Anyone else love a beat up gun?

You know it, Shows character..................

If it is from me and has a story behind it, I'm okay with it. On one of my AR lowers there is a ding in the finish near the bolt catch where I missed the roll pin when I was assembling my first lower. It was one of a couple imperfections on that lower and I am proud of them all.

My EDC

Honest wear is great, especially on an old shotgun.

............

Since I enjoy working on my guns at least as much as firing them, I really have a soft spot for less popular guns that could be returned to near new conditioning with a little work here and there. I saw an old Westernfield branded Mossberg bolt .22 a few months ago - 47.95. It was all I could do to walk away from that even though the condition of the stock matched the price. The action still worked slick and the mag was with the rifle. I should have bought that one for sure - just having a project to work on would have been worth $50.

There is a LH 788 in .308 at the same LGS now with a few nicks in the stock and a little bit of freckle rust on the barrel. My son shoots LH, but he is not really interested in shooting an accurate bolt. The bore needs to be cleaned so I can not really see if it has any real problems, but the crown and action all look good. If I had the money I would buy it just to flip it on GB after doing a bit of work on it.

Kick-Down-Doors said:

You know, faded blueing, lots of wear and character marks on the wood and lots of history behind it.

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Depends a LOT what has caused all the wear.

My carry guns and hunting shotguns are more or less beat up, but my real pride and joy is a very worn 7.65/.32ACP Beretta 1915 my father used as his last line of defense through three wars. A grim piece of history, he got it at the age of 12, in the middle of war in 1918 fighting the red mutiny socialists call finnish civil war. It may be collectible by itself nowadays, but to me it's priceless with all the scratches, dings and bluing so faded it looks almost purple. That's what I call character. It wouldn't be the same in pristine LNIB condition or, heaven forbid, restored.

Yes. Yes I do.

Traded a Springfield that was worth more for a DPS marked Highway Patrolman. Wanted one. Wanted one with some honest wear. Got one.

Bought a beat all up 870 Express from a pawn shop table at a gun show. Decent deal. Was a beater looked like it spent ten years behind the seat of some redneck's truck. Wish I knew that redneck. Great gun. Take it afield, don't have to worry bout gettin' a ding or scratch on it. Runs like a top. Take that Express haters!

Don't even get me started 'bout my M1. Trying to beautify the grain of the wood without taking out the scars. While I wouldn't mind purtifying it, certainly don't want to rob it of it's history.

Can't wait for more wear on my EDC G19.

Something about the charm of a gun been used the way it was s'posed to be.

I also like wear, but do not like rust. Rust is a sign of poor ownership.

Aint she purdy?

Sure. My carry pistol (P228):

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It looks less like you're carrying it and more like you're dragging it!

This one has seen a lot of use over the years.

I like beat-up guns except when they get beat up through me being a doofus. Years ago, someone on here or gbo linked to a place that sold mostly old western guns from the cowboy era and they had a Peacemaker that had been in one Native family most its life. The grip was tightly interwoven cloth and it had been knocked around a good bit, but it was one of those "oh the stories this gun could tell" guns.

I love it when I'm the one that did it, it adds to the character of the gun. The Savage 10 in 243 that my stepdad handed down to me when I was 9 is covered in little scratches and wear marks from 2 lifetimes of hunts. My Ruger MKII has lost all the blueing on the frontstrap and the checkering on the mag release has been worn smooth, from the 1000s of rounds I've put through it since I was 11

I like my "range guns" clean and in good condition for the most part. Carry guns honest wear is nice.

My only military gun is an M91/30... I had intentions of refinishing it as a project before buying it, but since I have it now, I decided I'll just keep it original as the wear and dings show character.

My last two purchases have been of 1970's manufacture, and honestly one of the more likeable things about them (to me, anyway) are the character marks.


Both have obviously seen their share of honest use. Not a problem; both fully intended to be shooters from the beginning.

I don't mind a gun with honest wear at all. To me it tells a story.
Colt Army Special, 2.5" bbl., .38 special, mfg. 1922.
Now if this Colt could talk.....

Not really "beat up", just well worn.

These aren't my guns, just a couple pics I've borrowed from a 1911 board. Great looking pistols!

Life is full of ups and downs.

There have been times when whipping out my wallet and throwing down a thousand dollars for a gun I wanted was no big deal, and I've done it.

There have been other times in my life when twenty bucks mattered, and I had to think about it hard before I could spend that kind of money.

Due to a series of unfortunate incidents, There was a point around '01 or '02 where I found myself not owning any guns at all, having liquidated them to survive.

I came to a spot where I thought I could afford to pick up a serviceable rifle, but it needed to be cheap and something I could actually use.

I had it in my mind that I would buy some old beat up thing to get me by for a while, and then replace it with something nicer when my money was in better shape.

That's when I saw this rifle at a pawn shop. It's a Marlin 336, chambered in .30-30.



Poor thing. Somebody had chopped it's barrel off short, hung a scope crooked in those ugly "See Through" mounts with the cross hairs making an "X", and painted it with spray in pickup truck bed liner.

I laughed at it sitting there in the rack, and the guy at the pawn shop said, "Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking when I took it in".

He handed it to me, so I could see some of the more ridiculous details.

It was the ugliest old rifle I had ever laid eyes on.

I worked the action, and was shocked. It was smooth as butter, and it locked up tight.

Then I checked out the trigger... Nice! It was light and crisp.

I was sitting there looking at the thing, and thinking that I actually kind of liked the way it balanced and handled.

I opened it up, and peered down the barrel. It looked dirty, but I didn't see any rust in there, or obvious problems.

I was pondering the scope mounted with the crosshairs 45 degrees from where they ought to be when I heard the guy say "I've got 165 bucks in that thing, And NOBODY is gonna give me that for it"

Well, I gave him the 165 and took it home.

It was perfect for what I wanted. I was going to just toss the scope and ugly rings and here was a rifle I could actually take a deer with for very little money.

Well, I got to looking at the scope, and it again surprised me. It was a 3-10 Bushnell and it actually had a pretty clear bright picture.

I decided to just straighten up the mounts and use that scope to see if the rifle shot straight or not.

I cleaned up the barrel and lubed things up a little. It actually looked OK down the bore.

Then, I spray painted the whole thing flat black with a can of Krylon spray paint.

So I bought a box of bullets and took the ugly little rifle to the range.

And it surprised me again.

I had a Very nice 336 in the past, with beautiful lumber on it and a nice Leupold scope. This ugly old rifle shot better.

After just a few minutes of adjusting on the scope, It was printing three shot groups that were right around an inch at 100 yards.

Here's a group I shot with it several years later for an online contest. This is pretty typical for the rifle, and sometimes it shoots a little better. It likes the silver tips a little better than the power points.



Not a target rifle for sure, but plenty good enough for deer hunting.

Well, the rest is history.

I have since gotten myself in better financial condition, and I have managed to get some nice rifles in my safe.

But I haven't found a reason to dispose of this ugly little rifle.

In reality, it's got a lot going for it. It just works. It handles and carries nicely.

It puts bullets right where I point it, Holds it's zero well, Doesn't jam, And I'm not afraid to take it out and use it in ugly weather. What's it going to do? rust?

I have taken deer with it, and there's a good chance that I just might reach past a much more expensive rifle to pull it out next time i decide to hunt.

Yes. It's a well worn old gun and I love it. It's earned it's place in my safe. I have some history with it now and I trust it. What more can a man ask of a rifle?

I'll edit in a picture in a minute...

These threads always make me want to bust out "Stinkbutt."

Stinky got its name from the foul essence of the prior owners combination of Walmart unisex cologne and Ballistol which had become imbued in the squishy Hogue grips (which are still in quarantine under the shed in the back yard).

You want honest wear?

As long as it shoots accurately &functions fine I don't care what it looks like. Some of my best shooter's are all beat up & are just fine as carry guns. I just wish I knew the history behind them.

I do enjoy vintage firearms and ones that have seen some honest use. My personal favorite in my Wilson 1911, which isn't too beat up except where it and I went down a couple flights of stairs on a call as an LEO, which put some honest use marks on both of us.

Does anybody else out there with a decent Enfield #4/Mk.1 or FR8 (decent wood color) know how to post?
My wife can sometimes post, but it's not easy.

I always hated missing up an expensive rifle plowing thru the heavy woods in MI.
My last 3 rifles are plastic stocks---it is hard to show hard wear on these stocks.
I do see why they come with recoil pads--OUCH