I too love the old walnut and rust blue, heck browned damascus is the epitome of gun steel. But just as the craftsmen who knew the finer points of forging three iron damascus mostly passed in the time of the war to end all wars so too has the generation hand inletted and checkered and rust blue.

Yes, there are still among us a small cadre of practitioners of these ancient arts just as there are still hand crafted fiddles in the style of Stradivarious being made.

The simple truth is the time of the buggy whip maker is in the past and the best we can hope for is create beauty with the materials and methods at hand.

yah, cept huntin squirrels with a shotgun, not cool.

I agree as they clamp down harder on regulation or attempt to , 80% and 0% keep getting more popular

I hope it continues also I am sure an underhammer was a new fandangled thing at some point also

that they learn how to build their own and make them their own is the important

Leaves still on the trees, lol.

I have a Savage Model 99 lever .308 made in 1955. My go to big game gun. I also have a Savage Model 110 in 7mm rem mag made in '84. Not old but a great rifle. Then I have an AR in 6.5 grendel for a predator rifle.

" the way guns should be".

When you disassemble old guns for cleaning (pre 1960 or so) you dont find any plastic. You dont find stamped parts. You will find good metal to wood fit. Good trigger pull. If cared for they last a good while. Even the cheap ones.

My dad had one of these. that picture brought back many memorys. Constantly shot 2" to the right at 100 yd. So what most of the deer were shot at less than 35 yd. My dad had told our neighbor that it was worn out from the boys shooting it so much. the neighbor and I went woodchuck hunting with it. A chuck popped up at 100 yd, I bet the neighbor that I could shoot it in the ear. (won bet) Dad never lived it down.

I remember when gunshops had a rack or two devoted to just Winchester 94s and old Marlin lever actions. You could pick one up for $200-300. It doesn't seem like it was that long ago. You can't find a Model 94 in halfway decent condition for under a $1,000 nowadays.

I visit Gun shops pretty regular. I find it troubling that many sell nothing but “black guns”, which without fail, the proprietor pushes pretty hard. Often to include nothing but “black” shotguns. I don’t spend much time in that kind of shop. Nothing wrong with “black” guns, own a few, just not my cup of tea. I’ve been in shops that are 90% handgun also, again, not my preference, and there was a period of about five years I hardly touched any of my long guns, hunted everything with handguns. I’ve also been in shops that had sections devoted to the “finer” works ( art really) that started at $5k. Even a few “black” guns in there.
My point being, that shops tend to cater to their markets, and promote to the same market. They are more than happy to “order” anything you like or can afford. The “ambiance” in each is different.
The salesman doesn’t know if your hunting style or know your preference/ needs in your platform. The person hunting Whitetails in tight cover doesn’t require a 400 Nitro , but not likely the sales clerk that got sent to the gun counter from housewares at Wal Mart knows any difference! Nor will Great Grandpas .35 REM be the best choice for Antelope in NC Montana. There really is no perfect cartridge or platform. Do your homework before you hunt somewhere outside your local haunts.

How many of ya ever heard of an American Sidesnap shotgun ?
I have a 12 that I'm afraid to shoot. Pretty sure it has a twist barrel.

Great post Rally! What fun would it be if there was the perfect caliber and platform? the more the merrier!

30-06 isn't a one perfect but is sure is versatile and way it is still popular 117 years later , 0-350 fairly easily it isn't a one perfect but it covers a huge range and can easily do bear and moose as well.

toss in it was available in millions of surplus guns that could be had a very budget price.
ammo and powder were plentiful as surplus

Heck, I don't think I'm that old, and it doesn't seem that long ago you could pick up 94s for around $100, maybe not mint but good shooters. And there would be barrels full of Mosin-Nagants for less than that. Biggest problem with the Mosin-Nagants was finding good hunting ammo, the guns were a cheap reliable gun.

I've got a Savage 99 in 308 also. Good gun, all my mom has used her whole life. But I'm left handed and that safety on the right side of the lever is a pain to operate for left handers.

I agree 100 % I hunt and trap to please myself When I am trying to do something I want to do I am totally content with my success For example some years ago I caught my first mink It was in a trail set for coon It was a large male and of course I was happy to have it Over the next 5 to 10 years I caught a few more in sets I had made for other animals It was only because I got the mink trapping bug that I set out to learn how be trap mink When I got the first one in a set I made with the idea that it was a mink set .That was a step forward As I gained success I learned how to make better mink sets by duplicating similar set location and other small details .As time went on I was catching mink every season While I never had a large number per season I was catching them every year I do not remember exactly but I had been able to catch at least one for about 20 consecutive years However I never had more than 5 in one season Five in a season happen 5 times It is oblivious that means I was not a high numbers mink trapper But all most all the mink I caught in the 20 plus yeas where caught in what I called a mink set .I t is only a big deal to me I doubt anyone else cares the slights little bit I am not making it into the mink trapping hall of fame But am pleased that I could do it .

when marlin closed people got interested in JM marlins

when Rem closed people got interested in any Marlin

94s as a affordable lever gun went right with them new ones commanding 900 dollars so the old ones are 650-700 for what would have been a 200 dollar gun 10-15 years ago

covid also didn't help man everything got bought , you couldn't even find 30-30 ammo on the shelf for like 2 years

no imports from russia in several years now even Mosins are harder to come by my sons friend just sold his not as good mosin for 300

about the only sort of inexpensive thing to buy is old 12ga pumps like Jc higgins and stevens and such and I think the major reason those don't go for more is you can still buy a Maverick 88 for under 200

the Maverick is holding down the craziness of pump guns

Here is a pic of one just like mine.
Shattuk . Mossberg started out working there.
Anybody familiar with these ?
Pretty cool action, but a twist barrel far as I can tell.
Thanks

Side-levers. Not the norm but not uncommon.

That's a pretty SS there !
Thanks,

I have a little bit of everything in my collection. I am hard pressed to pick one as my favorite. It changes often.
I have 3 black guns. I have a pre-ban colt in 7.62X39 which I could readily take deer with, but I don’t. I have old style rifles which I prefer for deer hunting. 30.06, .243, 44 magnum carbine.
My black rifles are reserved for use against those trying the take all of my guns…