My father's guns

[daytime dave]

My father passed away unexpectedly two and a half weeks ago. He only owned two guns. They were seldom used. My grandfather had a bait and tackle store and for about a decade, also sold guns and ammunition. My father said my grandfather, his father in law, was a good salesman. My father would have never gotten any guns except my grandfather told him he might need them on his small farm.

What did he need? A .22 and a 20 gauge shotgun. As time would tell, they did come in handy to dispatch pests, but these guns rarely saw the light of day.




I discovered these guns as a young teen. The ammo was always stored in the "back room" and the guns were tucked in the corner of the closet in their cases.
Dad wanted to dispatch a pesky woodchuck that came out around sundown. The .22 did it's stuff and then after a lot of pleading, I was allowed to target shoot a bit.

The .22 is a Marlin 989 M-2. It was an M-1 Carbine look alike. It's also the only Marlin in my collection. I have always liked this gun. I have researched it over the years. It has a Weaver scope on it and retains the rear sight too. It only has one 7 shot magazine. I dated it to 1974.

[daytime dave]

The shotgun is a single shot Harrington and Richardson 20 gauge. I really like the color case hardening on it. I was going to use it to do the old yellar thing with our dog, as dad couldn't do it. It turns out that the dog died just before I came over to do the deed. I did use it a few years ago to dispatch a crow that was picking the corn plants out as they started to grow. His friends didn't come back. The shotgun dates to 1965.









They are a bit rusty in spots and scratched in places. I'll oil them and clean them and put them away. I'll take them out once in a while give them some use. As I ponder it, these were pretty good choices for the small farm that turned to a hobby farm when I was a small boy. The cows were sold when I was in the first or second grade. They were tools for dad to use. Now they are fond memories for me.

[tractortad]

A pair of nice "old tools" - sorry to hear about your dad.

[Henry88]

Love the wood heat shield on top of the Marlin.

[Les]

I'm sorry to hear about your Dad, Dave.

The CCH on the shotgun is superb.

[Cofisher]

My condolences for you loss, Dave. Been there.
I raised my boys with a 20 quite like that. Had to cut the stock. They were kinda runty kids, lol.

[North Country Gal]

Sorry to hear about your father, Dave. Our condolences.

Those two guns are actually collectible in some circles, now, especially the Marlin. Most of those M1 Carbine look-a-likes got heavy use. Glad you still have that one of a kind rear sight for it. Have seen that sight sell for over $100 on auctions.

[Sir Henry]

Sorry to hear about your dad.

That Marlin is great looking and I love vintage Weavers and the V-22A is one of my favorites. Interesting that he chose to scope an M1 Carbine look alike as it wasn't known as a long range shooter.

[JEBar]

very sorry to hear about your Dad .... the 989 and Topper, have no monetary value, they are way beyond that .... they are priceless

[Jdl447]

image.jpeg (1.5 MiB) Viewed 6342 times

This was my fathers first firearm, a Remington 510 target master. It's pretty accurate but the trigger is horrible.
He passed in 2011 at 84. He said his mother got it at a filling station with green stamps when he was 12, so that would put it at a 1939.
I refinished it 5 years ago.

[ditchparrot]

Condolences on the loss of your father.

Those guns are both nice heirlooms. Kind of humorous to me that the stickers were never removed. Sort of a pet peeve of mine – I can't deal with stickers on gun stocks or forearms and I rip them off as soon as I take possession. A guy at the range the other day had on on his Savage

[RetiredSeabee]

Sorry to hear that your father has passed.
Two great guns that indicate that he was a practical man.
Thanks for sharing his memory with us.

[White Squirrel]

Sorry to hear about your dad, Dave, but those are two nice remembrances to have.

All I have of my dad's is a .22 Remington 512 bolt action rifle and a 16 gauge Mossberg bolt action shotgun. No resale value, but there is no amount of money I would take for them.

[daytime dave]

White Squirrel, I feel the same way. There is limited but impressive interest in the Marlin. I don't know about the h & R. It doesn't matter to me. They are a permanent part of my collection. Hopefully, I can show this thread to my stepson and when I am gone, these will remain in his collection.

Thank you all for your nice sentiments and words. I am at peace with his passing and how it happened. Quick and painless. No suffering. We should all be so lucky.

Jdl447, thank you for posting the photograph of your fathers gun. It fits here perfectly. It was an interesting story too.

[Jdl447]

You're welcome Dave.

[RanchRoper]

Thanks for sharing those with us DD. Have you considered displaying them in your home? In a nice display case or even just on the wall.

[daytime dave]

Thanks for sharing those with us DD. Have you considered displaying them in your home? In a nice display case or even just on the wall.

Not presently. I will when we move to the Adirondacks. Right now, I don't have the wall space. (I moved into her house)

[Catherine]

Dave,

I just saw this post. My husband and I extend our condolences to you and your family.

I believe that your Mother is still alive from when I was more active on the forum. She has my sincere sympathy too.

Did you finally get married? You mentioned your stepson in this thread. Congrats if you did and I missed the post.

You have some nice family guns to use and keep.

God bless you and your lady.

Cate

[JEBar]

sorry to hear the news about your Father ..... an H&R Topper 12 ga was the first firearm I bought for myself .... the color case hardened finish really looks nice

[daytime dave]

Cate and JEBar, thank you for your thoughts.

To answer you Cate, yes, my mother is still alive. She is bearing up pretty well, but I am there more now than before.

Mary and I have been going together for 18 years. We have been engaged for about 16 years. I moved into her house and sold mine a little over two years ago, the same week I went back to work full time. I still have the part time job. I have referred to Mary's son as my step son for many years. He calls me his step father. We may get married when we move to the Adirondacks, perhaps sooner. I'm glad to see you back.