fingers284
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Alberta Cowboy Ranges
every once in a while there's a thread posted where someone's looking to re-acquire a long sold or lost to a relative firearm...keep up the hope boys as it sometimes does happen.
I worked two summers helping local farmers in the area making money to buy my first "very own" rifle before my 14th b-day (that's the age Ab. will sell you a hunting licence). So the bank account swells up to a huge amount in mid-1967 and at 13, my old man finally gets a day off to take me to Red Deer to buy a gun. Having multiple times searched every gun magazine that entered the house since I learned to read, I was ready...I had my mind set on a Model 88 Winchester in the very new whiz-bang caliber of .284 Win. but alas so did every other gun nut in ab. want the Model 88, not one to be found...but there was one brand new Model 99 Savage in .284 on the rack in R D, didn't take me more than a second to change alliances from Winchester to Savage. The rifle was $125, the scope & rings were $60 , war surplus sling was $5 as was a box of shells ( the store owner, The old "Lock & Key store, threw in a free box as well)so for $200 bucks I had an empty bank account and a complete new hunting rifle.
So for the next 7 years I shot a truck load or two of deer with that rifle as well as many hundreds of rounds at paper or most anything that moved that we considered "vermin" on the farm. Along this time I started to notice a 'swelling" of the groups I could get with that gun...so me with my long-haired head of superior knowledge decided it was close to being "shot-out" and I better upgrade to the newest whiz-banger that everybody wanted, so off to the newest LGS and traded Delvin ( ya, same Del that most every BC resident knows) for one of those new 25-06's.
So my .284 was long gone from any control of mine as to where it would end up...until 2 days later my dad's farming partner drove in the yard to show us his new "used" rifle he had just picked up from Del., he drug my old rifle from behind the seat so my old gun was back in the "neighborhood" at his place 2 miles away.
I hunted a bit with that old neighbor off and on and thru subsequent conversations we came to an agreement that when he was done with the rifle I would get it back for a family heirloom. But thru tragic circumstances that didn't happen. In old age the fellow lost a bit of sturdiness over the years (another 20 yrs has evolved since he bought the gun) and he slipped on some ice one morning and died from the head wounds. His oldest son knew of our 'agreement" over the rifle but because of the suddenness and tragic circumstances of his death it wasn't appropriate for either of us to broach the subject to the rest of the family, this became doubly relevant when the daughters suddenly decided to holds a "name drawing" of all "granpa's stuff" for the grandkids. Once the grandkids were involved the subject of my deal with their granddad would never be mentioned...by me or his son (on my suggestion).
That was until yesterday when the grandson mentioned to his uncle, the son, that he may sell Granddads rifle as he never used it. the son took about 2 seconds to decide to relate the story of the gun and previous owners to the kid.
Less than 2 hrs later the Granddad's son & my wife present me with my fathers day present...the gun I had purchased 51 years ago. In less than an hour I had it out (shooting in the same home-yard rifle range I lined it up 51 years ago) and it still shot the same 2" group it did when I traded it because it was "shot-out"
I worked two summers helping local farmers in the area making money to buy my first "very own" rifle before my 14th b-day (that's the age Ab. will sell you a hunting licence). So the bank account swells up to a huge amount in mid-1967 and at 13, my old man finally gets a day off to take me to Red Deer to buy a gun. Having multiple times searched every gun magazine that entered the house since I learned to read, I was ready...I had my mind set on a Model 88 Winchester in the very new whiz-bang caliber of .284 Win. but alas so did every other gun nut in ab. want the Model 88, not one to be found...but there was one brand new Model 99 Savage in .284 on the rack in R D, didn't take me more than a second to change alliances from Winchester to Savage. The rifle was $125, the scope & rings were $60 , war surplus sling was $5 as was a box of shells ( the store owner, The old "Lock & Key store, threw in a free box as well)so for $200 bucks I had an empty bank account and a complete new hunting rifle.
So for the next 7 years I shot a truck load or two of deer with that rifle as well as many hundreds of rounds at paper or most anything that moved that we considered "vermin" on the farm. Along this time I started to notice a 'swelling" of the groups I could get with that gun...so me with my long-haired head of superior knowledge decided it was close to being "shot-out" and I better upgrade to the newest whiz-banger that everybody wanted, so off to the newest LGS and traded Delvin ( ya, same Del that most every BC resident knows) for one of those new 25-06's.
So my .284 was long gone from any control of mine as to where it would end up...until 2 days later my dad's farming partner drove in the yard to show us his new "used" rifle he had just picked up from Del., he drug my old rifle from behind the seat so my old gun was back in the "neighborhood" at his place 2 miles away.
I hunted a bit with that old neighbor off and on and thru subsequent conversations we came to an agreement that when he was done with the rifle I would get it back for a family heirloom. But thru tragic circumstances that didn't happen. In old age the fellow lost a bit of sturdiness over the years (another 20 yrs has evolved since he bought the gun) and he slipped on some ice one morning and died from the head wounds. His oldest son knew of our 'agreement" over the rifle but because of the suddenness and tragic circumstances of his death it wasn't appropriate for either of us to broach the subject to the rest of the family, this became doubly relevant when the daughters suddenly decided to holds a "name drawing" of all "granpa's stuff" for the grandkids. Once the grandkids were involved the subject of my deal with their granddad would never be mentioned...by me or his son (on my suggestion).
That was until yesterday when the grandson mentioned to his uncle, the son, that he may sell Granddads rifle as he never used it. the son took about 2 seconds to decide to relate the story of the gun and previous owners to the kid.
Less than 2 hrs later the Granddad's son & my wife present me with my fathers day present...the gun I had purchased 51 years ago. In less than an hour I had it out (shooting in the same home-yard rifle range I lined it up 51 years ago) and it still shot the same 2" group it did when I traded it because it was "shot-out"
