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This was a good day

snert

Silver $$ Contributor
Today turned out to be a full circle moment.

When I was 9 (1974) I asked my granddad to give me his Savage 20 ga double. He flatly refused. Several months later he gave me his Winchester 67 22. Granddad passed away soon after. His 1884 Trapdoor came to my dad. His 20 ga and an old Mauser went to my cousins. A Stevens 414 that had belonged to his father was already in possession of my uncle and cousins.

I soon fell in love with that 67. My dad and I cold blued the barrel and I refinished the stock deciding on the then "new" spray urathane shine finish over the sanded second generation stock. It treated me very well and was delightfully accurate.

My cousins were not gun guys. They were a tad hard on mechanical things. The savage double and mauser ended up hacked chopped parts. The 414 remained, but rusted, lanquishing in the corner of a dusty storage room for years.

I grew older, went to college and moved away. Got married, raised a family. The 67 stayed with dad, who (grrr) cut a flat spot on the stock behind the bolt for a peep sight...his eyes were going. Eventually, due to my mentioned desire to own the 414, dad traded my cousin my 67 for the 414. I was ok with the $$ side, but inwardly sad he gave away my first gun.

Dad passed in 2009. Mom in 2020. I inherited the house, and am "back". Over the winter I decided granddad's 1884 needed a facelift. I finished it last week. See Photo. (I had removed the yellowed varnish, sanded it to 800, then finished with arrowood oil. I cleaned up and cold blued the barrel. My uncle had cut the old girl down in 1958 and chopped up my dad's blank without permission...near fratricide!) She turned out ok.
IMG_20240128_201459758 (1).jpg
I also tore down the 414. It has been cold blued and the stock has been cleaned and refinished with arrowood. It is in need of some internal repair so she is slated to ship off to Lee Shaver for a new firing pin and fitting of a new ejector.
IMG_20240114_215850061.jpg

Which brings me to today.

I stopped by to see my cousin. It was good to catch up. I inquired about the 67 and explained that I would like to bring it back home. I offered to buy him a replacement 22, but he said no. He told me that he would not have an hier, and went to the bedroom, returning with the 67. It was covered in a layer and dust and a little rust, but that old shine was still there. He handed it to me and told me to take it home, clean it up and give it to someone in the family someday. I promised I would make it right with him, but he said he wanted nothing for it. (Ill still get him something).

I brought home my first gun (again), tonight. I just turned 60.
It is torn down and I have been scrubbing nearly 40 years of dirt and lead out of the barrel. Tomorrow I will cold blue her again, buff her up and take a photo to post. Then I plan to head out to the range...

I have to admit I am a little misty eyed, so if she doesn't shoot as good as she once did, its cause I have something causing my eyes to water.
 
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Today turned out to be a full circle moment.

When I was 10 (1974) I asked my granddad to give me his Savage 20 ga double. He flatly refused. Several months later he gave me his Winchester 67 22. Granddad passed away soon after. His 1884 Trapdoor came to my dad. His 20 ga and an old Mauser went to my cousins. A Stevens 414 that had belonged to his father was already in possession of my uncle and cousins.

I soon fell in love with that 67. My dad and I cold blued the barrel and I refinished the stock deciding on the then "new" spray urathane shine finish over the sanded second generation stock. It treated me very well and was delightfully accurate.

My cousins were not gun guys. They were hack mechanics. The savage double and mauser ended up hacked chopped parts. The 414 remained, but rusted, lanquishing in the corner of a dusty storage room for years.

I grew older, went to college and moved away. got married, raised a family. The 67 stayed with dad, who (grrr) cut a flat spot on the stock behind the bolt for a peep sight...his eyes were going. Eventually, due to my mentioned desire to own the 414, dad traded my cousin my 67 for the 414. I was ok with the $$ side, but inwardly sad he gave away my first gun.

Dad passed in 2009. Mom in 2020. I inherited the house, and am "back". Over the winter I decided granddad's 1884 needed a facelift. I finished it last week. See Photo. (I had removed the yellowed varnish, sanded it to 800, then finished with arrowood oil. I cleaned up and cold blued the barrel. My uncle had cut the old girl down in 1958 and chopped up my dad's blank without permission...near fratricide!) She turned out ok.
View attachment 1525264
I also tore down the 414. It has been cold blued and the stock has been cleaned and refinished with arrowood. It is in need of some internal repair so she is slated to ship off to Lee Shaver for a new firing pin and fitting of a new ejector.
View attachment 1525266

Which brings me to today.

I stopped by to see my cousin. It was good to catch up. I inquired about the 67 and explained that I would like to bring it back home. I offered to buy him a replacement 22, but he said no. He told me that he would not have an hier, and went to the bedroom, returning with the 67. It was covered in a layer and dust and a little rust, but that old shine was still there. He handed it to me and told me to take it home, clean it up and give it to someone in the family someday. I promised I would make it right with him, but he said he wanted nothing for it. (Ill still get him something).

I brought home my first gun (again), tonight. I just turned 60.
It is torn down and I have been scrubbing nearly 40 years of dirt and lead out of the barrel. Tomorrow I will cold blue her again, buff her up and take a photo to post. Then I plan to head out to the range...

I have to admit I am a little misty eyed, so if she doesn't shoot as good as she once did, its cause I have something causing my eyes to water.
Good for you Snert- Not many of us get the chance to get one back once its slipped away. I am furtunate to still have my 1st guns and the two guns my dad owned. Of coarse others I wish i still had are long gone. I get emotional about this stuff to. Thanks
 
Good for you Snert! I'm trying to burn into my kids' heads how important this is.

I'm also somewhat "special".
Is the 67 a single shot bolt action or am I the special part of the equation?
 
I think I've got a Winchester 67 with a very long barrel, like 27 inches??? I got it when I was a teenager swapping with a friend of my dads. He went to church where we attended and taught my 6th grade SS class.
 
A great day, with more and better to come. So many more memories to be made with those rifles. Nice to have them all back with someone who sees the value in that.

Enjoy it.
 
Great story - thanks for sharing.

Sometimes firearms can be like an old song, they can bring back pleasant memories of days gone by. I too have such a firearm, a Smith and Wesson Model 17, 22 Rimfire Revolver known as a K22 :).

My first revolver was an H&R top break 22 rimfire. I shot tons of tin cans, a bunch of rats, and a few ground hogs with this serviceable pistol. However, I wanted a S&W Model 17, but I was of limited financial means in those days. The S&W Model 17 and Colt Officers Model Match were the premier revolvers of their day. Masterpieces of engineering, accuracy, and function.

After college I was drafted into the Army. When I came home on leave, there was a blue box on my desk containing a new S&W Model 17, 6" barrel. My Dad had bought it for me. To say I was excited and deliriously happy would be an understatement. That afternoon we went to the local dump and shot tin cans. Then we came home and drank a few "cold" ones. It is one of the "golden" moments in a person's life that one never forgets. I still have the revolver and it still shoots 10's. I loss dad in 87 but every time I shoot that old Model 17, I feel his presences.
 
I never had a blood grandpa. I had a great uncle and a step grandpa that stepped up. I cherish my great uncles '68 Marlin 39a he gave me when I graduated and this morning I'm carrying my step grandpa's pocket knife to church which is the same church he got saved in at about the age of 93. Wished I had my first gun back which was a H&R 20ga. Not worth much but to pass it on would have been cool. Young and dumb.
 
IMG_20240218_181315367_HDR.jpgIMG_20240218_183944175.jpg
Well I scrubbed the crap out of the barrel and finally got some semblance of "clean" patch coming out. I used 600, then 1000 grade paper on the outside of the barrel and trigger guard, hosed it all off with acetone then rubbed it dry. Then put two coats of Oxpho-blue on it, rubbing it with #0000 steel wool. Then I scrubbed the bolt out, oiled and greased the important stuff and was very pleased to find that my memory was correct...this one is so much smoother and better than the 68 that I bought for my daughter to replace this one.
I buffed the stock, taking off some dirt, but otherwise the old spray on is still holding up. I didn't get to the range...that will be another day.

So for those that asked...yes, this is the 27 inch single shot Winchester. The early models had a grooved forend and were less beefy all around. Those were made two years. The later models like this had either this stock or a bellied forend. The Model 68 was the same gun, except it had a peep sight on the barrel and a hood over a ramp front sight. My 68 is an early model, and as mentioned, was bought because I thought this one was long gone.
These are similar to the Cricket of today. Pull the bolt back, insert a round into the chamber with the rim behind the extractor, close the bolt, pull the plunger back, flip the safety "up" which mechanically blocks the pllunger from falling. Flip the safety and squeeze, and you get one chance to hit what you want, or do all the above all over again. Ironically, all of my varmint guns are single shot bolt guns. I wonder why?

I will test it out for accuracy. I recall it was very adequate and "I kilt ma first ground grizzly" at age 9 with this here gun. That groundhog was about twenty feet away and sacrificed his life to whet my appetite for shooting woodchucks and a life time of guns, shooting, teaching, and great memories. Grandpap and I were not close, but I am grateful he decided to give me this rifle so long ago. Today as I worked on it I thought a lot about my dad and my life. I am grateful for what God has done.
 
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Mine is the same rifle but the guy I got it from let his nephew refinish the stock and cold blue the metal. Let me say this you did a nicer job than his nephew. Mine is called "Jack" after it's original owner, it was very accurate but I have trouble with the sights and it has no grooves for a scope. I let my daughter use it so she could shoot with her husband, I bought her a stainless 10-22 for Christmas just so I could get "Jack " back and she whined like I was trying to kill her.
 
Mine is the same rifle but the guy I got it from let his nephew refinish the stock and cold blue the metal. Let me say this you did a nicer job than his nephew. Mine is called "Jack" after it's original owner, it was very accurate but I have trouble with the sights and it has no grooves for a scope. I let my daughter use it so she could shoot with her husband, I bought her a stainless 10-22 for Christmas just so I could get "Jack " back and she whined like I was trying to kill her.
I once saw a great article on scoping a 67. In fact, I think it was either in PS or VH. Leaning toward VHA mag.
Personally, I think they are fine without a scope...and I say that as my eyes are failing. They are made to shoot offhand, and close enough is when the tail wiggles.

I looked over the 68 I did 15 years ago. Today's job was much better! I learned a few things since then like:
sand the metal and go 600-1000. Use a good degreaser. Don't dip a used cottn ball back into fresh Oxpho-blue. Heat the metal with a hair drier before you start. RUB that oxpho-blue in with the cotton ball till the blue goo is gone. Rub it off with a clean cloth. Use 000-0000 stell wool. Do it two or three times.
On wood, use (if you can find it) Homer Formby's refinisher to get the old crap off. Sand if necessary and sand till it hurts, then do that for two more weeks. @joshb said "arrowood son" and I listened. Great stuff.

Or if you are 9 and you just got your first gun, sand the heck outta it and spray that walnut with some kinda cancer causing bowling ball acrylic cause it will still be there 50 years later!!!!!

But thanks for the compliment!

I am looking forward to knocking off dirt clods, empty shotshells, twigs, cans, exploding rimfire targets (how cool is that!?) and then killing a squirrel or 6.
 
Oh, another tidbit.
If you have one, you can smooth up the trigger by removing the original spring behind the trigger and replacing with a shortened piece of bic pen spring...cheaper the better! (I noted this significant difference when comparing the guns today...apparently my 67 "lost" its trigger spring and grandpap went all in fixing it!)
 
That is one fine looking old rifle. It is back where it belongs.......

P.S.
Being of an age now where I ought to consider passing along a few things. Your pictures may give me some incentive........
 
View attachment 1525574View attachment 1525580
Well I scrubbed the crap out of the barrel and finally got some semblance of "clean" patch coming out. I used 600, then 1000 grade paper on the outside of the barrel and trigger guard, hosed it all off with acetone then rubbed it dry. Then put two coats of Oxpho-blue on it, rubbing it with #0000 steel wool. Then I scrubbed the bolt out, oiled and greased the important stuff and was very pleased to find that my memory was correct...this one is so much smoother and better than the 68 that I bought for my daughter to replace this one.
I buffed the stock, taking off some dirt, but otherwise the old spray on is still holding up. I didn't get to the range...that will be another day.

So for those that asked...yes, this is the 27 inch single shot Winchester. The early models had a grooved forend and were less beefy all around. Those were made two years. The later models like this had either this stock or a bellied forend. The Model 68 was the same gun, except it had a peep sight on the barrel and a hood over a ramp front sight. My 68 is an early model, and as mentioned, was bought because I thought this one was long gone.
These are similar to the Cricket of today. Pull the bolt back, insert a round into the chamber with the rim behind the extractor, close the bolt, pull the plunger back, flip the safety "up" which mechanically blocks the pllunger from falling. Flip the safety and squeeze, and you get one chance to hit what you want, or do all the above all over again. Ironically, all of my varmint guns are single shot bolt guns. I wonder why?

I will test it out for accuracy. I recall it was very adequate and "I kilt ma first ground grizzly" at age 9 with this here gun. That groundhog was about twenty feet away and sacrificed his life to whet my appetite for shooting woodchucks and a life time of guns, shooting, teaching, and great memories. Grandpap and I were not close, but I am grateful he decided to give me this rifle so long ago. Today as I worked on it I thought a lot about my dad and my life. I am grateful for what God has done.
I am not sure how I came into possession of this rifle, but guessing that my parents divorce came into paly. My Grandmother was more like a grandpa. She owned more firearms than I ever will and was a reloader!
I owned a Rossi .22 pump rifle before myself and my twin brother were born. Grandma "Pete" had apparently bought 5 of these rifles.
When my only son was born in Nov. 2012 my father showed up with a present in a box that looked all too familiar.
Dad had held out on me that his mom had a fifth Rossi .22pump that was stainless.
 
Great story - thanks for sharing.

Sometimes firearms can be like an old song, they can bring back pleasant memories of days gone by. I too have such a firearm, a Smith and Wesson Model 17, 22 Rimfire Revolver known as a K22 :).

My first revolver was an H&R top break 22 rimfire. I shot tons of tin cans, a bunch of rats, and a few ground hogs with this serviceable pistol. However, I wanted a S&W Model 17, but I was of limited financial means in those days. The S&W Model 17 and Colt Officers Model Match were the premier revolvers of their day. Masterpieces of engineering, accuracy, and function.

After college I was drafted into the Army. When I came home on leave, there was a blue box on my desk containing a new S&W Model 17, 6" barrel. My Dad had bought it for me. To say I was excited and deliriously happy would be an understatement. That afternoon we went to the local dump and shot tin cans. Then we came home and drank a few "cold" ones. It is one of the "golden" moments in a person's life that one never forgets. I still have the revolver and it still shoots 10's. I loss dad in 87 but every time I shoot that old Model 17, I feel his presences.
My dad went home in 2009. But today as I worked on this gun in his garage, with photos of him hanging over the bench, I was taken back to being 9 again. I could smell the Hoppes, feel the insecurity again of holding the can of spray on finsih right (I didn't and there is still a big old run in it!) and I could hear my dad talking to me just like he was right there. "Things" are temporal. People matter. But I do beleive that God has established a connection between things that are temporal and things that matter. I think of the "standing stones" he had his followers set up in places where He met them, saved them, or sent them. All who passed by would remember and "hear God's voice again".
I am grateful to God that He let me hear my dad again as I worked on a little old gun from my childhood.
 
I am not sure how I came into possession of this rifle, but guessing that my parents divorce came into paly. My Grandmother was more like a grandpa. She owned more firearms than I ever will and was a reloader!
I owned a Rossi .22 pump rifle before myself and my twin brother were born. Grandma "Pete" had apparently bought 5 of these rifles.
When my only son was born in Nov. 2012 my father showed up with a present in a box that looked all too familiar.
Dad had held out on me that his mom had a fifth Rossi .22pump that was stainless.
THAT is so cool
 
Mine is the same rifle but the guy I got it from let his nephew refinish the stock and cold blue the metal. Let me say this you did a nicer job than his nephew. Mine is called "Jack" after it's original owner, it was very accurate but I have trouble with the sights and it has no grooves for a scope. I let my daughter use it so she could shoot with her husband, I bought her a stainless 10-22 for Christmas just so I could get "Jack " back and she whined like I was trying to kill her.
PHOTOS!!!
 

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