don't hold it. If I found an original with local ties I'd be hooked.

Half stock rifles, SMR rifles (don't like deeply curved buttplates), underhammers, plains or Hawkens guns, and caplock pistols all do nothing for me.

 

[TDM]

My favorites are the 1780-1820 Pennsylvania/Kentucky rifles and Kentucky/Tennessee SMRs. But I have a soft spot for early Northwest trade guns too.

 

[jackpine54]

I'm a flintlock guy these days. I really like early fowlers, fusils, trade guns and pre AWI rifles. Percussion rifles, SMRs, and most half stocks just don't get me near as excited as they did 30-40 years ago.

 

[Ponderosaman]

When I got into shooting 20 years ago, I got the Shooter’s Bible and it had a Pedersoli single barrel shotgun. It was accessible for me with a young family and it just seemed so cool. I ended up not getting one back then, but like a lot of guys who get two dimes to rub together, I had to get a gun when I changed jobs in 2020. I decided on the Pedersoli SxS 12ga. because of the romance of the single barrel I wanted back in the 10s. I love it. I like the smoke, the fiddling, the buffalo hide strap I got, the way it shoots and feels, how good it cleans up. I can definitely see a blackpowder pistol in my future and then a full stock .50 rifle, but for now, quail hunting and dog training is enough hobby while working and helping my wife recover. Cannons? I’d like to see one shot, but they don’t hold my interest like small arms.

 

[Trapper Scott]

I'm like Phil Coffins, I love the rifled barrels and the idea of being able to place a round exactly where I want to. Notice I said the idea of. There is always that pesky flyer that screws up a good group. I do like my little blunderbuss when shooting shot also and would love to have a fowler someday. My current love affair is with my SMR. Love the danty stock and beautiful lines as well as the 44" barrel.

 

[SciAggie]

I’m a rifle guy. English Sporting Rifles and German Jaegers get me excited.

 

[user 49399]

I like purt near everything made to shoot blackpowder that falls within the scope of this forum.

 

[Stykbow]

I can appreciate them all, but plains and English sporting rifles really do it for me.

 

[desi23]

I like all of them, early or late. My first love though is civil war period handguns and long guns. Being a youngster during the civil war centennial probably had a lot to do with that. Cap & ball revolvers, rifled muskets and breach loaders like the Sharps, Smith and Burnside (like the early black powder cartridge guns too but they are for other forums). My interests grew over time and I have enjoyed shooting many different types over the years. Won't turn anything away if it comes along at the right price LOL. Don't hunt any more so shotguns are probably the least fired, an occasional informal bit of clay pigeon shooting is it. Smoothbore muskets are still fun though and traditional rifles, either flint or percussion get out fairly often. Still probably shoot the cap & ball revolvers the most

 

[Old-Duckman]

Firearms in general fall into the category of art IMO. In many instances the older the better, but not always. Craftspeople in the past wanted their work to not only be functional but to be pleasing to the eye. I think we should take our design cues from nature and I believe that was the case for much of history.

Practicality, ease of manufacture and product life cycle (formally called "planned obsolescence"} have taken a major toll on the esthetics of just about everything from cars to firearms. I have some unmentionables with polymer (read plastic) frames and other parts and they are fine firearms in their own right but pleasing to the eye...they are Not!

When I look at older examples of firearms I observe what I call, "seeing the hand" you can tell that a person actually put hand to wood or metal to accomplish what you now view with delight. There are techniques and processes done in the past that simply are not reproduce-able with modern manufacturing methods, and mores the pity.

 

[BoomStick]

Easy to say I like 'em all, but my favorite is a Buck's County style rifle. The more it looks like the original Verner rifle, the better.

 

[hanshi]

Percussion guns bore me just a little as well. Ever since I was a kid I was a rifle/pistol enthusiast with not much interest in smoothbores. I also don't care for half-stocks. If I get it then it has to be a flintlock. I love the longrifle and the only foreign rifle I like is the Jaeger. I have only one smoothbore and it gets fed primarily ball. Just never been much of a shotgun shooter. Plus the only handgun I own is a flint.