Folk around the web have been posting about their 870 shotguns, and I'm just now getting around to telling the story of mine.
Years ago, when I was but a yute, an old Texan sold me a used 870 that one of his pals had used to shoot garden marauding rabbits. Who knows how old it was then, but the price tag was attractive to my nearly empty wallet, and it came home with me.
Years went by, and it made many a trip out to the deserts of Nevada, shooting countless clay pidgins and other assorted targets. Finally, on the back side of Mount Davidson, Nevada, the firing pin gave up the ghost, and left it's tiny pieces to rust slowly away among the rattlesnakes and the sage brush.
I took my old pal home and stashed it in a safe dry place, and eventually bought a new pin. Then I hunted down a local gunsmith who put it in again for a pittance.
My 870 was back in business.
But, with it's new life I decided to give it a new appearance, so I went down to the local hardware store and bought some rattlecans of paint. I disassembled everything, masked off the tender bits, and started spraying. I like the result of my backyard paint job. She's tarted up right nice!
The old girl is back to shooting, just like new.
Just don't drop it in the weeds or you'll never find it again.
ReplyDeleteThe sign of a good camo job. Now I want to find some other firearm to paint.
DeleteMany, many years ago, when I worked at the Utah State Prison, we were armed with a Smith and Wesson .38 calibre revolver, a Colt AR-15 .223 calibre rifle, and a Remington 870 12 gauge pump shotgun.
ReplyDeleteI was in the very first class of officers who were required to be trained and P.O.S.T. certified.
But, everything there has changed, so I don't know what they're using today.
Now that I've had it for years, shot it a bunch, and had it all apart and back together, I am hugely impressed with the genius that went in to the simple but highly effective engineering of this gun. It's really quite impressive how well and reliably it does the job.
DeleteGood story I like stories of old guns like that thanks for that link.
ReplyDelete