What's your "never" gun

[theotherwaldo]

Got three threads in one - never shoot, never sell, and both at once.

Sheesh.

I've got about 48 "never sells", two "never shoots", and only one that's both. It's a disreputable Iver Johnson .38 hammerless that's been in the family for five generations.

 

[robsc]

One of mine is a Volquartsen 17HMR standard rifle with 18 1/2 inch .920 stainless barrel, VG2000 trigger. Serial number indicates it is one of the first 100 rifles to be made. Volquartsen keeps the first ten rifles of each new model they produce. It will be a collector`s piece.
Another is my grandmother`s .25acp Spanish made Buffalo pistol. It`s a copy of the Colt vest pocket .25acp. Made in Spain before/during WW1. Blueing in 100% . Includes a box of ammo that she had with it. She was the last person to shoot it. Sentiments.

 

[ProShooter]

ProShooter - I'd get in touch with Numrich and get some parts to get that Colt running.
Even if the pitting is bad enough that you don't get the greatest accuracy out of it maybe you could still run it with reduced loads using 00 buck pellets for bullet.
Might be a fun short range plinker.


I brought it to a local guy who said it would cost about 2 bills to get it running. Right now its a classroom demo of what NOT to attempt to shoot. If it was in working order, I'd shoot it but thats a lot of coin to drop on a hundred year old plinker.

By the way, who is numrich?

 

[BiggBaddWolf]

I have a Winchester Model 1897, it's a 16 gauge, from what I can tell it was manufactured in the early 1900's, and was originally a riot gun, but someone has welded an extension onto the barrel, I assume to lengthen the barrel to make it legal. Anyway it was given to me by my grandpa before he passed away in 1978. He also gave me a Remington Model 11-48 410 gauge shotgun.

 

[LongHairedHippy]

My grandfather's old Remington 1100 in 12 gauge. It hasn't been fired in probably 25 years, and I'll never shoot it myself in all likelihood. I'm just going to take care of it and pass it on when the time comes for me.

 

[heavyshooter]

You always keep your first gun...

When I was 19 years old my father and I went to K-Mart so I could buy my Marlin model 60 .22LR - I think I payed $75.00 for it. When I went to graduate school I left it with my father because I was not allowed to have it in my dorm. He was using it as a back-up home defense weapon. I have purchased several firearms since then that have cost me significantly more than $75.00 so I told him that he could keep the Marlin. Last Christmas my wife and I went to Texas to visit him and we decided to surprise him with a .38 Special as a Christmas gift. I drove him to the store and we picked it up. When we got home it turns out that he had surprised me with a rifle case. When I opened it, the Marlin was inside and he said, "You always keep your first gun."

When we got back to Denver my wife and I went to the range and we put about 200 rounds through it. It would FTE every 25-30 rounds and I immeditely recalled the 2,500 rounds that I had put through it in the first six months of having it. I've put about 4,500 rounds though it total. It looks great but it is not as tight as it was when I bought it. I was not very attentive to gun care when I was 19. The smith work would cost twice what I paid for it so it has become a safe queen. But I'll never get rid of it.

Heavy

 

[ashtxsniper]

My great grandfathers 7.7 jap Ariska rifle he brought back from WWII.

 

[Chris M]

One that I'll never sell is the 20ga Winchester Model 1912 that my father gave me. It also belonged to my grandfather. I'll probably never know how far back in my family it goes. According to the serial # it was made in 1914.

I probably won't be shooting it much - it's got a 2.5" chamber, and the ammo ain't cheap, and is hard to come by. Blueing is faded, the stock is cracked, it's got a shortened barrel with a polychoke on it, the receiver has been re-blued and has some pitting.

 

[Legionnaire]

Ishapore Enfield 2A I bought as a project. Still in the back of the safe, unfired, after several years.

 

[Old Grump]

2 double barrel 12 gauge shotguns that would probably explode with anything not black powder and I'm not sure they would hold up to that anymore. Make neat wall hangers though.

 

[test drive]

my U.S. prop. marked Ithica 1911

 

[tribbles]

My great-great-grandfather's Remington Rolling Block #2 rifle in .32RF. Obsolete caliber, a couple of hairline cracks in the receiver, most of the case-hardening coloration is gone, and the stock got a cheap varnish job at some point in its lifetime, but the only way I'd part with it is when my son inherits it.

 

[No Fear]

This thread gave me an idea for the ultimate "never" gun: a galil with the words "never again" engraved on it, and presented to someone who still has the number tattooed on their arm. Talk about an awesome pic.

As far as a gun you "never" shoot, that is a problem. Attaching that much emotion to a gun is not productive. I think a good lesson would be to sit my son down, show him grandpa's old whatever gun that is pretty much worn out and say, "I was going to hand this down to you, but it is worn out so I will now saw it in half." {saws old gun in half} "Now son, I put new cash into current manufacturers" {hands son brand new 10/22, AK, and Sig 556}. "I'm passing down to you the example of effort and work that it takes to keep the 2nd amendment alive." {son much happier with new politically incorrect guns than with grandpa's worn out duck gun-grandpa smiles from heaven}

 

[devilc]

Colt M1991A1 not fired since 2001.

 

[qajaq59]

Remingtn 760 in 30-06. And it's probably older then half the guys in here.

 

[Joe Demko]

Mine is an early 70's vintage Savage .22mag/20 gauge that I inherited. It's in decent condition cosmetically and perfect mechanically.
I keep it because it belonged to a relative whom I loved and admired; he was one of my heroes. I never fire it because that same relative pulled a mean joke on me with it when I was a kid.
He was a complex man. Hard as a diamond and tough as an iron spike. A genuine, highly decorated war hero. Generous to a fault. Hard working. Intelligent. Also a borderline alcoholic who philandered relentlessly. His sense of humor ran toward the sadistic. In many ways he was a walking set of contradictions.
I keep it because of the love I had for him. I don't fire it because every time I look at it, I remember what a prick he could be.

 

[Walkalong]

My much carried, much shot, beat up, Colt LW Commander, and a couple of others.

 

[rbernie]

My FIL's S&W Hand Ejector (4th Change) revolver in 38 Special. It was his duty sidearm when he came back from the Pacific theatre and took a job as a policeman in Lubbock, TX.

He died when my wife was seven, and it's one of the few things she has from him (other than the silk flag he liberated from a Japanese machinegunner after having been shot in both legs tryin').

It was nickel plated, and the plating is peeling in places. The hand is also worn and clearly needs attention. Every now and again, I think that I should send it to S&W for refurb, but I always worry that they'll not get it right and ruin the handgun for good.

 

[W.E.G.]

Granddad's old double.

Won't shoot it or sell it.
Been storing it for many a year.

If I ever find suitable blood relative a generation younger than me, I would like to pass it along.

 

[threefeathers]

A Detonic's Combat Master my best friend was issued when he worked for a Fed Agency. He was a fluent Chinese speaker and ended up drinking himself to death. I have it saved for my son who is named for him but I don't use it.

 

[doc540]

1944 Winchester M1 carbine

Been in the family since 1964, and I can never sell it.

 

[gbran]

Back in the 70's I bought a NE single shot, full choke, 12 ga shotgun for $79 at K-Mart. Never shot it much, would loan it out to friends on a hunt, but I haven't taken it out of the safe in over 10 years. For $79, why get rid of it?

 

[Javelin]

Because $316 today has the same buying power as $79 did in 1976. Minimum wage was $2.30 and the average teacher in the 1970s made 3x less than they do today based on the federal average.

 

[thertel]

I have a marlin .22 that was the first gun I ever fired. I remember the summer we went to South Dakota when I first shot it. My dad had the rifle stored at his parents while he traveled with the military. He bought a Super Brick of ammo (5000 rounds) and spent the day giving me lessons on safety and how to shoot. I remember that as the best summer of my life, it was right after dad retired from the military and the first time I ever really bonded with my father, as he was TDY/Deplyed most of my life. It wasn't till 5 years later I found out the story behind the gun and why my name is what it is. The rifle killed my great uncle who I am named after when my dad was about 10.

Creeps my out to shoot a gun that already got one person with my name.

 

[High Planes Drifter]

My Grandfathers old Ithaca Model 37 12ga. I still shoot it once in a blue moon. But I'll never, ever sell it. It willl be handed down to my son (or one of my nephews) once he has grown up and started a family of his own.