To Use Hard, or Not?

[Blaine]

I have a JapChester 1895/.405 that's about 100%. This is currently a safe queen. To hunt and shoot it alot, I'd have to cut the stock and get a Pachmyer on it. It will get worn in the truck and the woods......I really don't want to sell this one......Should I use and shoot the snot out of it and let it get some "character"?? (I know the answer, I just want someone to blame for the first big scratch )

[2row]

NO DON"T USE IT!!!!!!!!!!
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA I don't own a gun that I can't shoot an I have plenty of them

[J Miller]

No rifle deserves to be quarantined in the back of a dark, dank, old safe. You shoulda been shooting it all ready.
Come on Blaine, get with the program. SHOOT IT!

So sayeth the Miller

Joe

[Malamute]

Use it.

If I have a gun that I like a lot, and want to use it, I have no qualms whatsoever about using it and modifying it in whatever way required to bring it up to it's full potetial. The folks that want to preserve their guns for museums can do that if they choose, I really don't care too much what happens after I'm gone, but I want my guns to be as practical as possible for my use.

Cut a barrel off? Drill for sight and sling? Cut the stock for better fit or a pad? No problem.

[.45colt]

I went thru the same thing a few years ago. I had a Uberti '73 sporting rifle that was just flawless. everything about it was near perfect. I just couldn't help but baybie the heck out of it when I took it out,and it drove Me nuts.I sold it and bought a Marlin 45-70 put a Williams FP on it and haven't looked back.Good Luck with your delimma. .

[rangerider7]

Use it! Oh, I haven't read the thread, I just read the title.

As far as the rifle use it too!

[Grizz]

How 'bout if I take it to Alaska next trip and put that first scratch on it for ya? You can blame me and I don't care. It's a win-win-moruko solution.

Grizz

[Pisgah]

If it were an original ,minty 1895 .405, I'd probably use it a little bit for range shooting, but baby it and likely never use it in the woods.

But a modern repro? Even though a nice one, I'd use the heck out of it. Note I say "use", not "abuse"; but then, I don't abuse any of my guns. I use them as they were designed to be used, and I care for them as any man who cares for his tools would.

As for modifications -- well, let me just say this. I got a nice Savage 99A in .308 a few months back, and got it at a nice discount because some previous owner had cut the stock and installed a Pachmayr pad. Fact is, though, if it hadn't had the pad already I would have spent my own good money getting one on it, and it wouldn't have been done any more professionally than the one it already had. If the gun has some feature that keeps you from being completely comfortable with it, I say change it.

[Grizz]

How 'bout if I take it to Alaska next trip and put that first scratch on it for ya? You can blame me and I don't care. It's a win-win-miroku solution.

Grizz

[FWiedner]

What the h*ll good does a rifle do sittin' in the back of a stinkin' safe?

Fix it up the way it should be and use it.

Dings and gouges don't take value away from a well-used and loved firearm, they add value to it.

[Streetstar]

I have a couple of "lightly customized" firearms --- makes the experience better for me knowing i have taken a great design and optimized it for my needs , whether for practical needs or aesthetic needs.

[Blaine]

I knew I could count on my Buddys Off to the chop shop this fall.....Now, about that USRAC '86EL

[Dave]

What are you saving it for, the afterlife? I have a feeling you won't be taking it with you. Use it

[Tycer]

Might as well take the engraver too it too.

[TedH]

I'd find a happy medium. You say "use hard". That brings visions of bouncing around in the back of a pickup, falling down a mountain side, getting dropped in a creek, etc. I would fix her up to be comfortable and use it, but with care.

[Blaine]

I'd find a happy medium. You say "use hard". That brings visions of bouncing around in the back of a pickup, falling down a mountain side, getting dropped in a creek, etc. I would fix her up to be comfortable and use it, but with care.

If it goes hunting, it's a tool...therein lies the problem. I've had my Stainless Guide Gun about ten years, and while not abused, it would still be about 80% visually...scratches and worn stock finish...it don't bother me a bit.....BUT: with a well worn Guide Gun, why do I need to hunt with the nice one? Beats me, I just do

[PaperPatch]

Shoot not...want not.

[TedH]

I'd find a happy medium. You say "use hard". That brings visions of bouncing around in the back of a pickup, falling down a mountain side, getting dropped in a creek, etc. I would fix her up to be comfortable and use it, but with care.

If it goes hunting, it's a tool...therein lies the problem. I've had my Stainless Guide Gun about ten years, and while not abused, it would still be about 80% visually...scratches and worn stock finish...it don't bother me a bit.....BUT: with a well worn Guide Gun, why do I need to hunt with the nice one? Beats me, I just do

Well in that case, I'd find some other wood to slap on it and save the original walnut in good condition.

[Hobie]

I wouldl use even an original so with a Mirokuchester.... yeah, shoot it until you need shoulder surgery.

[crow]

[quote="Hobie"]I wouldl use even an original so with a Mirokuchester.... yeah, shoot it until you need shoulder surgery.[/quote]

Doctor's orders. Yes mate shoot her or sell her. As the rifle wears the memories just make it more beautiful.

[Old Ironsights]

I suppose that I would do things a might differently in your circumstances.

Firstly, I'd buy new, plain, furniture and install it - saving the original wood for later.

Then I'd shoot the heck out of it, doing my best not to bugger up the metal.

Later, should you want to show it off/sell it, put the un-buggered, preserved wood back on.

Cheap insurance that protects the value...

[Ysabel Kid]

Use (maybe not "hard", but often!). I have a few "safe queens" right now, but they won't be forever. I don't buy anything I don't intend on shooting. Just a matter of time. When I see a good deal I try to jump on it. By the time I get around to being able to shoot as much as I want to, I doubt I will be able to afford any of the guns then!

[firefuzz]

Use it.

If I have a gun that I like a lot, and want to use it, I have no qualms whatsoever about using it and modifying it in whatever way required to bring it up to it's full potetial. The folks that want to preserve their guns for museums can do that if they choose, I really don't care too much what happens after I'm gone, but I want my guns to be as practical as possible for my use.

Cut a barrel off? Drill for sight and sling? Cut the stock for better fit or a pad? No problem.

I'm pretty much this way, although I doubt I'll ever cut the barrel on either my '76 or '86 clones. That doesn't mean I won't shoot the stuff out of them.

Rob

[L_Kilkenny]

I think there is some great advice on this thread and it really has me thinkin. I myself have no guns that would be considered valuable, doubt I ever will. I do however have a couple guns that I really like and they mean a lot to me. The idea of an "wear" on them turns my stomach. I've thought about changing the furniture on them so I can return them to original in the future if I wish.

What stops me? The nicest guns (or I should say their pictures) I see here at leverguns are the ones with history. Guns not abused but the ones with honest wear and a story. I'm decided I'm gonna make some history with these guns which may hurt their value to someone else but will increase their value to me.

LK

[fordwannabe]

I personally prefer the ,been there done that, look. I don't get as big a smile from a "carefully preserved" mint 100 year old gun as I do from one that some might hide in the back corner of a closet, but that's me. And the cool thing is I don't tend to buy "good clean" guns so the guys who like em can have at em. Now if you have a dusty, rusty, banged and battered whatever and I think I can get it up and running again, boy the hair on my arms starts to raise up and I start smiling. But that's just me. Use it! Tom

[Doc Hudson]

Go ahead and blame me then!

If you didn't buy the rifle for an investment, use the bloody thing!

If you bought a recently made M-1895, your grandkids might make a fortune on it, if the Yankee government don't seize it first, but you probably won't live long enough to make a significant profit.

IMO the only firearms that really deserve to be safe queens are the fancy engraved and plated versions that one pays a small fortune for.

It is furthermore MNSHO that a rifle or handgun with honest use and handling marks are not marred by them. These marks add character and each can become a memento of a memorable day in the field.

I could probably spin a long yarn about every dent and scratch on the stock of my Browning BLR or Marlin Golden Model 39-A. Every nick and scratch on my old .44 Bulldog is a memory.

So take that rifle out of the safe and make some memories with it, or sell the useless thing if you think it is too pretty to use in the field.

[Blaine]

Most of my favorite shooters have lots of character......I'm being silly not shooting the .405 That first scratch is gonna hurt, tho

[crow]

Most of my favorite shooters have lots of character......I'm being silly not shooting the .405 That first scratch is gonna hurt, tho

Yep the first one does....but then there is relief because it is out of the way and you can get to enjoying that rifle fully.

I think the consensus is not just use it but ENJOY it.

Go for it mate.