Like a previous poster said, they're just things that I have. God forbid that it would ever get bad enough that I'd have sell them in order to get by but I'd shed no tears if it came to that.
Posts: 1148 | Location: The Hunting Fields | Registered: 22 May 2002
I have a beautiful custom Mauser made by Jerry Gebby in his .22 Varminter (later known as the 22-250 of course), topped with a vintage Lyman scope. I wouldn't say I'd NEVER sell it, but the price would have to be pretty good....
Matt
Posts: 100 | Location: All over, US Army | Registered: 23 June 2002
My pre-war Model 70 -- belonged to a good friend's dad, who bought it new in 1937 (after hiking over the mountain to the local hardware store). When his dad developed Alzheimer's and went into a nursing home my friend wanted someone to have it who would use it and take care of it.
I shot my first big game animal with it--a bull elk in northern New Mexico, not far from where the original owner shot a couple bulls of his own.
It's the heaviest rifle I own (right up there with my .375 H&H) but if I could only have one rifle I'd suck it up and carry the weight.
John
Posts: 1246 | Location: Northern Virginia, USA | Registered: 02 June 2001
I've been there. Believe me, it is rough having to sell, at a loss yet, something you've worked so hard to have. On the other hand, by doing that I didn't have to sell those items that have a strong family connection and I was still able to pay my bills on time.
The last I'd sell? Grandpa's Winchester M62A.
Posts: 2324 | Location: Staunton, VA | Registered: 05 September 2002
There are a few. I have a 16 gauge SxS that's been in the family since my grandfather brought it home. It's a Belgium made gun "Gecado" or something like that. I also wouldn't part with my Remington Classic in 7x57. The first "classic" caliber and I've killed a lot of deer with it.
Bob257
Posts: 434 | Location: Pennsylvania, USA | Registered: 22 November 2002
quote:Originally posted by trg: I whould like to hear from you what rifle you could not live without ( probably alot of old winchesters and custom guns ). Thank you.
I can't imagine life without a .22 RF, currently a Remington 510X. What would be the point? Everyone should be issued an accurate .22 at birth, along with a pair of visegrips and a decent screwdriver.
Tom
[ 09-09-2003, 20:59: Message edited by: TomP ]
Posts: 14809 | Location: Moreno Valley CA USA | Registered: 20 November 2000
The one they can bury with me is my Winchester M-70 30-06, given to me by my grandfather in 1960 when I was 13. Many good times and fond memories spent with this rifle (top):
[ 09-12-2003, 00:17: Message edited by: fla3006 ]
Posts: 9487 | Location: Texas Hill Country | Registered: 11 January 2002
My 1917 Remington in .35whelen AI w/6x Weaver. It was a gift from my stepfather, and because of that it means a lot to me. Not my most valuable gun either, which I bet is true of most everybody's choice here.
Interesting the things we would keep and why. About a year ago I finally threw out my desk chair, it was the chair my father used the whole time I was groing up, and by the time I threw it away I had the base welded back together twice, and it was so lopsided that you could only sit at and angle. It was still hard to get rid of.
Red
Posts: 4742 | Location: Fresno, CA | Registered: 21 March 2003
I have two as well that I would not get rid. One of them is my dad's old 141 B(a) Mossberg 22 that he got when he graduated from high school in 1946 and the other one is dad's old M1 Garand. The old Mossberg still has the paper work with it. Both of them are pristine. Money couldn't buy them. Dad told me he got the Mossberg and a new suit for graduation. He laughed and said I thought a WHOLE more of the rifle than I did the suit. I know where my love for rifles comes from.
Shoot Safe, Shoot Straight.......RiverRat
Posts: 413 | Location: Owensville, Indiana USA | Registered: 04 July 2001
The one rifle I would keep is a Winchester Model 70 from the Winchester Custom Shop in .358 STA. Stainless with absolutely gorgeous red walnut, fitted with a 4.5 X 14 Leupold Vari-X III. It will shoot one holers with 225, 250 and 270 grain North Forks, when I do my part. Good shooting.
A second generation Model 70 Classic Super Grade in 30-06 with a leupold 3x9 in Leupold mounts. I have more exotic stuff, but nothing that gets it done any better. Its the rifle I reach for when something really really has to end up dead.
Posts: 400 | Location: Murfreesboro,TN,USA | Registered: 16 January 2002
quote:Originally posted by trg: ..........I whould like to hear from you what rifle you could not live without ( probably alot of old winchesters and custom guns ). Thank you.
Any of them. I am in the gun buying not selling business.
Acually I have 2 that fall into the never sell catagory One is a Win.70 in 243 win. that "Santa Claus" brought me as a kid,my first rifle. The second is another Win.70 in 270 win that I bought with money my Grandmother left me,Outta $25,000.00 its the only I got to show,I squandered away the rest on Wild Women,Strong Drink and Song!!!
I do consider good guns as being more than just a toll. Special ones have a soul that speaks to memories, loved ones, history, etc. Certainly no gun is as valuable as a human being and if I hit absolute financial rock bottom and needed to sell them off to feed my family I would in a second. Barring that I have several that I would not part with for any price. At the top of the list is my pre-64 Model 70 30-06 that was my dads's. Right behind it are his well worn Auto-5 Sweet Sixteen and my grandfathers 12 gauge Superposed. I'm never alone when I'm in the field with any of them.
Jeff
Posts: 784 | Location: Michigan | Registered: 18 December 2000
I have two categories of rifles in my safe. Those that I have purchased myself and am willing to sell should the need arise; and those that were gifts from my father/grandfather etc and will be the very last to go. The gifts include my first .22, my first deer rifle (a .243), and my high school graduation gift (a .257 Roberts). Everything else is fair game should the need for $ arise.
Posts: 130 | Location: Fresno, CA - again | Registered: 13 May 2003
I have a 1952 vintage Model 70 Winchester Featherweight in 308 win that was bought new by my mentor and hunting companion for many years. When he past on and went to the big Elk Camp in the sky he left this rifle to me. It was the first rifle I ever hunted with and have many good memories of not only the rifle but the original owner and friend. I guess you might say that this is the one they will bury with me.
Posts: 223 | Location: Oklahoma | Registered: 11 July 2002
Having been in the position of having to sell a gun at one time, I do know the feeling of having been there and done that. Having said that though I can see how a guy would say I would never sell that gun for anything. But now in a different decade, and time of life, with enough money to get by on I can again say "I would never sell that gun." Right now I can say I would never sell my dad's old 30-40 Kraig. It is just a cut down sporterized one but it was his, and will soon be my son's, and I hope one of my grandson's in the distant future. It is kind of funny how we put a mistique on an inamimate object just because it was someone else's object of fondness, or just a tool in their hands. Perhaps it is just because of the memories that are attached to that inamimate object.
Posts: 428 | Location: Michigan USA | Registered: 14 September 2002
Well, I'm glad the subject was rifles 'cause I've got a shotgun I'd never sell. No it isn't a Parker, or an Ithaca, or one of my Winchester 101s. Its an H&R Topper, 12 ga. The barrel is cut to 20" and it has a Lyman adjustable choke and sling swivel studs installed. It was my PCS gun and I've hunted and killed doves, pheasant, quail, grouse, crows, groundhogs, squirrels, and rabbits and hunted with it most places I've been. It has also protected my family and survived some long journeys, sometimes in the middle of a duffel bag. I've hunted quail in Texas, hogs in California, pheasant in Korea and shot 2 rounds of skeet with it at the Rod and Gun club in downtown Seoul, ROK (they kindly let me shoot my doubles as singles). I had it out today, for the 2nd annual 9-11 memorial dove hunt, and it brought back a lot of memories of good times, good friends, good food, and distant places.
Posts: 2324 | Location: Staunton, VA | Registered: 05 September 2002
If it came down to it and I had to sell off then the last one to go would be the Remington 1917 Enfield I built for my father when I was 16. But before a lot of the rifles I own would go a lot of other toys would be gone first. Lawdog
Posts: 1254 | Location: Northern California | Registered: 22 December 2002
I would never sell the weapons that would come in REAL handy when TSHTF: US Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16 (civvie version), US Rifle, Caliber .30, M1 (the real deal), Remington 870 12 gauge, S&W 915 9 mm Parabellum.
All the other stuff are just toys.
[ 09-12-2003, 01:30: Message edited by: Orion 1 ]
Posts: 2206 | Location: USA | Registered: 31 August 2002
My CZ550 416 Rigby...even though it has the wire 'C' clip on the firing pin!!!!
" would never sell the weapons that would come in REAL handy when TSHTF: US Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16 (civvie version), US Rifle, Caliber .30, M1 (the real deal), Remington 870 12 gauge, S&W 915 9 mm Parabellum.".....Orion one of those is a REAL weapon, too. I am shocked!!! The rest are just toys (well one is ok if you are in real close)! Are you expecting somekinda of rebellion or riot down there in Kansas? How often does TSHTF that you need those kinda of solutions? judy
Posts: 2404 | Location: A Blue State | Registered: 28 September 2002
quote:Originally posted by rws2: Acually I have 2 that fall into the never sell catagory One is a Win.70 in 243 win. that "Santa Claus" brought me as a kid,my first rifle. The second is another Win.70 in 270 win that I bought with money my Grandmother left me,Outta $25,000.00 its the only I got to show,I squandered away the rest on Wild Women,Strong Drink and Song!!!
THE REST YOU JUST WASTED>
couldnt resist.
The last to go would be a merkel. course there are several of those to choose from...
quote:Originally posted by Judy: Are you expecting somekinda of rebellion or riot down there in Kansas? How often does TSHTF that you need those kinda of solutions? judy
It only needs to happen once to you to ruin your day.
Better to have them and not need them than to need them and not have them.
Besides, they all get used regularly in the shooting sports. Gotta keep those marksmanship skills tight....
Posts: 2206 | Location: USA | Registered: 31 August 2002
Like others have said if push came to shove and money was needed for the family I guess all the custom Springfields and Mausers in the safe would raise the most money and would be sold if need be.
However, a couple of firearms my Dad passed on to me before he passed on would be the last to go if they ever did. Neither is worth much but I would GIVE away my pet 275 Rigby Mauser if he was still around to hunt deer with his Remington 742 in 30-06 and pheasants with his old J.C. Higgens bolt action 12 gauge shotgun with me. The memories of those days become more special than ever the older I get. As the Mastercard ad says, they are "Priceless".
Posts: 845 | Location: Central Washington State | Registered: 12 February 2001
The M1 Garand my dad gave me on my 18th birthday. Since the military was phasing out the M1 and phasing in the M14 when he was in the Navy in the 50s, he was able to purchase it for a song. And what he ended up with was a Springfield Armory Garand with a serial number in the 800,000 range. The only way I will part with it will be to give it to my son, if I am ever blessed with one...
Posts: 454 | Location: Califon, NJ USA | Registered: 18 January 2002
only the ones that I inherited from family would be really tough to part with. I'm not saying I wouldn't do it, but I sure wouldn't like it. FWIW - Dan
Posts: 5285 | Location: Alberta | Registered: 05 October 2001
![[Frown]](images/icons/frown.gif){kind=icon}
![[Wink]](images/icons/wink.gif){kind=icon}
![[Smile]](images/icons/smile.gif){kind=icon}
