Heirloom Gun Stories

Not much of a story but....

My Grandmother on my mothers side had brothers who were NYPD. My grandfather was a doctor in Brooklyn NY, as well as avid hunter. Grandma's brothers gave him a brand new NYPD issue Colt revolver. I am guessing circa 1915 or so. The revolver was new and unfired. I remember it as a kid during the 1950s.

When NYC went to mandatory gun registration, the first time around many, many years ago my uncle got nervous and turned the gun in to NYPD. He did retain the hunting shotguns but that pristine Colt revolver was gone forever.

Ron

My uncle is a battle hardened Korean War vet. He has a Singer mld 1911 that went through the war with him. I've never seen it, but hope to next trip south,
I only learned of it this year. Hadn't seen him in 25 years, told me about it as I was leaving town. Told my cousin not to loose track of it, none of the 3 sons knows anything about guns.

My Great, Great, Great Grandfather bought rabbit ear double barrel 12ga when he was 16. Some how it made it to my grandfather who wore it out shooting dove and squirrels. The ends of the "laminated" barrels are so thin they'll cut your finger if you pressed hard enough. He kept it until he died 3 years ago. My dad killed his first deer with it in 1968, shooting 00 buck (remember those laminated barrels) and continued to deer hunt with it until the mid 70's. Since then it mostly sat in a gun cabinet. Hopefully I will have it before long, I don't think my dad is gonna hold it until he dies.

My dad is a machinist and made one on the firing pins when he was in trade school back in the day, I'm not sure what I'll do with it. Maybe nothing but hang it on a wall, maybe just have the wood replaced as its beat up BAD. May have it completely restored, as much as it could be with the laminated barrels. It'll never be a shooter again I don't believe. Honestly my dad was probably an idiot for shooting 00 buck in a shotgun made in 1882. He still insists it'd be fine to shoot, but I don't think laminated barrels were fine to shoot smokeless powder in......ever.

^ That is a remarkable story! A shotgun staying in the same family since 1882! My moms .38 Colt Detective Special from her days of owning lonely diners between 1939 and 1952, is our oldest "heirloom".

It dates to 1937. My older sister in New Jersey still has it. It's promised to me if I outlast her, which is doubtful.



1937 Colt Detective Special.

This Colt 1860 Army percussion .44 was a "battlefield pickup," by my paternal great grandfather. He was in Co. B, 40th Georgia Inf. It has been handed down through the family to me.

All matching numbers and all original parts except for the barrel wedge screw.

I think I'll keep it.



L.W.

^ That is a remarkable story! A shotgun staying in the same family since 1882! My moms .38 Colt Detective Special from her days of owning lonely diners between 1939 and 1952, is our oldest "heirloom".

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My best friend has the shotgun that one of his great uncles took with him to fight in the war of northern aggression. It's in terrible shape, literally held together with tie wire but at least he has it. I've often wondered what all got shoved down the barrels in the 1860's. You can deep visible scratches down the barrels.

Btw: that's a very nice Colt, I'd shoot that one.

My dad was somewhere in Germany, he didn't know the name of the town. Wasn't sure if it were shortly before or after the war ended, but after all of the homes were searched all guns were piled up in the street to be destroyed. An officer told the men they could have anything they wanted so dad picked this. he built a wooden crate and mailed it home for $1.50.

It was made by FN in Belgium, most likely well before the war. It had been in a local shop, new with hang tags on the trigger guard.

I can't compare to that colt, but I have a marlin 336, a marlin 60, h&r 999, mossberg 600ct, and an RG 39 with a story. The model 60 was bought used by my grandpa Dec 19, 1984 for his 1 day old grandson (me) who he already loved dearly. He did the same for my cousin when he was born, but that rifle was sold almost instantly. That model 60 has claimed lots of squirrels and a few other critters, and will never leave my possession. Summer of 1997 I mowed his yard to earn the Mossberg.

The same grandpa had a 336 marlin that he deer hunted with, but never shot at a deer. He had plenty opportunity, he just liked watching the deer too much to shoot them. I learned to hunt with him and my dad using that rifle, as did all of my cousins, their friends, and a few other folks. When he got in bad shape I learned a lot about Korea sitting bedside as Alzheimer's turned me into his war buddies as often as not. Sadly we got a call that he was fading fast at the nursing home and while everyone rushed to see him my cousin rushed to his house, stole the 336 and 6 more guns and pawned them for cocaine. The 336 was found 2 days later and we retrieved it shortly after the funeral procession. Grandma asked specifically for me to drive, and when I dropped her off the gun stayed with me. It was the only gun recovered. One gun was not found and sold though, the H&R 999. It was disassembled at the time and the cylinder was thrown through a wall. I now own it as well. The little RG was not at home for the break-in as it rode everywhere with grandma in an over sized cigarette case. I bought it Dec 1 of 2010 by taking grandma Christmas shopping and buying gifts for all of her grandkids. I got a box of shells with it. I think it cost me around 80 bucks then, but everybody had a gift from grandma. I found the box for it 2 weeks ago cleaning out her house after she passed.

DeepSouth said:

Btw: that's a very nice Colt, I'd shoot that one.

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Thank you. It is a wonderful keepsake, and long before my mom passed away in 1996 at age 92, my brothers and I did shoot it. I have to wonder how many LEO's put their lives on the line with this one gun. It helped keep me safe as a small child on those lonely roads in the 1940's.

So many thousands of people depended on this gun. It did the job from 1927 to 1986. That's a long time. Colt can be proud of this treasure.

I've told this before, but here it is again.
Short story: I have an Arisaka Type 38 my grandfather brought back from the Pacific Theater.

The longer story isn't so much about the rifle, but the man who brought it home.
He was a career enlisted man in the US Army Air Forces in WWII. A tail gunner on a B-17. He was shot down, survived and made it back to friendly territory. Due to his wounds, he was put on a hospital ship. I don't know how long he was there, but the next time he set foot on dry land was the island of Tarawa. There, he resumed the war on B-29 bombers.

After the war, he was stationed in Japan as a part of the occupation force, where he acquired the Arisaka. When the Air Force became a separate service, he left the Army and enlisted in the Air Force, I believe as a Master Sergeant. The Arisaka sat quietly in a closet, unfired and with minimal care, a mere side note to this story.

Another decade and a half later, now a Chief Master Sergeant, his son (my step-dad) was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Army. A career enlisted man, claims to have saluted his son once, then retired.

The Arisaka was inherited by my step dad when his father passed away, years before I ever met him.

On my 30th birthday, I received the Arisaka as a gift. I cleaned it of the cobwebs and such that took up residence in the barrel, oiled it, stripped it and put it all back together.

It resided in my gun cabinet for the next several months until my step-dad's birthday. I had picked up a box of newly manufactured 6.5 Jap, and we, along with my step-son, went out to the range and took turns shooting.

It'll be passed down to my step-son at some point later in my life, or upon my death.

Gunandshottv
The OP.

That's a remarkable story.
Before your tread got really de-railed in a tragic tread crash.


Very seldom if ever are stolen guns recovered.
Let alone returned to the owner in the same condition that many years later.

My only tip?
Do a GI dog knot braid job on the holster with the leather tie-down thong dangling.

http://s142.photobucket.com/user/vettepartz/media/Holster01-1.jpg.html

That holster would get any GI 50 push-ups and a severe tongue lashing from the first NCO that saw the strings dangling like that!

If it didn't get you hung up on something and killed.

rc

My grandfather was drafted into WWII and he registered as a conscientious objector because of his belief of Roosevelt allowing Pearl Harbor to happen as an excuse to get into the war. He became a felon as a result and did 2 years in jail.

Eventually, (I'm not sure when) he took a gunsmithing course and used a couple of Mausers as donor actions to build some bolt action rifles. I have the 28" barreled 30-06 he made. It's not worth much, but it's a keepsake for me and my son. I was the last family member to see him before he died.

It's funny because he was definitely a gun guy, but refused to go to war. His son (my dad) got drafted into Vietnam and went to 5th group SF. Both me and my 2 brothers also went into the military. Among the 4 of us (my dad and us 3 boys), we have every branch covered except for the Navy. Dad was in the Army, I was in the Coast Guard, my middle brother is in the Air Force and my youngest was in the Marines. It's funny how ironic life can be.

Gunandshottv said:

Do you have any interesting heirloom gun stories? Especially with everyone visiting family for the holidays it's a great time to get them straight from the horses mouth and write them down for future generations.

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...several heirloom gun stories follow...

rcmodel said:

Before your tread got really de-railed in a tragic tread crash.

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Huh? Did I miss something?

Will let you know next May after a delayed memorial service, if this thread is not closed by the Enroute Controllers.

My wife is inheriting (from a late uncle) a WW1 rifle used by her grandfather, who was from Abilene TX. Will try to find out whether any of her late uncle's friends can find the info on his service in "The War To End All Wars".

They don't even know which type rifle, and did not describe the condition. Frustrating. It surprised me that even a lawyer in west Texas would have no interest in military guns.

I know someone who... owns a Type 97 Arisaka rifle. For those of you who don't know (I didn't at the time), the 97 is the sniper varient of the Type 38 rifle in 6.5 Jap.

My grandfather was a Marine Corp. Scout Sniper in WW2 in the Pacific and in Korea. Much of his stories, medals, and experiences were unknown to us until after his death about 10 years ago. His Arisaka, amongst many other collectibles, got shared with the family.

Finding journals and audio tapes, we learned that he used a captured Arisaka rifle during night missions to help maintain his own rifle and make cleaning much easier. It might also have something to do that certain missions were "undocumented and unapproved" but that is not for me to say. Then we come to find an Arisaka rifle with mums intact that he has owned as long as anyone can remember. It wasn't until I was dating a lovely young lady (she was crazy actually) who happened to speak Japanese that I learned that it was not a type 38 but a type 97 after showing her the rifle so she could look at the markings.

Now, the Type 97 may be slightly more valuable, but that is not the issue. What I wish I could ask my grandfather beyond the grave is was this Arisaka sniper, a captured rifle from another sniper (journals tell us he had "confrontations" with a few) and was it the actually rifle that he used on night missions.

Sadly, I will never know, but the rifle will never be sold by "the person I know"

Cool stories. Hope this thread gets many more.

My heirloom story...

Old "Bridge" 12g. Was my grandfather's gun. I heard he got it in/around the time of WW1 when he was young. His best friend (fellow farmer/ co-conspirator in the white whiskey business partner/brother in law) and he would trade that old single shot between each other through the depression an on into the early 50's. Just depended on who was broke at the time. The only stipulation from the beginning was that the gun would never be traded with anyone else.

The last time it traded hands it ended back up in the hands of my grandfather. Cecil got to thinking about how many times they'd traded it back and forth and told my grandpaw: "You know what, Whit? This has got to be the moneyest-makin' gun in the history of the South."

lilguy said:

My uncle is a battle hardened Korean War vet. He has a Singer mld 1911 that went through the war with him. I've never seen it, but hope to next trip south,
I only learned of it this year. Hadn't seen him in 25 years, told me about it as I was leaving town. Told my cousin not to loose track of it, none of the 3 sons knows anything about guns.

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Whoooeee, A 1911A1 Singer is probably in the $25,000 and up range............

My grandfather had a Stevens Crackshot .22 he used to keep by his back door to shoot any woodchucks which went into his garden. I remember it always being there probably unloaded but who knows. Fast forward to his death many years later and my mother and grandmother were cleaning out his things. He had some deer antlers from a buck he had shot and my mom wanted know if I wanted them. I told her yes and then inquired about the Crackshot. My grandma said she did not want it so it came to me. Interestingly he also had a Ruger 10/22 I had no clue about. I had a couple of those at the time so I declined but I told here a specific cousin of mine would want it so she gave that to him. My uncle took back the Ruger Mk II he had given him years earlier.

This Crackshot it so well used it looks more like he used it to hoe his garden rather than rid pests of it with it. I really like it though because of its sentimental value.

When I first shot it the sights were way off. It was maybe 10" off at 20 yds!! I asked my mom if grandpa had ever actually shot a woodchuck in the garden. She said none that she had ever heard of.

I think I've showed this before... a 12ga. Greener shotgun made in 1907 that my Dad picked up in a Japanese bunker in 1945 (in very good condition.) He gave it to me before he died. We used to shoot it quite a lot but it's pretty much been retired now.

W.W. Greener's been in business since 1829 but has records of all their guns, including the name of the buyer. When I wrote to them a few years ago to do a SN search, I got a very polite and informative personal letter back from a 5th generation Greener at the company.





Tinpig

My underaged father ran off, forged his parents' signatures, and joined the Army in 1939. When the invasion of Europe began, he was on a ship offshore of Omaha beach. He landed three days after the invasion began (and the beach had been taken), and was assigned as a HMO in Rouen, France responsible for getting heavy equipment off of ships.

An ordnance officer gave him two Remington Rand 1911A1s from a crate of them that had washed up on Omaha beach. Dad gave one to his cousin when he got back home, and carried the other one as his side arm throughout his service of 30 years (including his combat service in Korea as an artillery officer).

During the 50s, dad became interested in military shooting matches and had an ordnance officer set the 1911 up for match shooting. It received a matched barrel/bushing, hardened sear, and was reworked to have a crisp four pound trigger pull.

When he retired, the Army allowed him to keep the 1911. Much of my fascination with firearms began with that pistol. I could strip and clean it by the time I was eight. Several years later when dad thought I was old enough, he let me shoot it.

When dad started suffering from Alzheimer's, he passed the gun on to me since I was the only one in the family who appreciated guns. It is my most valuable possession in terms of sentiment, and it is a reminder of his legacy.

Interesting thread; I've got several heirloom guns but the one with the most interesting story would have to be connected to the German Luger pistol one of my late uncles brought home from Germany in 1945 and I inherited in 2002. He was a young ground crewman working on B-17's in England, and being from a heavily German family growing up in a heavily German neighborhood in Rochester NY he grew up bilingual, being able to speak fluent German. Suddenly in the spring of 1945 Uncle Sam was looking for servicemen who could speak German. Long story short: Just about the time Germany surrendered he suddenly found himself at the facility known as the "Mittlewerks at Nordhausen" in Germany. This was the underground factory dug into a mountain (originally a gypsum mine IIRC) which was the main production line for the German V2 rocket. The U.S. went in there and packed the whole place up and shipped it all here, the first rocket launches the U.S. ever performed were captured V2 rockets they launched at White Sands New Mexico. Lots of German civilians were hired to help load and ship everything and my uncle worked with lots of them as he spoke their language. Inside that mountain factory were also lots of office space for engineering/ draftsmen/ administrative etc. staff. He and another American walked into one of these office areas and there was a glass display case with a huge Nazi parade flag and a Luger pistol inside. They cut a deal; his buddy took the flag; he took the Luger. We've always wondered what that dispay in the Mittleweks was for and who owned that Luger? The only downside to the story was that he never bothered to get capture papers on the gun which would have given provenance to where and when he got it. But at the time the general attitude was; "The War's over! don't worry about it!". But everyone in my family knows where it came from and it's gonna stay in the family so it'll get handed on down as the heirloom that it is.