BlisteringSilence
Member
In August of this year, my grandfather passed. He was a fantastic man, a truly great father and grandfather, and model for how I lead my life.
He was also a lifelong shotgunner, and was the man who introduced me to clay target shooting at the ripe old age of 8 or so.
Under his tutelage, and with his guidance and encouragement, I have qualified as an AA shooter (at various times) in trap, double trap, skeet, English sporting, and FITASC.
Unfortunately, the demands of work and family have made it so that I don't compete nearly as much as I used to, and now I settle for a couple of rounds a month.
Regardless, I will forever treasure this man for what he taught me, both about shotgunning and about life.
All of this is said in introduction of my real topic, which is the guns that grandpa left to me, and I have successfully sussed out as part of cleaning out his home and settling his estate.
Between my brother and I, grandpa left us around 20 shotguns each, as well as a smattering of rifles and pistols (and each of us received a .22 with instructions to present it to his as-yet-unborn great-grandchildren, along with a note and a savings bond).
This is a figurative ton of weapons, many of which I will likely rarely fire, and none of which I will ever be able to sell. Not because of anything he said or did, but simply because they are my remembrance of him.
At his request, 6 of the 870's he gave me are set aside for a donation in his name to my local boy scout camp, where they will hopefully live long and productive lives, enriching the experiences and stoking the excitement of boys at camp the same way they did me.
The rest have moved into their black Friday sale gun safe, and I have finally had time to go through them and do more than catalog models and serial numbers. Thus, a few questions:
1. Does anyone know if it's possible to date an 870 by serial number?
2. Are there any reference materials for barrel proof marks for Remington?
3. Is a cracked Remington 870 receiver worth repairing?
4. Are there any collector-specific things I need to look for with regard to his shotguns? They're a mix of 870's, 1100's, 11-87's, with a few odds and ends tossed in (a BT-99, a beautifully engraved Charles Daley O/U from Japan, a Winchester Supreme Sporting O/U that is a twin to mine, and a Browning BPS that's old enough it predates invector plus chokes.) I do have what appear to be a matched pair of 870 TC's, one in Skeet and one in Trap, with sequential serial numbers. I don't know if this was an accident, or if he custom ordered them from the factory that way, and I have no way to check. I do know that the stocks are absolutely gorgeous.
Specifically to #3, I think I finally have proof that yes, Virginia, it is possible to wear out an 870. I've never done it to one of mine that I bought through shooting, but dear Grandpa apparently has. At this point, there's no way I'd shoot this gun, but I can't bear to get rid of it or turn it into a parts gun. If it's feasible, I'd like to send it off to be welded and refinished, and then return it to active duty.
Please see the pics below:
He was also a lifelong shotgunner, and was the man who introduced me to clay target shooting at the ripe old age of 8 or so.
Under his tutelage, and with his guidance and encouragement, I have qualified as an AA shooter (at various times) in trap, double trap, skeet, English sporting, and FITASC.
Unfortunately, the demands of work and family have made it so that I don't compete nearly as much as I used to, and now I settle for a couple of rounds a month.
Regardless, I will forever treasure this man for what he taught me, both about shotgunning and about life.
All of this is said in introduction of my real topic, which is the guns that grandpa left to me, and I have successfully sussed out as part of cleaning out his home and settling his estate.
Between my brother and I, grandpa left us around 20 shotguns each, as well as a smattering of rifles and pistols (and each of us received a .22 with instructions to present it to his as-yet-unborn great-grandchildren, along with a note and a savings bond).
This is a figurative ton of weapons, many of which I will likely rarely fire, and none of which I will ever be able to sell. Not because of anything he said or did, but simply because they are my remembrance of him.
At his request, 6 of the 870's he gave me are set aside for a donation in his name to my local boy scout camp, where they will hopefully live long and productive lives, enriching the experiences and stoking the excitement of boys at camp the same way they did me.
The rest have moved into their black Friday sale gun safe, and I have finally had time to go through them and do more than catalog models and serial numbers. Thus, a few questions:
1. Does anyone know if it's possible to date an 870 by serial number?
2. Are there any reference materials for barrel proof marks for Remington?
3. Is a cracked Remington 870 receiver worth repairing?
4. Are there any collector-specific things I need to look for with regard to his shotguns? They're a mix of 870's, 1100's, 11-87's, with a few odds and ends tossed in (a BT-99, a beautifully engraved Charles Daley O/U from Japan, a Winchester Supreme Sporting O/U that is a twin to mine, and a Browning BPS that's old enough it predates invector plus chokes.) I do have what appear to be a matched pair of 870 TC's, one in Skeet and one in Trap, with sequential serial numbers. I don't know if this was an accident, or if he custom ordered them from the factory that way, and I have no way to check. I do know that the stocks are absolutely gorgeous.
Specifically to #3, I think I finally have proof that yes, Virginia, it is possible to wear out an 870. I've never done it to one of mine that I bought through shooting, but dear Grandpa apparently has. At this point, there's no way I'd shoot this gun, but I can't bear to get rid of it or turn it into a parts gun. If it's feasible, I'd like to send it off to be welded and refinished, and then return it to active duty.
Please see the pics below: