Old shotgun question

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Milkmaster

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I am tired of looking at brand new guns with all the tactical doo dads and very few shots fired. I want to hear some history and see some guns with stories to be told. For instance, how many of you have an old pump shotgun worn enough that the action is slick and will fall open when you stand it in the corner? If so, then show us a picture and tell us about it.
 
An old Marlin single shot 20 gauge that belonged to my great-grandfather. This wasn't hunted with so much as kept behind the kitchen door to dispatch foxes trying to get into the chicken house on the farm

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During the Spring of 1945 dads unit occupied a German village very near the end of the war. All private homes were searched and cleared of weapons which were piled in the street to be destroyed. An officer gave permission for the men to "liberate" anything they wanted. Dad picked this one. It was a pre-war shotgun made in the FN factroy in Belgium new with hang tags taken from a gun shop.

Dad built a wooden box and mailed it home for $1.50. This is the only shotgun dad ever owned or used from 1945 until he gave up hunting in his 80's when he gave it to me. Dad died 2 years ago one week before his 90 th birthday.

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Milkmaster,

You're not too far away, come to Memphis and tour BassPro's new venture in the Pyramid. The Ducks Unlimited display has some fine old shotguns on display, and right next to it is the Berretta display with some fine field guns, void of all gee-gaw bells and lights.

You'll be glad you did.

Bob Wright
 
jmr40

Great Grandpa's "Marlin" is a Ballard. Nice rifles but not at all common as a shotgun. Not very strong, either, I would keep it as a wallhanger.
 
Great Grandpa's "Marlin" is a Ballard. Nice rifles but not at all common as a shotgun. Not very strong, either, I would keep it as a wallhanger.

Certainly just a wall hanger. Grand dad had a few pieces of junk including an Iver Johnson revolver that will literally fall apart.

It is Marlin manufacture from Ballard patents. I don't know what if any significance that means. To me it is just a cheap gun that was in the family for a long time

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these two old shotguns are used for small game from time to time with some old and dear friends who i have know for close to 60 years. the remington is a 12ga with 2-3/4 chambers model 1900 plain field grade gun, but has 32" F&F steel factory barrels, still i only shoot low brass low pressure 1oz-1-1/8oz reloads in it. the 12ga model 12 is a 1927 tournament grade 30" F choke 2-3/4 barrel that i use in the same way as the remington with the same shells. i keep them in good condition as i,m just the caretaker of them for now. eastbank.
 

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I'm with you Milkmaster. These "tactikool" shotguns do nothing for me either. I don't have any pictures, but I have an old Remington 870 Wingmaster 28" Mod. that I have shot trap, skeet, clays and hunted with for more years than I care to admit. If I hold it up and push the pump release button, it will slide down all the way. It is by far my favorite shotgun.
 
Not great pics, but...

These are a couple of my basket case projects I brought back from the dead.

The Savage 720 has been basically completely rebuilt with repairs to the wood and firing pin and all springs (even the little ones) replaced.

The Stevens 520 has its original 32" barrel and another that I fitted and cut to 20". Still have refinish work to do, but it shoots.

Both were neglected pieces of junk when I found them. Now they are respectable. They don't slide open, though. My M37s do, though.
 

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I've got a Remington model 10 that's from around 1926, as far as I can tell.

Sadly it's just a wall hanger now, but it's been in the family since it was bought new. It put a lot of meat on the table for a lot of years.

Sadly, it was ruined by an incompetant gun smith who did things to it apparently for practice, and for no reason at all. I took it to him for a broken extractor spring and stuck bolt, got it back missing parts, patina stripped off the barrel and receiver with a wire wheel (he claimed it was rust), and managed to bend the barrel several degrees off center. The damage he did is so embarasing I haven't even hung it on the wall, as it's too grim a reminder of his incompetence, it angers me just to look at it, when it should have been looked at with fondness.
 
I've got a pre-1895 Belgian double with under lever that I rebuilt. Had to make chamber inserts to reduce it from 12 to 20 GA so it'd be safe to shoot modern rounds. Gotta look through the backup discs to find a pic.
 
my love of double barreled shotguns came from my grandfather that i hunted rabbits with as a boy, i had a old single barrel and he had a DAVENPORT double barreled 12ga that he would let me carry sometimes when we hunted and i did kill some rabbits with it, i like the extra fast second shot(i needed it most times). it did weight about 10 pounds i think. i wish i could go hunting again with my grandfather and shoot a few rabbits and smell the smoke as i took the fired waxed paper shells out. to me the early 50,s was a good time for a kid to grow up on a farm, true there was hard work, but we had very good down times too. eastbank.
 
870TB bought in 1972, 300,000 plus rounds through it, mostly at trap. Killed my first deer, duck, goose and Turkey with it. Had to do a heart transplant when the receiver cracked at about 275K. Model 12 Skeet with who knows how many rounds. I figure I'm a temporary caretaker of both as they'll undoubtedly be breaking birds long after I'm gone.
 
I have a couple of Winchester Model 12s inherited from my dad that are that kind of slick. The action falls fully open as soon as the release button is touched. Both are from the early 1950s and are in excellent shape with vent ribs and really nice field grade checkered walnut furniture. One has a Polychoke and the other has a Lyman Cutts Compensator complete with full set of Lyman Cutts choke tubes in the original wood storage box. I sent them both off to Simmons a couple of years ago to be checked out and reconditioned. All the new shotguns I own feel clunky compared to these slick old timers.
 
She's a new-fangled automatic but she's still got her miles on her. Zero blue or brown or rust, pure patina. 1928 production. All numbers matching. When I got her she was a gummed up mess. I got her apart, cleaned up, and stoned the internals so that she now is as smooth as day 1, but nowhere on the gun can you see any of the work I did. I got her in trade so I have no clue about her history, but we make some from time to time in dove fields and squirrel woods. Her name is Reba because she's getting up in age but still looks like fun.
 

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These are a couple of my basket case projects I brought back from the dead.

The Savage 720 has been basically completely rebuilt with repairs to the wood and firing pin and all springs (even the little ones) replaced.

The Stevens 520 has its original 32" barrel and another that I fitted and cut to 20". Still have refinish work to do, but it shoots.

Both were neglected pieces of junk when I found them. Now they are respectable. They don't slide open, though. My M37s do, though.
Sov, I like that sportsman 11. It's in a lot better shape than mine, but mine has a few years on your since yours has crossbolt safety. Fine looking piece of American hunting history nonetheless.
 
Not particularly rare or fancy but the bane of many Squirrel.
Granma liked the brains so a rifle was out. She cracked their little skulls with a nut cracker and said eating their brains made her smarter.....I think they just made he more Squirrelly.

Winchester Model 37 in .410 3".

Started hunting with it at 9 and still have it after more than 50 years.

-kBob
 

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My first shotgun. Repurposed a few years back after sitting unused for quite some time.

The "Perfect Jeep Gun"

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No photos, but I have an old box magazine Stevens bolt action .410 I'm fixin' up. Not really sure where it came from, I found it in my grandparents house years ago, but nobody remembers the thing. Probably ain't worth $50.

Somebody had tried their hand at checkering it and stained it a hideous color. I've stripped it and am sanding off the checkering, going to see if I can get it looking good again. In good shape mechanically, needs a good cleaning and lubing. Should be a good ol' shootgun when done.

Also have the old J.C. Higgins bolt 20 guage I used as a kid. Need to clean that one up too. Too many projects, not enough time.....
 
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Sov, I like that sportsman 11. It's in a lot better shape than mine, but mine has a few years on your since yours has crossbolt safety. Fine looking piece of American hunting history nonetheless.
Thanks. Mine is a Savage, close cousin to yours.

Mine had a crack in the forearm about 7 inches long, and was generally a mess. The gun is now good for trap, and I dove hunted with it last year. Will probably take it again this year. Still gives me fits from time to time, but I love this gun.
 
My buddy has a 1956 Browning Lightening 20 ga. that's simply amazing. It has a lot of history too. He bought it about 30 yrs. ago. While out bird hunting he leaned it against his truck, then forgot to pick it up drove off, he was all the way home before he realized it was missing. Now this was in the middle of no where, so he drove back out and it was gone, so he figured that was the last he would see of that beautiful shotgun.

Several days later he saw a lost and found ad, in which someone had found a Browning Lightening laying on a remote road, no details, as the person posting the ad wanted to verify the true owner by the details of it's location. Sure enough, he got his Browning back.

It doesn't end there, he had sent it in to Browning to have it re-blued, stock refurbished, and some general maintenance, naturally this was an expensive endeavor. As soon as he got it back, he took it out for some upland game bird hunting. Some how he managed to either get mud in the barrel, or a wad didn't clear the barrel, anyway, when he pulled the trigger, the top barrel bulged right near the muzzle. Back to Browning, and expensive new barrel later he had her back up and running again.

They're not high end SG's, but my youngest son and I both have old Wingmaster's. His is a 1965 if I recall, 2-3/4" chamber, mod choke, absolutely beautiful and as slick as snot. Mine isn't quite as old, 1982, 3" chamber, mod. choke, in very nice condition and also as slick as snot.

Don't have the ways nor knowledge how to post pics, sorry.

GS
 
My grandfathers Marlin 24 is in the safe. It was heavily used for years by my dad and is exceptional smooth and worn. Nice takedown pump gun. Unfortunately, the 24 is not a particularly safe design so even though I have had it looked at twice, both smiths said to minimize shooting it or avoid it. Just too worn for good lockup. Thus I have only shot it a few times and each time I make sure the action is truly locked closed.

Great gun though.
 
Get a Stevens 311. You can still get a nice shooter for $350-$400. Pleanty of them around in 12 and 20 gauge. Very cool old time looking double barrel.
 
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