A sad pawn shop find,,,

aarond I can't help but imagine the young mans face who's father just bought him that fine looking rifle, to be his first rifle, and all the rabbits squirrels and clays he's going to harvest. Most likely, the gift you gave just keeps on giving.
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This is basically what I was thinking... The love and good vibes you put into that gun will always be some part of it, no matter who the owner... Who are we to try and know the BIG PICTURE? Life is mysterious... all we can do is the best we know how in each moment... :o
 
I hadn't thought of that,,,

aarond I can't help but imagine the young mans face who's father just bought him that fine looking rifle, to be his first rifle, and all the rabbits squirrels and clays he's going to harvest. Most likely, the gift you gave just keeps on giving.
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I hadn't thought of that,,,
You guys just put a huge smile on my face.

Wouldn't it be a trip if I ran into the new owner at a range.

Thanks gentlemen,,,
You all have officially brightened my spirits. :)

Aarond

.
 
The good thing is that you found out what a wanker this kid is before you gave hime something expensive but I would have bought it from the pawn shop taken the butt plate off and wiped the engraving and you would be ready for the next kid.

The good thing is that you got somebody into shooting....the bad is that he did not recognize that life is short and how soon he will have to be hunting for what he sold for his kid to shoot.
 
I have a feeling he is going to regret parting with it someday... Oh well, his loss. One of my guns was given to me as a gift from my brother, and I would never ever think about parting with it; I know I would heavily regret it.
 
We'd all like to think our gifts have so much sentimental value that folks will keep them forever

Reality is a true gift becomes the property of the recipient, to do with however they please
 
That sucks man but it doesn't diminish the value of the act.

Some people aren't sentimental but if there is a bright side to this story, it looks like you at least spawned a lifetime shooter. Perhaps too someone will get a gift of that gun and enjoy the work you put into.
 
When I was 10, an uncle gave me an old single 12 ga. Rusted pitted cracked, wouldn't eject. I loved it. Me and that old gun covered a lot if ground. Great memories. Our house was broken into and all my guns (and wife's wedding dress) were stolen. That old gun wasn't worth $10 to anyone else, I wouldn't have taken a million for it.
Being a kid was no excuse for that kid to slap you in the face like that.
That was a very self centered thing for him to do.
 
Aarond,

A friend and I did a rebuild for his neighbor.

They had moved into his area to get away from the city. Had 3 kids in the family and were doing OK until the middle son got sick. Their medical expenses ruined the family. Neighbor began working 3 jobs and his wife went back to work, too.

On Saturday, neighbor would go into town to work at the pawn shop. He came over after work one day when I was visiting my friend to show us the gun he bought to deer hunt - Thinking he could shoot one out in the back field and get a source of meat for his family.

He bought a 30/30 for $15 in such bad shape that the shop owner wouldn't even take it in. The rifle was rusted inside and out, to where the action could hardly work. It would fire but the front sight was bent such that you couldn't hit within a foot at 25 yds. The butt of stock was cracked.

My friend and I asked if he would leave it with us and we would do what we could to help - He did. We disassembled it and worked on it all that evening to remove the rust. My friend took it to his GS to fix the front sight. Friend did a cold re-blue and got the action lubed and working. I took the stock; Stripped it, steamed out the dents, drilled-clamped-glued a dowel in it to fix the crack and then refinished it.

The rifle turned out OK - Neighbor was very happy, but he kept it by his backdoor and it got stolen before deer season that same year.

Needless to say we were disappointed - My friend and I put a lot of our time, effort and $$.$$ in it. We were sure hopeing neighbor would have a good season for both him and his family.

But Yeah - we'd do it again. Sometimes circumstances (and people's actions) just don't turned out like you would hope.
 
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Sorry Aaron, but this whole scenario really wouldn't have bothered me. Maybe I'm just like the kid you gave it to. You gave him a $25 run of the mill gun. Maybe he was sentimental about it given the circumstances, maybe not as much as you were. But in the end, it's a tool and it wasn't a quality one at that. It helped him to buy something he thought he'd like better. That's trading up and everybody does it unless they have a house full of stuff they should have left behind in the last move.

Gifts are gifts; if you want to make it an eternal bequest, give it to a museum. But don't be surprised when the museum later sells it for funds. I've seen it happen.

If I was that sentimental about it myself, I'd have bought it back on the spot. And you obviously didn't think your sentiment was worth $175. Not trying to be mean, Aaron. Just an outside view.
 
BTW,,,
Could that J. C. Penny rifle have been made by Mossberg?
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I have a J.C.Penny house brand (Formost) that I recieved for X-Mas in the early 1970's (My first rifle).

I looked it up way back then, and found that it was manufactured by Marlin firearms, I believe there are websites that could give you the manufacturer, if you can recall enough info on the rifle to id it to the site.

Tom.
 
I would have bought it back,,,

I would have bought it back,,,
But at that exact moment in time,,,
I had spent every spare penny on my birthday present.

When I called back the rifle had already sold,,,
Perhaps that was the one time I should have broken my rule,,,
I could have put it on my credit card but I have a firm cash only policy for guns.

But I do hear what you are saying,,,
I was very emotionally invested in the gift,,,
Apparently ******* wasn't and I failed to see it beforehand.

So I take no offense at all for your "outside view".
Except for the "mediocre rifle" part.

When I was finished with the gun,,,
It was very nice looking,,,
And well accessorized.

Also any .22 that is minute of clay pigeon at 100 yards,,,
Will feed you tree or ground rats all day long come the apocalypse.

Anyways gentlemen,,,
Thanks for allowing me this small rant,,,
It was just a situation I wanted to talk about a bit.

It hasn't ruined gifting of guns for me,,,
After all this was the one failure,,,
Out of many good experiences.

Thanks for letting me get this off my chest.

Aarond

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You gave a kid a rifle and got him started in shooting. Good for you.

He sold it and upgraded to something that suited his needs better. Good for him.
 
Aarond, no loss, only gain. You gave several gifts that will last.

You gave the young man a love for shooting. He traded the rifle. And that's what we do. The collection changes and grows as we move through life. We all have some feeling of loss for the guns we let go as the collection builds. He'll remember you as the person who sent him on that journey.

You gave the rifle a new life. You added value to it by your renovation. So that rifle can continue to bring joy to subsequent owners as they start on their own journeys. It may have languished and been cast aside if you hadn't given it new life.

You gave a gift to all of us by bringing a new shooter into the fold.

Thanks, man.
 
He really liked shooting that rifle,,,
And became quite good with it.

So, I made it a project gun,,,
I scraped and refinished the stock,,,
And did a decent cold re-blue on the barrel.

When I was done I was very proud of the job,,,
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So - you did all the work and he just stuck out his hand right?

Next time, involve the person in the restoration so they have something of themselves invested in it.

63 years on the planet has shown me that method works wonders.....
 
I am 21 years old and I assume that this college kid just is going through the tactical phase us young ones go through. He liked the .22s that mimick combat guns better than hunting style classics. I think it was very rude to trade that particular gun though, you would think it would hold some good sentimental value. I wouldn't trade a gun someone put craftsmanship and time into for any plastic mass produced piece of junk.

Condolences
 
Aarond, your story made my stomach fall. When I give gifts, I understand that the recipient has the right to do with that gift what they will, but that doesn't preclude me from being hurt if they abandon or reject it. I almost never get rid of gifts, and never one with attention and care to me specifically clearly shown in the gift.

If he had wanted the fanciest new rifle he could have caught a few extra shifts. I'm sorry he didn't end up being worthy of the effort you put in.
 
Now, that story put a damper on my day. If there is a bright spot to this story, at least you know the guy you gave the rifle to traded it for another one. He didn't sell it for beer money or a tattoo. You got him into shooting, and that seems to have stuck.
 
Skans brings to mind a similar situation.
I carried a Colt Lightweight Commander for years, my favorite pistol.
My son kept asking me to give it to him and for his birthday one year I did.
About six months later I told him to grab his Colt and let's go shooting.
That's when he informed me he'd traded it for a tattoo.
Never gave him anything after that.
 
I am 21 years old and I assume that this college kid just is going through the tactical phase us young ones go through.
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I'm 50+ and NOT going through a tactical phase, but the S&W MP15 is probably the "funnest" gun I own. Shoots well, easily adaptable to a number of different optics, accessories like forward grips...did I mention the 25 round magazines that are CHEAP? That's why I can't blame the guy.

I carried a Colt Lightweight Commander for years, my favorite pistol.
My son kept asking me to give it to him and for his birthday one year I did.
About six months later I told him to grab his Colt and let's go shooting.
That's when he informed me he'd traded it for a tattoo.
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That one DID hurt, Microgunner. I've given my son several guns...but not my favorites...mostly things I never shot. And I replaced one that I did give him, simply because I decided I missed it.:rolleyes:
 
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