Granddad’s Hunting Rifle

Just curious, how many out there are still hunting with an inherited or gifted rifle?

My grandpa gifted me his Remington 740 Woodsmaster 308 in December of 1995. It was the first, and last gift I ever received from him. He passed away in June of 1996 from cancer. That following hunting season, I carried it into the woods with me, having no idea that I would put down three bucks before 9am. Two-eight pointers, and one-four point, all out of the same group of nine deer. I’d never done anything like that before, and I haven’t done anything like that since, but in 2011, I decided it was time to “retire” the rifle and create new memories with something my youngster would see as “dad’s rifle.” Out of 15 seasons, that rifle put down 14 deer for me.

Thanks Grandpa!

Cool story, I’m sure your Grandpa was watching that day with a big smile and had something to do with your luck for sure. The only hand down gun I have is from a Great Uncle and its a single shot 20 gauge. Have only carried it a couple times bird hunting.

On my 21st birthday my dad and uncles gifted me my great grandfather’s Winchester model 1894 carbine in .32 special.
Im the 4th generation in my family to own it.
The gun itself isn’t perfect but it’s in very good shape for a gun made in the early 1900s (1907 if I remember right).
I’ve killed a couple deer and a bear with it but now we mainly just bring it to deer camp because we feel like it belongs there.
If the weather is nice I’ll carry it from time to time but being it’s so old and still in good shape and is pretty valuable I try to keep it dry as possible.

grubson wrote:

mainly just bring it to deer camp because we feel like it belongs there.

Cool thing to say and do. I am sure it does belong there!

Dad’s 1950s vintage 870 12 gauge has accounted for a lot of grouse. Grandpa’s Model 12 16 gauge is my go to pheasant gun.

I have a 1983 ish tang safety ruger m77 in 25-06 I occasionally bring along. It has a varmint taper barrel so it’s not real fun to hike with for any great distance. It’s in near mint condition though minus a few dings in the stock. Love that rifle. Shoots bug-hole groups with 100 grain ttsx pushed hard around 3400 fps

When my grandpa passed the family decided I should get his deer rifle. It was an old Remington pump in 35 Rem. Great gun for drives and heavy cover. My first shot with it I got a big doe. Thanks Grandpa.

A 70’s model 870 Wingmaster 20ga lightweight and a 70’s model 870 Wingmaster 12ga are the two I acquired from my dad’s collection before he passed. Grew up shooting both for ducks, pheasants, grouse, and deer. I take the 20ga with for pheasants once in a while. The boys enjoy shooting clays in the backyard with that one. I did too. My dad set up the 12ga for trap including a Hasting 30″ trap barrel and a custom stock carved by him. I shoot clays occasionally with that one. He also added a Hasting rifled slug barrel to the 20ga which made a sweet deer gun which I’ll make a point to use one of these years.

John Rasmussen wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>grubson wrote:</div>
mainly just bring it to deer camp because we feel like it belongs there.

Cool thing to say and do. I am sure it does belong there!

Second the respect! That’s great! Grandpa was a snowbird by the time I started deer hunting so he was never in my camp, but I miss getting that phone call from Florida every year, asking how things went. It was hard having the best season of my life… and no phone call. But I agree, he knew!

I have the 740 in a 3006. Was my grandfather’s and I still take 1 deer a year with it. The old weaver drop away scope has finally died so we shoot iron sights now. The kid shot his first buck with it 2 years ago as well. It’ll be his one day.

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I have a number of guns that I have inherited and so too will my sons.

My great grandpa Edvard was a hunter and true to his Bohemian roots, he was rather stern and no-nonsense and by all accounts, he did NOT take missing shots on game very well at all. It was relatively rare in his time, at least in most of the rural midwest, to do much in the way of practicing. But he hated missing so badly, that practice he did!

I have Edvard’s Winchester 1897 shotgun, which is quite an early one, dating from 1902-03. This is a hammer gun, 12 gauge, and one thing that must be appreciated about the 1897 was that virtually from the get-go, it was highly sought after and Winchester priced it accordingly. For the price of the Winchester, you could have bought entry-level Parker double and still got some change. Back then, a reliable pump action was what people wanted and Winchester clearly knew that customers were willing to pay.

It still hunts and shoots well today. The hammer is, of course, awkward for the modern shooter to get used to, but this shotgun hits HARD. The full choke barrel is more like a super-full so when you get them, you really get them.

I also have Edvard’s Remington Model 12 pump action in .22. Interesting thing about this rifle is that Edvard would use this little pump action to practice INSIDE the house using .22 “caps” or shorts. He would sit in his chair in the lounge or stand and fire out the open lounge door, across the house’s central hall, and into a bullet trap that he had made to fit in the fireplace located on the other side of the parlor which was the room directly across the hall! I believe the distance was about 35 feet. My father witnessed him doing this on numerous occasions, it was his way of practicing rifle shooting as he did not practice with his deer rifle.

Can you imagine sitting in your chair and shooting a .22 in your house today? It is even more difficult for me to imagine because great grandma, who lived long enough that I can remember her, was not a woman to be trifled with and I cannot imagine how she ever allowed this in her house.

His deer rifle, unfortunately, has disappeared and we do not know what became of it. It was the big brother of the Model 12, the Remington Model 14 in the now obsolete .30 Remington. I would LOVE to have this gun back.

Another gun that he had that was sold was his later “practice gun”, a Winchester 12 Black Diamond trap gun. I get conflicting info on what grade he had, but it would not surprise me if it was a higher-grade gun as that’s the way he tended to go. Edvard did not seem to care about scores in trap and would only rarely shoot in tournaments. He seemed to view it mainly as a way to practice, so it was something of a mystery as to why he bought such a trap gun, but I really wish I had it.

gizmoguy wrote:

When my grandpa passed the family decided I should get his deer rifle. It was an old Remington pump in 35 Rem. Great gun for drives and heavy cover. My first shot with it I got a big doe. Thanks Grandpa.

I would love to see this rifle. Model 14 or was it a later 7-series gun like a 742?

That Winchester 1897 black diamond is worth money, they called the 1897 a widow maker because if your thumb was cold it would slip off the hammer and fire

Those guns dont have the greatest reputations and limited overall round count before failure from what I have read. My Dad loved his and it shot well. I ended up getting his 1946 Winchester 94. Ive hunted with it a lot over the years but its mostly retired. I took it out the last gun season I hunted for a hunt or two after my father had passed. That carbine feels like a little toy next to carrying my scoped bolt.

I have inherited a couple different guns. My grandpa’s model 1873 Winchester lever action 38-40. My dad’s first Winchester model 12, 12 gauge ( he had 5) and his Winchester model 88 lever action .308. The will all be going to my grandsons.

Back in the 60’s my Dad had a heart attack and after he recovered he brought two Remington 760s down from his gun cabinet and had me and my younger brother choose which one we wanted, I took the ..06 and my brother took the .257 Roberts I also got his win model 12 16gauge with the burl walnut stock. To this day when I’m deer hunting and I hear a smaller caliber rifle I think of Dad.

maddog wrote:

That Winchester 1897 black diamond is worth money, they called the 1897 a widow maker because if your thumb was cold it would slip off the hammer and fire

The 1897 I have is not a Black Diamond, that gun was a Model 12 that was apparently sold. The 1897 I have is a standard grade.

Yes, it has all the disadvantages that made everyone move to hammerless guns as they became the standard. The 97 will also “slam fire”.

suzuki wrote:

Those guns dont have the greatest reputations and limited overall round count before failure from what I have read. My Dad loved his and it shot well.

Is this referring to the Winchester 97? My father had issues with this gun releasing the hammer on its own after cycling the action so the gun was reworked by a Winchester specialist back in the 1970s. Was this the issue you’ve had or heard about? I’d like to know exactly what goes wrong or what wore out to make this happen. Even today on the few occasions I shoot the 97, I am super careful on cycling it to unload and I don’t load multiple rounds when shooting targets.

I’m pretty jealous of all these great stories! My dad never hunted much. He was a trap shooter and only had a couple shotguns which he sold when he and mom got married and moved from MN to AZ. I know my Dad’s Fr had a couple also but I never got to see those and they were sold also. Moms’ Dad was a Marine and never hunted and only owned a couple handguns that he gave to his boys. My Dad re-married and my step moms Dad had a nice selection, but I knew I’d never get one handed down to me as he had a few sons and several grandkids.
My guns have all been purchased new. My kids and I are creating their stories. Each one I buy I actually think about how I’m gonna give it to one of the kids someday. I’ve actually kept a record of deer and most of the game they’ve each harvested. I’ll always wonder what it would be like to sit on stand or walk a field with a gun once used by a family member from generations before. But it’s been fun to begin each guns legacy.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>maddog wrote:</div>
That Winchester 1897 black diamond is worth money, they called the 1897 a widow maker because if your thumb was cold it would slip off the hammer and fire

The 1897 I have is not a Black Diamond, that gun was a Model 12 that was apparently sold. The 1897 I have is a standard grade.

Yes, it has all the disadvantages that made everyone move to hammerless guns as they became the standard. The 97 will also “slam fire”.

From what I’ve read, it at least made quick work of clearing Germans out of trenches!

Hydro wrote:

My grandpa’s model 1873 Winchester lever action 38-40.

I loaded some 38-40 ammo for a friend of my dad’s a few years back. Luckily he supplied the brass. Bizarrely, the 38-40 uses a .40 caliber bullet, so the name totally flies in the face of Winchester’s own naming convention.
I had to look this up in multiple places to confirm it was right. Wonder why they did this?

I have about 50 rounds for it. It hasn’t been fired since mid 1990s. My cousin got the identical gun only a 38-55.

Pailofperch wrote:

I’ve actually kept a record of deer and most of the game they’ve each harvested. I’ll always wonder what it would be like to sit on stand or walk a field with a gun once used by a family member from generations before. But it’s been fun to begin each guns legacy.

I also keep a journal accounting for each trip, firearm used, results… even stuff around the house. My family has strongly petered out for the continuation of hunting legacies, but I do have a nephew that’s going to get quite a windfall. I’m not sure where it’ll go from there. It’s just sad how all of us that did it took our kids out and shared the outdoors and such, but as adults, they’ve all walked away from it. The great grandkids that had an interest decided it’s “boring” and another’s mom thinks “it’s too dangerous.” She’s clearly an in-law! lol

Pailofperch wrote:

My guns have all been purchased new. My kids and I are creating their stories. Each one I buy I actually think about how I’m gonna give it to one of the kids someday. I’ve actually kept a record of deer and most of the game they’ve each harvested. I’ll always wonder what it would be like to sit on stand or walk a field with a gun once used by a family member from generations before. But it’s been fun to begin each guns legacy.

It has to start somewhere, so my hat’s off to you for deciding you’re going to be the one to make it happen.

I tell my kids as often as I get the chance that they will inherit these guns, but that does NOT mean they own them. They only own the responsibility: To care for them and tell their stories to the next generation that they also are responsible to rise to make sure this continues.

The stories are just as important as the guns, so PoP good for you that you’ve gathered those as well.

I think guns are unique. They are the modern embodiment of tools that go back to the first day of time. I have no doubt that the first tool man made was for hunting because had he not made that tool, he’d have not likely made it long enough to make a second.

These guns accompany us during some of our greatest triumphs and in many cases they are the sole witness. The day I first shot a left and right it was just me and my Beretta 391 in the middle of 1000 acres of empty field. Nobody saw it, but I was there and so was that shotgun.

Neat stories.
I do not have any of my Grandpa’s guns, although I do remember my brother using his 25-36 with octagon barrel one deer season. From what I remember it was a very heavy gun.
Thankfully, Dad gave me his 38-55 right before he passed. His new :wife: of 7 years decided to keep the rest of his guns after he passed. She even tried to lay claim to my .22 rifle that Dad was using. Hope she rots somewhere south.
I have not shot the 38-55 as I only have ~10 bullets. Neat gun, flip up peep sight. I would like to acquire a couple boxes of ammo and use it for deer hunting.

Stillakid that is a great story. I am sure your great luck that first season of use was because of grandpa. You cannot ever forget that. I havent inherited any guns yet, but I am sure I am going to get a few of my dad’s but none of them are all that great. A remington 1100 and a 20 gauge that was my grandpas but that thing you cannot hit the broadside of a barn with. Its some single shot. I was going to have my oldest use it for deer hunting and when I shot a slug through it it was about 2 feet LOW.

My dad had refinished an old shotgun of my great uncle’s that was in the house when we moved into it. My great grandfather bought it new for his oldest when he was about 10 or 12, so mid 1930’s. He let me use it around the farm, and I thought it was cool that I shot my first duck with the same gun my great uncle shot his first duck with 60 some years before.
Later I came to find out my Grandpa had used this gun hunting with a friend when he was young. He was carrying it with his left hand low along his side. Somehow his friends gun went off and shot my Grandpa. Luckily, most of the shot hit the receiver of that single shot 20 gauge and did not go into his leg. The doctor told him that gun had saved his life. The marks from the shot are still on it and you can see where his fingers were. He did lose half of his pinkey finger though. (He told us grandkids he lost it picking his nose or maybe a skunk bit it off.) It’s in rough shape, has no sights or safety but still works and has a lot of history to me anyway.

During the late 60’s and early 70’s I was big into pigeon hunting. I’d spend weekend driving thru the countryside with binocs watching pigeons on barns and fields and then would stop and talk with the farmer about shooting them. Three of us did this as a team and we did well at it. We picked up the dead pigeons and took them home and froze them before putting in the trash on pick-up day.

We had one place that the farmer was getting on in years and his wife probably did more than he did. They raised sheep and had a serious pigeon problem. The farmer had to have some surgery and that put him out of commission for several weeks, so I’d drive down to the farm and kick bales out of the loft and feed the sheep four times a week. I did that all summer. When his kid would show up to cut hay and bale it, I’d go down and do the loft stacking. At Christmas I’d take he and his wife a nice ham and a good bottle of bourbon or brandy, they liked either. The farmer came out one day when we showed up to shoot and called me over, said he had something for me. He said he’d asked his kid if he wanted it and no, he didn’t.

He handed me a horse-hide case with lambswool lining. A box of 20 gauge shells sat at the end just under the cover of the case. Underneath was a beautiful Model 12 Winchester, take-down, Skeet Special. The gun had seen one shot put thru it, according to the old boy, and that box of shells had one missing. The old farmer died shortly after I was given the gun. Before the winter set in his wife died too. The farm was sold and I’ve not seen his son since the day of the auction. I’ve had the gun appraised. I have it insured. I’ve never shot it. The safest place for it to be is inside that case with the lanolin rich wool lining. Since coming into my possession, I have shown that gun to four people. When the time comes, I’ll take my oldest grandson aside and show him this beauty and explain to him it’s history and the need to never shoot it.

For years I have tinkered with collecting Pre-64 Model 70 Winchester rifles. I’ve had as many as eight at one time from 220 Swift to .257 Roberts to .458 Safari Grade. I’ve sold a couple of these to other collectors, but in time they too will go to the grandsons. But that Model 12 has more endearment to me than any of the others.

I need to chat with my Dad about the stories behind some of our guns, I think most he acquired over the years wheeling and dealing cars (he’d take about anything on trade, layaway or down payment). But I know the 30 Remington came from my maternal Grandfather, it’s a cool gun with a double barrel (one barrel inside another) that pounds tacks and barely kicks…it also weighs about 30 lbs. I think there’s a .44 magnum rifle that was a grandparents as well, that is the opposite, very light, great for deer drives, and kicks like a mule. Cool thread, reminds me of the song:

I inherited nothing.

That said, the W1897 can be pump-fired. Hold the trigger back and just start pumping.

Very neat topic! My dad has the two guns he wanted most from his father. A Sears 30-30 bolt gun and my grandpa’s first and only shotgun he ever owned. A 1950ish Winchester Model 12 20 gauge that is in great shape for its age. But for decades it has hated ejecting the spent shell and we have not found a gunsmith that can figure out why. It seems to eject AA hulls the best and most consistent but anything else is a crap shoot. But either way it is still neat to look at them and picture the hunts they went on and visualize the stories grandpa still tells to this day.