Guns you keep for life

[Sniper66]

How about a thread for old timers who have bought, sold, traded, and given away guns all their lives, but have a few precious guns they would not part with for love nor money. I have 3.
1. An old, now dysfunctional, Iver Johnson single shot 410 that my dad received as a gift when he was a boy around the year 1915. He taught me and my 3 brothers how to shoot squirrels with it. It came to me when my dad died in 1983. It is on display in my den.
2. A Winchester 67A, single shot .22 I bought in a pawn shop in 1965 so I could hunt squirrels. It was the first gun I bought after leaving home as a kid. It occupies a special place in my gun cabinet and is employed occasionally to dispatch pesky possums that get in my trash.
3. A Remington 541S equipped with a Leupold VX 3 2.5X8. Bougth around 1975 after I left college in 1973 and started to earn decent money...the scope of course came later. It is now my favorite squirrel rifle that shoots one-hole groups in paper targets and squirrels.

It is interesting as I sorted through, in my head, all the guns I have that my favorites are all related to squirrel hunting. Having hunted all over the country and owned dozens of different guns and now 65 years old, I still hunt squirrels and my favorite hunting partner is my 75 year old brother. We shoot the same rifle. I look forward to your stories.

 

[xXxplosive]

My ol'e S&W Model 29
My Ol'e Winchester 94 Takedown / early.
My Ol'e S&W Model 19 Armoloy Finish and Trigger Job By Austin Behlert.
My Ol'e 1911 Gov't Model US Army 1918
My Ol'e Remington Model 11 shotgun
My Ol'e ColT Combat Commander Pre 80's...Custom Bushing, Trigger, Grip Safety, Lower Port, Flaired Mag Well, Stippling front and back on frame.....a beauty...etc.
My Ol'e 1863 Springfield Carbine

Should I Continue.....?

 

[Ryanxia]

I'm not an old timer but;

My first 1911
Single shot 20gauge that was my first gun and will be my son's when I have kids
Pre-WW2 German pistol that was passed down to me

That's about it at the moment.

 

[hardluk1]

Remmington 511P bought in the early 70's used.
Reminton 788-308 rifle bought new . Nothing special ,just a great shooting old deer killer
Dan Wesson 15-2 bought new in 1976.
Colt huntsman bought new with the help of dad 1971.
Ruger 77mkII 7 rem mag. turned custom- early 1990's ?

The rest don't really matter . They come and go. Mostly to our children.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

The three my dad bought me and the old Winchester single barell 16-gauge that has been passed down from Paul to Paul for a while now will never leave. My brother also gave me a .22 mag one year when my dad was down with a broken back and couldn't afford much, but that one will probably go to one of his boys before it's over. It'll stay in the family though.

 

[22-rimfire]

I certainly have my favorites. I also own a 541-S which is just about my favorite bolt action 22 even though I have "better" ones.

My earliest purchases have stayed with me for the most part other than a couple shotguns and handguns that I never shot or used.

I really have not decided on what firearms would be sold last when the time comes. But the Remington 541-S, a S&W Model 57, and a blue 4" Colt Diamondback 22 are likely to be some of the last guns that I get rid of when the time comes.

 

[76shuvlinoff]

51 and I don't know if I'm old enough to qualify as an old timer but I'm sure I'm ancient to some.

I can't see me giving up Dad's bring back P38 or the Wards Hercules single shot 12 gauge he got from my wife's grandfather for a pile of scrap steel and $3.

There's my first .22, a single shot Ted Williams from Sears ....and I'm pretty partial to my first 1911 as well.

 

[BobTheTomato]

I'm not old but I wont part with my garand

 

[Fall Guy]

I'm not an old-timer yet either, but the guns I have that I will never part with once belonged to my favorite old-timer: Grandpa. He fostered my love of hunting and shooting from an early age and there are way too many memories to share here.

The guns include a Winchester Model 94 30-30 with 85 notches(deer) and no blueing, a Browning A-5 Sweet Sixteen, a Chipmunk .22, an Ithaca Model 37 16 gauge and my first deer rifle that he bought - another M94.

 

[Sniper66]

Hey 22-Rimfire, What .22s do you like that are "better" than the 541S? I would really be interested in your ideas. I have found a few at the Tulsa Gun Show that looked like good possibilties, but this year I hope to have enough cash to buy another really fine .22 Suggestions? Tom

 

[sedona]

Browning A-5 light 20
Colt Bisley passed down from my Dad
Model 19

 

[22-rimfire]

Most people would use "accuracy or precision" as their guide to "what's better" with 22 rifles. My Remington 547 is clearly more accurate. My Weatherby Mark XXII is a tad more accurate than the 541-S. Weatherby just dropped the bolt action Mark XXII from production at the end of the year. For a rifle you carry in the woods (carefully I might add), the 541-S is hard to beat.

Many really like the CZ 452/453/455 22 rifles. Most will give the Remington 541-S a run for its money and they aren't priced like the ones that follow. This is a good choice if you don't want to break the bank. Or you could just find a good old Remington 541-T. The Remingtons are so sleek and feel great.

The Savage Mark II Classic is another good one. The classic has the walnut stock and accu-trigger. It has been dropped from regular production too. I really like walnut stocks. Not a big fan of composite or laminate stocks.

$$ The Anshutz and Cooper rifles tend to be consistantly accurate and usually more accurate. The Kimbers were also for the most part.

 

[THe Dove]

Hey Sniper, how old do you have to be to be an (Old Timer) and respond to the thread?

The Dove

 

[aaronu]

Good question. This is stuff I really enjoy thinking through. Since I've already worked through this, I figure I must be old enough for this thread.

"Guns I'll keep" is the stuff I'll pass down to my kids but never get rid of any other way, barring major catastrophe. I may pass them along while I"m still alive. Hopefully I have a few more years to decide.

Remington Model 12C .22 pump rifle. Actually it's a gift from my dad to my son. I'm just the custodian of it until my boy is old enough to have it for his very own.

Colt Automatic Pistol .22. It's a Woodsman before they were called that. My great uncle, born in 1900 received it as a gift from his mother when he went off to work in the woods at age 18. It needs a new extractor but other than that fires fine -- or at least it would if I ever put it back together. It is in no way a collector piece but is very accurate and has some heirloom value to my family. My son will likely get this one as well since he shares a birthday with his great grand uncle.

High Standard Sport King .22, 4" barrel. Fun, easy to shoot, simple to operate and very reliable. I love how the High Standard can be field stripped in one easy step. I'm left handed and the stock plastic grips have a right hand thumb rest. My father scavenged some redwood burl and made me left handed grips for it. The grips look good but are clearly hand made. That's OK by me... every line and groove was put there by my dad, specifically and only for me. Funny coincidence, my son is also left handed.

Savage Stevens Favorite .22. It is a falling block, single shot rifle that I've shot since I was a kid, and one of the rifles my dad used to teach me and my brothers gun safety and target shooting. It became mine when I was 12. It accompanied me on a lot of hikes through the redwoods as a teenager. I used to take it to junior high school with me, so I could go shooting after school with the gun club. I have this earmarked for my eldest daughter.

Swiss Army Rifle in .41 caliber. This is a cap and ball muzzle loader made some time 1851-1853 in New Jersey. It has a removable bayonet and looks like it belongs more in the Revolutionary War era. They were sold to Switzerland but when the Civil War loomed, the U.S. government bought them back from the Swiss and issued them (mostly to to reserve and second-line troops, IIRC). I used to shoot it in the back yard when I was a kid. Lately it's been a wall hanger. I really need to pull it down and give it a good cleaning.

Regards,

Aaron

 

[huntsman]

2-Brownings. BSS BDA
2-Colts.Frontier scout 2nd series matchtarget
2-Winchesters. 50 63

 

[Sniper66]

22- rimfire.....What ammo do you shoot in your 547? I like Anschutz and have one in 17 HMR, Almost bought an Anschutz .22 at the last Tulsa gun show, but do not recall the model. Thanks for your ideas.

 

[hermannr]

Collectors only buy, never sell. I'll keep 'em all and have one daughter that wants them all when I go. She'll have to fight her sisters for them.

Favorites? Winchester 1897, from dad, manufactured in 1903.
1926 Colt Officers Model first issue, from my FIL
1930? Marlin Model 80 (my second .22)
1964 Rem 700...first (and only) gun I ever purchased new.
1965 High Standard Trophy.

I have more, but they are all newer to me, but none were factory new when I purchased them.

 

[Larry Ashcraft]

A Winchester 1890 22 short given to my grandfather by his father in the 1920s. I still shoot it, but it's getting a bit rickety.

A Springfield single shot 22 bought used by my grandfather and given to my dad for his 12th birthday in 1939. It still shoots great after I replaced the firing pin, and my grandkids enjoy shooting it.

A Remington model 10 12 ga that was my dad's hunting gun. He bought in the 1960s so my brother and I could use his old JC Higgins.

 

[RevolvingGarbage]

For me its these:

1. Mossberg .22 Plinkster. My first firearm, purchased by me shortly after I turned 18.
2. My RG40 .38 spl revolver. My first handgun, given to me by my dad after he purchased it from a friend for next to nothing. I learned a ton through shooting and improving what many would concider to be one of the rattiest handguns ever sold. Now its a smoother functioning revolver than any smith or ruger I've ever held.
3. My Colt MK.IV 1911 Stainless Government. My Dads 21st birthday present to me, and made the same year I was.

 

[lindy]

I am an old timer, And from the many fire arms that I have accumalated over
My life I would have to say that My .38 Spl Model of 1902 1st change target
pistol and My Remington model 12A .22 cal. rifle sticks out in My mind as the
ones I want to keep.

Good Shooting

Lindy

 

[Salmoneye]

I sold two guns in my life...

I will always regret it, and never do it again...

 

[M-Cameron]

Not an old timer by any means ...... But I have 2 guns I'll never sell, 1 of which I'll most likely be burried with

One is my custom savage mk2 match rifle . Not only did I have a blast building it, but it wa also my first gun.

The second is my ruger sp101. My 4th gun....but my first actually carry gun, it follows me everywhere, and is more than a just a tool to me, as it should be seeing as I trust my life to it.....

 

[Liberty1776]

American Gun Co. (Crescent Arms) 16 ga. hammer double. I shot my first grouse with it over 30 years ago. Some ducks and pheasant since, but that first grouse...

 

[M2 Carbine]

There are a good number but the two that top the list are my Wife's Colt.


And this GI 1911A1 I bought NIB from the government in 1961 for $17.
It's changed over the years.

 

[steveb4c]

after years of trading/selling, i'm finally proud of my little collection. they will all be handed down. my mother is letting me "baby-sit" her winchesters right now, and eventhough she said they will be mine someday, the 9422 mag ('73 manufacture) is not going back to her house anytime soon