Thread: Longest continuously owned firearms

Originally Posted by grandpamac

Good point @akaroa1,
The .270 Win is now almost 100 years old with the very similar 7x64 a few years older. Both are still chambered today. The 7x64 is a little more flexible with its faster twist and the option of heavier projectiles but the .270 was probably one of the first mass produced non military hunting rifles available at a price that most hunters could afford. Well before our time Akaroa.
Regards Grandpamac.

The 30-40 U.S Govt went into service 131 years ago and I've just built a rifle in that caliber
Just a click slower than a 308 Winchester
I have just done a ballistic table for it and it has enough velocity and energy to be ethical to 500m for my hunting style.
Like your 270 7x64 comparison the 30-40 should out perform the practically identical 303 British, due to the 1:10" barrel twist and better bullet selection

Got my norinco 22 when I was 16. Still have it almost 22yrs on. Second longest would have been my Browning 300wsm 16yrs ownership.

Originally Posted by akaroa1

The 30-40 U.S Govt went into service 131 years ago and I've just built a rifle in that caliber
Just a click slower than a 308 Winchester
I have just done a ballistic table for it and it has enough velocity and energy to be ethical to 500m for my hunting style.
Like your 270 7x64 comparison the 30-40 should out perform the practically identical 303 British, due to the 1:10" barrel twist and better bullet selection

My .30-40 Martini will be putting in an appearance on the 300 yard mound for F-Class this year. The barrel has a 12 inch twist so will likely use a 165 grain projectile, 168 grain maybe. A 131 year old cartridge in a 142 year old action rings my bell.
GPM.
PS I have had the rifle since the late 1970's and it was rebarrelled to .30-30 in 1981.

Originally Posted by 199p

Not as old as some of you but i still have my 1st rifle weatherby .223 now on its second barrel

I think this is your .223. Photo taken maybe 2009?

If my memory serves me correctly in 1985, when I was 14, I sold a bull for $300 dollars. We went into the Taihape Sports Shop, sadly it has now closed (or is closing) and I brought a Kirco .22 for $360.
I still have that wonderful rifle and it has shot 1,000s of animals, birds, pine cones and some number 8 wire.
My son learned to shoot with the same model of Anshultz single shot .22 that I learned to shoot with, just not the same one. When I saw one I just had to buy it.

40 years ago I bought my first centerfire. A sporterised m96. I still have it to this day its on its second barrel and now has a timney and ramline stock

Savage shorty. It gets thrashed and still Moa.

howa up for sale yet???

Lee Enfield .303 #5 Jungle Carbine, bought in 1970 from Tony Busch's Corner Sports Shop in Nelson, so had it 53 years now. I was fifteen at the time & pestered the bejeezuz out of my folks till they bought it for me, lots of car washing, lawn mowing etc to pay it off. Shot my first couple of deer with it till I decided a PH .308 with a 2 1/2 power Kahles scope was the go (blame Graham Henry for the latter, a Rod & Rifle article extolling the virtues of low power scopes for bush shooting won me over) I've long since moved the PH on but still have the Jungle Carbine, did a reversible recoil pad mod to it & did some reduced load with 125 gr Sierras & IMR 4198 was fun shooting for the kids at the range. It had long had a dark barrel but before I got into the latter activities, I gave it a birthday with some Barnes copper out stuff, hell what a revelation, actually a pretty decent barrel. Its a keeper, at least till the fun police tell me I'm too old.

I remember Tony's shop well. Bought a 4x81 Pecar Champion scope there in about 1973. Was $104 which I recall was a lot of saved pocket money. I tried to get a 4X Kahles but there were none around.

Originally Posted by kotuku

toz model 17 I bought in the late 70s off a guy i workd with. out on loan to shooting mate at present . have in my possession a clan heirloom12g sxs ??circa 1863 faintly visible on the rib is A&W Carthy dunedin last fired in 1963by cuzzie whom dad promptly consiscated it from on account of its damascus barrels .F/pins were buggered to so i removed em. Strictly a treasure . Inparallel -I do have a couple of firearms which are repeats of my very first -my era gameking SXS and stirling model 14.

a small correction here-the above gun ,according to my research of its proof marks was proofed in the birmingham proof house between1887 -1896.speaking to cuzzie who is clan historian ,he says the old fella had a collection of firearms ,being an avid hunter .unfortunately too ive just discovered it has a crack right through the neck of the stock. another cousin has a hammer gun?an earlier purchase ,and our historian has a very old handheld reloader which according to the late gunsmith paulus manders probably made rounds in the 10-11guage range in modern idiom-they tried a12g in it no luck.

my gun may well have been purchased by my gg grandfather 2nd hand in our historians opinion.

brno model 2 bought when I was 16, now 70 years old. Will never sell it.

My father got his dads shotgun (my grandfather) in 1955 when grandaad died. My understanding is that grandad bought it in the late 20s, early 30s when he returned from WW1 with a bride. Dad had it until he passsed and I got it to look after then. Its a 'sears' gun sxs 12g made in Belgium so not worth a great deal, but would be about 100 years in the family so worth something to me. I had a gunsmith tidy it up a few years ago and it still worked for a while but it has a habit of letting both hammers fall inone trigger so is now not used. It can only be used with very light loads or subsonic as it will not handle modern normal 12g ammo....

Snap Although I've only owned my one for 40 years so far since I'm still a way away from the big 7 0 it was my first rifle and I will also never sell it

Originally Posted by garyp

brno model 2 bought when I was 16, now 70 years old. Will never sell it.