Let's hear your Rimefire Heirloom stories.

[hammerdown]

Hello All
I am very lucky to have my Fathers first rifle. It is a .22 caliber Ranger model. I remember his Father having it late in life, he gave it back to my Father. Dad never cared about it much so Unknown to me gave it to my little Rat Niece. In 2002 my Mother passed away, and Dad came to live with us for awhile. When he moved in, I asked where the Ranger was. He stammered and hung his head, as he told me my Niece caught him at a weak moment and conned it out of him. I was Furious, over this as he always promised ALL his guns to me when he passed away, and now this one was gone. I got real sideways with him about it, and told him, she made enough money to buy her Own .22 so get it back, because it was your first gun and I want it as promised. :He asked her for it, and when it showed up I was sick. It was covered with rust, and the stock looked like it had been dragged through a barbed wire fence. Typical kid that did not care, is just how this fine rifle ended up like this. >:(May Father said it was no big deal, But I explained to me it was a big deal to me, as it was his First rifle. Dad moved out on his own, and I went to work on restoring this old rifle. I learned it was made by Marlin, for Sears Roebucks and sold under the Ranger trade name. It was only made from 1935-1937, and was a target rifle with a Peep sight, and a marbles semi Buckhorn as well. I used Corrosion-X and it cleaned most of the rust off. I then stripped the stock as my Grandfather had applied many coats of Shellac back in the 1950s. I put an oil finish back on it the way it came from the factory. Dad came over to visit this Christmas, and I asked him if he wanted to go to the range and shoot? He is now 75 Years old, and enjoys Range shooting, and trap shooting as his Past time hobby. I had the Ranger in a hard case, and told him it was one I was proud of, and just finished working on, but never let on it was his Gun. ;)When we got to the range, he sat down at the bench and looked up asking "What are we gonna shoot", staring at the Black hard case I had brought ? I handed him his Old Ranger, and his eyes teared up. It brought back all his childhood memories, and he said it looked better now then when he was a kid and shot it in 1939 ! I quickly added, See Pop it was a Big deal to me that this was ruined, and I waited for this special Father son moment to share it with you. Now, Shoot the fire out of that Old Ranger. He grinned from Ear to ear, and blazed away through Three boxes of ammo with unsurprising accuracy. I had a tough time holding back my feelings as he enjoyed his old rifle, thinking of all the ones he bought me when I was a kid, did not hold a candle to his excitement to see his old Rifle reincarnated. ;)Regards, Hammerdown

[rimfire kid]

hammerdown: Your a good son and you did good on the rifle.

[Dwight Pilkilton]

That is such a neat and heart tugging story. It speaks volumes about you and the type of person you are

[hammerdown]

Thanks Fellas
Early in life my Father and I, did not get along all that well. You know what they say.. "At 18 Years old my Old man is one of the Dumbest Man on the face of the Earth, and when I reached 25 he was one of the smartest Men I had ever met". ;) Dad had a simple childhood much like other's raised right after the depression. His Father worked his Guts out keeping Two jobs, one during the day as a tenant farm hand living on a farm with his Family and doing hard farm labor, then he worked at Eastman Kodak on the grave yard shift, to allow his family the extras in life. He was not at all close with my Father, and couldn't be working around the clock. So, History repeated itself with my Father, as He too worked around the clock to give my Sister an I, the extras he did not have in his growing years. I remember my 14th Christmas, when he handed me my first shot gun, an Ithaca model 37 Deluxe Deer-slayer. He was so proud giving me that gun, and I still have it today, along with his Ithaca model 37 made in 1939 he bought many years after he was married, but it would be many years before I felt the same in giving something to him. Giving back this rifle gave me the chance to see a side of my Father that I had not seen before. He told me as well, that his Father had paid on this rifle at a local Hardware store for many Months, and gave it to my Father on Christmas day when he was seven years old. I didn't know he got this as a Christmas present so it really enhanced the presentation of it all cleaned up when I handed it to him, at Christmas time. I offered it to him, to take back home, and he replied, it has a better home now, and if I want to shoot it, I know where to come. With Mom gone now, I find Dad reflecting back often to his younger days. Just before Christmas last year he shared with me, that he wanted me to keep an eye out for a S&W model 36 chief like he carried when he was a cop back in the Mid 1950s. This was Three weeks before Christmas, so I knew if I was going to pull this off, I would have to get moving on it. The year he became a cop was 1954 so I set out to locate a 1954 vintage model 36. I found on in Colorado, but Bucks were tight because of all the other Christmas shopping I had done, just before he told me he was looking for one, and really wanted one. I contacted a friend, and told him the model 36 HAD to be from 1954, to make this work, and it also had to be an accurate one. I explained I did not have the money to purchase, but offered a mint model 31 S&W with a 4" barrel to trade. I was given this model 31 by a good friend as a present, and it meant a lot to me, but figured it was time I gave up something to make my Father happy. My friend wanted to simply send the model 36 to me, without taking my model 31 in trade as he explained, he did not get to do this sort of thing for his Father, and wanted to see my Father happy as well, at Christmas time. I wouldn't hear of it, and promptly shipped my much admired model 31 to him. The model 36 arrived and it was gorgeous. I had one more request to fulfill. In speaking of this model 36 he told me that he had to sell it off back then because money was tight, and he also let and old Burns-Martin Shoulder holster go with it, that fit him perfect back then. Again I was on the hunt. I posted a want add on many gun forums for the holster, and was answered by a guy I did not know. I explained the situation, and asked what his price was shipped ? He replied that the holster was his father's and he had passed away, but that he was a detective back in the 1950s , and he wanted to give it to me so my Father could live out his request, and his Late Father would be proud knowing an Old cop got to put this holster back into daily use. It arrived shortly, and I am sure my Father did not realize what it is like finding a 50 Year old leather holster in good condition. ::)On Christmas eve, My Mom used to be like a little kid, when she was alive and made us open one present before going to bed. ;D I brought the wrapped up revolver, and holster in to my Father, and told him to open it. He was in total Awe when he opened the package. He said it looked just like his old off duty carry revolver, and the holster was a dead ringer to the Burns-Martin shoulder holster he had as well. He added he never expected to get this as a Christmas present and was Both speechless and Humble sitting there admiring it. I told him there was one thing that he had to do as soon as he arrived home, and that was get a permit to carry it. Knowing he was so proud of it, and would be carrying it often, this had to be done. For some reason my Father felt "because he was old he did not have to have a hand gun permit " I feel he did not want to spend the extra Money" for one. ;D I shared with him, that he had raised me the right way, and a permit would be the only way I would allow him to have this revolver, or carry it, and made it a requirement of owning it. I further explained that the hand gun was registered under my name, and if he got into trouble with it, they would come after my firearms, and we didn't even want to go there. ;) He took it back home, as it is legal to own a handgun in his State of residence, you just can not carry one Loaded without a hand gun carry permit, and both our States share reciprocity for transport issues. He made the appointment for his carry gun class, two days after getting home, fully knowing I would follow up on it. He now has his Carry permit and proudly carries that model 36 where ever he travels. I visited a short time ago, and went to his range to shoot trap with him and his old shooting Buddies. I was approached by the Sheriff of his county, who also shoots with them,and he remarked how Dad shared with him that he felt he did not need a permit to carry his revolver, but if he did not get one, His Son would take it back. I laughed and said I was glad he went along with the program, and the sheriff added that Dad shoots the 36 all the time, and this made me feel good it was getting used as the model 31 I gave up for it, sat quietly in my dark safe. I had asked my friend that gave that Gorgeous model 31 to me, what he thought of my idea of swapping the 31 for the 36, and he agreed he did not do this for his Father who had also passed, and it was an excellent thing to do. Here is some pictures of the model 31 I swpped for the model 36 I gave my Father, along with his carry model 36. Regards, Hammerdown