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Damn range bench scratched my new Henry!

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fortyshooter
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Re: Damn range bench scratched my new Henry!

Post by fortyshooter » Tue May 24, 2022 10:46 pm

Yep sorry to see that happen. I call those accidental enjoyment marks and I have a few too.
2 x

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Rifletom
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Re: Damn range bench scratched my new Henry!

Post by Rifletom » Tue May 24, 2022 11:03 pm

Retlawman wrote:
Tue May 24, 2022 4:22 pm
Thanks guys. Henry Tech said to try some satin polyurethane. It should help a bit and if not they will order me only the rear buttstock without the forgrip. Probably a little over $100. I may just get it and keep it as a spare if and when I sell her in 20 years. Lol

I finished cleaning her up after the range. Barrel was filthy after only 100 rounds. The bolt, extractor, mag tube, chamber not too bad. I cleaned up tge buttstock as best I could for now. Walnut touch up crayon, marker and wood conditioner. I watched Winchester 73 with James Stewart last night. That just made my OCD worse. 😆 🤣
Looks like a good fix there 'lawman. Character marks with cosmetic surgery. Nicely done. More shooting needed.[For me also!].
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BrokenolMarine
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Re: Damn range bench scratched my new Henry!

Post by BrokenolMarine » Wed May 25, 2022 12:08 am

I have shared this story here before, but I'll share it again and it may make you feel better. I'll state up front that I am like you, I HATE to get that scratch on my pretty guns, but my Glock and Sig Duty guns are like me, scarred veterans. But, they still shoot like the demons they are. :D

Here is the tale, some of the facts may have faded like my memory, no attempt at deception, just my fading memory.

I was a Marine Sergeant, Selected for Staff Sergeant, waiting for my "Number" to roll around and get promoted. I was a Member of the KBay Rod and Gun Club in Hawaii, and we did a lot of Volunteer work around the Islands. I ran the Mongoose trapping project to Save the Hawaiian Stilt (The Hawaii State Bird) and coordinated our hunting of feral Goats on the Island of Kahoolawe to control the population. This was the result of two things, A bio-experiment during WWII, and a lawsuit by the people of Hawaii years later when the goats were abandoned on the island and began to eat ALL the vegetation on the small island and cause a serious erosion problem. The main program was coordinated from Ford Island at Pearl Harbor.

On one of the hunts I had the pleasure of hunting with a retired Colonel who had once commanded a Battalion of Marines, but insisted we NOT call him Colonel, but call him by his first name, which I can no longer remember. But his nickname became something like, "Just Bob." He hunted with a high dollar fully engraved gold and silver inlaid Presentation Grade Weatherby. We are hiking and climbing the mountainous terrain of the lava fields on this island in search of targets and he is banging and scraping this $10k rifle along, using it to help on the climbs and dinging the stock. When we stopped for a break I asked him why he didn't bring one of the nylon stocked Remington 700s he owned.

I love hunting with this gun, it's a dream to shoot and very accurate at long ranges. Shooting across a valley here I know I'll hit the shot and I don't buy my guns for them to sit in the gun case and friends Ooh and Ahh at them. I USE them. He opened the bolt and passed the rifle to me. The stock had deep gouges and scrapes here and there and some of the gold and silver had been dinged and dented. Engraving on the receiver and forearm had been dinged and dented as well.

"It seems a shame to bang up such a beautiful gun, these mars must break your heart."

"On the contrary," he said. He smiled. ;)

"Those aren't Mars and scars," he explained. "They are memories."

He touched this one and that one as he talked. "I sit at home in the den at night, and I take down a rifle or shotgun, and I can touch this scar and remember my last hunt with my dad, when he slipped and scraped this on a boulder in Colorado. This ding came on a great hunt with my Brother in Law in Wyoming when I took my largest Ram. And this was my last hunt with a Captain who served with me for ten years. You see, Memories."

Not all of them were good, but they were all there, like a diary. We hunted together all weekend, and often afterward. I have never owned a safe queen, I shoot all my guns, but so take care to keep them clean and functioning and try and keep them nice. But a scratch doesn't bother me as much anymore... they are memories... ;)
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You can tell a lot about the character of a man...
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BrokenolMarine
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Re: Damn range bench scratched my new Henry!

Post by BrokenolMarine » Wed May 25, 2022 12:09 am

In fact, when I cleaned up a seventy year old Winchester Single Shot for my Granddaughter that ALL my kids learned to shoot on, I asked my daughter if she wanted me to refinish the stock. She laughed. "NO dad, those dings are family memories."
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You can tell a lot about the character of a man...
by the way he treats those who can do nothing for him.

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jstanfield103
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Re: Damn range bench scratched my new Henry!

Post by jstanfield103 » Wed May 25, 2022 4:25 am

As a retired Lawman you know that they are tools and scratches are eventually going to happen. Makes them have character just like us with age. :)
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BrokenolMarine
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Re: Damn range bench scratched my new Henry!

Post by BrokenolMarine » Wed May 25, 2022 8:17 am

jstanfield103 wrote:
Wed May 25, 2022 4:25 am
As a retired Lawman you know that they are tools and scratches are eventually going to happen. Makes them have character just like us with age. :)
When I filled out applications, in the scars, marks, and tattoos block I'd write: see attached. I don't have a single tattoo. :twisted:
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You can tell a lot about the character of a man...
by the way he treats those who can do nothing for him.

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Shakey Jake
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Re: Damn range bench scratched my new Henry!

Post by Shakey Jake » Wed May 25, 2022 9:11 am

I respect my guns and hate when stuff like that happens but realize it does and will. I think of them as a tool and if it doesn't show a little bit of use then it's a tool not worth having!
Jake
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Hatchdog
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Re: Damn range bench scratched my new Henry!

Post by Hatchdog » Wed May 25, 2022 9:57 am

First of all that’s a great repair of the stock scratch you made. Nicely done.

It could be worse, this stock was from a 1980 Ruger 77 I hunted with for over 30 years. Every scratch, scrape and mar is from me carrying it up and down the mountains. I recently sold the rifle and it looked so pitiful I ordered a new stock from Boyds which then made the rifle beautiful as the metal was still in great condition. With the new stock in updated pictures the rifle sold quickly. However the buyer did want to buy the old stock as Ruger tang safety stocks are hard to find.

Just recalled another story. Used to have a Ruger 77/22 bolt action 22 lr and one day I was shooting ground squirrels leaning on a fence post for support. When I moved away from the post I noticed some deep scratches in the beautiful walnut stock. I didn’t see a nail head sticking out of the post and yep, it got the stock. :(

Yes, we all use our firearms but don’t abuse them.

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Luv the lever
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Re: Damn range bench scratched my new Henry!

Post by Luv the lever » Wed May 25, 2022 2:28 pm

I am nutso over these things and keep a towel in my bags for setting rifles down when range shooting but scratches are stories. Brandy new Golden Boy scratches shooting with the kids, I’ll think of them every time I see that scratch and smile.
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Headhog
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Re: Damn range bench scratched my new Henry!

Post by Headhog » Wed May 25, 2022 3:19 pm

I don't like to see dents or scratches on wood especially on my lever guns. But, if you use them enough they will puck up marks. That i can accept. What I don't like are marks that can be avoided. Like bench damage at ranges. So I picked up a cheap moving blanket. I got the quilted type and carry that with me on range trips. Fully opened I think it measures about 4' X 6" and folds up pretty small to stuff under a car or truck seat. When I get to the range i can open it up enough to fit and cover any shooting bench. I got mine from Harbor Freight and I believe it was under $10.

Paul
5 x

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