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Creating New Memories From An Old Gun

5K views 23 replies 15 participants last post by  Sus Scrofa 
#1 ·
Twenty Seven years ago my Grandmother gave me my late Grandfathers old deer rifle, a 1894 Winchester SRC 32 Special made in 1907. He had bought it used and it was his saddle gun in the forties and fifties when he ran a Dude Ranch, the scabbard also came with it. Any way, when I came of age to deer hunt in 1972 I needed a gun to hunt deer with and he was kind enough let me use his gun until I or my Father could get me a rifle of my own. The Winchester was old and beat up. His horse had taken a tumble at one time or another and broke the stock off which he replaced with a hand carved one that he made out of a piece of Cherry. It was crude but it sufficed. It was also missing the saddle ring although the stud for it was still on the gun and very little bluing remained on the gun anywhere. You couldn't hit a paper plate at fifty paces but could get one or two shots out of five on the paper plate at 20 paces so it was determined that 20 paces was the rifles useful range. On opening day of Deer season while hunting with my Dad a nice Eight Point and Doe came running by us and it was game on. I'll never forget it. My Dad was a real hunter and one shot one kill was what he strived for when hunting and that's what he tried to instill in me too. His teaching went right out the window on that morning when that buck came into view and buck fever set in. The buck was all of thirty paces and moving fast from right to left in front of us and I knew hitting it with a good shot from that old Thirty Two was next to nil but I wasn't waiting around for Dad to put it down and went into action. I had three shots off while my Dad was patiently drawing a bead on the moving critter and on my forth shot he squeezed of his first round with both guns going off at the same time, putting the buck down. We were never really sure who's shot had killed it, at least I wasn't sure, I think Dad had a good Idea who did but he was keeping it to himself. Anyways, the shot that took it down was a neck shot just behind it's ears. It also had one hole near the tip of it's right ear and hair shaved off from a grazing shot across it's chest in front of the shoulders. I killed my second buck with that old gun in '73 and my third in '74, the following year I had finally saved enough pennies and bought myself a Montgomery Ward's 7x57 sporterized Mauser from my neighbor. I never seen the Thirty Two again until my Grandmother gave it to me in 1985 and it looked as though the last person to use it may have clubbed his deer to death with it and then left it who knows where until Gramps or Grandma asked for it back. The stock was cracked as well as the fore end, the magazine tube had a slight bend in it and there was no rifling left in the muzzle and what was left of the bore looked like ground up asphalt. I hung it on the horns of that Eight Point that my late father and I had shot years ago and it has been there ever since.
Now that my Daughters have started hunting with me I have decided to put the Thirty Two back into action with the hopes that my oldest might get her first buck with it and also to have a working rifle to pass down to future hunters in my family. I dropped the old Thirty Two off at my smiths and as luck would have it, he just happened to have a new Winchester barrel in stock and in 32 Win Special. I will order up some new wood for it when it comes back and other than the barrel it will not be re blued as to not take away any of it's character. I was hesitant at first about desecrating such a fine old piece of history but got to thinking, why not breath some new life into that old gun and add even more to it's history, character and memories for the next generation in my family to enjoy.:)
 
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#3 ·
It's great to be able to pass along family heirlooms. Good story, too!

I have a handmade hunting knife my F-I-L made and gave to me many years ago. Can't remember how much game has been dressed out with it, but a bunch anyway.
This and the first firearm I ever bought, a used 1937 mfg'd Marlin Mod 39 (not "A") with 24" octagon barrel, case colored receiver and burl walnut stock, will go to him, also. The .22LR has a nice patina over the barrel and mag tube. About half of the case color remains on action and lever loop. Bore is somewhat worn, but rifling still shows, with no pits or corrosion.
 
#4 ·
I also have my grandfathers 92 Winchester and my great grandfathers 92 Winchester, both in 32-20. Hoping to pass them on to my kids and grandkids. Some of the best memories I have as a kid were hunting with my grandfather and his Winchester. Get that old 94 in shape and keep hunting with it.
 
#5 · (Edited)
BARRY, thats one of the BEST posts i,ve read in a long time. Its stories like yours that make our love of the shooting sports MORE than the final act of the kill. Good guns, belonging to good men(and women) long forgotten. Mabe we can all help to change that ancient saying to GOOD MEN FONDLY REMEMBERED. Anyways, i do a little refinishing of firearms on the side. Got a young fellow who worked at our shipyard into shooting. His f.i.l. had passed and left an old saddlering carbine(IN 32spl) to his daughter.Its finish was rough but someone had the good sense to grease the bore. after a cleanout i offered him a generous sum for it but he kindly refused(Smarter than he looks!!!) i then asked if he knew that by refinishing it and rebluing, any collectors value would probably be lost. His reply was that it will be passed down to family. I refinished the carbine and its a good little shooter. O.C.
 
#6 ·
Great story! I have a Stevens Crackshot .32 short rimfire that my great grandfather bought, new, sometime between 1900 - 1910. He got it to shoot frogs since he apparently liked frog legs.

At some point the firing pin broke, and with .32 rimfire ammunition discontinued, it wasn't fixed. The little rifle was given to my dad to play with. He'd run around the neighborhood with his friends playing cowboys and indians with it! Imagine that today!

The stock was broken from an incident where my great grandfather took it by the barrel and used it to club a bull. Wish I knew more of that story... My dad made a new stock for it in shop class at school in the '60s.

As I was growing up it sat in the corner of a closet, neglected. Then, sometime, probably in the '90s, my dad and I were at a gun shop that specializes in antiques and I saw boxes of Navy Arms newly manufactured .32 short rimfire ammunition. We bought a couple boxes for the steep price of $25 a piece (50 rounds). My dad was a tool and die maker by trade and he easily made a new firing pin. After another small repair we were in business.

We took the rifle to the range and, after more than 50 years, it was shot again. The bore is rather rough, and the trigger pool beyond horrible, so it's shots were all over the place. Despite that, I wanted to take it afield at least once, just to say I hunted with great granddad's old rifle. I'm not into frog legs, like he was, so I took it for squirrel. Given the rather poor accuracy, I guess I didn't really plan on shooting anything with it (I packed a .22 revolver, also, in case I did get a chance at a squirrel).

Since the .32 rimfire ammo is rather scarce again, I don't shoot it anymore. I'm saving what I have left so that my kids can some day shoot their great-great grandfathers rifle.
 
#7 ·
Old gun's make good new memories. I passed on my granpaw's Marlin 16 O/U to my son. Now another grandson is using his great-grandmothers .243 win for deer, he got his first buck last season. Good times to rembember, as we were cleaning the deer, he said Papa I wish Bebo & Papaw could be here to see this deer, I told him they were sitting on the pourch in heaven watching him!!! He was happy with that. Take the kids hunting & fishing they are the future of the sports!!!!!!!!!!!:D
 
#8 ·
Old hunters, and old guns and dogs make up a lot of my fondest memories, the ones where you can close your eyes and smell the breakfast cooking at deer camp. It is a real shame todays kids won't even have the opportunities to experience the guns and hunting that most of us here have had. Memories will be all we have at some point in our later lives, when the trail comes to an end and the guns and dogs are put up to hunt no more. I intend to give my guns to those who will most appreciate them, not on some chronilogical pecking order.

Take kids hunting and let them make memories to savor in their long years!
 
#9 ·
Thanks for resurrecting this TX. I had not seen it before. I am now into my seventy fourth year and still have my grandfathers 12 gauge. I take it out on occasion and it brings back so many memories for me. I was first allowed to shoot this back in 1954 and when it didn't knock me over grandfather let me hunt our farm as and when I want to, with it. If I had $5 for everything it had SHOT AT, then I would be a very rich man.
He had it re barrelled about then because he had worn out the first set !!!!
 
#10 · (Edited)
I remember a Thanksgiving Day (about 1960) that I took Gramps Fox Sterlingworth out rabbit hunting. I did a lot of shooting-no rabbits. I believe the stock was always too long for me.

I still have it and havent shot it in 20+ yrs.

In 1968 I found a smaller 20 ga w/ double set of barrels (double barrel). I use that now to miss with. Have an 1187 that I won and use that occasinally cause I can change the choking.

35 years ago I saw an ad for two shotguns-Win 12 (20) and a Ithaca 37 (20). My two sons split them when they graduated from college. The son w/ the Ithica wanted removable chokes. We checked and the brrel was not thick enough, according to a local smith. We sent it back to Ithaca and the fit a new barrel w/ choke tubes. I told him if he every decided to sell it, I get first dibs.
 
#11 ·
My dad has a small collection of firearms, most he picked up here and there with no real family history. I'm sure that one day, some of them will be mine, but I sure hope that someday never comes. Some of the best memories are hunting(and fishing) with my dad.

One time when I was about 12 he put me up in this ladder stand, now mind you a ladder stand back then was just a couple of 12' long 2" x 4"'s with steps attaching the two sides and a small 2' x 2' platform at the top to sit on, the only bracing was a couple of kickers that went from the back of the platform to the legs of the ladder. A "u" shape was cut out of the back of the seating platform so it would hug the tree, and the braces had a hole in them so a rope could be tied to it to "sort of" tie it to the tree.

It was about 4pm and I hadn't been in that stand 20 minutes when the wind picked up and that old pine tree started swaying back and fourth with me on that platform. I remember thinking to myself "man, I am glad this thing is tied to this tree". Then I looked down to my left hand side and saw that old rotten rope dangling in the breeze. Just then, the tree swayed enough to push me and that ladder stand past the tipping point, and the ride to the ground was on. I held my rifle off my lap, both hands gripping the rifle, and stuck my legs out to try and absorb the impact and keep from killing myself. I managed to keep the rifle from ever touching the ground, I just crawled back to the base of that pine and did some ground hunting that day. Thinking back on that day it's like I can still feel the breeze on my face.
 
#13 ·
Some great memories you guys share her, but what baffles me the most is that you would hunt With rifles that won't hit a barn door, even at medium ranges!

Here in Norway we have to take a Hunters course With a final exam to be allowed to hunt anything. And after the exam is passed, we still have to take a shooting test With the spesific rifle and ammo we intend to use on Our hunts, on a deer target at 100m, With all 5 shots inside a circle 30cm in diameter.

In short, the focus here is humane hunting and minimal stress and suffering on the animals.
From some of Your stories it seems that no one reacts when People say that they hunt With rifles that are no way accurate, or that it took 3-4 bullets to kill the animal, hitting it all over...

Sorry, was just somewhat shocked at what i was Reading, nothing personal, just an observation.
I too have an old rifle after my grandfather which he used in ww2, a Krag Jorgenson 1894. But I would make certain it shoots straight at minimum 100 meters before using it on any live game.
 
#14 ·
Thanks guys for the coments and intrest in this thread. I have a lot money and time invested into that old thirty two now. Every time I open the safe I have to get it out just to handle it. The memories it holds are priceless to me. My youngest daughter just asked me not to long ago if I would teach he how to shoot it. I'm sure you all know the answer to that question. Maybe I can actually get her into the woods deer hunting instead of sniping her deer from the picnic table or deer blind.
 

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#15 ·
Slightly off subject but reference getting youngsters to shoot, today I was out on our first pheasant/partridge shoot and our usual party of beaters turned up including two youngsters, who in the nine months since I had seen them had grown like weeds. Now, I was shooting my little 410 side by side which always attracts attention, but today these two young guys (probably 12 to 13 yrs old) where unusually attentive .... can I carry your shooting chair for you? Can I help you over the barbed wire ? etc etc. I spoke to one of their fathers and he immediately said, "Yeh, it's that little gun they want to shoot". I will taunt them for most of the season but eventually they will get a surprise when I pull them from the beating line and have them shoot at a few birds on my peg. They are our future and the future of game shooting, it is the very least I can do.
 
#16 ·
WinTerry, I appreciate your wish to be able to hit your target, but here in the UK we are also going down the 'Certificated Gun' route and I have come across a number of those who have passed the tests who I wouldn't let shoot anywhere near my ground having experienced their complete disregard for safety and care of the hunted animal/bird. "Instant Experts" waving bits of paper, worry me greatly. Nothing beats having a parent, grandparent or close friend guide and instruct in the correct approach to killing a bird or animal and there is much more to that than putting five rounds in a 30cm circle.
 
#17 ·
Here, Here X2!
 
#18 ·
Sus Scrofa, I hear you, and I agree With the importance of Learning safety, good hunting skills and so on from parents and/or other in the Family. Not only is it bonding, but one usually pays a lot of respect towards each other, thus making it a better and more valuable Learning experience than With a Complete stranger.

Anyhow..not sure how hunting licensing is done in other countries, but I think that making one take such a course With a final exam, and making them take a shooting test each year prior to allowing them to go hunting, will rid us of SOME of those who would disregard safety issues and/or misbehave otherwise while handling a gun. Not all of course, but some is better than none...


My original point was that of someone using a rifle on hunts that is not nearly as accurate as it should be for humane hunting, regardless of how nostalgic that rifle may be. Send it to a gunsmith (if not a quick fix) to take care of what issues it may have, to make it accurate again. Then it would make for a better experience without taking away the nostalgia.

I think we all can agree on that point ;)
 
#19 ·
It is the ...making them take a test ... which I do not like. Some will learn something but I know of one 'examiner' who got the sack from his job as a professional deer stalker here in the UK for being seriously incompetent. I personally have been shooting for close on 65yrs a bit more if you include sling shots :) I was a trained tactical police firearms officer with sniper qualification for 14yrs and have been stalking deer both as a guide and for my own pleasure for nye on 40yrs, yet I cannot stalk deer on some properties today in the UK because I have not taken an expensive course to show me what the six species of deer in this country look like and what their seasons are and put four shots in a four inch circle. It is an industry over here now and people are making a lot of money from it. I really do not believe it makes the situation any safer and certainly does not offer any humane attitude towards the quarry, as I often hear the comment "how many have you done today". I now stalk mainly in Slovenia, as the hunters there have a great tradition of caring for their animals and don't just treat them as 'targets'.
 
#21 ·
Sorry WinT but there proally isn't a person on this list that deliberatly goes out and indiscriminately fires and wounds animals! We too have Hunter testing and instructions, I don't know where you get the idea that we are a bunch of gun totin idiots, but you need to lighten up a bit before you start throwing BS around that makes me seem like some kind of gun nut moron! A 30-40 Krag shoots the same here as in your neck of the woods, and the USMC taught me all about bullet placement for maximum effect many years ago!

Get off the Holier than Thou soapbox and enjoy the conversation, not the time or the place to make that play!
 
#22 ·
One of my favorite rifles is a Winchester 92 in .25-20 WCF. Its a cool little rifle, and the cartridge is a goofy little thing that looks like a miniature coke bottle. My granddad gave it to my dad who gave it to me. Gramps used to carry it in his truck to shoot coyotes back when he was a ranch foreman in the late '40s.

I keep on the lookout for ammo and pick a box up whenever I stumble on one. Its definitely an obsolescent cartridge, and not really good for any kind of big game hunting. But it is fun for popping rocks and maybe smacking the occasional jackrabbit. My son loves shooting it because the recoil is nill. It is our official "camp gun" when we go camping.
 
#23 ·
Never claimed anything remotely Close to referring to anyone in here as a " bunch of gun totin idiots"!! Raised a few questions about some matters? yes. But claimed that you are idiots? NO!

But if that is how my comments have been read, then I apologize to anyone offended by them. It is possible that something has been "lost in translation" on my part, so I'll leave this thread alone since this is how I am coming through apparently.
 
#24 ·
No, WT, I and one or two others just didn't agree with you. I don't believe any of us would go out with a rifle/pistol which did not shoot a sensible group at the ranges we intended to hunt at. I have personally witnessed evidence on more than one occasion, that passing two exams on the subject does not make some people any safer or any better shots. It just makes them 'Instant Experts'. In no way am I against 'education' but giving them a Certificate is bad news. It then gives authorities the power to declare such as I incompetent.
 
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