First gun

[OntarioHunter]

My dad bought me a single shot Remington .22 when I was 11 or 12 then a couple of years later he bought me a bolt action 12 gauge from Montgomery Wards. I still had that .22 right up until the fire last fall. The shotgun didn't last so long. Every shotgun I have ever owned has been lost or destroyed.

How are you making out with that rebuilding project?

 

[LuketheDog]

My first firearm was a Remington 514 .22 that my grandad taught my mom and her siblings to shoot with when they were kids. I took it out a while back and gave it a good deep clean, polished the bolt, etc., it's working great, can't wait for my daughter to do some plinking with it!

 

[Mudranger1]

First was a mossberg bolt action 12 gauge that my dad bought for his first gun. Killed my first 5 deer with it from age 13-15. Then got to big boy status and my dad bought a Remington 700 .270 which I still use.
1st picture 15 years


2nd picture 20 years later my first turkey

 

[Europe]

A little Stevens rolling block .22 ; got it when I was six up in Fairbanks. Did a lot of shooting with that little thing.

How the years fly by when your having fun

Winchester frankengun that was passed down from my maternal grandfather - equal parts 1890 & 1906 Winchester pump 22's. That thing took out a mountain of prairie dogs & jackrabbits, and it provided the first lesson in "use enough gun" after I put 6 .22 Longs into a jack that wouldn't die.

I took it apart a few years ago to thoroughly clean it, since it probably had about a million rounds in it & wouldn't eject anymore. Discovered that at some point in time, by grandfather had soldered the mainspring back together with about 1/2 a pound of solder. That fix must have been over 50 years old, and explained a lot about how that gun worked.

It is currently sitting in the safe, warm & clean.

IMHO Ben, I would be inclined to leave it as it is. You dont need it to shoot well or even work to "remember"

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My first weapons were a bow and arrow and a slingshot that were made from trees by my grandfather and father. First rifle to shoot was an 1890 Win 22 long and first rifle that was "mine" was a Stevens 22 lr/410. All of these weapons were used before 1940. Salmonchaser : as I said--time flies

 

[Ben Lamb]

How the years fly by when your having fun

IMHO Ben, I would be inclined to leave it as it is. You dont need it to shoot well or even work to "remember"

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I struggle with this. I spent countless hours with my grandfather in his gun room, tinkering with guns, so that aspect is a huge part of the family tradition, and restoring this would most certainly be a continuation of that, but yeah, there are so many memories in that little 22, that restoring it might eliminate some of the mojo.

 

[morley.tyler]

Savage Falling Block 22lr
870 Wingmaster 20ga -still have
(Upgrade) 77/22- still have
Weatherby Vanguard (70’s version) 243-still have

 

[OntarioHunter]

I struggle with this. I spent countless hours with my grandfather in his gun room, tinkering with guns, so that aspect is a huge part of the family tradition, and restoring this would most certainly be a continuation of that, but yeah, there are so many memories in that little 22, that restoring it might eliminate some of the mojo.

I guess I might replace the cobbled together spring but that piece should definitely be kept as a precious memento. Having it in hand to show your kids and grandkids would be more meaningful than hidden inside the gun. Not sure I would replace the screws. Depends on how badly buggered they are. Brand new screws might look out of place on a well weathered receiver. I don't see any problem replacing the damaged fore end with something of equal vintage and same patina as the butt stock. But do whatever pleases you. I'm just thinking out loud. How about a photo?

 

[TN2shot07]

The first gun I remember shooting was my dad’s Stevens 30-30 pump and that’s what I took my first deer with. My first rifle was a H&R 25-06 which started the problem I have now... definitely my favorite caliber! Never had a shotgun or a 22 that was mine until I bought my own

 

[gouch]

How are you making out with that rebuilding project?

Cabinets are supposed to go in on Friday. Power still hasn't been restored to the area though. It's starting to look like the house will be done before the power company gets off their butt and fixes the system. I've got a lantern, a camp stove, an ice chest and a BBQ so I'm moving in no matter what. Or I may just buy a generator.

 

[Europe]

I struggle with this. I spent countless hours with my grandfather in his gun room, tinkering with guns, so that aspect is a huge part of the family tradition, and restoring this would most certainly be a continuation of that, but yeah, there are so many memories in that little 22, that restoring it might eliminate some of the mojo.

I guess I might replace the cobbled together spring but that piece should definitely be kept as a precious memento. Having it in hand to show your kids and grandkids would be more meaningful than hidden inside the gun. Not sure I would replace the screws. Depends on how badly buggered they are. Brand new screws might look out of place on a well weathered receiver. I don't see any problem replacing the damaged fore end with something of equal vintage and same patina as the butt stock. But do whatever pleases you. I'm just thinking out loud. How about a photo?

there is definitely some merit to repairing it enough to shoot, with the absolute minimum of changes and by keeping all the replaced parts, so that the new generation of hunters can also fire off a round from the same rifle their grandfather, great or great-great-gradfather did. Good points gentlemen

 

[Ben Lamb]

there is definitely some merit to repairing it enough to shoot, with the absolute minimum of changes and by keeping all the replaced parts, so that the new generation of hunters can also fire off a round from the same rifle their grandfather, great or great-great-gradfather did. Good points gentlemen

Too bad I don't have kids.


The screws are about 50% original, and a few of them are off of old cabinets & such. Grandpa wasn't always a stickler for getting OEM parts, especially when that can full of screws has been building up since 1935. So, I think replacing the screws where necessary and keeping the originals is probably a better option.

 

[MTLabrador]

I learned on a little Rossi single shot .22. The first one that was mine was a Model 70 .22-250 for my 12th birthday.

 

[fishing4sanity]

Aside from pellet guns and a shared 22, the first gun that was 'mine' was a Savage/Fox SxS 20 gauge. I loved that shotgun and wish I still had it, but it was stolen many many years ago.

 

[SO7mm]

We had a bolt action scatter shot 22 that was the first gun I shot.
An uncle let me use a Winchester Model 12 20ga for a couple of years.
I bought a short Remington 6mm bolt action when I was 11 with paper route money.

 

[shrapnel]

Christmas 1962 was the longest wait in my life. I was like Ralphie in "Christmas Story" and couldn't sleep waiting for Santa Claus...

 

[lifeisgoodsteve]

Marlin 30-30 a few years ago for wild boar issues.

What a long, slippery, wonderful slope it's been since then getting more connected to nature and my food source through hunting.

 

[deer_shooter]

I learned to shoot with my fathers no name bolt action 22 he got right after WW2. I bet I could easily fill a pickup bed with the shells I put through that gun. Of course a box of 100 rounds was about 45 cents back in the mid 70's IIRC.
My first gun was a Westernfield pump 20ga bought at Sears for around $120 in either '79 or '80. That shotgun has accounted for countless squirrels, rabbits and a few pheasant and grouse. I probably took 2 dozen or more turkeys with it too before I found out you need a 3" 12 gauge to kill them. It now rests comfortably in the back of the safe; but comes out occasionally when nostalgia strikes.

 

[MO Betta]

Red Ryder, then graduated to a NEF .410

 

[Ben Lamb]

Red Ryder, then graduated to a NEF .410

I have the same NEF 410. That was my third gun, and it still kicks like a freaking mule.

 

[OntarioHunter]

I learned to shoot with my fathers no name bolt action 22 he got right after WW2. I bet I could easily fill a pickup bed with the shells I put through that gun. Of course a box of 100 rounds was about 45 cents back in the mid 70's IIRC.
My first gun was a Westernfield pump 20ga bought at Sears for around $120 in either '79 or '80. That shotgun has accounted for countless squirrels, rabbits and a few pheasant and grouse. I probably took 2 dozen or more turkeys with it too before I found out you need a 3" 12 gauge to kill them. It now rests comfortably in the back of the safe; but comes out occasionally when nostalgia strikes.

I thought Westernfield was Coast to Coast or Gambles. Wasn't Sears stuff either J.C. Higgins or Ted William's brand? We're reaching back there into the golden age of gun making.