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Anonymous
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I pose this question because all of my guns(bought in new condition) are still in what I would think around 95% condition. Even my 30 year old Wingmaster that was my duck gun for years is in this condition. I probably don't hunt as hard as some here, but I've been at it for 41 years.

I have a friend who has his father's Browning 20ga o/u and it is near loose and only has about 1/3 its' bluing left and he has a Wingmaster that looks like it was used to literally beat the brush. I've hunted grouse with him (the only game he hunts) and he walks fast, but unless wind erosion is a factor I can't see how the guns got in that shape? My own father's guns are in the same condition as mine except for a scar on his win. 94 from a fall and a patch of wood putty over the screw hole in the forearm on his Ithaca 37.

I suppose I have had too many guns to get one warn to where I'd like it? I often say I'd love to wear one out shooting/hunting it!

Would any of you, who know how to post pictures, care to post your well worn guns? I'm talking about the ones you put the wear on. I would really like to admire them!

Thanks,

Kurt

Joined: Aug 2004
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I think most guns got worn out by what was done to them when they were not being shot.

Accidents apart (i.e. dropping it off a bridge /running it over with a tractor etc) I think if you take agun out, shoot with it using appropriate ammo, clean it, oil it and store it properly, it will look good for a long time.

The Webley 700 that was my father's from new and mine from the age of 13 looks pretty much as it did when I inherited it in 1981. My Purdey has changed not at all in my five years of ownership, despite constant use.

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My well worn guns still look good, also probably around 95% and this includes an AYA that I have shot for the last 30ish years.

I do look after them though, and as soon as anything requires attention it is done - no exceptions. As a result I have never, ever, had a gun fail on me, wherby it couldn't be used.

I do also have several guns though so the wear is also spread out amongst them - which is a good thing considering the amount of use they get. One of my guns a 13 year old FN Browning Superposed that I used for driven game shooting, that fired 35K shells still looked like new

Jonty

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I had Classic Doubles 201 that has seen some hard use on the marsh. It had plenty of scratches on that Winchesterish fleur de lis checkered stock. I had both factory and 'Undertaker' extended std inv. tubes to use in that one. It's nearly 8lb weight came in handy when shooting 3" loads. :rolleyes:
No pics it's been nixed for a .375H&H when I hanged up my duck/goose calls so to speak.

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Good question
I use my pre-1900 guns when I can take care of them. My target guns are carried and returned to the case after shooting
I use my auto's, clunkers, and etc. when I can't or think I can not. In the marine world we have certain guns we call throwaway guns, we throw them overboard before we go into Canada.
I am not a happy camper if the good guns get used in the wrong place.


Currently own two Morgan cars. Starting on Black Powder hunting to advoid the mob of riflemen.
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A gun gets 'seasoned' by use, but the patina gained is not, IMO, a bad thing.

My main bird gun - my Fox 16 - has been used hard for about 15 years. It is well cared for - cleaned after every use, kept in a hard case locked in a safe, lubed before each assembly for use, etc. The CC is wearing off the bottom of the action bar, the blue is polished off the guard tang, and the rust blue is getting thin on tha barrels where my hand is placed when I carry it. The stock has a couple fo tiny nicks. Not bad for a chukar gun, really.

It fits and shoots so well for me that it is still beautiful.


C Man
Life is short
Quit your job.
Turn off the TV.
Go outside and play.
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My observation is the condition of the gun is related to the person that owns it. Mine are seldom ever hurt by hard use while I have an ex- friend that needs a new one every couple of years because he destroys them. I have seen him lever brush piles with the barrel of a Browning A5, bend the barrel of a Franci super light 20ga automatic over a rabbits shoulders, lift barb wire fence strands with a Win Model 88 and throw all of them in the bed of a pickup truck full of assorted landscaping tools without a case. Keeps what was a perfect Win Model 1890 .22 under his truck seat w/o case. Worst of all, someone gave him an early Griffin $ Howe Springfield sporter in pristine condition - trashed in two deer seasons. Two wives left him, kids won't talk to him, his Springers have bitten him repeatedly and the local police keep a reserved parking space for him. Just never got past age 15 and he is now 66. Should have been named Earl. (Apologies and condolences to responsible individuals named Earl.)

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Jerry, what a hoot! great writing ! That's one unique friend you have; I love the line about the Springers biting him repeatedly. what a chump, ex-friend you say? I met a "friend of a friend" in our duck camp one year, who although a crack shot and an Orvis wingshooting instructor, also believed that guns should not have cases and should always be "thrown" into the back of trucks whenever possible. However he knocked ducks out of the sky that I could barely even see.

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I have one regular shooting friend whose guns are worn and loose because he flops them open and closed. He's an engineer so I can't tell him anything. I've never owned a gun that seriously deteriorated while I owned it. I heartily agree that it's not shooting that wears most guns out. JL


> Jim Legg <

Anonymous
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Poor. If I knew how to post pics I would. I have no home page or webspace.

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