Dings, scratches, and scrapes.

[GP100Wii]

How do you feel about those dings and scratches on your gun?

I'm pretty new to guns. My revolver stainless steel and I've kept it pretty well scratchless through about 800 rounds.

My henry big boy (357), I took to the range today. Apparently due to laying it down on the table a few times, there are now scratches on the wood and some of the brass.

Does this piss you off as an owner? Do you try to keep them perfect? Do the scratches give 'em character?

I'm learning to cope and am looking to see how others do.

 

[BSA1]

If you use 'em they are going to get scratched and dinged. Some materials show wear more easily than other. The brass alloy in the Big Boy is softer than steel and will show scratches and dings worse.

 

[Creade]

Most of my guns have history. Those scratches and dings tell that history.

 

[kingpin008]

Yup. Guns are meant to be shot, IMHO. If it's pristine, you're not having enough fun with it.

 

[mio]

i buy guns to use them

 

[Mike J]

If you use your guns they get scratches & dings. I try not to abuse mine but I don't expect them to stay looking like they just came from the factory either. I have picked up a couple of guns that shoot really well for really good prices because the finish was worn on them. They were still mechanically fine though.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

i buy guns to use them

Same here they are like the hammer and tool belts I own and use. I use them and expect wear and tear on the finish and wood.

 

[KingMedicine]

a perfect looking firearm always makes me a bit nervious when im buying. I honestly wanna see wear, because it means it was shot and used, and most likely does not have any issues.

 

[HOOfan_1]

I hate them...
They aren't character marks to me, they are flaws.

When walking in the woods with my guns, I always try to protect them with my body. Scratches and scrapes on me will heal, those on my guns won't.

But I've already said, if you look through my collection of paper back books, you would think I hadn't read any of them because none of them have creases in their spines. I am just very anal about keeping my possessions looking brand new

 

[M-Cameron]

as long as the scratches and dings are earned honestly....and are not from me dropping a hammer on my gun or something like that........i actually enjoy the look of them.

 

[ball3006]

I am a C&R junkie....

scratches, dings, and wear are called "character" with these guns. They are accumulated during the history of the gun......chris3

 

[JellyJar]

Its like buying a new car. Yes we love the way they look when they are new and pristine but unless you are going to leave in the garage covered and never use it it will eventually get scratched and dinged.

Just shoot and enjoy!

 

[Larry Ashcraft]

After one range trip, the gun shouldn't have any marks. You need to be more careful. However, it's your gun, so treat it the way you want to.

When I bought my Citori in the early eighties, I intended to use it but not abuse it. It has its share of nicks and scratches, but all of them are earned.

 

[T Bran]

Depends on the use intended for that particular gun. On my pretty little double .410 no I use it to hunt dove and quail which isnt very demanding so it is pristine. On my Marlin 444 hog gun youd think I was too cheap to buy ammo and just clubbed everything with it. So only you can decide what is acceptable.
T

 

[wrs840]

+1 to the notion that those dings earned through honest and proper use don't bother me much. A pasture-truck rifle or something I climb a tree stand with will understandably have more marring than the Belgian BHP I bought new and still treat like a baby. Signs of thoughtless abuse or rust is another story altogether.

 

[browneu]

I used to hate them however, now I realize that they give a gun character. None of my guns are so rare that they need to be in pristine condition and now they look like they've been used instead of just being a show piece.

 

[vellocet]

I wrote a nice reply to this thread but the site ate it. Short: You bought it to shoot it, not to look at it. Any restoration on a gun beyond function is like putting make-up on it. Remember that bluing and wood finish is part of a function. The more guns an individual aquires, the less likely they are to mess with them to the point of damage.

 

[Shoot66]

Mine are used: carried and shot. There is nothing like a nice honest wear on a blued HG.

 

[jaytex1969]

Whenever I feel bad about the character my weapons have earned, I go out front and gaze at the dung heap of a truck I own and then my weapons don't seem bad at all...

 

[hdbiker]

I got a great deal on a Marlin 30-30 from a pawn shop because of very minor pitting on the left side of barrell and reciever,150 bucks with a cheap scope on it,shoots great and otherwise in great condition. biker

 

[USAF_Vet]

I don't intentioanlly go out of my way to dent, ding and scratch them up. But they get used, and use means wear. Most of my guns I've bought second hand, so they came pre-dinged, so I can't complain about that. The ones I bought new have gotten their fair share of wear marks, but I came by them honestly.

 

[Smokey in PHX]

I try and take as good of care of my guns as possible but I use them all and I am much more a hunter than a target shooter. If it is going to rain for days I might take an older rather than my newest rifle. But in hunting seson I hunt every day I'm not working rain or shine.

 

[357 Terms]

I have a friend that waxes his entire truck, bed and all. He doesn't hual things for fear of the slightest damage, he actually borrowed my truck to haul his washer and dryer. If something isn't perfect it is considered defective to him. I would hate to be that anal. every gun I have owned for any considerable time has signs of use, doesn't bother me in the slightest.

 

[Creade]

After reading everyone's comments I thought through this again and convinced myself even more so that I love the scratches on my guns.

Best Scratch.. gloss finished Browning (BPS) . In the early 90s, my trusty Labrador (no longer with us) kicked the stock of the gun and left a ding/scratch from his toe nail as he tore out of the blind after a downed goose.
Everytime I look at the stock of that gun, I can't help but think of that dog, and that day.

History.. love it.

 

[VT Deer Hunter]

My guns i own right now are in there 70s in age and i'm not to worried about that, if i did get a new or nice older gun i would not want to be dinging it up.