Nice surprise in the attic

[bthest86]

One of the earliest memories I have of guns was when I was 10 or 11 rabbit hunting with my older brother. We had been there all day with out single rabbit and so we decided to leave. I wanted to shoot the shotgun, which was my dad's gun, at least once before we left but I was too afraid to squeeze the trigger because of recoil which my brother warned me about. That was the last time I saw that gun.

Well, my grandmother passed away several weeks ago (God bless her) and I was looking around in the attic of her house and found that same Winchester 37A that I was too chicken to shoot. The forestock is warped a little and the trigger guard is loose. The blueing is mostly gone but there is no rust at all.

My dad left the family years ago so it was quite a surprise for me to find his gun in my grandmother's attic. Its an old cheapo for sure but its still nice find.

+1 shotgun for my collection

 

[imprezagm4]

Sentimental value is much greater than fiscal! Glad you found it.

 

[win71]

Very Nice

That would make anybody happy. You are lucky.

About 25 years ago my mother told me about a two barrel pistol she wanted to give me but that she had hid it somewhere in her house and couldn't find it. A few months ago I had the sad experience to clean out the house after she left.
I came across a Remington .41 rim fire nickel plated derringer in almost new condition. It was nestled in a box of cancelled checks. The check dates were over 30 years old. It was the only time in that cleaning process I was glad she DIDN'T throw anything away.

I don't have any idea where it came from.

 

[lance22]

I know how you feel !

Congrats on a wonderful surprise!

When I was a 'tike, the family had an old Savage break-action
.20 guage .... I wish I could find THAT in an attic somewhere but
alas it is gone ...

Anyway ... enjoy your find! What a great heirloom!

 

[fspitzdorf]

For years an old single shot - no name - no S/N - 20 ga sat in the corner of the office in the shop... it was there for woodchuck patrol... old, dirty, rusty, full of cobwebs... With my father's permission i took the ole girl home and cleaned her up best i could which amounted to not a whole lot as it was in poor shape...

I decided to rejuvenate it as, mechanically it was sound... so i chucked the barrel in the lathe and polished her to a mirror, same for the receiver... had her reblued and the receiver case hardened... the stock received a thorough cleaning, sanding and 10 coats of true oil... ending with a semi-gloss hand rubbed finish... probably looking better than it was when new...

Christmas of 2002 i presented that 20 gauge to my grandfather... which was priceless... for as he held onto that ole 20 ga and we were told endless stories about trips back home to the Dakotas during the 20's and 30's with that shotgun strapped to his suitcase... stories of the "good ole days" of pheasant hunting on the plains and bunny hunting in Michigan... As it turns out... my Great Grandfather was the one who purchased the shotgun, sometime in the early teens...

so now it sits in my gunsafe... well cared for and preserved... and i've never even loaded a round into it...

He passed away the following Thanksgiving... somethings just happen when the timing is right i reckon, surely a Christmas to remember...

 

[Legionnaire]

Good job! A few months ago, my father-in-law gave me the Remington 760 I took my first deer with. I'd told him many years ago that when he decided he was done with it, I'd buy it from him for my son. Well, he passed it on gratis. I have nicer, more expensive, and more accurate guns in the collection, but "sentimental value" is still value.

 

[MCgunner]

Sentimental value is much greater than fiscal! Glad you found it.

+1

 

[aaronrkelly]

My father didnt leave me any REAL guns......but I do have his old Benjamin Model 340 air gun. When I got it the thing wouldnt even pump up.

Recently I was looking it over as I was getting ready to order a new airgun to plink in the back yard with. Seemed a shame not to use this gun.

I did some searching and found a place to order old rebuild kits for Benjamin, Crossman and other brands of airguns.

By the time I bought the kit and special tool I was halfway to the cost of a new gun but its still nice to see my dads gun function and get some use.

 

[thirdeagle]

Likewise, my father passed a beautiful Winchester 94 on to me several years ago. It felt like a non-event, he and my mother were in the process of a divorce and his world was coming apart; actually we were all unglued. At the time I thought there were more pressing issues than that rifle. I figured out later that his rifle stood for something much more. He now knows how much I appreciate his gesture. Not long after, his father was killed at his workplace and my father inherited a beautiful Browning Citori. I know he would rather have his father than that shotgun, but at least it's another part of my grandfather that lives on. Those were some valuable lessons in life.

 

[deputy tom]

"Its an old cheapo for sure but its still nice find."

bthest86,don't be so sure.37A's are not cheaply made nor cheap to buy.However the sentimental value will out-weigh any monitary value.tom.