# Hunting with an inherited gun



## chadwimc (Jun 27, 2007)

Ol' Carl left me his favorite shotgun. An Ithaca Featherweight in 16 gauge because he knew that "... You would take it a'huntin' to get its soul back..."

I shot a few squirrels with it just before he passed. I showed him a few pictures, even left a few pics with him. His wife later told me he kept a picture of his gun with the squirrels on the night stand until the day he passed.

The old beast is well used but well cared for. Light as a, well, feather. Points nice. Swings well.

The only thing today is: Its just too darn hot to shoot squirrels ! Local news claims 83 degrees. My phone tells me its 86 degrees in the crick. And humid...

I finally just gave in and settled down for a few cups of hot coffee. Maybe I'll shoot a few mosquitos before I leave. Just hope #6 shot will bring 'em down...

Last year and this year. 'Til we meet again, Carl...

View attachment 324685


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## floater99 (May 21, 2010)

Good for you keep all the memories alive I wish they could talk to share the stories


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## ya13ya03 (Sep 21, 2010)

I have my grandfather's 1972 marlin/Glenfield model 60 squirrel stock 22lr. Not worth much to most but to me it's priceless. I replaced all the internals and added a new scope and sling. It's my favorite squirrel gun. Shoots great and holds a bunch of ammo. One day I'll pass it to my kids or grandkids. I don't have much from my grandfather but memories so that old rifle just means the world to me. I taught all 3 of my kids to shoot with it. And still use it for pest control. Here's an old pic of a ground hog that was in my garden.


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## berkshirepresident (Jul 24, 2013)

The Gun was built to shoot....not sit in a case, safe, or on a wall.
You honor and remember your late friend well. Kudos.....


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## Muddy (May 7, 2017)

Very nice. My dad has one in 12 gauge. I love those guns and would like to have one myself.


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## Redheads (Jun 9, 2008)

Great guns, I have one in 16,20 and 12ga with slug barrels for each....I still use the 20 ga for deer......itss a shooter


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## Lewzer (Apr 5, 2004)

My grandpa gave me his 16 gauge Ithaca featherlight for my 16th birthday. Luv that gun. I'll have to check the serial number to see what year it was produced.


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## berkshirepresident (Jul 24, 2013)

I can't think of a better way to keep the memory of a loved one alive than by using his old rod & reel on the water.....or walking through a field with his old gun.
You can almost sense their presence at times. If nothing else, you're keeping your memories strong, IMHO.


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## chadwimc (Jun 27, 2007)

It works from a boat, too...


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## johnboy111711 (Apr 7, 2004)

This post brought so many memories back for me. I too have my grandfathers ithaca 16 gauge. I don't hunt nearly as much as I fish, but I hope to pass it on to my daughter some day. I also love it so much I bought the matching 12ga model. Thanks for the memories!


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## berkshirepresident (Jul 24, 2013)

chadwimc said:


> It works from a boat, too...
> 
> View attachment 325213


Is that boat a Grizzly Blind Duck?


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## chadwimc (Jun 27, 2007)

berkshirepresident said:


> Is that boat a Grizzly Blind Duck?


 I don't know what the model is...


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## fastwater (Apr 1, 2014)

A couple years before dad passed, he gave me a prestine 12ga FN Belguim Browning A-5. I was never gonna use it but rather keep it as a safe queen to pass along in the family. Though he could no longer hunt, and me not thinking he noticed much what I was using when I left to go hunting, he asked me one day as I was walking out of the house with my Ithaca why I wasn't taking the Browning. Told him I was afraid I may scratch it and what my intentions were of passing it along.
He gruffly told me he gave the thing to me for me to use and that couldn't happen setting in the safe collecting dust.

I made an about face, went to the safe and left with the Browning.

Every year since, I make it a point to get it out at least once a season and blow the dust off it either on a squirrel or rabbit hunt.


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

fastwater said:


> A couple years before dad passed, he gave me a prestine 12ga FN Belguim Browning A-5. I was never gonna use it but rather keep it as a safe queen to pass along in the family. Though he could no longer hunt, and me not thinking he noticed much what I was using when I left to go hunting, he asked me one day as I was walking out of the house with my Ithaca why I wasn't taking the Browning. Told him I was afraid I may scratch it and what my intentions were of passing it along.
> He gruffly told me he gave the thing to me for me to use and that couldn't happen setting in the safe collecting dust.
> 
> I made an about face, went to the safe and left with the Browning.
> ...


Wow! My buddy got set up on a bogus felony charge, so he's not allowed he's not allowed to own modern firearms, so I'm holding his A5 for him. He now hunts with a Model 1896 Remington 12 G SxS, Damascus steel barrels, built in 1903 that uses shells loaded with black powder. He can still whack the crap out of pheasant! 

I've always loved those old "humpbacks", and my buddy has told me that any time I want to bring her out I should feel free! I usually shoot a Remington 1100 12 G semi-auto that I bought many years ago, and dearly love. But I also really like the Browning, especially the narrow wrist. 

My Remington doesn't exactly have a "fat" wrist, not like a Mossberg or other cheap brand, but it's not quite as narrow as the Browning. It fits my right hand perfectly! But the cycling action of the Browning is not as quick as the Remington. 

But, the Remington is gas operated, while the Browning is recoil operated. Touch off a shot with the A5 and you can definitely feel the "Kachick, Kachunk" of the action!


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## slimdaddy45 (Aug 27, 2007)

My dad left me a mod 552 Remington 22 auto and a 870 TB trap gun which I cant hit with it just aint shot it enough to get use to it nothing like shooting a field grade like my 1100 or my Browning o/u but my uncle left me my grandpa's old Winchester mod 67 22 which he bought grandpa in 1937 and its a good shooter killed a few tree rats with it . Im sure Ive shot it more than it ever was shot neither my uncle or grandpa was hunters out of my dads brothers dad was the only one to hunt


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## 1MoreKast (Mar 15, 2008)

My grandpa was an MP in WWII. After the war he hung onto a few guns. I distinctly remember his old 1911 Colt .45 and his Marlin M2 Carbine. I got the M2 when I turned 16. He wasn't much of a hunter...more of a plinker. But he made a case for it, special lock, and wrote on the inside of the case a birthday note for me. We sighted it in together and it was my first squirrel gun and still my favorite squirrel gun.


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

slimdaddy45 said:


> My dad left me a mod 552 Remington 22 auto and a 870 TB trap gun which I cant hit with it just aint shot it enough to get use to it nothing like shooting a field grade like my 1100 or my Browning o/u but my uncle left me my grandpa's old Winchester mod 67 22 which he bought grandpa in 1937 and its a good shooter killed a few tree rats with it . Im sure Ive shot it more than it ever was shot neither my uncle or grandpa was hunters out of my dads brothers dad was the only one to hunt


Many years ago, out of the blue, my step-Dad handed me a Winchester Model 61, .22 rifle, pump action. Once I got a computer I checked out the serial number, and if I remember correctly, it was built in the late 1940's. I found out that Winchester sold a lot of them as shooting gallery guns. I downloaded and printed the owner's manual, took it apart and cleaned it up. The rifling appeared sharp and bright, no rust. But the proof would be in the shooting.

Turns out the rifle is extremely accurate! It has a side plate mounted on the receiver to hold one of those small diameter scopes. The scope that was on the gun when I got it was old and cloudy. So, I replaced it. Thought about getting it drilled and tapped for mounts, but the way it's made, I really don't know if that is possible. 

One time I took it down to my BIL's hunting cabin in SE OH to do some squirrel hunting a few days before deer bow kicked in. I wanted to check zero, so my BIL set an empty beer can on a stump and I took about a 20-25 yard shot. I was shooting past the corner of the cabin, and he was on the side porch around the corner from me keeping an eye on the can. I touched off the first shot, and the can didn't move. I hollered at him that the scope must be off, because I missed the can.

He peeked around the corner and told me that I drilled that can dead center, and it never moved a hair! I looked at it up close, and two perfectly round holes in it. That was what really convinced me that the rifling was fine and the bullet was flying true!


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