I have owned a lot of nice rifles over the years, but there are a couple that have more value to me than any of the more expensive rifles in my safe. The first one is was my first hunting rifle, a Remington 700 Classic in 30-06. I took my first deer, a muley buck, with it when I was 12. My dad had traded an old pre-war Model 70 270 with a bunch of miles behind it for three Classic's back in the early 80's. I watched him take a 31 inch mulie buck with it on a snowy Halloween days hunt in NW Montana. My mom shot her first buck with the Classic, a beautiful 4x4 whitetail buck. My wife took her first buck with it before receiving her own rifle. It's a plain looking rifle, not much to look at if it wasn't for all the dings and scratches and worn bluing turning purple. The trigger pull sucks and it kicks like a mule, but it's almost the last one i'd leave in a burning house. This is the only picture with the rifle that I have handy at the moment.........
http://s739.photobucket.com/user/madisonvalleywapiti/media/047.jpg.html?sort=2&o=122
My dad mentioned to me a few years back that he wanted to switch to a lighter rifle as his old Model 70 XTR in .338 WM was getting heavy. He was going to trade in his rifle, but wanted to see if I wanted it. I gave him the money to pick up a Tika in .338 WM and I got his old rifle. I've seen that rifle kill a truckload of game so I couldn't pass it up! It has accounted for a couple cow moose, a mountain goat and probably a dozen elk and more deer and antelope to boot. Here's a picture of it with my best mulie buck from a few years back.
http://s739.photobucket.com/user/madisonvalleywapiti/media/IMG000151.jpg.html?sort=2&o=10
And another nice mulie...........
http://s739.photobucket.com/user/ma...untingseason013.jpg.html?sort=2&o=43
and another.........
http://s739.photobucket.com/user/ma...7Huntingpics045.jpg.html?sort=2&o=47
some whitetails.........
http://s739.photobucket.com/user/ma...18-R1-09-15_010.jpg.html?sort=2&o=66

I've got a 10/22 carbine, that Dad gave me new in '87 when I finished hunter's safety...they will probably have to bury me with it some day. Gotta be squirrels wherever we end up after this life...don't plan on finding out for a good long while though.

Not a rifle but

I was given by my uncle my grandfather's 1953 Ithaca 37 16 ga modified featherlight.Unfortunately it wasn't cared for after grandpa passed in 1966. When I received it, it was rusted pitted and you couldn't even open the action, along with scratches,dings and gouges in the stock.If it wasn't my grandfathers and someone tried to give it to me I would have said "thanks but no thanks"
Being that it was my grandfathers prized shotgun that my grandmother bought for him by saving a penny here and a dime there( he actually cried when she gave it to him)
I decided to have it restored. I brought it to Frank at Sycamore Hill Designs http://www.sycamorehilldesigns.com/
It wasn't cheap,I'm sure I paid far more than the guns monetary worth but you can't put a price tag on some things.
All metal stripped blasted and reblued, engravings retouched,stock and fore end repaired and refinished.
The gun looks and functions like the day my grandmother presented it to grandpa

dvd -

man---that 37 is S W E E T !!

I "would have" done the same.


Jerry

ismith -

That trigger on the 700 Classic is so easy & simple to adjust. If you don't know how or trust yourself to do it, a real gunsmith should NOT charge much to adjust it.

Jerry

Ken Howell gave me this rifle 18 months ago.

Santa Barbra Mauser action,Marqhuart barrel,Garnet Brawley did the stock work.

I'm lucky enough to have some great pre 64 M70's that I'm trying to give a proper history to, but to pick one that means most to me it is this .270 fwt a dear friend built long ago, took on many hunts and one day just shipped it to me.

This is my Grandfather's Model 94 in 30 Winchester. By the serial number, it was made in 1906.
The story goes that he took a tumble in the fog on an Idaho mountain and broke the butt stock. He paid $9.50 to get a 'high-grade' replacement.



I also have my Grandfather's '97 Winchester 12 gauge. Made in 1914. I took my turkey with it in 2014.
30" full choke. Dad said when they were boys, they called it 'old ka-schliticker-shlot' because of the sound it made when you worked the action.

The .280 RCBS gifted to me by the late Ken Howell. One of my most prized possessions. It was on the cover of March-April issue of Rifle Magazine. miles

Double-sweet... What a gorgeous restoration. Damn.. Now it's way too purdy to take into the field..

I don't have a picture of it handy, but Dad willed a rifle to me that Mom bought him for his birthday in 1948, the year they got married. It is 22 rimfire in a Browning pump that folks call a Trombone. It has seen lots of use, and has a healthy patina on it, but it is still a tack driver. I learned to shoot on that rifle, and so did my two daughters.

My brother got the rest of Dad's rifles, a 99C Savage, a Lee Enfield, and a single shot 410 Cooey, but that little Browning pump is one that is destined to stay in the family.

I don't have a pic of it, but my sentimental piece is much lowlier than those posted. It's a miserable old N.R.Davis single shot 12 gauge. The story goes that my dad sometime around the WWII era traded one of his buddies a jackknife and some other small treasures for a horrid POS gun called a "Zulu"- 12 gauge single shot with a side hammer and rickety swinging breech. When he proudly showed it to his grandfather (local country "gunsmith"), to my father's horror the old man took the gun and smashed it over the chopping block, saying "no grandson of mine is gonna blow his fool head off with a POS like this!" He then gifted dad with the Davis gun. It eventually became mine and taught an excitable 12 year old to become a cool beady eyed wing shot.

A lot of fancier guns have come and gone, but that one remains in my hands. Restore it? Not on your life. Every scratch, dent, and pit in it reminds me of those pheasant fields in Pennsylvania and the quail and dove fields in Maryland, from a galaxy long ago and far away...

It's the gun I plan on taking with me when I take that Road to Tinkhamtown.

Ditto on the 10/22. Bought this one in 1968, original walnut stock that I refinished with a mixture of Tru-oil and ground up charcoal briquets sometime in the 70's, and that's the same Williams FoolProof it's worn for most of its life although it got a new Skinner blade front sight last year. Bit of surface rust on the barrel, lots and lots of "honest" handling marks, but it and the Remington 1100 my father gave me for Christmas 1966 are the two that will definitely be in my estate sale.

dvd,very nice Ithaca! I love those older models with the corn cob forearm .I would like to find an older 16 ga. Deer Slayer.

No it's not grandpa would want it hunted

hey Elknh. & milesp-

Those are some great rifles PLUS coming from Dr H.
WOW .....




I will DOUBLE what both of you paid for them.




Jerry

Here is my Savage 99F .358. I have taken the most deer with this rifle.

It wears a 2-7 Leupold now however a 4X Lyman All-American was the original scope in 1966.

I have two, the first is a 1952 Model 70 FWT in .308 that was purchased new by my grandfathers best friend. Bob got too old to hunt about the same time I started hunting, and he sold it to my dad for a ridiculously small sum. It was my first deer rifle, and I'm still looking for a better one. The second is the Marlin 336 .30-30 that dad bought new from K-mart in 1963. He used that gun continuously until the mid-80's, and sporadically after that. It was the gun he was holding when he died in his deer stand in 2003. Neither of those are going anywhere, and if my kids don't want them, they'll go with me.

Dang nice.



[/quote] [/quote]

9x57. Oh yeah!

[/quote] [/quote]


Arrrrgh. Hate a buggered screw slot.

None of my family were big game hunters so I purchased my own first deer rifle, a Rem 710 in 30-06. Killed my first 4 deer with it then traded it off when I won a Ruger M77 in 280Rem in a raffle and figured out what a nice rifle was. I don't miss it at all.

Ones I'll keep:
Marlin Model 75c 22lr - my first rifle
Browning 12ga BPS - first shotgun
Rem 870 Wingmaster 50s model bought new by my grandfather
Hi-Standard Duramatic 22 pistol bought new by my grandfather
50s S&W Nickel revolver in 32S&W long bought new by my other grandfather. It's still in the box with both sets of handles, wood and mother of pearl, paperwork, and cleaning rod.

I guess the toughest CF rifle to let go of would be my first Pre 64 Model 70, a 220Swift.

Ken Howell gave the rifle to me,no money was exchanged.

YES ! YES !

You MISSED my point. I still will DOUBLE what you paid.

No pictures, but, Remington Sportsman 48 shotgun that my Mom bought my Dad for their first Christmas back in 1954. 20 gauge, plain barrel. First firearm I ever shot. Will go to my son in due time...

I bought my 1st centerfire rifle during the summer of 1975 with money earned mowing grass. Paid $250 OTD for this 700 ADL, a 3-9X Bushnell scope, mounts, sling and box of ammo. The gunshop had to install swivel studs since they weren't included. They mounted the scope too.



I used this rifle exclusively for for years. About 20 years ago it proved to be one of the rifles that would fire without pulling the trigger. It saw limited use after that and it did it again about 10 years ago and it has been retired ever since. I've been meaning to replace the trigger, but had moved onto better rifles and it got moved to the back of the safe.

About a year ago someone posted the Edge stock for sale used at a decent price and I bought it. Took her out to the range Tuesday and did this at 100 yards and at 200 yards





Considering I couldn't see the target 1/2 the time because of the snow I think that is pretty good. I came home and finally ordered that new trigger for it. It'll be in Monday and I think it is time to bring her out of retirement.

Hey Guys - let me 'back up' a little.

NOT to derail this thread but...

I really feel you guys are very lucky - not just to have a rifle that belonged to Dr. H but that you had a relationship and friendship such that he gave you a rifle.

That's Very KOOL! !

I didn't know him personally but he and I had several conversations 'here' on the fire. I was glad at the time and even more glad now since he has passed that...

I had opportunities to express my appreciation TO HIM for the help and guidance I got FROM him thru his writings. He was one of some that really helped me in the 70s-80s as I was 'blooming' into a real 'Loony' and I didn't even know that was what was happening. Others passed that I did not get an opportunity to say thanks.

I'll just leave it at that.

Jerry


now back to the thread.

Long story short these two belonged to relatives who were also hunting companions and friends.

The LC SMITH double hammer gun was purchased by Wife's grandfather about 1900. In the fifties, it was given to her father. FIL was my quail hunting guide, companion, and friend. Many super quail hunts together. He was deadly on early season birds as the barrels had been cut from 32 to 28, chokes go

The other was purchased by me for Cousin while I was working my way at college. I bought it on the bosses wholesale account. His kids and grandkids used it. Grand son, who seem ego see me more than grandad for hunting lore, wanted a sling. All he could find was the grass rope. We made a sling.

After a crash that took several lives, including Cousin and Grandson, Cousin's daughter gifted me the Mountie altering hearing the story. The two hang in our home in a place of honor.

Edit. Sorry , I can't post photos on this forum directly from the computer. I don't do photobucket.....
Jack

Both German 98's
My Father brought them back from WWII
top one Mine
Bottom one my Brother's
Same Gunsmith did the work

This Winchester M94 carbine in 32 WIN SPL was gifted to me by a great buddy two days prior to his passing (he knew he was passing and sent for me). Also this Stevens Springfield 20 gauge SxS that my great uncle bought new from my granddad's hardware store during WW-II for my cousin. My cousin and my dad hunted both rabbit and birds with this shotgun in the 1940's and 1950's. When it became mine in 2009 it had been in the packhouse on one of the farms for 35+ years - I refinished the wood and fitted a new buttplate and had a gunsmith clean and adjust the action and polish the bores - it is retired now.

I can see where that blizzard could affect your shooting.. Glad to see you made it out of there...:

No pictures right now, but a 1944 BCD Mauser 98K, my first "deer rifle" Sporterized, in a period Bishop stock Original 8mm barrel etc. blew the budget when I first got married, installed a Redfield peep sight. Think I spent $125 total with the peep site.. It did however provide meat, many deer with this one, and I still have it. Also have an Ithaca 37 in 20 gauge that my son tried to get, as he is a lefty. Got a Browning BPS instead. The Ithaca is my grouse gun.

Dad's dad gave it to him when he was 10. He gave it to me when I was 10. My son turns 10 in two years.

It's the only one I have that means anything...

Hey, this is GA. They are predicting as much as a foot here Sunday night though. Could be interesting next week.

Custom Interarms Mark X, .338 Howell (338-280 Improved)

Very nice.

My son. "High Brass" bought this rifle for me.



I bought this 760 the year High Brass was born. It was his favorite rifle.



This is my late friend and mentor's custom 243 ground hog rifle, "Sweet Thing". Bob gave me all of his long guns.

Well, just had to dig this one out of the safe: my first center-fire rifle. I bought it the year that I graduated from high school (1961)--a Model 70 Fwt .30-06. For over 20 years, this was the only "big game" rifle that I owned. I shot most everything with it, from coyotes and bobcats up to elk. I also used it quite a bit for scientific collecting with 130-grain hand loads.

It has been through 3 scopes and two stocks: the ones shown are the 4th scope and the 3rd stock. In the early 1990s, I met a very good stock maker and rifle tinkerer up in Albuquerque. He restocked the rifle for me and restored and refined the metal. It still shoots most hand loads well under an inch at a hundred yards.

I just mounted a new Leupold FX-II 6x36 in anticipation of hunting with it again this fall. It's been a while since we hunted together and I am looking forward to it.

Wow, these are some really nice guns you guys are showing!
Keep them coming!

Hoping to keep these around for a while. I bought the rifle with a broken stock from the gun shop I worked at while in College. I got the Beretta a bit over a yr ago having always wanted a SxS I could shoot well, and this one I can.

Beretta 626 26" 20ga. Very early Kimber of Oregon Super America that's been re-barreled with a 1/2 Octagon 1/2 round McGowan in 223Rem:



If I'm able to shoot this one well I'll probably keep it around for a bit as well 20ga 28" Beretta 471 SilverHawk:

Not even for 10 times the original price. miles

My favorite 700 doesn't look like a sentimental piece, but it was my first rifle, and my primary hunting rifle. I have probably spent years holding this rifle and taken dozens of whitetails...we know each other very well. I burnt the original 30-06 throat out so she was built up into a 338-06.

I can't believe you'd turn down an offer like that.


Jerry

Guys y'all have posted some GREAT pics of fantastic guns.

Congrats to you all.

I don't have any pics (yet) of a few of my sentimental guns.
A few belonged to my Dad, a couple belonged to His Dad. I have given a couple to my Son so I'll get him to bring them home and I'll take pics.

Some of YOUR sentimental comments have been very touching.

Keep em comin


Jerry

It's nothing special and I think it was 89.00 new. It's a NEF .410
Got it for Christmas when I was 8. Has killed everything from squirrels to rabbits, opossums, a gray fox, a turkey, and countless starlings, barn rats and pigeons. I continue to use it today as my backdoor "what's going on in the barn gun." I have other guns that are sentimental but this one means the most.

Wow. I received the same shotgun for my tenth birthday. It now belongs to my son. I had a lot of fun with the little single shot.

I'll give it a shot, thanks!

Do an internet search and step by step directions will be found. miles

About 20 years ago, a fine 85 year old gentleman passed his 20 ga. Winchester Model 12 shotgun on to me. His father had given it to him as a high school graduation gift. That shotgun has become my favorite upland bird gun. It is a treasure for several reasons.

Bought this 308 88 back in 1971 when I got out of the service. Pretty much just sits in the safe now as I have others I use.

Definitely have to be this Remington 513 Military Target rifle that my grandfather sporterized sometime in the late 50s to early 60's. My father gave it to me after my grandfather passed away in 1994. When I was a little I used to sit in his bedroom and stare at it on a gun rack every time we visited, which was several times a week. The stock has a little bit of palm swell and he shortened the magazine to 5 rounds to fit flush. It's a squirrels worst nightmare.

Now that is a very cool rifle! I am envious.

A friend of mine bought one of those a few years back and has used it to great effect on elk in the timber.

Killed my first few deer with a Model 37. It was in extremely used condition. But, it did the job. You got a pretty gun there!