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Thread: tell us about a firearm you found, not bought, not given to you...simply found.

  1. #81
    Boolit Master
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    When looking for arrowheads in a corn field years ago I found a gob of rust that turned out to be a barrel and a bit of the hinge and frame of an ancient top-break revolver. When I cleaned the dirt off of it I found out that it had been in the "open" position when lost or thrown away, and it was probably broken at some point by a plow or harrow. It's amazing what I found looking for points; two old gob of rust pocket knives and two old mercury dimes come to mind. I'm sure whoever lost those dimes and pocket knives figured they would never be seen again.

  2. #82
    Boolit Master
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    I don't know if this counts or not, but when i was 12 I found an H&R 20 gage single shot under the Christmas tree.

  3. #83
    Boolit Master armoredman's Avatar
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    Now that's the best kind of "find"!

  4. #84
    Boolit Master Ithaca Gunner's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by fastdadio View Post
    The short answer is no. See the above post from Ithica Gunner. My found gun was mfr'd around the late 70's, and the replacement barrel fit perfectly.
    Since we're on the subject, I would like to plug the excellent service I received from Ithica Gun Co. while pursuing this project. When I called to order my stock set, the gentleman on the phone asked me many questions about the gun I had, to make sure I was getting the right items. He also took the time to explain some of the quirks I would encounter during disassembly, things to look for, and the best ways to get it back together. That phone call and the advice that was offered goes beyond the level of service we are used to in this new age.
    Thanks Ithica Gunner!
    You're welcome, but to clear things up, I don't and never have worked for Ithaca Gun Company. I copied the statement directly from their site. I do like and use their products, and their service is top notch!

  5. #85
    Boolit Master


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    On the last night of the Christmas truce with the NVA in 1966, my parachute infantry company was dug in extra deep on the crest of a small hill in Bong Son in the central coast of VN about 5 miles inland from the South China Sea. Around 3 AM, I heard some sounds directly in front of my position. I threw a frag grenade about 20 feet and dived down. Then the whole world came alive with trip flares, claymores, grenades and machine gun fire going out and AK fire and grenades coming in. This went on for another hour. As the sun began to come up, there was a body in front of my position that my grenade had taken out. As it got lighter, we went out of the perimeter to take count. When it was full sun up, I tied a piece of commo wire around the right wrist of the body and paid about 20 feet so I could flip the body over in case it was booby trapped. It was not. But under the body I "found" a Tokarev pistol (which I still have), a chinese grenade which I disposed of, and an officers belt buckle which I cut off his belt (which I still have).

  6. #86
    Boolit Buddy
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    thank you for your service.

  7. #87
    Boolit Buddy
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    I've found two in my time:

    First was when I was hunting rabbit with a buddy of mine on some private property many years ago. We came across a single-shot 12ga resting against a tree. It had seen better days for sure, but was in surprisingly good condition for having been out in the elements for a while. Guess the dry desert air was pretty forgiving.

    Anyway, after we finished our loop of the property, we swung back by the tree, grabbed the shotgun, and took it to the lady who owned the land. She thanked us for returning it, said it was her sons gun, and that he had "misplaced" it the previous summer. We had a standing invitation to come hunt whenever we wanted after that, but there wasn't much action and to be honest, I don't think we ever returned.

    Second was maybe 10 years ago. Walking down to the cluster mailbox at the townhome complex I was living in, I spotted a black something sitting in the entrance to the circle drive that serviced the garage entrances of the homes. When I got closer, it was a Springfield XD45 in a holster...Just sitting there. I called the city police and waited with it until they showed up to collect it to make sure some kids or a weirdo didn't find it. Eventually got word that it belonged to a neighbor who lost it when he got out of his car to get his mail. Kids these days...

  8. #88
    Boolit Master
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    I don't know if this fits the intent of the OP's question but...
    Some time before Mark Hopkinson (google him) became the thug the state of Wyoming executed him for, he was a small time trouble maker/thief. On a Sunday when my father in laws parents were at church, along with several of their neighbors, Mark went into their houses and stole any valuables he could find. Amongst them were several guns. After several weeks someone found the guns stashed in a culvert, and they were returned to their rightful owners. When my father in law died, I inherited his guns, which included 3 of the guns mentioned above. One was a 1890 Winchester 22 WRF, a 1894 Winchester 30 WCF and a single shot 16 gauge shotgun. All of the guns suffered some rust issues from time spent in the culvert, but the two Winchesters cleaned up good and were used by my father in law, his brothers and dad. Not a lot of effort was put into the shotgun, but other than it being quite ugly it still shoots fine. Growing up my son spent a lot of time with his grandpa, and he shot both of the Winchesters quite a bit. He told me he would like to have some of grandpa's guns some day so I gave him the two Winchesters which he still shoots (the WRF not so much since ammo is tough to find). I still have the old shotgun. I think it is a "hardware store" gun, marked Electric City.
    Last edited by jimlj; 09-08-2021 at 04:43 PM.

  9. #89
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    Mal Paso's Avatar
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    Apologies for the drift but...

    I was in the boat of a real fisherman off La Jolla, we had the ocean to ourselves, drifting across the La Jolla Trench with the current. He had the first strike of the day and landed a really nice Fishing Pole with a almost new Penn Reel which worked great to reel in the 3lb Yellowtail still trying to get away.
    Mal

    Mal Paso means Bad Pass, just so you know.

  10. #90
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by farmbif View Post
    Clint, that's one of the saddest stories I've ever heard, that poor kid's got a father more interested in getting drunk than to have memorable , meaningful hunting trip with his son. makes me realize just how blessed I was to have a dad who taught me how to shoot, reload and hunt even though the hunting we did was to eliminate critters that were destroying our crops and not to put food oil the table, starting when I was about 10, never ever thinking about getting drunk or stoned or anything like that
    Been there, it sucks
    I Am Descended From Men Who Would Not Be Ruled

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  11. #91
    Boolit Buddy
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    Actually have a few.
    When cleaning out my Grandpa's house after he died, we found an old Remington bolt action 22, apparently my great grandfathers. Been in the garage for who knows how long, for years I though it was a pellet gun because nobody would leave a firearm out to rust and have dirt daubers get into. Well no dirt daubers but plenty of rust. Turns out all it needed was a good cleaning (oil had turned to varnish) and a new extractor. Got the extractor but lost a pin while the bolt was in my ultrasonic cleaner. Apparently fell out though the basked and I threw it out with all the gunk in the bottom.

    My sister had borrowed my dad's cab tractor, and when it was brought back, there was a cricket 22 in it. nobody knows where it come from, and i was missing the bolt. Bought a bolt, hydrodipped the stock pink/purple camo, then stripped to bare metal and reblued. Topped that off with a coat of glow in the dark glitter clear coat for when my 3year old daughter is old enough to shoot it.

    Was cleaning out a storage unit that had gone delinquent, found a Marlin store branded (revelation) 22 bolt action, a rusted camo stocked CVA muzzleloader and a H&R pardner single shot 20gauge with a makeshift pistol grip (barrel and fore end in original condition) all three are rusty, but the shotgun has the least rust. On the 22 the stock had been partially sanded on one side and then drawn on with a sharpie. got the sharpie bleached and sanded out just gotta refinish

  12. #92
    Boolit Master Sasquatch-1's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by lksmith View Post
    Actually have a few.
    When cleaning out my Grandpa's house after he died, we found an old Remington bolt action 22, apparently my great grandfathers. Been in the garage for who knows how long, for years I though it was a pellet gun because nobody would leave a firearm out to rust and have dirt daubers get into. Well no dirt daubers but plenty of rust. Turns out all it needed was a good cleaning (oil had turned to varnish) and a new extractor. Got the extractor but lost a pin while the bolt was in my ultrasonic cleaner. Apparently fell out though the basked and I threw it out with all the gunk in the bottom.
    If this was a 514, did you ever get the replacement pin? If it was the one behind the extractor Numrich Gun Parts Corporation had them in stock about a month ago.
    A vote for anyone other then the conservative candidates is a vote for the liberal candidates.

  13. #93
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sasquatch-1 View Post
    If this was a 514, did you ever get the replacement pin? If it was the one behind the extractor Numrich Gun Parts Corporation had them in stock about a month ago.
    it's a 341. Can't remember which pin it is but numrich is where I got the extractor. I generally only get to tinker on guns every so often so it's been several months. I put all the pieces in a ziplock bag and write what they go to so I don't lose them or get them mixed up. Right now i have about 5 or 6 guns in my shop that are in various stages of assembly

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check