Have you ever thought about the history behind your guns?

[Avenger29]

Well, lets see.

I've got a Mosin Nagant that apparently was made in 1927 at the Tula Arsenal. It is in the 91/30 configuration, so it might have been updated from say, a Dragoon rifle. Being as such it is a pre-war receiver, it probably was used during the Great Patriotic War. Whether it was used by a guard watching over a supply depot or saw action at Stalingrad or went to Berlin, I'll never know.

My grandfather gave me a Winchester 69 bolt action rifle, that he bought off a friend for $12 many, many years ago. He could strike matches with it.

He also gave me a Marlin 336 .30-30 rifle that according to the serial was produced in 1964. It was his deer rifle, but he took excellent care of it and it is still in perfect condition.

My father has a Remington 550 .22 rifle. It jams a lot, and is not in very good condition, however. I bought a Ruger 10/22 after getting tired of fooling with it. The greatly enhanced reliability of the Ruger pleases me, but I wish I had gone with the blued model instead of the "stainless". The aluminum reciever is mismatched in color to the barrel.

I have a Remington 870 that I purchased recently. It is new, so it has no history...

But the Mosin, the Winchester 69, and the Marlin 336 just have "soul", and that is attractive to me.

 

[alucard0822]

I have a re-arsenal NM Garand built on a july 1943 reciever, I often wonder who carried it and to where. In some ways the famous, or infamous previous owner puts in your hands a tangible tool used to shape history, My father has a P-08 luger that became a trophy for someone during the battle of bastogne, has a worn holster, and the spare mag was loaded.

If you want a gun with an amazing history (and tend to be gullible), find the guy at the next gun show with the most expensive mil-surps in the place, and ask him why they are so expensive. You may even be able to purchase the very K98 that Alger hess surrendered to sgt York after the battle of Midway

 

[litman252]

I have a M1, later 40's Greek edition.................
Savage 99 in 243, one of my best friend's dad ended his life with it. I never knew the guy so it does not bother me............
SKS, too nice to have been used in a serious role.

But all mine mean something to me, some have made great shots, hope some will in the future. Between the second amendment, relatives in current and prev. wars no gun will only be steel in my mind.

Thanks,
Tony

 

[Acera]

Yeah I have one gun that could probably talk volumes about 20th century warfare.

It is a P-38 produced by Walter in 1942, with a serial number under 2K. My uncle picked it up off a dead NVA officer during his service in late 1969 and 1970. He gave the gun to my dad, and I got it when he passed.

I understand that many German SS soldiers captured by the French at the end of WWII had the choice of fighting for the Foreign Legion, or getting shot on site. From some other readings, I understand many were sent to Algeria, and then to South East Asia in that service. Basically serving until they could not anymore, died, or got killed.

I always wondered if this is how this pistol got halfway around the world from where it was produced and probably issued.

 

[brentn]

I have an 1868 enfield, its the only used gun that I own, all the others were brand new when I purchased them.

The enfield has been in my family since it was produced, and I can only imagine what its been through. Its a snyder, so it uses .577 paper cartridges with a brass centerfire base, in which, my great grand-papi used to hunt back in the 20's. I have a feeling that his dad probably brought it back from the civil war, who the hell knows, I can only hope that it has a long and rich history.

Theres no way to really track it, and although there are proof numbers I have been told that it doesn't really mean anything.

 

[MisterPX]

I've got a July '41 Garand. I wish I could hear the stories it could tell.....

 

[Horsesense]

http://cgi.ebay.com/THE-MYSTERY-by-Ray-Comfort_W0QQitemZ230176836852QQcmdZViewItem
This is a good story about a .38S&W
This book will take you through the terrors of Nazi Germany, the conquest of the Normandy invasion, the rebellion of the 60's, LSD, Martin Luther King and the Kennedy assassination. These turbulent times have raised many questions, the answers of which are brought to light through the life of one man. Follow the gripping story of this courageous American, as he fights for the French resistance in this fast-moving and inspiring novel of two wars, two continents...one question-the mystery!

 

[jack90]

its a good think my k98 cant talk i would be afraid of what it would say

 

[.cheese.]

that's why I don't buy used guns. So I know the history - it was made, it was sent to a store, I took it home.

My father's revolver was used though and belonged to a Chicago PD officer before he bought it. I wonder about it, especially if it was ever used on somebody and if he's somehow setting himself up for a haunting by being in possession of it.

 

[gunNoob]

I wonder about it. It'd be interesting to know where they've been and what kind of combat they have seen.

 

[Rugerlvr]

My 1955 M1 spent most of it's life in Greece. I wonder if it was ever fired in anger. Who would the Greeks have been fighting in those days? The Cypriots?

 

[Drgong]

I have a Hungarian Mosin, and I wish it could talk.

Then agian, it would be complaining that it was maimed by the previous owner who "Bubbad" it.

 

[blackcash88]

Not too long ago, the realization struck me that most of the mil-surps I own have most likely taken lives but justfiably.

Do you own any foreign mil-surps? If so, how can you be so sure? I have no idea of the history behind any of my issued SKSs, AK parts kits, etc.

 

[Scoupe]

I have a Hungarian Mosin, and I wish it could talk.

Yeah, but you'd need a translator. It would probably speak Hungarian in a thick Russian accent.

 

[BikerNut]

I have an old German Police P-38 that came in the original holster. The officer's name was penned inside with what may be his badge number.

But the one that I'm particularly curious about is an old Civil War Cavalry Smith Carbine we have. It was in my wife's family for as long as anyone remembers. The 30,000 Smith Carbines that were manufactured were issued to the 7th and 11th Illinois Cavalry. I did some research and found one person in the 7th and two in the 11th with my wife's family name. But until she does some genealogical research, we have no sure way of knowing if they're related.

I did my own genealogy several years ago. My family were all in the Confederate Army and DAMN PROUD OF IT.

Maybe one of her kinfolks used that rifle to kill one of my kinfolks!

 

[doc540]

My Smith M36 was previously owned by our now retired local sheriff and was his backup gun.

In the early 1960's he was elected mayor of the fine city of Beaumont when the James Committee came to town and upset the vice apple cart.

He sold the 1972, nickel plated M36 to my dad, his friend and retired banker, and it remained in my dad's nightstand for probably 20 years.

I told him I needed a carry piece so he took my Taurus Model 85 in trade! I tried to give him an additional $100 cash, but he refused to take it. The Taurus won't see the light of day again either.

This is one gun I'll keep in the family because of its "local history".

 

[ArcherandShooter]

Springmom and I have a few WW2 vets we wish could talk:

1942 Springfield Armory Garand
1943 (?) Sauer and Son .32 ACP pistol my Dad brought back from Germany
1944 (?) Rock-Ola M1 Carbine
1944 long-barrel Mosin - no sniper scope, but it is the long rifle, not the carbine
1942 (?) Canadian Lee-Enfield

Like many of the human vets of that war, my Dad never, and I mean never, spoke of what he saw, heard, and did. I learned a bit later from family stories of a camp his unit liberated, which would certainly explain his silence. He's gone, now, so that silence will remain unbroken, though we all found some intriguing hints (including the Sauer & Son pistol with matching holster) when we cleaned out the attic after he and Mom died.

Maybe that's part of why I'm so hungry to know more, because guns like these were such a large part of events that shaped the most important man in my life, and through him shaped me.

 

[Templar223]

Thought about the history behind my guns...

Why yes! That's half the fun of collecting them.

I am fortunate enough to have my great grandfather's service rifle from the Spanish-American War, a Trapdoor carbine.

I also have a low serial number (1.2M) Garand from WWII that I'm sure would have some stories to tell if it could talk.

Many of my other guys have stories behind them, including a former police piece that shot a wife-beater (who was killed for good (via stabbing) less than a year later by the same woman he was beating on).

Let's hope I don't give them any more stories for them to tell - well, at least stories involving dead people.

John

 

[thebigc]

i wonder what my 1896 finn reworked m39 has seen it has a lot of character and some suspicious pitting on the bottom of the magazine and barrel bands probably has 70 present of the bluing left and the stocks a little dinged up but its my favorite rifle and the most accurate i own i still shoot it and enjoy the fact its been around being used for over 100 years.

 

[Hk91-762mm]

I have a 1903-A3 remington 1943 .
The stock next to the magazine has 4 small notches cut in . The notches blend in with the same age as the rest of the wood --I can only guess what the meaning of the notches is ! It has enough wear to tell you it was used not as guard gun!

 

[onebigelf]

You find it on civil war guns. Who carried it, what happened to them. Swiss K-31's frequently have a tag under the buttplate that tells you who it was issued to. I just recently bought a 1917. Wish the US military would make those records available.

John

 

[SaxonPig]

I wonder all the time. On a few I have some idea of at least part of their story.

I have an English double rifle that according to the manufacturer was made in 1910 and sold to a man with the title of "honourable." Could be a judge or member of Parliament. He brought it back in 1923 and it was sold on consignment to an Afghani gentleman who had the exact same name as a prince in the royal family. I do not know that it was the same man, but it seems plausible as who else would be in London buying a high-end rifle?

They lost track of the gun at that point until I contacted them in the late 1980s. They wrote and said that they have amended their records on this rifle to record my name as current owner. Sort of makes me a part of history, no?

 

[Zip7]

The one gun I have that always makes me think about its history is an old model Ruger Single Six that my dad bought new in 1959 or so.

It's what he taught me to shoot when I was a kid, but every time I pick it up, I remember Saturday mornings when I was young my dad and I would go bass fishing on the river, and we always took that pistol and shot snakes off logs with it. My dad passed away about three years ago, and I miss him - so the history of that old gun is the one that means the most to me.

 

[Drgong]

Yeah, but you'd need a translator. It would probably speak Hungarian in a thick Russian accent.

Imagine how much fun that would be, it would be a international youtube hit!

Actually was thinking "wonder what crackdowns this rifle was used for in its homeland..."

 

[CombatArmsUSAF]

Not my guns, because I have bought them all new. But the guns I deal with at work, M16A2 Conversions and M60's, with manufacture dates in the 1960's, yes I have.