I Have This Old Gun

What old guns do you have and what meaning doe’s it have?

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16 ga. “CHAMPION” made by IVER JOHNSON, ARMS and CYCLE WORKS
FITCHBURG MASS. U.S.A.
This was my Dads first gun when he was 15 (about 1953) he killed his first bear that fall with a load of buckshot. The gun works fine, I have hunted rabbits and partridge with it. I think of him every time I take it out.

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Sorry @Michael7 It was to good of a topic.

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No problem. I’ll be posting a few of my older guns tomorrow.

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I have the same 16 gauge. My grandpa used it to poach deer and whatever else to eat during the depression. Fun story, his dad (my great grandpa) shot a guy with an Iver Johnson revolver in self defense when he immigrated from Finland. I guess I owe my existence in part to Iver Johnson.

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@James Beautiful weapon. Which barrel length?

Yes, my grandpa and father also, I ate venison and bear before I ever tasted beef. Northern Wisconsin/S.W. UP fast food. Finest kind.

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@BRUCE26 I graduated HS in Tomahawk WI, “God’s Country”. I am unsure how many “old guns” I have had the opportunity to shoot… my best guess is “alot”. All my friends and relatives had them. Either in the rear window of the truck or on display on the wall of their living room.

Yupper, me to. I have hunted with some of them. The old Winchesters, Remington and Savage most with octagon barrels.
In 32.40, 30.30, 38.55 and 44.40 are just some I remember. Most of the shotguns I remember were single shot.

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My dad’s first rifle, a Winchester 67A, and my grandfather’s hunting shotgun, a Mossberg 185K-A. Both financially worthless and sentimentally priceless. I shot each of them shortly after I received them in 2018 and may never shoot either again.

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If you hunt take them out and use them, continue the legacy. :wink: The memory will be incomparable. Guaranteed.

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@TexasEskimo and @James This picture may interest you, it was taken on Post Lake near Elcho WI. around 1892 my Great Great and Great Grandmothers are in the doorway of the cabin. Some of the names are Vahns, Schabels and Hess. All good German immigrants who came to WI. through
New York Harbor around 1873. Notice the Lever Action Rifles and the deer hanging off the cabin roof on the right.
When people ask me why I am such an outdoor fanatic I show them this picture. :grinning: :grinning:

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I have a few pics like that as well, but my family immigrated to NY, then went to the UP and the Hurley area in WI. Awesome picture!

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I do not know. It broke pretty quickly so it just got thrown out a long time ago by my grandpa.

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model 37 Winchester .410 got for Christmas when I was 8. Dad was a big quail hunter and spent lots of time teaching me how to shoot. I’d hate to guess how many clay birds he hand threw before I hit the first one😊. The old 37 is still in my safe 61 years later…

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