HandMeDown Guns

[Ozark Huckleberry]

Grandpa was a mule skinner in the AEF, drove a supply wagon to/from the front, had two teams shot down in their harnesses. 

 

When he came back to settle in NW Missouri, he bought a Remington Model 12 for a farmyard gun. When he passed, that gun went to my dad. When he passed, my brother and I divvied up the guns and I got the Model 12.

 

It has all the nicks, patina, and boogers of a farmer's gun, plus my dad's initials and some notches that were never explained carved into the stock. By the time I got it, it was practically a smoothbore, but a stainless steel rifled liner made it shoot like a new gun.

[Ramblin Gambler]

23 hours ago, Ozark Huckleberry said:

By the time I got it, it was practically a smoothbore, but a stainless steel rifled liner made it shoot like a new gun.

 

You had me confused as all getout for a minute.  Then I re-read and realized you said REMINGTON model 12, not WINCHESTER model 12. 

[Dead Eye Jake]

I got several of my dads guns after he passed in 2012.  I've got his 1911 service pistol from WWll, a fancy german double barrel 12 gauge, and a German officers sword  that he shipped home along with a Fabrique Nationale 32 caliber semi auto that the mayor of a German town handed him as their company was occupying the town.  The mayor told him "since you are here I don't need this anymore".  It was in a little box with one mag and was  brand new.  Why he came up to dad isn't known.  Dad also sent home an additional 1911 and a German Mauser.  He sold those shortly after getting home.  It would have been nice to have those too.  His model 94 30 30 he gave to his oldest grandson.  I wanted it too and have several of those now.  Hopefully my son will keep my guns and share them with his family.

[Dustin Checotah]

I inherited this pistol 7 days before my 13th birthday. It was my fathers. I have different grips on it now but this is most what it looked like when I got it. He made the holster too. Nothing fancy but I like it and still shoot it on occasion. 

[Waxahachie Kid #17017 L]

My great-grandfather, and his eldest son, were walking home, down a dirt county road, in 1919. They spotted an old suitcase laying in the ditch beside the road. They took it home, and opened it up. Inside were some clothes, and a Colt 1911 .45. 

The eldest son got the pistol. He was my grandfather's older brother. 

He and his wife had no children, and in the late 1960's, he presented me with the pistol. 

A couple of years ago, on my son's birthday, I bought an old antique looking suitcase. I put some new tee shirts in it, and the Colt. I put the suitcase in the ditch of my son's long dirt driveway. I called to him, and said let's go check your mail, so we drove up the dirt driveway to the county road, in my Jeep. On the way back from the mail box, I pointed out the suitcase in the ditch. He got it, and we brought it into his house, and he opened it up. Inside he found the tee shirts, and the Colt.

So...I sort of used the story I had been told on how my great grandfather, and my uncle found the Colt, and sort of re-created that situation to give the Colt to my son. I also told him the story, so he could make some sense of how he got it.  

The letter from Colt says it was made in 1918, and was shipped to New York to be sent overseas to the American Expeditionary Forces. 

Not sure it made it overseas, since the war ended in November of 1918, but then again, I have no idea how it ended up in an old suit case, in a ditch, on a dirt county road, in Texas, in 1919.

 

W.K. 

 

[Ramblin Gambler]

6 hours ago, Dustin Checotah said:

I inherited this pistol 7 days before my 13th birthday. It was my fathers. I have different grips on it now but this is most what it looked like when I got it. He made the holster too. Nothing fancy but I like it and still shoot it on occasion. 

 

7 days before your 13th birthday?  Man, I hope it was an early inheritance and not done the traditional way. 

 

What is it exactly?  I'm having trouble making out the medallion, is it a S&W?  Was it always a 45 AR or did it start out life as something else and get shaved to 45 AR? 

[Alpo]

Ramblin, that's a 1917 Smith and Wesson. The shape just screams Smith and Wesson, and if you blow up the bottom of the barrel you can faintly see UNITED STATES PROPERTY, which is stamped on the bottom of a 1917.

[Ramblin Gambler]

I did see the bottom, but I didn't know who stamped the US property on the bottom.  Coulda swore I'd seen it stamped on the bottom of the grip before.  Other than the lanyard ring I can't really tell the difference between a Hand Ejector and an M1917 (or a victory model for that matter).  And I sure can't tell the difference between the Colt and S&W M1917s by the shape. 

 

I looked at pictures and that doesn't look like a M1917 to me.  Notice where the grip meets the back of the frame.  It doesn't have that squared off part.  Are the replacement grips just covering it up? 

 

 

[Alpo]

7 minutes ago, Ramblin Gambler said:

And I sure can't tell the difference between the Colt and S&W M1917s by the shape. 

The first thing that catches my eye is the grip. Colt grip curves forward much more than a Smith grip.

The next obvious thing is the little lug underneath the barrel that the ejector rod snaps into.

 

So first I see the grip then I see the lug. There are other differences - the front sight is a different shape, the hammer is a different shape. But that Colt grip is a major giveaway.

 

This is what is on the butt of a Smith & Wesson 1917. I don't know what's on the butt of a Colt - ain't got one.

 

[Alpo]

11 minutes ago, Ramblin Gambler said:

Notice where the grip meets the back of the frame.  It doesn't have that squared off part.  Are the replacement grips just covering it up? 

"That squared off part". Do you mean the hump at the top of the grip, behind the hammer? If so, it is partly concealed by the more modern magna grips that gun is wearing, but it is mostly concealed by the fact that the gun is laying down, and the hump is out of camera range.

[Ramblin Gambler]

1 minute ago, Alpo said:

"That squared off part". Do you mean the hump at the top of the grip, behind the hammer? If so, it is partly concealed by the more modern magna grips that gun is wearing, but it is mostly concealed by the fact that the gun is laying down, and the hump is out of camera range.

 

Yeah that's what I meant.  I know there's a better name for it.  Hump doesn't seem right with how square it is.  'Hump' does seem to fit the colt though. 

[Dustin Checotah]

10 hours ago, Ramblin Gambler said:

 

7 days before your 13th birthday?  Man, I hope it was an early inheritance and not done the traditional way. 

 

What is it exactly?  I'm having trouble making out the medallion, is it a S&W?  Was it always a 45 AR or did it start out life as something else and get shaved to 45 AR? 

It is a 1917 S&W Army. The grips are not correct for the gun they are just standard N-Frame Magnas. It is .45 ACP but it will also take the .45 Auto rim cartridges.

[Dustin Checotah]

Here is a current pic with barkless elk stag grips. Grips are from Grasshorn 

[Captain Bill Burt]

This will be a big post.  I'm fortunate in several ways with respect to the OP topic.  The first is that my dad is still around.  The second is that he was somewhat of a collector of fine guns.  The third is that he has already given me most of his collection as he is no longer interested in doing anything with them.

 

He gave me a Remington 700 in 22-250 with the heavy fluted barrel and a pretty big NightForce scope.

 

He also gave me a pre 64 Winchester model 70 in 300 WinMag.  That's one of my favorites.

 

He gave me a older Browning A5 in 12 gauge.  Belgium.  That's a nice one too.

 

He gave me a Colt 1911 manufactured in 1917, in near mint condition.

 

An ASM 1860 Army in .44.

 

A Pietta 1851 Navy Sheriff model in .44.

Stevens single shot 20 gauge.

 

There’s a pic of one he gave me, but I can’t remember what it was. Forty Rod told me it was an 1860s patent infringement on S&W and unmarked.

 

Yet to come:

 

Walther PPK

Colt SAA 2nd gen 4.5 inch barrel in .357

Colt AR 1960s manufacture

Winchester Model 97 Black Diamond in 12 gauge.

 

Then of course there's all the WWII memorabilia that he collected as well as the stuff his dad brought home from the war. 3rd Army - North Africa and Italy.

 

 

[Muley Gil SASS # 57795]

On 2/28/2021 at 10:05 AM, Alpo said:

The first thing that catches my eye is the grip. Colt grip curves forward much more than a Smith grip.

The next obvious thing is the little lug underneath the barrel that the ejector rod snaps into.

 

So first I see the grip then I see the lug. There are other differences - the front sight is a different shape, the hammer is a different shape. But that Colt grip is a major giveaway.

 

This is what is on the butt of a Smith & Wesson 1917. I don't know what's on the butt of a Colt - ain't got one.

 

 

The Colt 1917 is stamped the same way. However, the Colt serial number is stamped on the frames, behind the crane. Colt 1917 serial numbers are included in the New Service range. The butt number is the Army number.

 

S&W decided to give the 1917 their own serial number range. So the butt number IS the factory serial number, as well as the Army number. There is also a number stamped on the frame, behind the yoke. This is an assembly number, used by the factory to keep parts together.

 

BTW, crane is a Colt term and yoke is a S&W term. This is the part that the cylinder rides on.

[MizPete]

I'm still grieving (and whining) over my GrandDad's L C Smith sxs that got stolen in FLA a couple decades ago.

[watab kid]

3 hours ago, Muley Gil SASS # 57795 said:

 

The Colt 1917 is stamped the same way. However, the Colt serial number is stamped on the frames, behind the crane. Colt 1917 serial numbers are included in the New Service range. The butt number is the Army number.

 

S&W decided to give the 1917 their own serial number range. So the butt number IS the factory serial number, as well as the Army number. There is also a number stamped on the frame, behind the yoke. This is an assembly number, used by the factory to keep parts together.

 

BTW, crane is a Colt term and yoke is a S&W term. This is the part that the cylinder rides on.

interesting side note , the colt M1917 was a redeveloped M1909 [45 colt revolver] the early cylinders required the moon clips to headspace the 45acp , both the S&W and later colts headspaced off the cartridge and did not require the moon clips but also accepted them , 

[DeaconKC]

The moonclips were needed to eject the cartridges as the ACP is rimless. Otherwise you had to poke them out with a pencil or something.

[Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619]

Pusher v. puller on the left side is what I recognize....they do look a lot alike.

[Muley Gil SASS # 57795]

3 hours ago, watab kid said:

interesting side note , the colt M1917 was a redeveloped M1909 [45 colt revolver] the early cylinders required the moon clips to headspace the 45acp , both the S&W and later colts headspaced off the cartridge and did not require the moon clips but also accepted them , 

 

I have looked at dozens of Colt 1917s over the last 50 years and have yet to find one with the bored through chambers. I have read that Colt tried to retrofit  those with replacement cylinders whenever possible.

[DeaconKC]

9 hours ago, Muley Gil SASS # 57795 said:

 

I have looked at dozens of Colt 1917s over the last 50 years and have yet to find one with the bored through chambers. I have read that Colt tried to retrofit  those with replacement cylinders whenever possible.

To heir credit, Colt caught it quickly. Estimates are as low as 5,000 were actually made before they changed. At wartime production rates, that was probably only a few weeks.

[Joke 'um]

No one has ever willed me a gun.  Contact information available in my profile for those without heirs.

[Matthew Duncan]

My parents (at least so I thought) were anti-gun.  When I was around 10 years old Dad came up missing one winter Saturday.  I kept bugging mom by asking her where Dad was.  She finally told me he was rabbit hunting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I kept my eye out for Dad and saw him walking home...CARRYING A DOUBLE BARREL 410!!!!!!  When I became an adult I asked Dad if he would sell that 410 to me.  He gave me a strange look, he didn't have any more and said he didn't remember what became of it.  Dad could tell you how much a oil filter cost on his first car, his second, third, fourth...I think mom made him get rid of it.

 

Our Son kept talking about a Ruger firearm he was in love with.  Said I should get one too!  He talked about it so much that his wife could rattle off the firearm's specs.  Surprise pregnancy and heading to Seminary, no money for "wants" so I bought it for him for a graduation present.  Few years later when they needed money I bought it back from.  Still in my safe along with the one I had bought (I had followed his advise).  When I think the time is right I'll give the son's graduation present back to him and give the Grandson it's mate (the one I had bought on the son's advise).  

[Sixgun Sheridan]

When my father passed away over a decade ago I inherited his firearms, which included an M1 Garand, 2nd gen Colt SAA and a pre-70 Colt 1911. I still have them. Unfortunately I have nobody to pass them down to, but I may have to decide which of my nephews (who I hardly even know) is worth being nice to.

[Dustin Checotah]

On 2/28/2021 at 6:46 AM, Ramblin Gambler said:

 

7 days before your 13th birthday?  Man, I hope it was an early inheritance and not done the traditional way. 

 

What is it exactly?  I'm having trouble making out the medallion, is it a S&W?  Was it always a 45 AR or did it start out life as something else and get shaved to 45 AR? 

It was early and done in the traditional way. My father died 7 days before my 13th birthday. I see some already answered your question. But it is a S&W 1917 Army in .45 ACP. The grips are not original in the pic and I have changed them out with bark less elk stag grips from Grashorn grips. The elk stag is the shape of the originals but the originals were walnut without the medallions. The more recent pic is down below in the feed.