Wyzcrak

We start getting out of our range once you get much past $1000, but don't exclude something priced above and near that which you otherwise highly recommend.

My brother and I are wanting to show quite a lot of gratitude for a gentleman in our lives who has done many things throughout his life to help us out, not the least of which included many selfless acts of assistance to us since our Dad died suddenly in July.

We've debated how to go about it, and we're focusing right now on a commemorative gun... something that he can primarily display proudly in his home and will only be fired occasionally, for rare sport and entertainment.

We haven't ruled out "used" guns, but our guts have us looking exclusively at new guns so far (he says "FIB/second owner" stuff might work fine for what we're doing).

I know nothing about guns. My brother knows a bit, and we're finding some candidates we like, but I told him you guys might be able to give some more seasoned advice.

Here are a couple of examples of what we've found, and like... but we're hoping to find something a bit more polished... a bit more.. statesmanlike, if that makes sense.

http://www.auctionarms.com/search/di...temnum=8546184

That's commemorative pistols.

We also thought about a personalized pistol... not custom-fitted grip (this is a surprise, and this guy doesn't do guns enough to care about a custom-fitted grip), but something like an ivory (or something else) grip engraved with something special that my brother and I come up with.

And then, we like the look of a commemorative rifle of some kind ("not a 22 cal", my brother says), but we don't know if we can afford that without going to far above our preferred price range.

No matter what, we want a handsome display case of some kind to be part of the gift, or maybe some kind wall mount that makes the whole thing look nice (we're considering having my brother build a case, which would be much more humble -- and special to its recipient -- than something purchased).

Many thanks for any information/recommendations you guys can lend.

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Ferris Bueller

Well, I cant speak much to the gun aspect, but as far as the case goes, that's a very simple and inexpensive project. The nice thing about doing the case yourself is that you control all aspects of it, from the stain color, to the dimensions of the case, to the backing you want to put into it. Also, most trophy shops (theres gotta be at least one near you) will do tag engraving, so you can put your special message on a small tag that you can affix to the display case if you cant find a place to get it on the gun itself. In addition, I agree completely with what you said about making the case yourself raising the personal value of the gift. I've made several shadowboxes for gifts ive given to people and they always loved them.

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|TG-6th|Ferris Bueller

TheFeniX

For a damn fine looking weapon and one that is fun and easy to fire, you can't go wrong with a version of the Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum. It's rugged, will look new even after 25 years of use (provided you get Stainless Steel), and has the ability to fire .38 Specials which have a lot less kick and blowback than .357 Mags. They also cost a lot less. But man, the gun has gone up in price a lot over the years.

Other than that, I can give you some general information.

On revolvers: for both looks and practicality, long barrels (at least 6") are generally the way to go. Molded grips are the anti-christ: get wood grips without any fancy finger grips. They look better in a case anyways.

On automatics: there's not much that looks like a classic gun except the tried and true .45 1911. You can get them ranging in price from ~$500 up to a couple grand. Out of any handgun I've owned, the 1911 has by far been the most well-rounded.

You could go black powder, but those are a pain to shoot recreationally unless you really know your way around them. I would assume you're going for something you take out of the case, fire, clean, put back in and look at it. Some people might disagree, but I find black powder doesn't fit well into that category.

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CingularDuality

Fenix is right about the 1911 being the way to go with a pistol. The problem is the cost. For a new one, you aren't going to get much cheaper than Taurus: http://www.taurususa.com/products/pr...ategory=Pistol

For that much, you might want to go with a nice rifle, instead: http://www.henryrepeating.com/h009_3030.cfm

The 1911 is nice because you can take just the slide into the mall and have Things Remembered laser etch it for you. The rifle would be a bit more difficult to find someone to etch it for you that you trust with the rifle.

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TheFeniX

Rifles always look good on a wall:
(Click on the pic for a larger version)


But man those lever actions kick like all hell. Especially when all they have are steel stocks.

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TurkishDelight

I say get a inexpensive 1911, and have it made truly "Custom", by a great smith. Have a new fancy finish applied, and match the furniture of the gun with it. It will look great, and it is a gun that most people can't help but fall in love with.

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Strag

I'm sorry to hear about your loss, Wyz. I hadn't heard.

I don't think you can go wrong with one of these. U.S. Fire-Arms is making one of the finest single actions available today, and with plenty of options for customization.

War.mongeR1

Just took a look at the link. Can't get much more classic than those! Nice.

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