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My wife and I bought tickets for a 4-H Shooting Sports raffle in which the prize is one of five guns. Should either of us be one of the lucky five drawn, we've got a choice to make. Anyone want to throw in an opinion on these? Drawing date is May 1. A maximum number of 500 tickets will be sold, so the greatest odds are a 1 in 100 chance of winning.

1. Legacy O/U 12 gauge
Pro: It's an O/U
Con: I know nothing about the label

2. Ruger P90 (.45 auto)
Pro: It's a Ruger, it's a .45
Con: It's a Ruger - ugly and heavy

3. Taurus Judge
Pro: It shoots 45 Colt
Con: The answer to a non-existent question

4. Henry Lever Action .17 HMR
Pro: It's a Henry, it's a lever gun
Con: Another caliber to stock and learn

5. Ruger 10/22
Pro: It's a Ruger, it's a .22
Cons: Plastic trigger group, my kids (and wife) will fight over it.

I have pretty much eliminated the P90 and Judge from consideration, unless they are the only choices. It would be nice to have a gun chambered in .45 Colt, but that's about the only thing that makes me look at the Judge. In .45 ACP, I'm a 1911 guy, but I could be persuaded to try another gun - I'm even casting glances at the M&P and XD.

I'm guessing the O/U would be a good trap & skeet gun, but I don't do too much of that, but my wife seems to be interested in taking it up. Which leaves the Henry and the 10/22. Having just added a Marlin 60 to the stable (a tack driver that I love), I'm pretty well stocked on .22s, and there's just something about a good lever gun that speaks to me.

So I guess that's the choice I'd likely make: 1. Henry, 2. 10/22, 3. O/U, 4. P90, 5. Judge

My wife's choices would likely be the same, save for moving the O/U up higher in the rankings. Any persuasive notes from the group? Anything I haven't considered here?


ETA: fixed spelling

O/U's are nice for dove and quail as well.

If it was my choice to make, I would probably pick the Henry first, and then the Judge. This is based purely on what I would want to flesh out my personal collection, so it is probably irrelevant to you. I would really like the Henry for varmits and the Judge would be cool for the novelty and a good "fun" gun. I like Ruger a lot, but I am pretty well covered in the .22 and .45 categories. I don't know much about Legacy but I have a lot of shotguns, so I will be looking to nab specific models in the future and the legacy is not on the list. I know you can't do anything with that info, sorry I don't have experience with most of those models. Good luck, I hope you win.

Obviously, there isn't any one particular choice that you just gotta' have. I would suggest this:

1) Pick the gun that has the highest resale potential and value
2) Sell it
3) Buy what you REALLY want!

Outbreaker wrote:O/U's are nice for dove and quail as well.

Yeah, but the problem is, I usually need more than 2 shots!

Dusty Harry wrote:Obviously, there isn't any one particular choice that you just gotta' have. I would suggest this:

1) Pick the gun that has the highest resale potential and value
2) Sell it
3) Buy what you REALLY want!

Now, why didn't I think of that?

It is my wife's turn, after all, to get a gun. So a sale certainly would help fund that.

UpTheIrons wrote:

Dusty Harry wrote:Obviously, there isn't any one particular choice that you just gotta' have. I would suggest this:

1) Pick the gun that has the highest resale potential and value
2) Sell it
3) Buy what you REALLY want!

Now, why didn't I think of that?

It is my wife's turn, after all, to get a gun. So a sale certainly would help fund that.

That's a great idea - sell it or trade it. In that case, I'd think the Judge might have best resale value - probably $450-$500 on TGT.com? Ruger P90 probably $350. No idea about a Legacy O/U, but it could actually be the highest resale value if it's a brand that others value (I know nothing about o/u shotguns except that the good ones are unbelievably expensive). Henry .17 and Ruger 10/22 probably the least unless they have scopes and other accessories. Ruger 10/22 are $200 brand new in stock condition. Henrys are probably $300 tops (and I've heard bad word of mouth about Henry reliability and warranty service).

If it was just me picking from the 5, none of which I would buy myself (other than a Ruger 10/22 that I already own), I'd pick the Judge just because it's unique. Use it as a truck gun. Use it as a sidearm while hunting (loaded with .410 shells to shoot/scare off a snake or other small critter). Or, since you already shoot some .45s, use the Ruger P90 in same capacity - a toss around truck-type gun (without the shotshell option of course).

Of those choices mine would be in this order:

1). Henry 17HMR (cause Henrys are just cool)
2). Ruger 10/22 (cause everybody should have at least one)
3). Legacy O/U (meh, I'd sell it and buy something else)
4). Ruger P90 (Had one, didn't like it, sold it)
5). Judge (because IMO it's one of the biggest farce's ever to be brought into the gun world)

I think I would reconsider the Judge. I don't own one(yet) but someone at the range last week showed me one he carries in his pocket as his CHL. After thinkin bout it the .410 with some #4's or something like that might be ideal for that. Sounds like it might be big for pocket carry but he said it's not bad.

glbedd53 wrote:I think I would reconsider the Judge. I don't own one(yet) but someone at the range last week showed me one he carries in his pocket as his CHL. After thinkin bout it the .410 with some #4's or something like that might be ideal for that. Sounds like it might be big for pocket carry but he said it's not bad.

Do some research. The Judge is a horrible self defense weapon.

Dusty Harry wrote:1) Pick the gun that has the highest resale potential and value
2) Sell it
3) Buy what you REALLY want!

Brilliant!

That's what I would do (if I had thought about it).

The Judge 'cause I don't need one, but I want one; plus it's a hot seller and would be easy to sell if you wanted something else.

Embalmo

I have a Judge and love it for its versatility. And it's just down right fun to shoot. Not the best carry gun. But out in the woods and the house it's perfect.

I thoroughly enjoyed shooting empty 12 ga, shells hanging on a string at 75 yards today with my scoped 10/22. That is a hoot! Tomorrow, we're gonna' do it with one or more of my scoped CZ 452's at a 100+ yards.

What I'm trying to convey is that bulk .22 lr's are cheap when compared to the larger and more esoteric calibers...if you like to just go out and shoot.