How did you learn about firearms/repairs
Oakie
Member Posts: 40,510 ✭✭✭✭
I was always the curious type growing up. On my tenth Christmas, Dad bought me a Remington 870 wingmaster 20 gauge, for hunting. While everyone was in the Kitchen eating, I was in the living room, taking apart my new shotgun, down to almost every last part!!!. I thought my mom was going to have a heart attack when she saw it. My dad just smiled and said to her, He will figure out how to put it back together, if it takes him a week. I had it all back together by the next morning. I found my true love in firearms that day. All I really wanted was a hockey stick and a goalie net, but to my surprise, I found my true passion in life. That is probably how I ended up on here, 23 years ago. By the way, When we went to my grandmothers house, I got my hockey equipment. My grandmother never forgot me on Christmas and always bought us kids what we wanted.
How did you discover your passion for guns and or fixing them???? Oakie
Comments
That sounds like me. I've always had the desire to see how things work and how they're put together. I didn't start on guns, though. I started on bicycles.
Tinkering with and fixing up guns started with my old Remington 550 when I decided to refinish the stock. Taking the stock off was simple and there were so many other parts that needed to be disassembled and cleaned. Got it cleaned, refinished, and reassembled and I was hooked for life.
🇺🇲 "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson 🇺🇲
I have always had the curiosity and tinkering bug started with my toys as young kid
every thing I have bought or owned and still do ( well a few exceptions ) I take it apart.
with guns it was a obsession to make sure every part was clean as possible and see how it works dang ruger mark 1 about did me in but I figured it out and left a string of profanity still circling the earth
this was way befor the internet or I had any books on how to and easy access to seeing how its done
with cars started just modifying to go faster rebuilding the engines adding more go fast parts and friends asking me to fix their cars started at 16 and still do all my own repairs and friends if ask .
again automatic transmissions were a bit of a challenge but a clean bench and taking one part at a time spread out in order out just like it came out got me going
nothing is safe in our house ( my wife and sons will throw broken items away and hide them so I do not get them LOL even if a inexpensive item I will do my best to repair it if nothing else see how it works
( as a lot of items you can not get parts for ) but over the last couple yrs as a example I have got many of the Emden pure electric heaters (bought cheap because they did not work ) back up and going all the parts can be bought ) and gave them away to family and friends and have a few around here as back up
same with our vacuum cleaners well really, anything is fair game with me . its like a challenge
when I was younger and worked construction i got to work with about every trade out there
I ask countless questions and was shown way more than I can remember .from A to z
if a boss ask, can you do that sure I can then I would go figure it out LOL
same with equipment I would be ask , can you run that ... fill in the blank ______ sure I can as they walked away I would figure out the controls.😲
different times for sure
but curiosity being young and dumb and willing to learn got me a long way I don't regret any of it
U.S. Army 1963. In disassembling a M-1 it showed me mechanically how guns work. It also showed me how easy it would be to make it full auto.
The bug had already bitten me at an early age. When my grandfather gave me a couple old firearms that needed parts and extensive cleaning, I tore into them. Once I got them all taken apart, cleaned, found the rights parts and reassembled then I was really hooked..
Probably one of the first thing I remember taking apart was good old Zebco reels to clean,re-lube and put new line on.
I too was born with an instinctive curiosity about anything mechanical. I would take things apart just to see how they worked. Got me into quite a bit of trouble as well! My dad started locking tools away out of my reach.
I was bit by the gun bug around the age of 8 or so. When I got a BB gun for Christmas. Already had a pile of toy guns but one that really shot projectiles into the distance was a major milestone for me! Around the age of 10 or so, my older brother took me out rabbit hunting with him. He had a single shot 4-10. He let me shoot it a few times and I now was then addicted to the wild world of true firearms! I learned how to keep guns clean after use during this part of my life and started a bit of light tinkering on the guns I was using.
Then along came Davy Crockett King of the Wild Frontier and a bit later, Dan'l Boone on the tube! I was further smitten with Kentucky rifles! A compassion that lead me into the creation of my very own muzzle loading long rifles when I was in my late 40's (when I could afford such things).
Around the late '90's I was displaying a few of my creations at a local gunshow, when an old man came up to me and while giving compliments to my work, also asked me if I'd like to learn more. It was the beginning of a long and very rewarding friendship with the guy who became my mentor! A man that not only was a gifted Kentucky rifle artisan, but a lifelong collector of such in their original form! We had quite a time together in study and doing our best at perfecting our skills for many years before he succumbed to that dreaded big C. RIP J F Vincent, you are missed more than you will ever know!
When I was 11, my uncle presented me with his old Winchester 37 shotgun in 16 gauge. He showed me how to pop off the forend and separate the barrel from the receiver for cleaning. I thought I was a gun whiz because I could take down this simple shotgun and reassemble it.
When I was 12, I got a Marlin model 99C semi-auto .22 for Christmas. I picked it out because it looked cool. Once I had it in hand, it looked terribly complicated and I was a little uncertain as to how I would keep it clean and lubed. BUT...the rifle came with an instruction booklet. I followed the instructions, and learned how to take it down for cleaning. Re-installing the bolt assembly and recoil spring is a little dicey and I did manage to kink the spring one time, resulting in the order of a new one from Marlin.
Later on, I bought a Colt .45 auto. It also came with instructions, so I read them and shortly was able to field strip and re-assemble it in short order. Over the years, I sort of taught myself how to detail strip a 1911 and replace some parts.
When I was working as a police dispatcher on the late night shift, I bought a Smith & Wesson model 66. I brought it with me to work, and since I had some time on my hands, I taught myself how to detail strip and re-assemble it. Typical of Smiths of that era, it had a few metal chips in the works from the machining process, so I cleaned them out. I found an article on slicking up the action of a S&W, and polished the relevant surfaces, using some stones I had on hand. I also replaced the original trigger with one that has a smooth face.
Since then, I have had the opportunity to work on dozens, if not hundreds of firearms. Some were easy, and others required me to consult books, most of which I got from Digest Books.
One lady brought me a Winchester 190 .22 rifle, all in pieces, in a sack. She had taken it apart to clean it and could not get it back together. I got it back together and she thought I was a genius. I'm not.
Another time, a fellow offered to sell me a Ruger Blackhawk, also in pieces in a sack. He couldn't get it back together, and was tired of messing with it. He only wanted $40, so I bought it. I got it back together, and eventually sold it at a nice profit.
Some people think I am competent because they handed me a non working firearm and I gave back working. Usually, this was a .22 semi-auto that only needed a good cleaning. People ask me if I am a gunsmith. I will not accept that mantle; I have not earned it. I can and do tinker, and I can follow instructions.
Naturally inquisitive and mechanically inclined. Before my 14th birthday, I'd re-assembed a Browning A5 from a box of mixed parts and had it functional. By my late teens, folks were bringing me guns to 'fix'. Don't know what happened to all the 'exploded' diagrams and parts books I'd accumulated before I got married and moved out of folks' house.
My interest in guns started with my Dad, he was a Marksman on the Navy pistol team when we lived in Commiefornia and he would let me go and watch him practice and also to the competitions.
My dad taught me to shoot with a Daisy Red Ryder as I did with my son. My family is all from the deep south so guns and hunting are a big part of our culture, by the time I was 12 years old, myself and most all of my friends had .22s and we would get together and hunt rabbits and squirrels. Back then no one gave a second thought to three or four boys walking through the neighborhood carrying rifles on our way to the woods.
My interest in repairing my rifles was born out of necessity, things needed fixing and I had no money for a gunsmith so I tinkered and tinkered until I figured it out. There aren't too many things that I can't figure out how they work and how to fix them if I study them long enough.
I have been fascinated by the mechanical beauty of firearms all my life, I love the way they look and the way they feel in my hands and of course the simplicity and complexity of the mechanics that make them work.
I will add
Learning to take apart and reassemble any firearm.
gave me a lot of respect for the people who designed and built and their ability to come up with the idea of so many parts working together into a functioning gun
I have been fascinated by the mechanical beauty of firearms all my life, I love the way they look and the way they feel in my hands and of course the simplicity and complexity of the mechanics that make them work.
100% agree with that! The simplicity and complexity come together into an engineering marvel, I think. And when one 'just fits', you smile every time you pick it up.
🇺🇲 "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson 🇺🇲
I was a ‘gofer’ in John Browning’s shop ,,,,,,,,, 🤣
Was interested in mechanical stuff from an early age . Started helping Dad at 6 or 7 work on stuff on the farm .Progressed from there to getting my first shotgun a model 37 winchester in 16 gauge from grandfather at age 10. Been a lifelong pursuit ever since . Going on 58 years
Started with BB guns at 12 years old, then a Marlin Golden 39A "Mountie" at 15. When I was 18 I bought a nickel plated Colt 1911from one of Dad's employees. I learned how to field strip it pretty quickly. Got so good at it I could strip and reassemble it blindfolded. I had to prove that at Camp Pendleton, a few years later.
Been a gun nut almost all my life, fixing, scoping, and tweaking them mostly for friends and family.
My taking guns apart started with my temperamental Marlin....took it apart with a butter knife 😏
"Independence Now, Independence Forever."
John Adams
Loved to build models, to take things apart when I was a kid. An Expensive lesson was A Leica Camera.
Mom didn't like guns . But.. dad and I would build scale models of firearms in wood.
Colt 1911, Thompson 1928, Garand and a few others. Still have a few of those.
But later in the Army was the Unit Armor and went Wild, in the Arms Room . Even got to go to some depot level courses.
Have attended Glock, S&W and Colt courses. over the Years, And in (35) learned gun smsithing thru experience and lots of books.
The attraction to firearms is simple, I always like things that went bang. Like most started with BB gun then a pellet gun and then got a shotgun when I was 13 I believe. But what got me interest in working on firearms may seem a little strange. When I was younger I seen the movie called Carbine Williams, and in the movie they showed a gun he had made when he was a kid. And then if you seen the movie you remember he built a short stroke gas operated carbine while in prison. Anyway I remember after the movie I thought, I’m going to build me a gun. Took a while to build, it was rather crude, but it worked. Used rubber bands to pull the hammer forward, only put 22 shorts in it. Used a quarter inch pipe for my barrel. But dam it went bang, even hit a tin can once at about 3 foot away once.
That's called a "Zip gun".
Well, it was called a Zip gun, now it's a "ghost gun".
Sigh ...................
I believe that was the term they called a home made gun back then. Hard to believe that was over 60 years ago. Think I only shot it maybe 10 or so times, then through it away. Wasn’t long after that I got a real gun, a shotgun. Funny how small things like that in a persons life can influence them for the rest of their life.
I can change and fit parts . Will do trigger jobs for friends and family not for money. I get great satisfaction making a gun work again.
I was 10 years old. My father bought me a Mossberg 183T 410 bolt action shotgun for Christmas. I was very happy. After the days festivities, I was in my bedroom with my new, most prized possession. Somehow, while examining the gun, i managed to get the follower from the blind box magazine above the keepers. I thought I broke it for good. I was really afraid to tell him what I did. After everyone went to bed I took the gun to the garage, removed the stock, then the magazine and was able to get the follower in place. After looking at for a bit, I "adjusted" the keepers on the inside of the magazine. Never had the problem again and my father never discovered my mistake.
A close friend who was a machinist by trade shoots in the Camp Perry event every year and takes no less than a 3rd in the senior long range big bore event. We've deer hunted together now for more than 35 years. Knows more about ballistics, reloading etc. and can do anything that needs to be done with any firearm! Learned ALOT from this guy.