New guns, the hard way

[PointnClick]

I lost my Dad to cancer this past November... my brother handled cleaning out his place and boxing up his stuff. Yesterday at a family get together, he gave me these rifles that belonged to my Dad.



Top to bottom: Winchester 94 AE 30-30

Henry 22LR

Ithaca M49 22

I haven't Googled 'em up yet... Of the three, I'm most impressed by the Henry. The fit and finish are superior, and the action is very smooth and solid... has a "power steering" feel to it. The Winchester feels a little "loose" and "sloppy", but seems to function well. The rougher wood and "less-finished" metal work of the Ithaca remind me of a base AK...

Any opinions on what I got here...?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[sigmanluke]

looks to me like you got yourself some nice heirlooms, and hopefully memories of your father to go along with them.

[gasmitty]

I lost my Dad to cancer this past November... my brother handled cleaning out his place and boxing up his stuff. Yesterday at a family get together, he gave me these rifles that belonged to my Dad.



Top to bottom: Winchester 94 AE 30-30

Henry 22LR

Ithaca M49 22

I haven't Googled 'em up yet... Of the three, I'm most impressed by the Henry. The fit and finish are superior, and the action is very smooth and solid... has a "power steering" feel to it. The Winchester feels a little "loose" and "sloppy", but seems to function well. The rougher wood and "less-finished" metal work of the Ithaca remind me of a base AK...

Any opinions on what I got here...?

You've got some fine memories and some shooters there... no exceptional finds, just reliable guns. I'd agree that the Henry is probably the prize of the three.

[mr surveyor]

whatever personal value your Dad placed on his firearms, I'd say triple it. I dealt with the same exact issue myself 6 years ago. In my case my Dad had given me prior instruction on spreading his collection amongst the guys in the family and they were all of similar monetary value to your new collection. His guns are all still in the family, and none of them have a "price tag".

Keep them, shoot them, and pass them down


surv

[PointnClick]

Oh, that was the plan all along... I'd have to be damned hungry to sell one of these...

[oneshot]

looks to me like you got yourself some nice heirlooms, and hopefully memories of your father to go along with them.

^^^Took^^^the^^words^^right^^out^of^^my^^mouth!!!



"When you were born you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die you are smiling and everyone around you is crying."

[retsupt99]

Very nice rifles!
Your father had good taste...now you have a great way to remember him and perhaps pass them down to your children.

[NativH]

Hang on to them and enjoy them. The gun I most miss is the Remington single shot 22 rifle that was my fathers, and was stolen when some jerk broke into my house 25 years ago. They could have stolen everything else I had and made less of an impact on me. I learned to shoot with that 22 rifle that couldn't be worth $25 to someone else.

[PointnClick]

Ya know what I have noticed...? I don't hunt and don't have any "hunting rifles" ... everything I have is more of a "military rifle". I shot a lever-action 30-30 when I was 15, but that was many, many moons ago...

Now that I have spent a day or two cleaning and lubing these rifles, sighting on things in my back yard, working the action, I've come to develop a serious appreciation for this design. Is it just me, or is this a truly elegant design for a rifle...? The size, the weight, the balance, the ergonomics... I haven't even fired these guns yet, but I can snap these right up to my shoulder and get a solid cheek-weld and a good view of the front sight almost immediately.

Never appreciated this in my youth... I see a .45 cowboy lever action in my near future. I can't wait to shoot these babies...

[SleepingZ]

The M49 Ithaca, that was my first 22 rifle, my folks gave it to me for Christmas when I was a few, well ok, many years younger. I still have it, and shoot it on occasion.

It's hard to put a price on guns that have memories attached to them. My Grandpa is 96, and Grandma is gone, they had a house-hold sale before they put Grandpa in a rest home, on the sale was a Coast to Coast brand pump 410, made by Mossberg, nothing really special, but because it was Grandpa's, I wanted to own it. I know darn well they most likely paid about $129 when they bought it, it cost me $425.00, I was not going to let it get out of the family, and I will always think of Grandpa when I look at that gun.

Z

[joker1]

looks to me like you got yourself some nice heirlooms, and hopefully memories of your father to go along with them.

Agreed! Hang on to them, I'm not saying don't shoot them just keep them.

And short of semi-auto there aren't any more fun long guns to shoot than lever action.

joker1

Sorry to hear of your loss, I lost my dad to cancer also-totally sucks.

[OD*]

Sorry to hear of the loss of your father.

I like that Ranger model.

[BAGMAN]

Sorry to hear about your dad. He left you some nice rifles. The Winchester is a very good everyday rifle that used to be the staple item for many a hunter back in the day.

[Rock and Glock]

Sorry about your Dad. My condolences.

[searcher 45]

Sorry about your Dad. My condolences.

This is my feeling also, I wished I had my father guns but they are gone due family member who did not value them.