My Top 5 Favorite Guns I Own

When it comes to the gun community, there are countless avenues to go into, from competitive shooting, hunting sports, to just gun collecting because you enjoy firearms in general. People will often talk about some of their favorite firearms and why they prefer certain firearms over others. I wanted to give a quick rundown on some of my favorite firearms in my collection and why I love specific models. Let's take a closer look at my top 5 favorite guns I own.

5. Smith & Wesson 29-2

When it comes to classic American Culture, it's truly hard to beat the Smith & Wesson Model 29, especially the 29-2, which is the classic model used in the Dirty Harry franchise. The popularity of the Model 29 skyrocketed after the film was released, but often they are sold with a box of ammo missing only a couple rounds of 44 Magnum out of them. These are hard-hitting hand cannons with a ton of drama when you fire them. My personal model 29-2 is a factory nickel 29-2 with an 8 3/8” barrel. This barrel length isn’t the longest variant they sold at the time and it's really long and less-than-ideal length.

While the 8 ⅜” variant may not be the handiest length, the advantage of the longer barreled versions is the ability to tame recoil with the heavier weight and longer barrel. Shooting .44 Special out of these revolvers has almost zero recoil or muzzle rise, with the .44 Magnum being significantly more violent, which really shows the true potential of these handguns as a hard-hitting big bore revolver that's capable in both hunting and personal defense. Overall, a classic American pistol that became really iconic due to the big-bore revolver culture during the 1970s and 1980s. If you haven't checked out a Model 29 yet, it's certainly one of those rare guns you need to check off the box just to understand what makes them so special.

4. SIG Sauer P226 Elite

One of my first loves in the gun world was when I picked up my first SIG P226. For years, I ran an HK USP Compact and it was great for the early 2000’s, but once I picked up my P226 Elite, I was hooked. The SRT trigger that came standard with this model was vastly better than the standard HK-style trigger, with less flex and a much cleaner break. I have officially over 30,000 rounds through my SIG with multiple rounds of spring replacements to keep it feeling new and responsive. Over the years, I have replaced the barrel with a threaded one as well as a Gray Guns adjustable straight trigger. I also switched out to the Mec Gar 18-round magazines over the factory 15-round magazines.

These guns are truly what built SIG's reputation. This is a fantastic handgun that you can take to hell and back. It's one of the longest-lasting handguns that I have shot. My first spring change wasn't until around the 18K round mark, before it started feeling tired. Nothing broke on the gun, but it began to feel tired. Other modern variants from a wide variety of manufacturers have a service life between 10-12K rounds before the springs fail and they have failure where the handguns need to be rebuilt. I carry this gun a ton throughout the year and I absolutely love how it shoots and just knowing it will always go bang no matter what is reassuring to me. It may not be the lightest option on the market, but it's an absolute tank and I will continue to carry this model for years to come.

3. Benelli M4 EXT

One of the surprise favorites from last year was when Benelli came out with the EXT variant of the M4 shotgun line. This came with a fully 922-compliant folding stock and extension tube. In addition to these, it also comes with an upgraded bolt release with the ability to have three different Cerakote options. The Tungsten cerakote color was my favorite and is a bit different from the traditional black models. After having this new version for the last few months, I really do think the M4 EXT has become one of my favorite guns to just take to the range for the sake of shooting. When I'm not testing and just want to go and sling some lead, I will often times grab this Benelli and just go shoot for the enjoyment of going to the range.

Personally, I don't take a ton of guns like that just to have fun due to time, but if I have a couple of hours where I don't plan on testing a new product, I will snag the M4 EXT just to have fun and burn some targets down. The fast cyclic rate on these guns just makes shooting birdshot rounds an absolute blast. I always have a huge smile on my face and it's just a truly fun gun to shoot. When you throw some high brass buckshot rounds in, though, you'd better hold on because this gun will rock you. It's definitely less recoil than other options on the market, but those types of defensive loads are wild, especially when you start shooting quickly.

2. HK UMP/USC

This is probably the most interesting choice on the list. When you first pick up the standard neutered USC from Heckler & Koch, it's kind of a giant turd. It has a 16” straight barrel with no threading, as well as a single-stack 10-round magazine. While it's chambered in the Lord's caliber of 45 ACP, it has all the 922 compliant parts that just downright make it gross. Once you SBR it, though, and put the UMP parts and convert it, the firearm becomes a completely different animal.  

In the UMP configuration, the gun completely changes into one of the most fun experiences out of anything in my collection. I decided to install a Ground Combat Solutions Modular Vertical Grip as well as an Eotech XPS and a Surefire M340. Occasionally, I will throw a HUXWRX Rad 45 on, but this is just a fun gun to take to the range. With the upgraded magazines, you get 25 rounds of 45 ACP in a compact package once the folding stock is installed. Whether it's presence in pop culture or video games, the HK UMP is one of those guns that is just a special firearm, especially since you can't buy one of these complete, off the shelf. Building these out and having the finished product be an absolute joy to shoot and makes it completely worth it. If you guys have been on the fence about one of these, I can guarantee it's worth the price of admission.

1.  FN M249S

For some reason, the M249S SAW puts a huge smile on my face every single time I pick it up or take it to the range. Yes, its semi automatic only, but it’s a true belt-fed firearm you can own that's nearly identical to the machine gun besides the operating rod, bolt and trigger. Everything else is interchangeable; if you want to swap out rails or barrels, it's completely possible to swap parts out to give it a modernized look. So far, I’ve only bought an EoTech XPS and smaller ammo pouches from Raptor Tactical. One of the biggest drawbacks to the 249S is the steep entry fee to get started, but it's certainly worth the price of admission, as well as just by the shooting experience and how drastically different it is from traditional rifles on the market.

Very few firearms bring me this much joy just because of what it is. While the 249S is incredibly heavy and expensive to feed, it's one of the coolest experiences to shoot it at the range and always makes people excited to try it out. One of the tough issues was deciding between the full-size and Para variants. The full-size version is cheaper, but if you wanted to convert the full size to the para variant, it will cost a significant amount more than buying the para variant from the factory. Out of everything, the 249S SAW is by far one of the coolest options.