During the Depression here's what granddad had:
Remington 1889 12 Bore double hammer gun.
Winchester 94 in .30-30
Winchester 1890 in .22 Short
You can assume quite a bit of the story just looking at the guns. The '94 got carried a bit, but not much. There were indentations on the grip area of the stock from being carried. Other than that, there were very little wear anywhere on the rifle, and the bore was near mint. I've killed several bear and boar with that rifle; it's my favorite in my collection.
The 1889 Remington seems to be a big food getter; it was well worn when I got her. Rib was a little loose, front bead had been missing for decades, the forend was extensively worn and battered away from the forend metal, all the checkering was worn smooth, and the fancy hard rubber butt plate was nearly smooth. Remarkably the action was only a smidge loose and she was still ready to hunt. I've taken turkey, squirrel, and duck with that gun.
The Winchester 1890 pump action .22 Short seems to have been THE gun for putting food on the table. The barrel was nearly a smoothbore, the stock was broken and repaired with bailing wire. The bolt and it's locking recess were not even a sloppy fit - the gun would only fire if you exert forward pressure on the forend to hold the bolt against the breech. Regardless, even in such shoddy condition, I've head shot'ed enough bunnies to be considered a Jihad.
Grandpa also had a S&W K frame in .32-20 but that was sold before I was born. The rest I have today.
