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.

Nice story about the history behind the guns, and you. I always enjoy these glimpses into people's past.
Kudos to you for ensuring your girls get to carry on the traditions.

Hunter what kind of boat and motor did he have? powdr

Thanks for sharing the story of your family guns.

I once set up a clay-pigeon trap with a light spring to give my young daughters easy targets for their first lessons in shotgun shooting.

I had recently read an article about an exhibition shooter that shot flying clays with a .22. In fact he had witnesses that had seen him connect on a flying quail with a Colt Woodsman pistol.

I decided to bring along my un-scoped Winchester M-61 pump .22 and give it a try at those easy clays.

I ran a string of 50 clays and only managed to hit 2 of them. I think I was trying too hard to aim, instead of shooting instinctively. The two I hit just lost a chunk apiece; they didn't fly apart. Not a very impressive show. It was rather disappointing and I didn't try it again.

I switched to my 28 ga. M-870 and went 50 straight on those easy clays. That redeemed me in the eyes of my daughters.

Success with the .22 would require more work to figure it out, and then just lots of practice. And unlimited access to bricks of .22 ammo, which we certainly don't have at the present time.

Thanks all.

The bass boat was a 1980 or 1981 Charger. The motor was a 90HP Evinrude, circa 2003 or 2004 (the redesigned version of the Ficht).

Watching that boat sell was maybe the hardest part of the auction. As mentioned, four generations of family members fished out of it. It wasn't big (19ft) or fancy, but a LOT of fish ended up in the tank.

Granddad used to go out in the early morning and come back in when it got hot. Then when it cooled off in the evening he would go back out until dark. Many family members shared that schedule when visiting. We used to go there every year for vacation, always wondering if Grandma and Grandpa were getting tool old to host us. They moved to the lake around 1972 and we wondered that for nearly 40 years. It was only the last few years we stayed at a motel. Grandma passed at 97, Granddad at 100, married 77 years.

I forgot to mention that in addition to small game taken with it by Granddad, Grandma used to use the Remington 24 to head shoot the chickens destined for the fry pan. That rifle helped feed three generations of my family.

If you ever get to Cody, Wyoming, go to the firearms museum. When we were three they had a video running in the basement showing a trick shooter for Winchester. Forget his name but he did some awesome stuff. You might find videos online, too.

Great read! I enjoy hearing about past times!

My wife's father has a Remington model 12A that was his only 22 rifle he ever owned. He got it when he was 6 from his father who bought it new in 1929 and used it on the farm. My father-in-law feed his family for years with this rifle, shooting pheasants, rabbits, and mule deer. During the 1930's, as a young kid he shot jackrabbits for bounty. His natural ability with shooting running rabbits made him a shoe in for aerial combat gunnery. This talent got him 32 rides in a Plexiglas bubble on the bottom of a B-17. When outdoors either camping or fishing in the mountains of Colorado that old model 12 was always at hand. When he passed away the gun mysteriously disappeared.

Herb Parsons was the Winchester exhibition shooter I was thinking of. Here's a small sample of what he could do:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nu9-D9KqR4k

There were a number of guns of Dad's that went into the estate auction including both handguns and rifles. Most handguns were fairly new in 9mm or 45 caliber and had little if any sentimental value. I did want his stainless Ruger Single Six Convertible but it went for new prices ($500) - as did many of the guns, all of which bought over what was expected. Most interesting to me in the rifles were the 1973 Ruger 10/22 (sold for $300), a Henry Golden Boy Missouri Commemorative (sold for $800) and the number one rifle, which Daughter #1 wanted, a 1983 Browning BLR in .22-250 with a Leupold Vari-X IIc 3-9x. Daughter was willing to pay $500 and I was willing to cover her for more. It went to a stranger for $1000 instead. Daughter was disappointed but the rifle had never been as accurate as I thought it should be and I felt, as a non-reloader, she would be better off with a .223 Rem bolt gun. As it turns out, all of the guns in the auction left the family. Someone asked me about the Remington Model 24 that had been listed by mistake - thank goodness it and Granddad's High Standard Sport King-M were held back or I might have had to spend quite bit of money to keep them in the family.

I did buy one of Dad's DeSantis concealed carry holsters, which fits my Walther PPK/s very well. I also got this one for $100, a Kirkpatrick 'Santa Fe' Dad bought for Big Brother's Ruger Vaquero, which he borrowed for several years. My Blackhawk .357 Mag fits in it very nicely.

Cool pics and great story!

Hate to see any of those guns get away. We were lucky in that when my dad went and my grandfathers went we were able to split their guns up amongst the family.
This might be a good time to remind everyone that if you have certain guns or other items you want to go to particular heirs, WRITE IT DOWN and put it with your estate papers. It will help minimize confusion and hard feelings when you are gone.

I guess I am one of those granddads because the only guns in he family were my dad's and uncles purchased in the 30's.

From my dad and uncle I have a Model 94, 30-30 , which was made about 1936, a Ithaca Double SXS ,NIB , 12 gauge made in 1934 or so and a Fox Steringworth SXS 12 gauge made in the early 30's.
I do have a list and made out as to which guns my son and which should be sold