The Funnest of Guns - My Favorite, Top Three, Most Fun Guns (2023)

It seems that in many gun owner's lives that you come to a point where, once you have all the guns you feel that fulfill your basic needs, hunting, defense or whatever, that you focus more on the guns that bring you joy. If I sit down and think about it, what are those guns I take out the most when I just want to have a good time. Not to run drills or practice or show off but just for fun. That said, I have several guns that I like but don't shoot often due to ammunition costs or how loud they are. Guns that I can put a silencer on usually go out more than guns I can't so there is a bias. 

Number 3 - There's a tie

Some years ago, I bought a CZ 457 Scout with the intent to use it as a youth training rifle. It has a very short stock with a 12 inch length of pull and great iron sights. It's threaded 1/2x28 which is perfect for the Q El Camino silencer the 457 regularly hosts. The initial configuration came with a single shot sled that lets you hand load one round into the action instead of having something like a 5 or 10 shot magazine. In addition to the sled, I have both size magazines but they do make and I do want one of the 25 round magazines. It was one of the few rifles that I had added no dedicated parts for the longest time. No optics, red dots or aftermarket sights but I did add a leather sling and stock cuff. The only issue I have with the rifle is the stock is just a little too short for me to use comfortably. Then again, it was never meant for a 6 foot 2 inch, lanky guy like me. It's intended as a youth rifle. I've toyed with the idea of replacing the stock with a longer 13 inch LOP so I could shoot it easier but that's about the only change I want to make. There isn't much sense in spending the $200 for a replacement stock from CZ to fit me. Instead, I ordered a universal leather stock cuff that I knew had these rubber spacers. It adds about an inch to the length of pull fitting quite nicely. While it looks okay, it does hold 16 rounds of .22 LR on the right side. The simple setup makes for a good rifle. 

I regularly take that rifle out when I have people I'm introducing to silencers because of how quiet the rifle can be with a good can like the El Camino and ammunition such as CCI's Standard Velocity load. Some times I load the rifle with Aquila's Super Calibri cap type loads. While you don't need the suppressor with the Aquila rounds, it completes the quietness. The whole setup is about as powerful as any small caliber Big Box store air rifle with an effective range to match. That said, the bullet drop is staggeringly high so is best used for short ranges and works best on aluminum cans and squirrels.

Not the El Camino but still quiet

The CZ 457 has also gone out with me on hunts. One year, I configured the rifle with a 2-7x rimfire scope, a good sling and the El Camino so my oldest niece could hunt squirrels and rabbits. We didn't get anything but my brother in law enjoyed the rifle. All in all, the CZ 457 has been a great rifle and is one of the few guns I take out to the range just to shoot. 

The number 3 slot though is being taken over by a project gun that I'm starting to shoot more often. My Ruger 10/22 started off life as a base model with a wood stock I bought for a Appleseed Project rifleman class. I ended up sending the rifle off to a gunsmith who threaded the barrel and moved the front sight back. I put a set of Tech Sights raised sights along with a Burris red dot sight that is co-witnessed. I kept the M1 GI sling I used in the class but added an M1 carbine magazine pouch to the stock. 

The barrel's front sight base wasn't timed correctly by the smith and I had to make timing changes by rotating the barrel to match the front sight to the back aperture. Then I had to find a way to lock down the V-block used to secure the barrel to the receiver. I wasn't sure how well I had gotten everything timed correctly so I just ran it as short distances. It was originally intended to be used for the Appleseed class so it didn't matter if the sights were perfect at longer ranges. I just shrugged off my disappointment and just accepted that the gun probably wasn't right.

I hadn't shot the rifle much even after putting everything together and getting it zeroed but I was invited to a shoot in Northern Georgia and took it with me. I had zeroed the rifle somewhat short for around 25 yards since that's what the Appleseed class shoots. The outdoor range had setup various targets at various distances including 100 yards. I moved to off hand shooting at a much larger target, a large steel gong, that was set at the 100 yard line. I found that the red dot's battery had died but using the Tech Sights, I was able to land shots without issue. Just to see if I could do it, I was able to land repeated shots onto the small popper with regularity. This resulted in very satisfying repeated pings ringing from the steel target with every impact. I was utterly surprised to see that this worked out so well given the initial timing problems I had ran into. I hadn't been able to do that before but apparently I'd regulated the iron sights and the red dot quite well. 

The rifle is zeroed using CCI's Standard Velocity rounds since they never go above the transonic barrier and they are fairly cheap to buy in large quantities. They are subsonic from the rifle's barrel making for good suppression.

I have a BX-25 x2 magazine makes for a fun companion. It's two BX-25 magazines mated to a single center piece instead of taping to magazines together. A single box of 50 rounds will fit into the dual magazine contraption and lets you simply plink away against a steel target with repeated ease. Finding out how well the barrel was timed and sights regulated was a treat, making the whole project a pleasure and surprise. That changed my opinion of the rifle's configuration dramatically which is why I felt compelled to include it in this list. It's a rifle that I like to hand to someone, along with a loaded magazine to try out. 

Number 2

Back in the 1990's, one of the oldest names in repeating rifles, Henry, came back to life. They started with a .22 LR lever action rifle that is inexpensive. I didn't know anything about them until around 2017 or so when I picked up their first model, the H001. This rifle has an 18 inch barrel with a full length magazine tube. It was an impulse buy on a trip to see my grandparents in West Virginia and for them to get to meet the woman than would end up being my wife. The Bridgeport Equipment and Tool store in town had a good price on one so I ran down off the hill to buy one. I also found a variety of ammunition including those Aguila Super Colibri cartridges. I had bought one or two 50 round boxes to try and fell for them immediately. I ordered a 500 round brick while sitting on the front porch to be delivered so I could have more for when we got back to Georgia. 

Those rounds make good work of aluminum drink cans at short range and was the quietest shooting rifle before I had before I started my journey into silencers. I don't know if it started that journey but it probably helped. I have no idea how much ammunition this rifle has seen through it but bricks of .22 disappear with this rifle. 

Number 1

Not long before Marlin went down with the Remington ship, Marlin started making rifles with threaded barrels. I got very interested very quickly in the idea of a lever action rifle with a suppressor on it. It's very Teddy Roosevelt. As far as I know, the first model they did was the 1894 CST. This was a shortened, all stainless steel rifle chambered for 357 Magnum and can reliably use 38 Special as well. It features a 1/2x28 thread pitch at the end of the 16 inch barrel to host any 9mm bore silencer of your choice. Since I have a Dead Air Wolfman, I'm able to shoot full house 357 Magnum loads without concern. If it fits, it ships. 

What makes this my number 1 fun gun to shoot rifle is ultimately 38 Special. I've been learning how to make my own cartridges with my favorite load currently being a 200 grain cast bullet in a 38 Special case moving at about 1030 FPS from this rifle. Those rounds have serious bullet drop at 50 yards but once you add some Kentucky Windage in the form of a good hold over, any steel target at 50 yards will ring loudly. See the video below. 

Just about every factory 38 Special load will be quiet to shoot given the low pressures involved with it's specifications. The 16 inch barrel also helps attenuate the sound a bit. I've not tired any factory ammo under 130 grains in this rifle yet. I try to keep a few of those 200 grain 38's around in case I take a new shooter to the range as the is the Ambassador gun I prefer to demonstrate. 

Full power 357 Magnum rounds pick up serious velocity from the longer barrel making the CST a serious contender for short range hunting. Gun writers such as Skeeter Skelton made good use of 357 Magnum carbines against deer. I found an old article he had wrote around 1982 called "Rifleman" but sadly, the website that hosted it was recently suspended. You can find the old Dark Canyon website article here. You should be able to use the Wayback Machine to find the article by copying the URL and pasting it into the service's website. I found the article looking for the first uses of 357 Magnum in rifles were from gunsmiths in the mid-1900's reaming out Winchester 92's. Query Google about a Mr. Ward Koozer from Douglas, Arizona and his efforts. 

2023 is the year I want to try this rifle out for deer and see how well it goes. I don't expect it has the same reach as my .300 Blackout WWSD inspired AR-15 but it's a lot cheaper to shoot right now.  

I think that pretty well covers the funnest guns I have. While I have many other guns that I like to shoot for fun such as my AR-9 project or the Henry Homesteader, I don't get to spend as much time with those due to ammo concerns or not having access to a good shooting range. I figure this will change as I get more established with our homestead and get setup with a good outdoor range. Check back in a few years to see if this changes.

Gun Idea - Let's Combine All the Things I Like; AKA My Dream Plinker

 A lever action 22 LR rifle with a short barrel and threads for a silencer. Sounds pretty simple, right? Not exactly. There's a reason the only commercially sold lever action 22 with a threaded barrel has a 24 inch barrel. 

Henry has been making their lever action 22, the H001, since 1996 according to their website. They have had several versions of the basic design but none had threaded barrels until the Frontier Threaded came out. There's actually a good reason for that. The magazine tube on the Henry classic lever action design, is removed from the muzzle end of the gun. Most silencers are wider than the barrel of most guns preventing clearance of removable magazine tubes that sit immediately below the barrel. Guns with larger rimfire and centerfire cartridges can use a side gate for loading negating the need for a removable tube but the smaller .22 rimfire seem to make that difficult. I think I've only ever seen one side gate 22 rifle design ever meaning most designs make use of the removable tube design where cartridges are loaded from the front of the gun. The system works great but if you want to use a silencer, you need to make some changes. The Henry Frontier Threaded uses a long, 24 inch barrel and a short 10 round magazine tube to guarantee the mag tube will clear the silencer. I've seen where folks will use a narrower silencer and push the magazine tube down further to clear but this looks bad. 

Here's a YT video of a 12 inch Henry 22 lever action. Perfect size!

Why Though?

Because .22 LR is about as cheap as ammo gets, because putting silencers on guns makes them more enjoyable to shoot and because lever action is pure Americana fun, this idea gives you a cheap-to-shoot, lightweight rifle for small game hunting and recreational pleasure that's quiet and does that in an aesthetic that's American and with a manual of arms that I believe is just fun. Suppressed, lever action rifle in .22 LR. But how can I have my cake and eat it too?

The Booty Tube

That's a terrible name. What I mean is, use a magazine tube that's housed inside the stock instead of under the barrel. This is not a new idea as the system has been found in numerous guns with a few notable examples such as the Winchester-Hotchkiss rifles, the Spencer repeating rifle and Browning's SA-22. The booty tube, in my idea, would allow you to have any silencer you'd like whether it be integral to the barrel or muzzle-mounted since the magazine tube is no longer under the barrel. This system allows you to make use of a lever action system which for me is chosen purely for fun and enjoyment reasons. There are no realistic reasons to chose lever action over bolt or pump or semi but I love me some Americana and the lever action system is just pure fun. 

While it would be possible to use a detachable box magazine such as in the Ruger 10/22, the width of the rifle's footprint would likely be wider than the svelte lever action 22's we currently have. A longer box magazine of similar capacity runs into the issue of length where, like on the Henry Long Ranger, the lever will run into the magazine. That's why you can't have a 10 round magazine on the Long Ranger by the way. You could probably have a shorter lever stroke but in the end, the longer magazine protruding from the body kills the classic rifle aesthetic. Simply put, I would like to have a lever action version of the Browning SA-22 or a Spencer carbine in .22 LR with a shorter, threaded barrel. I'm thinking 12 inches. 

There is another

Well, sort of. A long time ago, in a galaxy probably up in Connecticut, Ruger made a rifle that can do most of what I want. They called it the Model 96. The Model 96 is suspiciously similar to a 10/22 but instead of being semi-auto, it was lever action. Everything else is pretty much 10/22. Even the magazines and barrel were from the 10/22. While in my idea, I was hoping for something more classic like the traditional Henry or maybe even more traditional like a Spencer carbine, a lever action 10/22 might could fit the bill. Sadly, Ruger stopped making them long ago. 

If I really want to scratch this itch, I'm limited to either a long barrel Henry H001TSPR or find a used Ruger 96 and modify the barrel. Given the barrel options, a used 96 that's been customized meets the mechanical idea what I want but just doesn't have that same visual look as a classic lever action and the Henry is just so long. If Henry, Browning or Chiappa were to combine any number of existing systems into existing lever action foot prints, I wager you'd have a very clever, lever action .22 perfect for hosting a silencer. Henry would likely have to completely redesign the action to use any rear feed system based on what I've seen of my H001. Browning already has a rear feed system in the SA-22 but also has a lever action 22. The patents and ideas are there in-house already, they just needed combined. Chiappa, interestingly, makes Spencer rifles in centerfire calibers and does make a lever action 22 but not the Spencer rifle. If Chiappa opted to make a 22 LR version of the Spencer, we might have a close winner even if it doesn't exactly look like a traditional lever action. But then I found something. Winchester made a rifle called the 63. It's a semi-auto .22 with a receiver that looks the part of the traditional lever action. I want a SBR Winchester 63 with a lever action system instead of a semi-auto.

Update 31 JAN: While hunting around on the internet, I learned about a sub-variant of what I think is one of the worst abominations ever, the Mossberg 464 SPX. The SPX is a "tacti-cool" version of the lever action 464. The SPX does have a threaded barrel. I found out that Mossberg made a .22 LR version with at 16 inch barrel. It has 1/2x28 threads but they don't making them any more. I'm thinking about hunting down a used .22 LR version and replacing the plastic parts with wood for this build. 

22 LR Galore - So Many Options or A Cartridge for Every Need

22 Long Rifle has a very long history going back to the late 1800's and roots with the earliest cartridges when self contained metallic cartridges were first being developed. 22 Long Rifle stands out for being accurate, capable and cheap to shoot. I would wager that 22 LR is the most prevalent cartridge in the civilized world and here in the U.S., the cartridge comes in a variety of configurations from bulk box high velocity to high quality target to no-powder, extra quiet loads.

Like many Americans, I learned basic firearms handling with a 22 rimfire rifle. In my case it was a Winchester 90 in .22 Short followed by my first rifle a Stevens 62 in 22 Long Rifle. Back then, I didn't much care about what ammunition I used. A Wal-Mart, $25 500 round bulk box of high velocity was more than enough to keep me happy.

It wasn't until this year I really started to put a lot more consideration into my rimfire ammo choices when I started playing with suppressors. Sure, when I was trying different rounds for the Ruger American Rimfire back in 2014, I was looking for the best rounds for that rifle but I hadn't considered everything. In this case, I refer to velocity specifically.

My first foray into quieter shooting started back in 2018 when I took my Henry H001 with 18 inch barrel out to WV and tried shooting the CCI CB Short 22's along with a few boxes of the Aguila Super Colibri 22 Long Rifle no-powder rounds. The CB Shorts would work in the Henry's lever action and fire just fine with much less noise. I had thought I would keep these handy since they were easier to find in stores compared to the Aguila options but the Aguila worked great. On that same trip to WV, I had purchased a 500 round case of Super Colibri's off the internet for playing with later on. I later found that the CCI CB Shorts don't seal well in my CZ 457 Scout (probably since the rifle is chambered for 22 LR instead of 22 Short) and like to gas me in the face prompting me to focus more on the Super Colibri's. When I want to shoot as quiet as possible, I go for the Aguila Super Colibri.

Once I had the tax stamp for the Dead Air Wolfman and later picked up the CZ 457 Scout, I started tinkering more with different ammunition. It became immediately obvious that the high velocity bulk box ammo was louder than what I wanted. I played with both the Gemtech subsonic ammo and the CCI Standard Velocity loading and found that the CCI was the better option simply for its cost and availability. Both of these are labeled as mid 1000 fps and are fairly quiet with the high volume suppressor and 16 inch barrel. The bullets hitting steel spinning targets is significantly louder than the suppressed gun shot. It should be noted that sealed suppressors and exposed lead bullets don't go well together over a long period of time. Exposed lead will leave bits of lead in the baffles and sealed cans can't be taken apart. This is why most manufactures don't include .22 on their supported list and that .22 cans are usually serviceable meaning you can take the baffles part. Also, .22 is crazy dirty.

The no-powder rounds such as the Super Colibri's are very quiet and ultimately the quietest you'll ever realistically get to, though they are about as powerful as a .177 caliber air rifle (I can prove it mathematically) and should not be shot from longer barrel lengths since they might get stuck. I haven't tried anything longer than 18 inches yet.

While there are several options for subsonic 22 LR on the market, once I found out how well the CCI Standard Velocity rounds worked and how quiet they are, I stocked up when Brownell's had a great deal for under $0.05 per round. They are fairly quiet and have no sonic crack from my CZ 457 Scout. They mostly work in my Ruger MKIII 22/45 with the Tactical Solutions Paclite barrel and other semi auto and manually operating rimfire guns with little fuss. I have noticed that they don't always burn all the powder so I have to clean the suppressor and gun regularly. CCI also makes what they call the Clean-22 Subsonic which is subsonic loading with a polymer coated, 40grain bullets. I may switch to those when I use the Wolfman. Then again, using the Wolfman was only supposed to happen until my next tax stamp came in.

Between bulk box high velocity rounds, the CCI Standard Velocity and the Aguila Super Colibri, I feel that I have enough variety for everything that I want to do. But since there is always something new coming out I felt like I'd keep looking.

CCI released a new version of their Quiet-22 called Quiet-22 Semi Auto. The idea is similar in that the bullets are moving well under 1000 fps (835 fps according to the box) which should keep the noise to a minimum. What makes the new ammo great is they should operate the action of semi-auto firearms unlike the original CCI Quiet-22 load operating at a claimed 710 fps. The Aguila Super Colibri's claim around 590 fps making me wonder if the CCI load actually has a small amount of powder since it has a higher velocity and heavier bullet.

These new Quiet-22 Semi Auto rounds seemed like they could be a very good option as a plinking round to keep on hand as they might be the quietest ammunition that would cycle a semi auto firearm. I ordered several boxes for testing though I don't have any semi auto rifles that can support a suppressor at the moment. So far those rounds have worked well in my Ruger MkIII 22/45 with PacLite 6 inch barrel and are quiet.

I'll need to pick a few boxes of the Clean-22 Subsonic for use with the Wolfman. When I get a chance I will swing over by the gun shop that has my 22 suppressor to see how the Quiet-22's work with the Walther P-22 I have.

Tricking Out Guns - Upgrading the Gen1 M&P Shield

One of my carry options has been the M&P Shield 9 with thumb safety for the last few years. While I've been thinking about making changes to the Shield, for the most part I've left it stock with the exception of Talon grips. That said, since I've been on a Tom Clancy, Jack Ryan series kick, I decided to make a few changes.

In the series, Jack Ryan's oldest son, Jack Jr., works for an off-the-books, private intelligence firm referred to as The Campus. Several of the operators of The Campus carry the M&P Shield for their more clandestine actions.

The changes I've made are the basic changes that I make to all my carry guns; tritium iron sights and a weapon light. In this case, I've foregone my usual TRUGLO TFX's for a set of Trijicon HD's with the yellow outline. The Streamlight TLR-6 will serve as the light. However, I have an additional change for kicks and giggles; a Lone Wolf Distributors AlphaWolf threaded barrel.You know, for wet work.

I'll be running the stock barrel most of the time but I am very interested to see how this all works with the DeadAir Wolf 9SD especially in the short config. This is going to be fun.

As for holsters, Gearcraft Holsters has an order for their IWB with all the goodies for my gun I can expect to be delivered in June or July.

And yes I am excited for the Amazon Jack Ryan series.

Update: I had recoil spring / guide rod failure in June. I went to swap out the threaded barrel and the assembly spontaneously self-dissembled. I was able to locate the 2 guide rod pieces and the springs  and manually reassemble the gun but it was a giant pain.I ordered 2 replacement spring assemblies.

#smithandwesson #mp #shield #9mm #lonewolfdistributors #threadedbarrel #trijicon night sights #streamlight #tlr6 #talongrips #sig V-Crown 124 gr #gunsofinstagram #thepewpewlife #concealedcarry #guns #pewpewlife

A post shared by Ian Kocher (@der.yetti) on May 27, 2018 at 5:59pm PDT

#007 really should upgrade. The #Walther #ppk is great but a single stack #9mm like the #smithandwesson #shield with a #lonewolfdistributors #threadedbarrel and a #streamlight #tlr6 is the business. I’d love to have a #PPSm2 with a threaded barrel. #deadairsilencers #2a #nfa #suppressor #freedom #pewpewlife #secondamendment #silencer #gunsofinstagram #thepewpewlife

A post shared by Ian Kocher (@der.yetti) on May 26, 2018 at 3:19pm PDT

#trickedoutgun #smithandwesson #mpshield #9m

A post shared by Ian Kocher (@der.yetti) on May 31, 2018 at 8:25am PDT

The importance of maintenance. Today my #shield recoil spring assembly spontaneously and rapidly disassembled itself while changing barrels. #mp9 #smithandwesson #gunsofinstagram #guns #ccw #pewpewlife #thepewpewlife

A post shared by Ian Kocher (@der.yetti) on Jun 22, 2018 at 4:34pm PDT