[ninjalawyer]

This is my newest firearm acquisition, a 100 year old J. Stevens .22 rifle, still in perfect working order. It's got to be the oldest man-made object I own, and it's my only physical connection with my maternal grandfather, who died while I was still an infant. I have no memory of him, and have never had much opportunity to learn much about him.

My grandmother recently moved from her home on the Cape to an apartment at a Metrowest retirement community a fraction its size. Everything she wouldn't be bringing there with her was split up amongst the family, and I wound up with this. My uncle John tells me that the rifle was given to my grandfather by his father when he was a boy, and that he learned to shoot with it. He owned many firearms, aparently including souveneirs picked up during WWII and the occupation of Japan (He was a Lt. Cmdr in the Navy), but my grandmother sold them off years ago... I only wish I'd known. From what little I know about my grandfather, he sounds like he was a hell of a man. I would have liked to have met him.

The rifle has some symbolic significance to me as well. When my grandfather grew up, nearly everyone learned to shoot. For whatever reason, that was no longer the case for my parent's generation. My parents and all but one of my uncles on that side (a navy vet himself) are enthusiastic anti-gunners, and like most of the shooters my age that I've met I had to learn on my own. That generation gap is a big part of why so many people are afraid of guns today, and never learn to handle them safely. I'd like to think that even if the tradition of shooting skipped the baby-boomer's generation, it will thrive again in the future. The thought that in a few years I'll be teaching my kids to shoot on the rifle that their great great grandfather bought for their grandfather makes me feel solidly rooted... and ready to take the country back from the people who think that things like gun ownership are too big a responsibility for the masses to be trusted with.

A couple pictures:
http://www.ninjalawyer.com/public/JStevens22.jpg

Anyone familiar with this particular model?

[BusMaster007]

:D That is very cool.

I inherited a couple of Winchester 94's and treasure them.
Good for you! Enjoy your rifle.

[iamkris]

I too have a few guns from my maternal grandfather who I never new (died 2 years prior to my birth). He was a WWII vet, loved to hunt and was a towering figure. My mom says I have a lot in common with him. No one else in my family is a funter or shooter (fortunately no RABID anti-gunners but they could easily swing toward passive antis.)

I have his Winchester 1897 12 ga that he took a lot of rabbits and pheasants with. I shoot it in Cowboy Action Shooting. I also have a Springfield 1873 Trapdoor that he used to go outside and shoot once a year...on New Year's Eve at midnight. Jeez I wish I'd known him.

[C.R.Sam]

A link to your personal past
To be passed further down the line.
Cool.

Sam

[Brian Dale]

as my Dad used to say. That rifle looks just about like the Stevens Crack Shot .22 falling-block rifle that Dad taught me to shoot with. It was old, but well taken care of, when he got it.

They're sweet-handling little rifles, well balanced and not too big, and they're easy for a youngster to understand. It's easy to clear the chamber, for example: a five-year-old like I was can easily grasp that all you have to do is to lower the lever and the cartridge comes out.

I've recently read some information somewhere (and I'm sorry; I don't have a link) suggesting that the metal was fairly soft, or that accuracy decreased after a lot of rounds, or some other blasphemy. Maybe that's true, and my brain appreciates the fine engineering in ARs, and Mauser actions, and all of the other modern weapons that we can choose from. I enjoy handling and shooting those other rifles, shotguns and handguns tremendously.

But that Stevens rifle was The First, and in my heart ...

:) it's The Very Best Rifle In The World.

[Brian Dale]

ninja, I hate to write this, but I found the thread I had remembered. The authors of the "blasphemy" I referred to are people who know more than I do. Here is the thread:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=37939

I suggest that you see a good gunsmith about your rifle, and find out if it's safe to fire with low-power ammunition. If your rifle does turn out to be a wall-hanger after consultation with your gunsmith, a similar rifle is still in production as the Savage Model 30 "Favorite" - you can see it by DL'ing the "Lever Action Favorite Models in .22LR" descriptions at

http://www.savagearms.com/images/pdf/manuals/LeverAction.pdf

{note: it's a 771 kB pdf file}

I'm truly sorry if I've encouraged you to do something unsafe. I still love that Crack Shot design.

[jrhead75]

I'll be teaching my kids to shoot on the rifle that their great great grandfather bought for their grandfather makes me feel solidly rooted... and ready to take the country back from the people who think that things like gun ownership are too big a responsibility for the masses to be trusted with. Nicely put.

Wish I could've had the rifles and pistols my Grandfather brought home from WWI (he was with the 5th Marines at Belleau Wood, and points west), but they went to make good Christmasses for my father during the depression. Dang the bad luck! :scrutiny:

[Leatherneck]

but they went to make good Christmasses for my father during the depression. I know the feeling. Lots of us have or had kinfolk that had to part with treasured possessions to take care of their family during those hard, hard times. Maybe the legacy of being willing to do that is even more valuable than the legacy of a rifle.

TC
TFL Survivor

[ninjalawyer]

Thanks for all of your advice, info, and thoughts. I'll have it checked out by a smith before I take it out, there's no rush.

Leatherneck- that's an excellent and easily overlooked point.