Henry Rifle Forums

Got the Big Boy 45 out of the gun cabinet a little while ago. Just to wipe it down and work the action so I could marvel at how smooth it is.

I found a new scratch in the forearm, no doubt happened when I was retrieving or replacing another rifle in the cabinet. All my guns are for shooting so dings and scratches just happen. I try to avoid scratches, but it is carved in stone somewhere that my stuff is gonna get scratched.

The first ding or scratch is the hardest. After that the rest dont seem so bad, then they start looking used and loved.

our firearms are all shooters, not safe queens .... as such, I like to think they have earned every scratch and ding ..

The first one is tough for sure.

I'll bet Bandit's Henry's (or any of his other rifles) don't have any scratches; at least, none that you can still find.

I'm sorry to hear about your scratch. I hope it makes up for it in the way it shoots.

As an aside, I purchased one of my decent air rifles from a place that tweaks new ones for better overall performance. I got a great deal because it had a couple of scratches. I knew there would be more.

All my guns are for shooting as well as looking at. Some of the scratches and bluing wear just give them some integrity. Like a blued revolver that has holster wear, maybe I'm strange but I think it looks nice.

Most of my long guns are on display in the house because I like just looking at them in the gun cabinets.
I do plan on making the crooks work for them if they break-in the house. The rifles in the cases are secured by steel cable which is secured to the foundation of the house.

Because most buglers don't show up with abrasive cutters or hydraulic cutters my guns are pretty safe. the last numbers I read was most home burglaries are over inside 3 minutes. That doesn't allow time for working with tools.

Basically I enjoy seeing my guns and I'm not going to allow some thieving scum bag take that pleasure away from me by forcing me to put them in safes. The value of my weapons is not enough to attract a jewel thief with the brains to get them.

CT_Shooter wrote:I'll bet Bandit's Henry's (or any of his other rifles) don't have any scratches; at least, none that you can still find.

I have a few I put the scratches on and a few that had the scratches when I bought them. I try not to mark them up but if you use them it is going to happen it is just a matter when and how bad. Most scratches in the wood can be fixed with a little time spent on fixing them. If they are bad then there is an alternative on fixing them and it is quick. Never met a scratch this stuff can't hide.

[quote="Steve"]All my guns are for shooting as well as looking at. Some of the scratches and bluing wear just give them some integrity. Like a blued revolver that has holster wear, maybe I'm strange but I think it looks nice.

I agree. I'm using my new Big Boy now and not so much worried about bumps and scratches on my new rifle. Once I get my revolver, it will get used too and the blued barrel will take on some "holster character".

I use something called "Old English" scratch remover. I have had it for a long time and I don't know if you can even get it anymore. I put a small amount on a rag and wipe it on and then wipe the excess off. It is one dark color that blends with any dark stock and fills in scratches and dings quite nicely. I had just taken my brand new Marlin 1894 out on the trail for the first time when I bought it back in 2002 and when arriving back at my car I took it off my shoulder and I had a sling on it and I had the car door open and the stock hit the edge of the door and put a small ding in it. I was very unhappy that I was so careless especially with a new rifle, but I touched it up with the Old English and you can still see the mark if you look closely but it is not as noticeable as it was when it first happened.

As Jimmy Buffett once wrote in a song, "Wrinkles only go where the smiles have been."

Same thing applies to my guns. Scratches and wear only bring back happy memories of shooting them. To me, they are a sign of good times, just like the wrinkles in my face.

Another adage says, "It's not the age, but the mileage." Well, I want me and my guns to have a lot of mileage before we are done!

Try as I might, I'm completely incapable of keeping gun stocks from getting scratched up. I'm also incapable of not bumping the front quarter-panel of my truck with shotgun barrels following a bird-hunting excursion – I have three nice half-moons there.

I don't even worry about it anymore. It's just part of owning and using firearms.

I had a horse back in the early 80's that kicked my truck one time and left a perfect hoof print in the door. I miss the the truck and that old horse now. It's just stuff; it's the memories that matter as some have said.

RanchRoper, and you other guitarist probably know this, but Fender sells "relic" guitars. These guitars are brand new, but beat up by factory techs to look like something Kieth Richards dragged behind his truck. I can't post pics from here, but here is a link to Sam Ash where they are sold.

These are for Pro musicians that want a new guitar, but with the looks of something that was at Woodstock.

http://www.samash.com/1967-heavy-relic- ... gQodlR8OCw.

And no, they are not cheap.......

I wonder if this would work for guns? I could begin a new career doing something I'm good at

All my firearms have "use" marks but no abuse.

Dutch,

Yes, the Old English Scratch Cover and the Polish, too, are still being made. http://www.oldenglishpolish.com/sf2_scratch.shtml

I had forgotten about that stuff, but it works well. I remember the bottle distinctly, too. Out of curiosity I went to my cleaning supplies cabinet a few minutes ago, and in the very back there was our dusty bottle of "old" Old English Scratch Cover! More surprisingly, the bottle had the year of 1995 on it!! Guess I've carried it around for a while.

Deadwood Dutch wrote:I use something called "Old English" scratch remover. I have had it for a long time and I don't know if you can even get it anymore. I put a small amount on a rag and wipe it on and then wipe the excess off. It is one dark color that blends with any dark stock and fills in scratches and dings quite nicely. I had just taken my brand new Marlin 1894 out on the trail for the first time when I bought it back in 2002 and when arriving back at my car I took it off my shoulder and I had a sling on it and I had the car door open and the stock hit the edge of the door and put a small ding in it. I was very unhappy that I was so careless especially with a new rifle, but I touched it up with the Old English and you can still see the mark if you look closely but it is not as noticeable as it was when it first happened.

Steve wrote:All my guns are for shooting as well as looking at. Some of the scratches and bluing wear just give them some integrity. Like a blued revolver that has holster wear, maybe I'm strange but I think it looks nice.

Most of my long guns are on display in the house because I like just looking at them in the gun cabinets.
I do plan on making the crooks work for them if they break-in the house. The rifles in the cases are secured by steel cable which is secured to the foundation of the house.

Because most buglers don't show up with abrasive cutters or hydraulic cutters my guns are pretty safe. the last numbers I read was most home burglaries are over inside 3 minutes. That doesn't allow time for working with tools.

Basically I enjoy seeing my guns and I'm not going to allow some thieving scum bag take that pleasure away from me by forcing me to put them in safes. The value of my weapons is not enough to attract a jewel thief with the brains to get them.

yes i agree with you too. The natural wear and tear on the blued holster wear makes it look even more authentic to the firearm and at the same time the dependability and reliability and trust you have for that firearm. All the ruger blackhawks for the last 35 year's all have holster wear

Some folks cry and moan at every ding, scratch, and rub. Others look at them at what they are, character. I shared a hunt with a retired Marine Colonel years ago, carrying a custom high dollar fully engraved, gold and silver inlaid, "Presidential" model bolt gun. It was covered in "Character."

He said that each mark was a memory... and each tells a story.

If Henry didn't make the things so beautiful to start with....

First time I noticed a ding on the underside of the stock of my Golden Boy, I was grouchy for a week. On...the....UNDERSIDE..... As in, you can't even see it unless you're looking for it.

At least it helps to tell it apart from my dad's Golden Boy when we take them to the range together.
"Is that mine or yours?"
"Nah, that's yours. Mine's the one with the big Godawful gouge in the stock! (It's about 1/8" long and barely makes it through the clear coat...)
....takes off his glasses and looks REAL close...
"THAT?"
"No, that's just a piece of fuzz from my jacket. This here. Jeez, you'd think I was using it as a hammer!"

I guess there's a difference between being careful and obsessive. I certainly try to be the former, and I've been around folks who are the latter.

No contest: if you're careful and it gets a ding, well, at least you were careful. As noted above, that ding now tells a story.

Life is too short to be obsessive, at least in my world these days.