Granddaddy's Gun

[TradLife406]

Anyone else blessed with a family heirloom gun or two?

My grandpa was a farmer in North Central Montana and wasnt rich, but wasn't poor either. He worked hard for what he had. But he was also a gun nut and loved fancy quality guns. He was really into handloading and accurate guns.

As a kid I'd sometimes have to ask to borrow a rifle because I hadnt yet bought my own. It was pretty special following grandpa to his closet where guns would almost fall out because of how many he had crammed in there lol!

He passed in 2010 and last year my mom was able to pass a few of the rifles down to my dad and I. My dad's dad was the south end of a north bound donkey. So her dad was the one who got my dad into hunting after he came home from Nam.

My favorite I ended up with was a 1960 German Weatherby in 270 Wby!
First time out with it I shot my first bear!

An old Sako in 222 Rem. Honestly I want a modern 222. What a little sweetheart of a cartridge! I can buy Hornady for $17 or handload for a few cents! First time out I got a yote! Then this summer I was nailing praire dogs with her!

My dad ended up with a Browning B78 I'm 22-250. Being the nice son I am I offered my old Leupold XVII for it. Also I'd sight it in. When we first got it the trigger was horrible. But our smith fixed it down to a very good varmint rifle weight. Sure enough yesterday afternoon after sighting it in I shot a big yote! And I suck at yote hunting when I'm actually looking for them!

I guess he had a few rifles in the collection that still had the tags on them, never fired!

I guess that's one thing a person who is against guns or a non hunter/shooter will never understand is the bonds that are established and memories made with guns.

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[5MilesBack]

Definitely from a different generation.......I think of that gun as modern.

I have my Grandpa's Springfield 1903 from WWI.

 

[cumminsbassguy]

Definitely from a different generation.......I think of that gun as modern.

I have my Grandpa's Springfield 1903 from WWI.

that's bad ass man!. when my great grandfather passed, I got his 30-06 and my brother got the 12ga.

 

[theleo91386]

Ahhh... sentimental hand me downs. For my family it's two model 92 32-20's (one saddle ring carbine and the other is a trapper model) that were my great grandfathers and a field grade model 12 that belonged to my grandfather. Two others that receive honorable mention is a model 94 25-35 because it represents my great uncle who taught my dad to hunt, and a model 86 45-90 that entered the family not long ago but won't be leaving during my lifetime.

 

[5MilesBack]

that's bad ass man!. when my great grandfather passed, I got his 30-06 and my brother got the 12ga.

I forgot about his "goose gun". 36" barrel single shot 12ga. Wish it was a 10ga.

 

[MSElkHunter]

I have a few of my grandfather's guns. My favorite is his model 70 30-06. Killed an 8 point white tail opening day last year with it. That was a good day.


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[AK Troutbum]

I love hearing stories of family firearms that were passed down through the generations, thanks for sharing that. I have a couple myself and my favorite is a little Marlin .22 pump action that my great grandfather bought when he was 10 years old, back around the turn-of-the-century (1900). I believe he was born in 1889. He died about five years before I was born but he passed the rifle on my grandfather, who intern passed it on to my father, and my father passed it on me about 10 years ago. It only shoots .22 shorts but it's accurate as hell.

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[elkbowkevin]

1960s era marine remington piston in the stock action semi auto target 22 with peep sight.
1964 remington 970 pump .270, Kiilled a deer in 1994 with it, and an elk this past march, Oh ya! and a cougar in my back yard!
Also have a 1894 30-30 octagon barrel, sharps type peep sight, silver inlaid horse shoe with some rubies and emeralds inlaid in the stock.
Came from great gramps, to gramps, then to my dad. Maybe mine some day, Ill never shoot it though. My dad is the only person who's killed a deer with it in the early 60's, then he got that pump .270.

 

[Mjm316]

I inherited a couple last year. My favorite is the 1957 Win model 71 in .348 also got an Ithica m37 light 20ga that got some action last week shooting some grouse.

 

[16Bore]

Sometimes a blessing, sometimes a curse. Especially if you don't want a pile of stuff around. Each to his own, but my brother and I have agreed that if one of us should pass, that the other will take possession of the guns and do with them what he pleases. I'd rather him have what HE likes rather than what I like. And vice versa.

Odds are the emotions would take over anyway, but a free pass is as much a gift in my opinion.

You never know, a fella could lose his best hunting partner ever and just not give a shit about hunting anymore.

 

[Jimbob]

I have my Grandfathers Lee Enfield .303 British that he carried in service. I also have his single shot Cooey 12ga that he purchased when my father was in grade 7. He was so excited about his new shotgun that he went to my Dad's school at lunch time and they were looking at it in the parking lot. The Police were NOT called and those were the good ole days ha ha. My grandfather died when I was very young so these guns are something I have to remember him by. My son will one day get them.

The real special gun though is the one my brother now has. When my Grampa was on his death bed in October of 1987 my Dad said he was going to shoot a moose with his rifle for him. The next day he went out into the bush with Grampa's gun and shot a moose. Its just a Remington pump .308 but my grandfather has killed a moose with it, my Dad has killed a moose with it and now my brother has killed moose with it, one day his son will kill a moose with it. Just an awesome family heirloom.

 

[ezmorningrebel]

i have my grandfathers hunting rifle but it doesn't get used. not sure i really trust the barrel on it so it just lives in the gun cabinet.
it's an M1917 Enfield made in Eddystone but sporterized by Santa Fe arms. There's probably a million of them out there but it's all I got from him.

 

[D_Eightch]

I've got my grandpas Remington Model 721 in .300 H&H.

Produced in Oct. 1949, same month and year my dad was born. Makes it that much cooler

 

[sveltri]

Definitely not a classic, but I got my grandpa's .300 Weatherby Mag. Every elk I've gunned has been with that gun.

 

[JFK]

I was just given my grandad's hunting rifle. A sporterized Remington 1917 Enfield in 30-06. My great uncle was a gunsmith who sporterized it, so he made the stock as well. A lot of history in that rifle. It currently has flip up iron sights, and while I thought about having it tapped for scope bases, I'm re-considering and will likely leave it as is.

 

[tater]

You never know, a fella could lose his best hunting partner ever and just not give a shit about hunting anymore.

I answered an ad in January for a guy selling a few rifles and shotguns. He had a B78 i was interested in, so i drove out to check it out. Turns out they belonged to his best friend and hunting partner of almost 50 years, who had passed six months before.

The gun had been bought brand new in 1975 by the original owner, and had every single piece of original equipment it left the factory with. Despite that, it looked like it had some serious miles on it, even with the tight action and pristine barrel.
I asked him to share some of the hunting stories that went with the gun, and he welled up as he spent the next hour talking about elk in the Kootenays, moose in the Chilcotin and mulies on the Douglas.

It seemed important for me to know about the man who carried that gun, and to be able to pass on the story. I fear as time goes on, there will be less and less legacy attached to the guns and other gear we love.

 

[Vids]

I've only had to buy two guns in my life, the rest are hand me downs.

My dad is still around but doesn't hunt much anymore, so I have most of grandpa's guns at my house. I also inherited 7-8 guns from an uncle that I was close with. Lots of "farm" shotguns, simple double barrel type stuff. Other than that a few cool guns that I really like. Frankly, it's too many simple shotguns that I'll rarely use but I don't know if I will ever sell any of them.

I've been hunting with my grandpa's Winchester .308 lever action for 25 years now (he died in 1982) and have been able to take animals he never had the opportunity to chase. I've thought about getting a new rifle at times, but it's pretty sweet to shoot an elk with grandpa's old rifle and imagine that he's smiling down on you.

 

[Sodbuster]

Hand me down guns are awesome. Whether you use them or not, they are links to past memories.

My two Grandfathers and my Dad were hunters. All three are gone now but I was lucky enough to receive guns from them that will remind me forever of some of the great times I had with each.

 

[kparrott]

My grandpa gave me his dad's Remington 700 chambered in 30-06 about a year ago. I had to put a new scope on it, the old weaver was blurry. I hope to get a whitetail with it this fall.


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[mtswampfox]

y'all who have sons and daughters and grand children are fortunate to have heirs to hand down to. Am sitting on some nice firearms at the end of the road as far as family treasures go. Just had Browning restore my dads superposed to better than new condition when he bought it in 1956. My only son could care less about any of the sixty plus guns in the house right now and he has no kids. Better do it now before it becomes illegal, guess it already is in some states