Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters The History of your Rifle

I have a Winchester 1897 it is all beat to heck. It was made in the year of my grandfather Whitie's birth, 1902. When Grandpa was 12 or so he mowed a neighbor's lawn for a whole summer in exchange for this old rusted shotgun. Grandpa cleaned it up and hunted with it for decades. He and his father-in-law were closer than father and son and traveled all over northern Ohio bird hunting.

In the early 30's, a man wrote a letter to Grandpa claiming that he was the son of the farmer whose lawn Grandpa had mowed. He wanted the shotgun back. Grandpa ignored the letter.

I got the shotgun in 1976 when Whitie died and it sat until the early 80's when I took up shooting. I have taken it out at the birth of each of my sons and fired rounds to Heaven to let Whitie know we made it to the next round of play.


I have a Winchester 670 in '06 that I puchased at a gun show back in 87. I went to that show looking for a Remington 700, but couldn't find anything. A guy heard me asking and said he had a Winchester in the car he'd sell me for $120 bucks-- less than what he'd paid for it and far less than the $300 going rate for a 700. I followed him to the trunk of his car, and out comes this really beat up rifle. The story he gave me was that he'd bought it with his brothers to hunt deer in Kentucky back in the early 70's. It had come from a K-Mart.They'd passed it back and forth and finally decided they'd had enough of it and sent him up to Cincinnati to get rid of it. In the meanwhile, it had taken every deer the family had shot for a decade and a half.



I took it home and worked on it all winter, finishing it up in the late spring with a hand-rubbed finish on the hardwood stock. I took it out to the range and found out it shot really well. The guy at the next bench offered me $400 on the spot. I felt stupid for doing it, but I turned him down. Yes, I could have had a brand new Rem 700 and enough leftover for a nice scope, but I had grown somewhat attached to the thing over the winter and didn't want to give it up right then. That was my do-all deer/groundhog/everything else rifle for twenty years.

I finally gave it to #3 son Angus when he became an adult hunter in 2014. He had it out a couple of weeks ago and put the first round at 12 O'Clock and 2 inches high and said "That's it! Time to hunt!" He also added it was his favorite rifle of all time

I was working at a gun shop a few years ago and a gentleman brought in a Chinese SKS that had no import stamps or manufacturer marks anywhere, only a serial number. Man who brought it in said his father was a VN war veteran and he believed that he brought it back with him.

You have to admit that whoever would end up with your rifle would be as disappointed as a kid at Christmas when he opened a present to find underwear inside...

Actually, they might show real disappointment that Antiques Roadshow wouldn't let them in.

The history of your rifles is, they end up in the back of the safe after you get the new one........

You're not kidding!

Now I know somewhere on this site is a mighty nice photo of a Woodsman that has some fine memories attached to it........ and I'm pretty sure o'l Shrap has seen those too. Darn sure my memory is still sharp enough to recall a Blued finish on that fine iron for dispatching what ever needs it......
Just what I remember......... could be wrong.....

secretly hoping Shrap adopts me. That will be the best way for me to get one of his classics. But until then, I will continue to bust on Shrap until I get an invitation to his PD shoot.

and directions.....

I know the history of my first centerfire rifle, a Remington 760 in .300 Savage purchased in 1962. I purchased it used from a local sporting goods store. The original owner, whom I knew well, had bought it new and decided to quit deer hunting so sold it to sporting goods store owner, who was a good family friend. He let me know about it due to my Dad shooting a 99 Savage in .300. I hunted with it for several years and a few years ago gave it to my son. The rifle is as accurate as most bolt action rifles.

I've got some heirlooms, but don't know much (any) of the history, other than they were great grandpa's. Whether they were bought new or used, how much game they had taken or anything else is a mystery.

The Krag is obviously sportorized, but when I do not know.


Pre-war .270

Yes...and recently.

My maternal Grandmother and I were very close. She was like a second mother to me...and I miss her every day.

Back when she was amongst the living, I was in the hunt for my first new rifle. I had inherited a couple of nice shotguns but really needed a good rimfire. Naturally I wanted a 10-22 and being a practical type i tended towards a stainless/syn version. Back then they had the boat paddle zytel stock. I was saving up diligently and my Grandmother found out. She gave me the money to purchase the gun and I did. A couple years went by and I got hard up for cash as I need a graphing calculator for a college course my freshman year. As my grandmother was still alive, I sold the gun to Cabelas for $100 and got the calc. A year or two later my Grandmother passed away...and ever since I've felt like [bleep] about selling that rifle.

I started looking on gun broker and at shows etc. for a replacement but that gen of 10-22 is getting harder to find...and more expensive as they are substantially nicer than the current version. A month or so ago...I found one. Halfway across the country in like new condition. The seller wanted top dollar but it appeared to be a great example. I was zooming in on the picture to check condition and ill be damned...it had the same serial number...which by chance was very unique! It was the same gun!

Needless to say i purchased it. It came back home in the same condition it left...almost 20 years earlier...and from halfway across the US.


Ill never let it out of my grasp again!!!

I've got my great-grandfather's 1905 35 WSL - serial # 80.
Bought new by him, used when he was sheriff of Beaver County, OK - and also used at the Maple Ranch to slaughter buffalo, which he had raised.

I don't have it! Thought I would, but don't.

In 1927 my Dad told Mom that he'd seen a beautiful rifle in the company store. That Christmas morning it showed up under the Christmas tree. A Savage 99 in 300 Savage with 3 shells. It shot 3 deer that December and January. It was his only big game rifle. My Dad was a great storyteller and loved his 300. It spent it's life in the NY Adirondacks. It had successfully excursions hunting Colorado Elk, Ontario black bear, various places throughout NY and Vermont. Kept the family in venison during the depression years. Well, I don't ever remember not having venison available during my youth.

The farm tractor and machinery oil came in 2ggl cans. When I was in my teens we would put a few rocks in one and I'd hide behind a large boulder, throw it, and Dad shot it in the air. He usually hit it. His last hunt with it was in 1986 when he was 86yrs old and he shot a nice 8 point buck in our sugar bush that day. Dad passed before the next hunt season.

When the time came for me to take care of Dad's guns I opened the action of the old 300 and found in there a business card and written in his hand was "Give this gun to _____. (MY oldest son) He too has hunted with it and provided, as the old 300 does, lots of venison. My son now has the old 300 living in Alaska. I've never shot it.

Jim

I only wish that I had heirlooms to hunt with. My family was not really into guns or hunting and the only family gun I have is an old nickel plated Colt Police Positive 32 revolver in terrible shape. I have collected an eclectic assortment of rifles over the years that I really enjoy using, most are just 'users' but with a sprinkling of nicer ones here and there. No history of the will go forward except what little I have given to those my kids choose to keep.

There is one old rifle that I would love to have the history of.....a cut down Krag with a crude 10 point buck carved into the butt and a 1934 date stamped under it. I won it on an online auction years ago and, when it got here, I found two old Western open point cartridges in the butt trap wrapped in a grease soaked rag. For some reason, I have a image of an old codger in a hunting shack carving on the stock by firelight in my mind. It's history is lost for all time, though. It looks pretty cheesy and has little monetary value, but I really like it!

That Krag is a neat old rifle!

My best friend gifted me his Stevens Favorite that was purchased new by his Grand Father. After having it laying around for 29years, I had it redone and gave it back to him for his grandson.


When I gave it to them their expression was worth a million bucks to me.

Thanks......btw, it is a fantastic shooter of both jacketed and cast bullets.

Hook, that's a nice old krag

I have a krag given to me by my grandfather. I pull it out every couple years and try to shoot a doe with it. Took a nice 7 point with it about five years ago too.

-Jake

What could they possibly see in that old hunk of iron?



The Karma train may need a conductor!