Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Granddad's guns

When I was 9 or 10 there were a couple of Ithaca Model 49 single shot .22LR rifles under the Christmas tree. (I've always thought there were three but big brother says two and that younger brother got his the following year.) Long before that, Dad and Granddad had started teaching us to shoot. Dad had a Remington .22LR bolt action we used as a single-shot. Granddad had a Remington Model 24 that shot shorts. Dad and Uncle grew up shooting that rifle and I shot it every chance I got. As we got older and wanted to hunt squirrels and rabbits, Granddad would make us practice with aerosol cans. He would set them up about 25 feet away and we had to shoot the buttons off with our Ithacas. He would also throw cans in the air and we got pretty good at hitting them. Cans in the air were especially fun with the Remington.

One holiday, a Thanksgiving I think, Uncle was throwing clay pigeons for Granddad and Dad, who were both missing. Uncle told them he would show them how it was done. He went into the house and came back out with Granddad's Remington 24. After loading a round he leaned it against a fence and threw a pigeon. While Granddad and Dad were busy missing, Uncle turned and grabbed the Remington, then blasted the pigeon out of the sky with his first shot. I think Uncle was as surprised as the rest of us were.

Granddad also had a High Standard Model C pistol in .22 short and I shot that as often as I could as well. Most of the time he carried it in the toolbox on his Allis-Chalmers tractor. He used it to blast muskrats and other critters when he was working the fields along the creek.

When I got out of the service in 1974 I knew the chances of my inheriting Granddad's rifle were pretty slim. Chances were it would go to Dad, not Uncle, but then to Older Brother. Instead of waiting I bought a Browning .22 Semi-auto of the same basic John Browning design and have greatly enjoyed it ever since. All three of my daughters grew up shooting that rifle, starting when they were 4, 6, and 7. Maybe sooner for the oldest.

The last time I saw Granddad was in 2011, several months before he turned 100 in December. I spent a couple hours tearing the Remington Model 24 apart and thoroughly cleaning it. When that was done I spent another couple hours on the High Standard Model C. A year after Granddad died, Dad had heart surgery and I spent a week taking care of him at the house. When I left to return home he gave me the High Standard Model C pistol.

Earlier this year Dad passed away. Big Brother is the trustee of the estate and wanted me to have the Remington Model 24. The estate auction was last weekend and he gave it to me then. As soon as we can arrange a legal transfer (we live in different states) he will send me another of Granddad's High Standard pistols, a Sport King-M .22LR manufactured between 1978 and 1981. Older Brother has yet another, an Olympic model that I believe was made in the 1950's.

Below is a picture of the Remington Model 24 and the High Standard Model C. Note the forestock on the Remington - Granddad had it replaced back in the 40's or 50's. No one is left that knows why.



Like Granddad's boat, from which four generations of our family spent many hours fishing, I hope my girls and maybe my grandson will enjoy Granddad's guns as I did. All three daughters will be here at month's end. At least two of them will go to the range and I have a good supply of .22 Shorts. In addition to some practice for antelope season I hope to give them some trigger time on Granddad's guns.