Your Most Cherished Firearm?

[Voyager28]

I got the idea for this from another thread and thought it might be fun. I'm sure it's probably been done before but, what the heck.

Mind you, I'm not asking what your most valuable firearm is. I'm asking about the one firearm, old or new, that you, personally, value above all others.

Mine is a JC Higgins side by side, 20 gauge shotgun manufactured in 1948. I was born in 1946 and from the time I was 5 years old I squirrel hunted with my Grandfather and that is the gun he carried. I can't even begin to guess at how many times we hunted together or how many squirrels met their demise from the business end of that shotgun. But, from the time I was 5 until I was 25, that's the gun he carried every time we went to the woods.

The hunting outings always began the same with my grandpa standing at the bottom of the stairs and yelling; "Bobby, them squirrels ain't gettin' any younger and I ain't gettin' any less hungry." Usually I was already up and dressed but I would wait in my room until he called out. It was sort of a game/tradition.

Out into the woods we would go. We lived on a tobacco farm in Eastern Kentucky so getting to the "woods" required a walk of about 1/4 mile. I had an Stevens .410/.22 over and under that I carried. (Given to me by me grandpa a Christmas gift one year, when I was 8 y/o or so, and which I still have) My grandpa, always, with that JC Higgins shotgun in his hand. Man, could he shoot that thing. We'd get a few squirrels go back to the house, skin and clean them and my grandma would make fried squirrel, biscuits and gravy for breakfast.

My grandpa died when I was 25 and that's when my grandma gave me that old JC Higgins shotgun. The stock is all scratched up and most of the bluing is gone, ugly old thing. But I value it above any and all other firearms I now own or have ever owned. I take it our of the case every now and again just to wipe it down and make sure it is clean and well protected. Every time I touch it I can still hear my grandpa; "Bobby, them squirrels ain't gettin' any younger and I ain't gettin' any less hungry." It always brings a smile to my face and a tear to my eye.

Bob

 

[Salty RI]

I think it's time you take that gun for a walk in the woods.

 

[SC_Mike]

This one that belonged to my father. It sits in the box in my safe.

Second would be a Sig P220 built the same year my son was born (1992).

 

[Brian41]

We adopted a grandfather who never had any children. Jim was a WWII Navy dive bomber pilot who lived in Michigan's Upper Peninsular by himself in a log cabin back in the woods near Escanaba. We visited him quite a bit and he'd stay with us when he came down here and always Memorial Day weekend when Jim would put out flags on veteran's graves.

One year when Jim was getting older and shakier he told me he wanted me to have his 22 pistol. I knew the gun as Jim had carried it on his hip when we went out into the woods together. It is a Ruger standard Red Eagle and among the first built. I told Jim it was no ordinary pistol and was worth a lot of money and he told me to sell it then and keep the money. I told him no if he gave it to me it'd never be for sale.
He gave me the pistol which of course I still have and shoot it in Jim's honor Memorial Days. Jim's been gone about 15 years now and his pistol is one of my most prized possessions.

 

[italiansport]

My High Standard Sport King purchased with the help of my father when I was 14. My daughter shot it when she was growing up and now my grandchildren are shooting it. I hope to live long enough to introduce my great-grandchildren to the shooting sports with it.
Jim

 

[eb07]

My model 19. Story here:

http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-re...ashorn-stags-my-model-19-a.html#post138223760

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

My treasured gun is an Iver Johnson top break in 38 S&W. My Grandfather received it from an old man that lived in a shack. Grandfather would buy him a sack of coal on cold days and share the bounty of a good paying job. The old man passed away in the mid 20's and the depression wiped out my grand father financially and the tragic death of his 14 year old daughter was a blow he never recovered from. In about 1938-9 Dad was then old enough to remember that a days food was one slice of white bread and a matchbox of black walnut from a tree out back. On a day in early winter, there was a big fat rabbit in the back yard, Grandfather retrieved and loaded his only firearm, cocked the hammer, aimed and kill the rabbit at about 40 yards.

When I took custody of the revolver 4 1/2 years ago, It came with an old box of Remington ammo. In Grandfather's beautiful handwriting on the box it said, "Paid $1.50 April 1926". The box was neatly tied shut with what appeared to be dental floss. I gently slid the string off the box to return the five rounds in the gun. All told there was one round missing. That Thanksgiving, before our prayer of thanks, I passed a plate with one piece of white bread and a matchbox of walnuts from our tree out back, and told this story. We are a very blessed family, and it amazes me to see The Provision of God. I treasurer the old revolver because it was Grandfather's and all it represents to me. Ivan

P.S. Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone!

 

[model70hunter]

I own multiple guns that are cherished for their specific "cherishment.

The most cherished is my Dad's pre-64 M 70 Winchester Standard in 270 Win. Dad was a great shot, he and his gun were local legends. Dead Deer over 500 yards multiple times. Something he learned in WW2 behind a scoped 03A3 in '06. He usually bagged a buck opening morning which made me giddily happy young teenager cause I got to set down Dad's 311 double in 16 gauge and hunt with the "real" deer gun. I've taken lots of and my biggest buck with it.

 

[3dots]

Mine is definitely my Marlin Glenfield model 25. I got it new for Christmas in 1969, I was 10 years old...

 

[pawngal]

Not near as good a story as some but my most cherished is my late husbands 1965 Ruger Blackhawk. I had always thought it was a 44mag(I had never shot it) I was going thru his guns deciding what I wanted to keep and remembering what should go to his son and what I would sell. Was happy when I discovered it is a 357 so it fits right in with my 38/357 Smiths.

 

[casualoffender]

My grandfather served with the U.S. Army in Russia in WWI. He brought back a Colt 1911 Government Model in the original US leather holster. There is cryllic lettering on the slide marking it as the property of the czarist government of Russia. Most people dont even know Americans (and Canadians) fought in Russia in WWI.
I don't shoot it, but I have in the past.

 

[MrTrolleyguy]

Yo! How about more photographs

 

[Straightshooter2]

Mine is a simple little single shot bolt action .22 made by "Springfield Arms" which was actually Savage/Stevens. It was made somewhere between 1930 and 1932 and it's marked as a Model 50 on the barrel with Springfield Jr. on the left side of the receiver. The gun is probably not worth $100 but to me it's priceless because it belonged to my grandfather. It's the first firearm I ever shot close to 60 years ago and the gun we always took with us when we walked in the woods.

CW

 

[TTSH]

Easy choice for me... my grandfather's 3rd Model Perfected Single Shot .22 LR with the 10-inch "Olympic-chambered" barrel, which he is said to have won in competition at Camp Perry.

 

[e3mrk]

I have a 1894 Krag that Somebody did a Bubba job on but I still like to shoot it.
I find the loading operation interesting on it.
My second favorite is My Smith and Wesson model 29 in 44 Magnum.

 

[Rick_A]

Unfortunately, the only firearm that would have been passed down was stolen.

My 1911 is my favorite. As it has been with me the most it is also the worst looking and has met some misfortune along the way. It's currently a full Rick_A special, which makes it special to me and perhaps my son will appreciate the stories behind it.

It started as a Colt 1991A1 and now only has the slide and a few small parts left as original.

 

[greenmachine]

Winchester model 70 target rifle from 1957 with genuine U.S. military markings. Original Marksman stock and Redfield Internationals.

 

[arjay]

Mine is a 30-06 that was my fathers. (I think he went hunting once or twice) Mauser action,Douglass barrel that I had installed when he gave it to me.Nice walnut stock and a Weaver k-4 scope.

 

[A10]

I can't narrow it to one.

The first handgun I ever fired, Dads Heavy Duty
The first rifle I ever fired, Dads 94 Winchester
My first handgun, my wifes Single Six

 

[timn8er]

I don't have any that are cherished because they were handed down to me, as my Dad was never into guns(which I still find hard to believe as he grew up on a farm in Texas!). I do have a few that I treasure highly. A Model 686-2 that was my first Smith & Wesson. I'm not good on chronology, but I'm thinking I've had it around thirty two years. A Browning Hi-Power that I've owned around thirty years. It was my first semi auto. A Shorty Forty that a Forum member here practically gave to me, because he knew how much I'd value it. I've got a bunch more, 3rd Gens that I place a lot of value on, but the three I mentioned are the picks of the litter!

 

[tomtheturner]

My most "valued" gun is my first. A Stevens single-shot .22 rifle with a maple stock.

When I was about 7 or 8 years old my father loaded me into the car and we drove to a sporting goods store that handled a lot of used guns. He paid $7.00 for it. The ejector never worked until I replaced it a few years ago.

We used to drive out to the City dump, and shoot rats at dusk. I learned at an early age to shoot without being able to use the sights. It was always great fun. Dad even let me drive the 57 Chevy we had at the time. He built me a box to sit on, and he would work the clutch. We would drive right by the little police dept in our small town, and wave at the police officer. In small towns in the 50s you could get away with things like that. I think that I would hate to try it today.

 

[PALADIN85020]

Without a doubt, the single gun that means the most to me is this Model 28-2 that belonged to my dad.

In 1968, he approached me for advice on a home defense firearm. I suggested a Model 28 with a 4" barrel. He could keep it loaded indefinitely with no strain on springs, and the operation in a pucker situation would be very simple. Aim and pull the trigger. The .357 has excellent stopping power, there was no danger of over-penetration as their house was pretty isolated, and the 4" barrel would make it more difficult to take away in a struggle.

He asked me to pick one out, and I went to Bohm's Firearms in Phoenix to find a suitable one. I picked this one out from among several as having the best double action pull and lockup, equipped it with walnut target stocks and a trigger shoe, and bought it for him. He of course reimbursed me and wrote up a bill of sale, although that was unnecessary.

Dad and I had many happy hours going out into the desert to target shoot with our respective Model 28s.

Dad passed away in 1987, and he was the last person to fire this gun. As long as I have it, that will remain so. I retain the gun, the original box and stocks, the bill of sale and some of the ammo I had handloaded for him back in the '80s.

It's priceless to me.

John

 

[M&P Freak]

For me, "Most Cherished Firearm" is synonymous with "Most Recently Acquired Firearm". It probably has something to do with my short attention span.

Oh look, pie...

 

[Alpo]

Remington 572 Fieldmaster, 22 pump. My first gun. Day after tomorrow it will be 41 years.

 

[whitestang]

My favorite is my 39-2.It has holster wear from being my duty weapon as a Deputy Sheriff many years ago. I still take it out and punch holes in paper just for fun.

 

[Shootbrownelk]

Mine are, an old H&R 12ga. single shot from my Grandpa, a J.C. Higgins 12 ga. pump my father bought for me when I was 15. My late Father's Winchester model 1894 .32 spec. and my best friend's Remington 700 ADL 30.06 that I got from his daughter after he passed away. Guns that mean a lot to me, and will never be sold by me.

 

[shouldazagged]

Mine is a rifle I haven't fired in years, a Marlin Golden 39A bought over forty years ago and given some ingenious trigger work by my late brother to remove over-travel. It wears a scope he gave me. Since his death recently it has become even more precious to me and evokes countless memories of squirrel hunting, often with him.

And precisely because it's so cherished, when my son and his family are here from Philadelphia for Thanksgiving, I'll give it to him. My hunting days, unfortunately, are over; and there's no reason he and his sons should have to wait till I die to enjoy it. My son has a rule never to dispose of anything not subject to wearing out if it's given to him by family. I know the Marlin will stay in the family.

 

[venomballistics]

This one ....
It was the first firearm acquired by my ancestors, soon after immigrating from Northern Italy

 

[loknload]

The first first one I ever purchased which was a Ruger New Model Blackhawk .357. First handgun I worked for to buy and I was only 18 at the time.
Still have it and would never part with it. My only mistake was since this was a convertible I left the gun shop owner talk me out of ordering the 9mm cylinder for it.

 

[model70hunter]

Mine is a rifle I haven't fired in years, a Marlin Golden 39A bought over forty years ago and given some ingenious trigger work by my late brother to remove over-travel. It wears a scope he gave me. Since his death recently it has become even more precious to me and evokes countless memories of squirrel hunting, often with him.

And precisely because it's so cherished, when my son and his family are here from Philadelphia for Thanksgiving, I'll give it to him. My hunting days, unfortunately, are over; and there's no reason he and his sons should have to wait till I die to enjoy it. My son has a rule never to dispose of anything not subject to wearing out if it's given to him by family. I know the Marlin will stay in the family.

This is a wonderful thing you are doing while you're alert and can see the reactions.

I like seeing folks here referring back to their father and grandfathers. I gave my first gun a Savage M-94 in 410 to my son and he to his son. It was bought for me by my Dad. 3 generations of family using it as their first gun. My Grandson is engaged. Hopefully # 4 soon.