The Story Behind the Gun
- Thread starter Quiet Man
- Start date
My first hunting rifle was a Winchester 94 that I bought after seeing a post card ad in the local A&P grocery store where we cashed our paychecks. Cost me $75, and when I got home, Mrs Raljr1 said, "hope it tastes good, cause that was the grocery money." About a year later I bought my Remington 760, and Mrs said, "you don't need two rifles, so sell the other one." My dad bought it to give to my younger brother. After a couple of years, I started trying to buy the model 94 back from my brother, offering as much as $300 or $400 for it...no deal...
when my son started hunting, my brother, having long since bought another hunting rifle, let my son borrow the 94 to hunt with. I never liked the Winchester lever for young hunters, because of having to lever live rounds thru the action to empty it, so I started looking for a rifle for my son. A guy in the office next to me at work said he had a bolt action 30-30 he had no use dor and i could have it for $150. Turned out to be a nice, magazine fed, Savage model 340.
I took the rifle home, to my son and told him I'd bought him a hunting rifle. He too one look at it and said, "I don't like it, I like the Winchester better." To which I replied, "Tough, this one is yours, that one isn't."
A few months later, I relayed my son's reaction to my brother, and he promptly replied, "A bolt action 30-30? I'll trade you."
So my son got my model 94 a little over 20 years after I originally bought it, and my brother's son still carries the Savage.
Robert
when my son started hunting, my brother, having long since bought another hunting rifle, let my son borrow the 94 to hunt with. I never liked the Winchester lever for young hunters, because of having to lever live rounds thru the action to empty it, so I started looking for a rifle for my son. A guy in the office next to me at work said he had a bolt action 30-30 he had no use dor and i could have it for $150. Turned out to be a nice, magazine fed, Savage model 340.
I took the rifle home, to my son and told him I'd bought him a hunting rifle. He too one look at it and said, "I don't like it, I like the Winchester better." To which I replied, "Tough, this one is yours, that one isn't."
A few months later, I relayed my son's reaction to my brother, and he promptly replied, "A bolt action 30-30? I'll trade you."
So my son got my model 94 a little over 20 years after I originally bought it, and my brother's son still carries the Savage.
Robert
LVSteve
Member
Likewise for some of my milsurps. Finnish rebuilds of Russian guns, Russian rebuilds of German guns, a Pakistani Enfield with Indian Army property marks...you get the picture.
I was looking at a rifle on a table at a gun show once when the seller proclaimed "that rifle used to belong to the president of the NRA". I replied that if it was any good, he would have kept it. 
I have some stories. Some of them are so fantastic that I don't expect most people to believe them. That's their misfortune I guess. I do love a good story however, I just don't want to pay for it.
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In new Mexico, back in the late '50's, my dad and I were horseback returning home after working cattle. We stopped by a ranch "camp" to warm up, drink coffee and talk with the old cowboy who lived there. Guns were mentioned and how "one day" I was going to get me a rifle. The old cowboy said there was an old rifle laying across the rafters in the barn If I wanted it I could crawl up there and get it. I did and it was an old Winchester 1890 .22 pump rifle made in 1915, I couldn't count the rounds I've fired through that old rifle. My favorite and I still have the rifle to this day.
AJ
US Veteran
I own a Savage Model 7 that belonged to my Grandfather. He said he bought it in 1938, that would make it first year production. He had bought it for squirrel and rabbit hunting to put food on the table. Sent a question to Savage and their Historian sent me back a nice letter stating it was an early one since it had checkering on it as the later ones did not. So Grampa was probably correct on his dating.
We went to see some cousins outside of Buffalo that had a farm. One afternoon he got the rifle out of the trunk with a box full of ammo (the box is another story--still have the box). We went out behind the barn with my cousins son with his .22 tagging along. Grampa commenced to teach me the finer points of aiming and firing the Savage. He showed me how to operated it as a single shot. Once he was comfortable that I could hit a tin can at about 20 yards, he went back to the house. After shooting for a while I forgot to push in the knob on the bolt handle. When I pulled the trigger the rifle fired and the bolt cycled. I was somewhat surprised, but after checking and found a fresh round in the chamber. So I pulled the trigger again and again it fired and cycled. After that it was off to the races with my shooting (typical kid). A short time later Grampa came out of the house and said "I see you have found out it is semiautomatic!" Then said to be careful and went back in the house. My cousin and I went through about a brick of ammo that afternoon. The next day we scrounged up about $10.00 (a lot of money for 10 year old's in 1961). We went to the local general store/gas station and bought $10.00 worth of .22 LR and went back to the house. Before that day was finished we had shot that up.
The rifle went to my oldest grandson on his 10th Birthday and that is what he learned to shoot on. He qualified Expert for four consecutive years while in the Corps, so I guess he learned well from his Grampa. As a side note my Cousin passed away a year ago..........
Sorry to be so long winded.
AJ
We went to see some cousins outside of Buffalo that had a farm. One afternoon he got the rifle out of the trunk with a box full of ammo (the box is another story--still have the box). We went out behind the barn with my cousins son with his .22 tagging along. Grampa commenced to teach me the finer points of aiming and firing the Savage. He showed me how to operated it as a single shot. Once he was comfortable that I could hit a tin can at about 20 yards, he went back to the house. After shooting for a while I forgot to push in the knob on the bolt handle. When I pulled the trigger the rifle fired and the bolt cycled. I was somewhat surprised, but after checking and found a fresh round in the chamber. So I pulled the trigger again and again it fired and cycled. After that it was off to the races with my shooting (typical kid). A short time later Grampa came out of the house and said "I see you have found out it is semiautomatic!" Then said to be careful and went back in the house. My cousin and I went through about a brick of ammo that afternoon. The next day we scrounged up about $10.00 (a lot of money for 10 year old's in 1961). We went to the local general store/gas station and bought $10.00 worth of .22 LR and went back to the house. Before that day was finished we had shot that up.
The rifle went to my oldest grandson on his 10th Birthday and that is what he learned to shoot on. He qualified Expert for four consecutive years while in the Corps, so I guess he learned well from his Grampa. As a side note my Cousin passed away a year ago..........
Sorry to be so long winded.
AJ
I drove city bus for twenty seven years and met some very interesting people. One of the old boys liked to talk and would sit in the jump seat and pull my ear all the way from town to his house or reversed. Nice old guy that collected and built model railroad stuff as well as being connected through some University Club and involved with downtown business. We got to talking about .22s one day and I told him I had my first .22 rifle that an uncle had given me when I was nine. It was a Savage Sporter, mine never had the magazine, I got used to shooting it single shot and got pretty quick with it. He said "I have an old Savage Sporter too, used to shoot jack rabbits out the door of the railcar when parked on a siding, I might have a spare magazine, I'll take a look." Couple of weeks later I see him standing at his corner, he waves. I pull over, he gets on board and puts his hand out, I put my hand under it and he drops a nicely blued mag in my hand and says..."I knew I had a spare, have fun." I offered to pay but he waved me off. Fast forward a couple years and I see him walking to town and back instead of riding the bus, he always waved when I honked. Finally he gets on the bus downtown one day and I ask him where he's been and that I see him walking. He said "I had another heart attack and the Doc says I should get some walking in." He invites me up to see his railroad collection. I swing by and this guy has a hell of a collection, building the locomotives from intricate metal kits, must of had thousands of dollars invested. Anyway he brings out this old gun case and hands it to me, I open it up and there is his old Savage Sporter. His has much nicer adjustable sights with an insert globe front sight. He says "I'd like you to have this, my son has no interest in firearms or these trains for that matter. I have friends that are interested in the trains and I thought you might like this old .22" I told him I would truly appreciate it and offered to give him a couple hundred bucks, he denied accepting any money and only asked that I take it out and put a few rounds through it from time to time. It remains one of my favorite guns, I dolled my original Savage up with a new stock and refinish and gave it to my granddaughter on her tenth birthday, she loves shooting it at ballons I staple to a cardboard backing. I'll hang onto Bud's old Savage until someone worthy comes along and if I'm lucky it will fall into someone's hands that will appreciate the history.
TheHobbyist
Member
Heard a lot of stories over the years of course.
When my g-g-grandfather came to the States, he was given by the local folks a Damascus double barrel for his farm/homestead. I believe the story to be genuine but who knows, my guess it is very likely because they didn't have money, but everything they needed was on the farm. Read an account of a relative that they used to strip tree bark and sell it; I forget what the purpose was for now.
When my g-g-grandfather came to the States, he was given by the local folks a Damascus double barrel for his farm/homestead. I believe the story to be genuine but who knows, my guess it is very likely because they didn't have money, but everything they needed was on the farm. Read an account of a relative that they used to strip tree bark and sell it; I forget what the purpose was for now.
BigBill
Absent Comrade
I inherited my uncles ww2 Astra 600/43 9 mm Luger. I don't know the story but he was on the PT boats in the South Pacific. I don't know how he got this Spanish pistol that was delivered to Germany. Some did go through without the German stamping the war hot n heavy time wise the allies were closing in. Unless he traded for it on the way home. No family member wanted it. I found a Astra 1921/400 9 mm largo to go with it. It's the ugly with the ugly.
Since I mainly have elderly guns, my acquisition of many were from family and friends. Whenever possible I get history when I get the gun. Guns I know the history of, I type in very small size, the history and slip it under the butt plates or grips. I bought a 1932 vintage 94 Winchester in 30WCF a few decades ago. Under its butt plate was a slip of paper that read, "Frank Young Fairbanks Alaska 1974". There is virtually no bluing left on the carbine and the stock finish is thin, but you can tell it was well taken care and loved. Can not imagine people who would re-blue and refinish. I sit with it often around a campfire and just wonder where it had been and what it had done to get in the condition it is in. I have a few dozen "tales of the gun".
Wow! Hard to read on an iPad, but that is very impressive!
