That gun in the back of your safe, the one you never shoot

[Alte Schule]

A few years ago I found a S&W Model 36 square butt with a nickle finish, in like new condition. SN# indicates it was manufactured in the early 1970's. I can't be certain but I don't think it was ever fired. It's absolutely pristine. I put five rounds through it and put it away. It will go to my son or grandson one day.

 

[22-rimfire]

I can understand that. Contact me when your ready to sell, maybe we can work a deal.

If I remember.... considering selling all of them at once to a collector dealer at a discount over market just to get it over with. If you can handle 100K, I'll talk to you.

 

[zb338]

Its the one in my avatar, a Remington 514 .22 single shot. I got it for Christmas 67 years ago. I had it bead blasted and re-blued a few years ago. The pic was shopped by my Grandson inspired by the Mel McDaniel song Louisiana Saturday Night lyric "A single shot rifle and a one eyed dog"

Great song DDDWho!
Zeke

 

[T45acp]

For me it's a Winchester Mod 95 saddle ring carbine in 30army. I'm saving it for my son.

 

[Bill50]

Mosin Nagant M91/30.

The bolt sticks so bad I just about need a mallet to work the action, and the stock has more cosmoline than should be physically possible.

The one I bought was full of Cosmo too. The bolt isn't very good but will function easily for 20 or so rounds. Still a good value. I paid $95 in 2011.

 

[kozak6]

I tried a few tricks with that stock.

Using the blowdrier as a heat gun is slow, obnoxious, ineffective, and extremely worrying to others. Wrapping it with paper towels and putting in a black plastic trashbag in the Phoenix summer heat didn't touch it, not even in the trunk of a car.

So I spent a whole afternoon scrubbing that stock with dishsoap and hot water until it was sad and pale like piece of driftwood. And then it completely re-greased itself when I wasn't looking. Now, it's only marginally less greasy. It's seriously almost as greasy as before. That stock must be completely soaked through and through with the stuff.

So I tried mineral spirits. Several times. Mineral spirits have no effect on it, as far as I can tell.

I was going to try a degreaser like Simple Green or Purple Power or something, but then I remembered I was sick of scrubbing it and that the rifle was unshootable anyways.

I might soaking the action in mineral spirts as suggested, but I have to tell you that I really enjoy not trying to shoot that damned thing.

 

[CapnMac]

Mine is an accident of sorts. Had wandered into Oshman's with a coupon and spotted a very marked down Beretta .25acp. The out-the-door was under $60, so it was near irresistible.
Of course "free puppy" syndrome kicked in, needed jags & brushes and a rug, and ammo for the fool thing. Which all well doubled what I had in it.
It doesn't get shot much because it's a tipping barrel .25acp

 

[stlcards]

The only gun I don't shoot is my great grandfather's Remington Model 12-C. It's from either 1919 or 1920 as best as I can figure from searching the web. My grandfather was the last person to shoot it, probably 30-40 years ago.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

A gun I don't shoot now and which has sat in the back of the closet without shooting for years is a .50 CVA Bobcat sidelock I shot in the muzzleloading match and in the black powder cartridge match (until I developed reasonably accurate BP substitute loads for two centerfire rifles).
Thinking about it makes me want to take the Bobcat to the range and see how much I remember/forgot about the craft of shooting muzzleloaders.

 

[il_10]

I have a Winchester 1911 (shotgun) I inherited from my uncle. He was always proud of it, being a rare shotgun, and I have no intention of selling it.

Simply put, it was always a dog. Designed to skirt around Browning's patents, it did everything poorly, and they get much worse over time. The recoil buffering system is made of leather, which hardens over time, leading to excessive recoil and cracked furniture. The feeding mechanism on my example is broken, so it's basically a single shot, and the charging mechanism consists of a knurled section of barrel that you grab and pull back towards the receiver. Users' temptation to press the barrel down from the front, along with a propensity to slam fire as they go into battery or fire as the stock is struck against the ground with a stuck shell, earned these shotguns the nickname "Widowmaker." One of these days I'll get it back into reliable shooting condition, but now it's just comes out very occasionally as a "bet you won't shoot it twice!" kind of gun.

 

[SeanSw]

Definitely my Czech vz-24 rifle in 8mm mauser. Haven't fired it in at least a decade. With the limited amount of 8mm ammo on hand I may never again.

 

[Wesg]

My Ruger 10\22. Dad gave it to me in 1987 for Christmas. Killed alot of cans and squirrels with it. Haven't shot it in years

 

[godale]

mossberg 16 gauge bolt action. bought it at a local lgs 5 years ago bought ammo and never shot it,

 

[OilyPablo]

Nothing that special or rare or expensive but a CZ-70 (.32ACP) still in the box, basically has all the appearance of being brand new (hard to say unshot, but looks like it). It's just this small, kinda cool looking - surprisingly heavy hunk of steel.

http://www.cztalk.com/The-Vz70-The-Forgotten-disco-era-CZ-32ACP.html

 

[Reloadron]

There is a Ruger Model 77 in 7mm Remington Magnum, a Remington 7400 and a few other hunting rifles I have not shot in years. I really don't hunt much anymore.

 

[tark]

Having already mentioned the 1911 over my name, I do have one other gun that will definitely never be fired: My 99+% C-96 that was apparently never fired after proof testing. I'M too lazy to clean all the cosmoline out of the inside of the gun and I promised a dying man that I would never shoot it.

 

[loose noose]

All my guns get shot eventually, but when you have as many as I do, sometimes it takes awhile. Granted I do have some that get used quite frequently at the range or out hunting or even just out plinking, but they all get shot eventually like I previously stated. I would say I do have quite a few safe queens depending on your definition of safe queen.

 

[76shuvlinoff]

My father also brought back a P38. I saw it once when I was about 12. I was admonished never to touch it. I never did. We moved when I was 16. My father claimed the gun was stolen by the movers and that was that.

I have a North American Arms .380 Guardian that sits in the safe. It is heavy to carry and uncomfortable to shoot, so it sits.

As far as the old P38 goes that could be a good thing. When I got Dad's it would not decock. I replaced some parts thanks to help from a P38 website. They warned me worn P38s have been known to run away and dump a full mag so I only loaded one round, decocked it and sure enough BANG! I ordered a new firing pin. On disassembly I found the old pin was installed upside down and jammed. Previously I had been told this firing pin was made by one of Dad's buddies. I just replaced the pin, there were no more issues. It works as designed now but I still won't decock it on a loaded chamber during the rare times I shoot it.

 

[P5 Guy]

Kimber 82G, this thread gave me the ambition to take it to the range before the end of the year.

 

[outlawjw]

I do have a brown , load through the butt nylon 66 in a leather case as old as it is . I've shot it one morning to see if it would shoot , quite accurate at 40 yards open sights . Like new it & case . I don't sell guns but do trade occasionally & someday will trade for something I would shoot , don't know what that would be though

 

[.308 Norma]

I have a M-100 Winchester, .308 Winchester that mom and dad bought for me when I was 14. It was my first big game rifle. I think there was a recall (something to do with the firing pin) on M-100s back in the '80s, but I didn't care. By then, I'd retired my M-100 having decided I needed at least a 30-06 for killing deer regardless of the fact I'd been killing deer just fine with my .308 Winchester for 15 years or so. Not every decision I've made in my life have made sense.
At any rate, if I ever decide (unlikely) I'm going to shoot my M-100 again, I'll take it to a gunsmith and get that firing pin problem figured out. Until then, my .308 Norma kills deer just fine - even though at 69 years old, I prefer to load my .308 Norma down so that it doesn't kick any harder than my .308 Winchester did.

 

[vito]

Not never, but rarely fired is my S&W 19, Nickel, 4 inch. Its the only gun for which I have an emotional attachment. Was the first I gun I bought after I was burglarized in the mid '80's and it looked so good it was calling to me from the gun case. I think this gun is about as perfect a looking and feeling handgun as has ever been made. I do shoot it about once a year , then clean it and put it away until I feel like holding it and looking at it.

 

[pinehtr]

Iver Johnson pony ,Purchased at Walmart in 1984.

 

[SeanSw]

My least used of all is probably the CZ-DUO .25 pistol that joined my safe when my partner and I moved in together. I tossed some new springs at it just to see it function again but it's pretty useless. Quite a bit more accurate than expected for having gutter sights but still useless.

 

[JO JO]

a rem 870 bought it never shot it , just sits in back of the safe comes out for a oil wipe down now and then