I've got my Greatgrandpa's Savage semi-auto, which was probably from 1950s.. He gave it to my Dad, but unfortunately my Dad joined LSU's Rifle Team. Every dang gun the man owns has a cracked forearm or stock.

This particular shotgun did not travel with him when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, but I stopped at our house one last time before the storm. When I saw he did not pack it up when he and my mom evacuated, I grabbed it and put it in my vehicle. And yes, the stock has duck tape on it because of his "Rifle Team practice."

I keep telling him he can borrow it any time he wants, but I've claimed this shotgun as mine. LOL, he's always said this gun has a serious kick. To me it shoots like a BB gun.

Found another model at a gun show and they had it valued at $150. I probably should have purchased that gun for parts.

I think for opening day of dove, I'm going to use this one.

So, what is the oldest shotgun you own, and when was the last hunt you made with it?

I've got a 1923 Willam Evans game gun, 12ga with 2 1/2" chambers. I hunted dove with it a couple years ago, and hope to do the same this year.

Remington 1889, 16ga., Damascus barrels. Never hunted with it. 'Bought it for $150.00 for a "objec' d' art". Everybody wants to hold it though.

I should have one of a matched pair of L.C. Smith 10 gauges. My brother got one (probably rusting in a storage unit somewhere today), and the other went to a sleezy husband of a 1st cousin of my mom's, thanks to my step-grandmother, but I'm not bitter...not bitter at all.

I’ve got a mossburg pump made in 1983

It’s a fine gun and you should look to drop a few doves around a old windmill with it.


I’ll look for shells

I've got my grandfather's Fox 12 ga double barrel. I think it was mfg'd in 1906.

1927 Lefever Nitro Special. I didn't inherit it, unfortunately. I just have a thing for old working class guns.

1899 Remington hammer 12 gauge, Damascus from my paternal grandpa
1925 L C Smith, 12 gauge Field Grade, from my maternal grandpa

Very cool. As they say "That's a pair to draw from."

A 16 gauge browning A5 from the 1920’s. The shotgun was first chambered for the 2 9/16 shells. Somewhere along the line it was re-chambered by browning for the 2 3/4 shells. I’ve had the old humpback for 40 years.

Winchester Model 12 from mid 50's. My pappy and Dad went in 50\50 to buy it. Pappy passed, it became Dad's. (Only gun I couldn't hunt with). Couple of years before Dad passed, he finally gave it to me. Hope to pass it on to my Son someday.

Had many of old ones before. The oldest now is my Grandfathers Winchester 97 I think 1940's vintage. I won a many of turkey shoots with it.

My go to bird Gun is an old MOD/IC Superposed, 20ga with 25 1/2” barrels. It weighs about 5 pounds. For dove hunting I prefer my Sweet 16 humpback. I shoot it better but I don’t like to carry it. They’re both older than me but I’m not sure how much. I have more shotguns but these are my favorites.

1953 Winchester model 42.

20gs Ivery Johnson Champion from 1936 If my Dad remembered correctly. Given to me by my Great Grand Father when I was 3. Lots of squirrels and rabbits fell tot hat one. Trigger has worn so much I have retired it even though it is still very tight for its age and use.

Boss makes shellw for them lol. You can shoot their bismuth safely out of old guns

'Don't see a 16 in Bismuth on their website.

Oldest I have is a SxS pinfire 16ga made sometime in the mid 1800’s. It has the name of a town in Germany engraved on it (likely where it was made) and some proof marks, but that’s it. Ancestors were originally from Germany, but nobody is certain that this gun came with them when they immigrated in the late 1800’s. It’s been in the family as long as anyone remembers though so likely. I’ve never tried to shoot it due to its age/condition and Damascus barrels although I do have a supply of pinfire shotgun shells.

A couple of other family guns I have and use frequently are a Winchester 1897 12ga made in 1907 and a Remington Model 11 20ga made in 1934.

Oldest one I own would be a Beretta BL3

Call the shop and ask, they just released it. It sells really quick too. Sometimes they can't update their site bc it they can't keep up with demand. So it's just easier to call and see what they have, or what's coming down the line.

An example is their #3/#5 shot duplex load. Not on the site, but it's usually in stock.

I have a Stevens 20 gauge, I think it's a mid to early 60s model. Bolt action
But I only use my Maverick 88 for hunting

Awesome stories and guns, guys!

I’ve got 3 old ones:



Up top is my Rem 1889 SxS 10 ga with 32” barrels. It was my Great, Great Grandfathers gun and made in 1902. Has a real small mark in the left barrel from where a wagon wheel ran over it when they were out deer hunting with it. It had been leaned up against the wagon and slid off on the ground as the mules pulled forward and the old steel rim on the wheel scratched it. Kinda cool. About 10 years ago I wanted to shoot it, so I took it to a gunsmith to have him look it over. He said he would shoot it, so I signed up for a THF duck and pheasant hunt South West of Corsicana. I had a company named Republic Metallic Cartridge Company out of Massachusetts hand make me some black powder #5’s for the pheasant hunt. I had dreamed of shooting the old side by side since I was a kid, and now that it had been handed down to me, I was gonna get my chance.



Below is a video of me “smoking” a pheasant with it! What a thrill to take game with the same gun my forefathers depended on to eat!



Next in the top pic is my Win Model 12 in 20 ga and it was made in 1918. It was my Great Grandfathers gun and was passed down to me a few years back from my Uncle. It’s in great shape and I will shoot it for the first time this dove season! Really looking forward to that as well!

The third one in the top pic is a Win Model 37 in 16 ga with red letters. (They did not print serial numbers on the Model 37’s so I’m not sure how old it is, but somewhere between 1936 and 1948. This was my wife’s Grandfathers gun and when he passed her family wanted me to have it. They said he was a pheasant hunter and that was his gun of choice. I have never shot it, but would like to some day.

An uncle left me his 1913 Parker. I've taken dove and turkey with it, can't bring myself to re-blue or refinish it.

Fox Savege Model B in 20 gauge, 1965.

Browning A5 - circa 1988

I've got a Belgian made A5 that's pre WWII

Here’s an old Bayard arms Peiper 12 gauge....somewhere around 1895-1905. I’ve never shot it.

Don't reblue or refinish it! It earned that look, a look of distinction!

My oldest is an H&R 12 gauge single shot that my dad bought new at Mongomery Wards when he was 18, so 1964. First shotgun I ever shot, and I was proud it didn't knock me over, though it left bruises!

I have one from 82! I got it for my birthday

Also have my dads old single shot, probably from early 60's. I killed my first squirrel, rabbit, pheasant and others with that old thing.

I've two 1939 Winchester single shots - a 20 gauge and a 12 gauge

The 20 gauge is from my Grandpa.

The 12 gauge was given to me by my father-in-law; it was his Dad's.

I thought it pretty cool and ironic that both my grandpa and my wife's grandpa would have the same make of gun from the exact same year.

Need to find the time but I plan to put them in a shadow box or some other kind of display.

Got an old 2 3/4" sears and roebuck 12 gauge bolt action shotgun. I have no Idea the age but I used it for at least 30 years. Dad had it before that.

I have my Dad's A-5, Mom got it for him Christmas '67 or '68.
Have my Wife's Dad's A-5, same time frame.
I hunt with them both a couple times a year.

Volunteer Arms Co single shot 410. It was my Mom's when she was a kid and she was born in 1923.

1913 Model 12 Winchester. That makes it second year of production. Have taken it dove hunting and even after 100 years it still does the job.

12 gauge pump Sears - Ted Williams. Had it 48 years.

Do not change a thing.

I am lucky enough to be able to dove hunt with an 85 year old Winchester model 12 SXS in 12 gauge.

1918 Fox Sterlingworth 16ga is my oldest, with a 1958 Browning Auto 5 12ga (Dad’s) in second.

My primary duck gun for many years was a 1962 A5 Magnum. It still gets out a couple of times a year.

I’m looking for a a 1947-1955 Ithaca 37 16ga. 26” IC plain barrel should weigh 6lbs on the nose.

Have a "White Powder" 12 ga single shot 36" barrel with hammer. No guess on age

1914 LC Smith SBS that I inherited
I have to shoot 2 1/2" low recoil shells. But it still kills dove just fine. I break it out every year or two

I have an old LC Smith that my grandfather owned. It has old damascus twist barrels so I'm guessing it was made in the early 20th century.

.410 that my grandpa got in the 40's or 50's, my grandma couldn't remember. I'd like to get it working and kill a few ducks and dove with it.

Winchester Model 12 that was my grandfathers. He bought it in 1922. According to my dad, grandpa was having a hard time hitting some birds one day due to the choke in the barrel so he went home and took out a hacksaw and chopped a few inches off the barrel. I have never tried to pattern it but thinking about taking it out this dove season and see how it shoots!

A Stevens 410 that belonged to my grandmother, she was born in the 1890s. I also have a muzzleloader smooth bore double barrel, not really a shotgun size standard bore, it's size is somewhere between 16ga and 20ga. Date in unknown and there are no marking on the barrels. It is fun to shoot once or twice a season, I have killed dove, quail and used a slug to kill a doe with it. It is a real shocker for new people to see the cloud of gunpowder and the smell.

had a first yr production model 42 traded it up for a 50s version with a rib also have a remington damsc barrel dont remember the model but it dosent have exposed hammers also a winchester model 12 28 ga that was made in the early 40s, killed limits with all but the rem double its full and full been thinking of putting 20ga tubes in it so i can shoot it but just havent

Dad's A-5 Light Twelve from the 50's. He has been gone since '74 and hasn't been shot since steel was required for waterfowl.

Model 97 Winchester

I have a Winchester model 25 12 ga, no idea how old it is.

Belgium made Damascus barrel 12ga from the late 1800's. Bought it as a "wall hanger" from a guy here on the forum who needed to raise some cash. Was his grandpas gun, and had stories to go with it. Told him if he ever wanted to undo the mistake of selling it and get his heirloom back, just to ask. I may find some reduced recoil loads and give it a shoot someday. Locks up good an seems to be mechanically sound.

That’s a sweet shotgun....

Absolutely. I had to have some work done on my great grand uncles shotgun, just to make it work, I wanted to hunt with it. The work changed the look, the gun was worn out. It looks sharp now and and i have hunted with it like the the generations before me. But nothing can bring back the look that my ancestors gave that gun. They were actually feeding their families with every shot.

Very Nice

Look at RST. They specialize in low pressure shells for the classics.

Or call boss, they sometimes work with others to create those loads

1940's L C Smith side by side 20ga field shotgun.
Think it's from '43, haven't looked up serial number lately.

Oldest shotgun is a Parker Bros. double barrel 10 gauge with the external hammers. From what I can tell it's about an 1878 model. Second oldest is a 1913 Browning A5 16 gauge 2-1/2". I've never shot either one.

Two antique Winchester 1897's. The upper one is a solid frame that was shipped September 1897, and the lower one is a takedown frame shipped November 1898.



Cass

I bought a Belgium made Richards 12 ga double at the last guns how. Company went out of business in 1915 so it at least that old. A thin shim brought the barrels back tight on the face and a lot of cleaning on the bores have about got it ready to test fire. I bought it because its the tall mule ears hammers and a fluid steel barrel. It will make a shooter. Still have to check chambers to see what length of shells it will shoot or maybe just rechamber for 2 and 3/4 and be finished with it.

The oldest one I frequently hunt with is a 1937 pre-war Browning Superposed, choked IC over IC.



Cass

Beretta BL-3 in 20 gauge, it was new to me in 1980, made the year I graduated high school 1974, looked a lot better in 1980...but that was 40 years and thousands of rounds ago...my brothers won't stand near me when I carry it for shooting doves...i regularly tell them..." I used up all the misses years ago"...

I have 4 old shotguns that belonged to my grandfather. The only one I've hunted with is the Mossberg and that was around 30 years ago.

Stevens 235 SxS made between 1915 and 1932
Caddo Chief that's old as dirt but I don't know exactly when it was made.
Mossberg 183D-D made between 1950 and 1953.
Remington 870 Wingmaster 20 ga. with fixed full choke made in the early to mid 50's.

I'm planning to have a gunsmith check the Stevens out to make sure it's safe to shoot so I can try to drop a couple of dove with it.

1919 Winchester Model 12

Many years ago I inherited my grandfather’s model 1897 12 gage mfg 1913. Last year I took it to Dave’s New Hope Charity clay shoot and had fun with it. Over the past year I started buying pre-1950 “shooter” shotguns. A couple months after that shoot I got a 1946 Ithaca 37 from Buzz.

A while later I picked up a 1897’s mfg 1910 from a another member (and got to meet anther great guy in the process).

Driving home after that purchase I stumbled upon a Remington Model 11 mfg 1911 which became my very first auto shotgun

Also, this year I inherited my wife’s uncle’s Older 1897 mfg 1913.

My boys and I took several to Dave’s shoot this year and literally had a blast.

Then a couple weeks after this years shoot I was given a great deal from a friend and member on a Springfield Model 311 double trigger SxS 16 gage....my first ever double barrel.....

Needless to say, I’m hooked on old shotguns and now looking at trying to find a black powder one as well as more pre-1950’s....so let me know if you have one or come across one for sale....shooters only, no wall art or safe queens...

I’ll get a picture of them when I go home on days off but here’s a picture of me n the boys at Dave’s shoot this year....

Winchester Model 12 20 ga. It shoots 2 1/2" shells was manufactured in 1913.

I order the shells from Polywad in Atlanta.

Some 1100, don’t care what year it was made, it shoots.

1974 Wingmaster