Anyone have guns that evoke emotional response?

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ghbucky

New member
When I was somewhere around 12, my Dad arranged for me to swap an aquarium set for an Ithica Featherlight 20ga. I ran all over the place with that gun. Got a rabbit once.

I recall when I was 16-17 he took me to a put and take pheasant farm in Indiana for a day. Great time. I'd never been bird hunting before. The dog flushed a pheasant and with my teenage reflexes I blasted the bird at something like 10 feet.

I can still hear the gales of laughter from my Dad.

So, I'm not a meticulous gun cleaner. I just generally go over and call it good. I haven't touched that shotgun in years.

This week I pulled it out of the safe to clean it up. I ran a patch down the barrel and it was white. I took the patch through the action and didn't find a speck of carbon or dirt.

I suddenly struck me that my Dad, who passed on years ago, had labored over that shotgun until it was meticulously clean.

All of those memories came washing over me again and suddenly I miss my Dad terribly.

Anyone have similar stories to share?
 
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JohnKSa

Administrator
I can't match that. I do have an old Colt .38ACP pistol that belonged to my great-grandfather.

I remember my grandfather telling stories about his father (who died before I was born) using and carrying that pistol. It's an interesting feeling to hold that gun and think about what it went through all those years ago.
 
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HiBC

New member
For myself....I just don't feel the same..."love" or spititual thing some folks have for a "thing". I can respect craftsmanship,ot history,provenance.
But from my point of view,some folks get a little weird about it.

However!! Whether it be a song,or a scent,a photo,migrating geese honking,
Some things,like the OP's shotgun,are a doorway we can pass through to a place in our soul.

Like the memory of a pheasant hunt with Dad.

Thatsone of the things I like about reading Ruark. He paints with words. Creates doorways. Wet dog smell,Old Man smell,the pipe,a touch of Whiskey,leather,Hoppes #9 A ham,egg,bread and coffee breakfast in a beach house before rowing out to set decoys.

And yes,there are artifacts,a shotgun,that can make that portal to precious times.

IMO,its the portal to times,memories with people or a bird dog...

That matter more than the piece of pipe and a fencepost that make up the gun.
 
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tangolima

New member
Some year ago my father passed away. He was always a giant of our family. We all felt having lost something significant thinking he wouldn't be around us any more.

I returned home after taking care of the funeral as the oldest of the litter of five. One day I wandered into a big5 store. That was the time when Mosin Nagant started showing up. There on the shelf was one with hexagonal receiver. I knew a bit about the history of the model, so I asked for it. There it shows the year it was made. 1933, the same year my father was born. Immediately I bought it for $99.

It was my first milsurp, and now I have way more than one. But this one is always the one, a giant among all.

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
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tangolima

New member
I used to be a professional gunsmith, and fixed more than a few old guns. This is one of them.

Winchester 1906, .22 pump in rather sorry condition. Went through quite a bit of trouble to make it shoot again. Even had to hand make a part or two, and refinished the dried wood furnitures. The owner was in his late 30s. When I handed the gun back to him with the bill, he gladly paid the amount asked, plus $20. He kept saying "thank you" literally in tears.

His grandfather gave him that gun when he was a kid. Their home was burglarized decades ago and the gun was stolen. Only recent did the police recover the rifle after a raid on a Filipino gang. The gun was returned to him, abused and beat-up. It didn't work any more. Somehow he found my shop through friend of friend. Somehow I had reputation of "old gun guy", that I didn't even know of. He didn't expect he would see the gun shoot again, so... It surely made me feel proud.

-TL


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Rhodester

New member
I still have the 20 gage shotgun my dad bought me when I was 14 in 1961. He took me rabbit hunting at my grandfather’s farm in Salem, Ohio. The very first shot I got a rabbit and thought “this is easy”. Little did I know. I still have that shotgun to this day and remember my dad, I miss him so much.
 
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Pahoo

New member
Counting our blessings

I can still hear the gales of laughter from my Dad.
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You were and still are, blessed. My Father was hardly around and did not get the opportunity to get to know him. However, I too have been blessed and;

Last week I gave one of my grandsons, his first .22LR, rifle. His first response was; "You got to be kidding!!!" then followed by a "Sweet" !!! This kid has had a run of bad luck and knew that my gift, broke the that streak. He hadn't even shot it and wants to clean it. ...... :)

Be Safe !!!
 
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Hawg

New member
I have the first shotgun I ever fired. My dads Winchester model 12 12 gauge that he bought new in 53. I fired it for the first time at a turkey shoot when I was 11. I also have the original 1887 Winchester he gave me when we got home. I have other guns that belonged to him but those mean the most to me.
 
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Ignition Override

New member
When seeing the title I imagined that you meant from Other people.

A gun such as an AKM ("AK-47") can elicit that, if the observers are Not stable and level-headed.
 
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RickB

New member
I have guns that belonged to my dad, guns that belonged to my mom's dad, and my uncle's deer rifle that came to me rather than to either of his sons.
I know I can't keep them forever, but I do hope there's a family member who will cherish them as I do.
 
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JohnKSa

Administrator
That's awesome! Have you shot it?
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No. not yet. At one time I thought I would never shoot it although it's still in working condition. But lately I've thought that maybe I would. There is ammunition available but mostly from small suppliers.

I kind of think my great-grandfather would be happy to know it had been fired again even though I never knew him.
 
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MisterCrabby

New member
Bucky, love that story.

For me, similar story with my grandpa and my dad.

Both taught me to shoot. I remember my granddad had a tube fed marlin .22. Probably hasn’t changed much in 40 years. My dad got us a Ruger 10/22. I have a sweet spot for both.

However, my granddad had the first big bore gun i fired, a 30/30 lever action with western styling etchings. I don’t remember the make or what happened to it, but I wish I had it now.
 
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TXAZ

New member
Thanks for starting the thread.

I have my grandfathers' 190? semi-auto square back 12 gauge, who won many shooting championships. It works fine but I don't shoot it often. He taught us to shoot .22 shorts at a swinging can in his garage (he had a trap behind it).


(On the opposite non-legacy side, getting the Barrett .50 out evokes a pretty strong emotional response too! I hope to pass it down in the future.)
 
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Henry400

New member
Dad passed in 2004. I have all of his guns. There are two that do that for me. First one is the first gun I ever shot, a Mossberg Model 40 .22LR. I still remember that very first day when he took me out to the "range" (a dump) to shoot it. I remember the safety lesson he gave me before I was allowed to shoot. And I remember knocking over cans and watching bottles break as we hit them. He encouraged a love of shooting in me through that rifle. I still have it, and soon it will be going to my granddaughter (but will stay in my safe for a while) for her to enjoy.

The second is my 4" Colt Python. It was Dad's duty weapon until he went to a 1911. It was also the first center-fire handgun I shot. Through that Python, Dad taught me to reload. We developed a hunting load for it from the Speer manual. I spent much range time with that Python, and it had its share of hot loads. Dad also, when he taught the shooting course for the county police academy, encouraged me one time to go through the county police qualification course. I was about 13 at the time and scored about the middle of the class. I wasn't used to shooting so close, (7 1/2, 10, and 15 yards) and I wasn't used to timed fire. All my shooting had been at the range, 50 and 100 yards, (mostly 50) and at a leisurely pace. Although I didn't have a qualifying score of 230, I was fairly close, and Dad was so proud of me.

And then there was the smell of Hoppe's at the end of the day, as we cleaned the guns. We ALWAYS cleaned the guns and talked about the day's shooting. That is where he taught me to always clean guns after shooting them, and how to field strip the 1911, and the Colt .25 ACP. I miss those times, and treasure them too. My son and I have made different memories, but I hope when I'm long gone, our memories are just as treasured to him.
 
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Bob Willman

New member
I have 3 firearms that my father-in-law owned. An 86 Winchester in 33 WCF with custom stock by him, a 95 Winchester in 35 WCF also with a stock by him and an 1875 Remington revolver that probably has not been fired 100 times. He carried the 86 every year that we hunted deer together. I carried the 95 a couple of times and received some strange looks from hunters I met in the woods. I also have a butt stock he made for an 86 Winchester with a bear in relief that has never been on a rifle.
He taught me much about firearms history, hunting, reloading, bullet casting and life in general. It has been 30 years since his passing and I still miss him greatly.

Bob
WB8NQW
 
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Hal

New member
Anyone have guns that evoke emotional response?
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Yes.
My Sheridan Blue Streak pellet rifle.
I has a special place - in the corner of the dining room - just a bit away from the sliding glass door.
(in case the big fat groundhog thing in the backyard tries to attack)

Mom and dad got it for me for Christmas - 1963. Neither of them was for me having it, but, I managed to weasel it out of them.


Every so often, I'll stick a couple of pumps of air in it - and pull the trigger - just because.

I haven't really shot it in probably 25 years.
 
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ghbucky

New member
My Sheridan Blue Streak pellet rifle.
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Obligatory: You'll shoot your eye out kid! ;)

I don’t own one, but every time I handle an M-2 it instantly brings me back to the Delta....
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My brother won't touch an AR for the same reason.

I know I can't keep them forever, but I do hope there's a family member who will cherish them as I do.
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The same concern weighs on me.

ou were and still are, blessed. My Father was hardly around and did not get the opportunity to get to know him. However, I too have been blessed and;

Last week I gave one of my grandsons, his first .22LR, rifle. His first response was; "You got to be kidding!!!" then followed by a "Sweet" !!! This kid has had a run of bad luck and knew that my gift, broke the that streak. He hadn't even shot it and wants to clean it. ......
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He wants to clean it before he shoots it? He's got more sense than me :) Be sure to build some memories with it.
 
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