Can't decide... Need thoughts

R

reap

New member
I'm having an internal battle and need some opinions from others… my grandpa has Alzheimer's and was recently, within the last six months, put in a home. He was my hunting buddy… We would always go out whether for birds or for deer or whatever.

When he lost the ability to hunt a couple of years ago but while he still had his memory, he gave me his working gun, a Remington 870 special. This has become my go-to gun whenever I use a shotgun. As the family was cleaning out the house the other day, they came across a case. Inside was a shotgun and me being the hunter in the family and the one who hunted with him, they gave it to me.

Inside was a Browning Citori grade VI. I remember when he got it as it was an award for something or other. He carried it in the field once or twice and then put it in the case and forgot about it as he liked his 870.

Now where my problem comes in is that I know I will never shoot this gun. I have his Remington and that means the world to me. So what I can't decide to do is what to do with this shotgun. Should I sell it, should I leave it in the case just have back in the corner someplace or does anybody else have any good ideas of something to do with this? Being as I have the gun he gave me when he knew what he was giving me, I have more than I could hope for and this one has no real sentimental value. Just looking for some thoughts…
 
First off don't move to fast on getting rid of it. You say it was for an award or something. I would suggest that you research the question of what your grandfather did to get that gun. That answer may turn out to be something that could make you real proud of your grandfather and it could become very sentimental. I think your Grandfather did something very spectacular to receive that kind of a gun as a reward.
It sounds like a beautiful gun, its probably something he never would have purchased, probably beyond his means so he couldn't bring himself to us it and risk putting the wear marks on it from hunting with it.
My parents lived through the great depression, I have 2 sisters that were school age when it occurred. They both have a few fancy pieces of jewelry that their husbands gave them. They keep them in the safe deposit box and only wear them for family weddings and 25 year and 50 year anniversaries. They never thought in their wildest dreams they would ever possess anything like that. It has a very special meaning to them, but they don't show it off very often or talk about it much. Thats the way that generation looks at things, down to earth, nothing fancy, don't brag about it. You only need useful , practical possesions.:)
Think on it awhile and good luck.:)
 
Some very good advice Lucas McCain.

I would not be quick to do anything with the shotgun as far as getting rid of it.

I would be asking myself things such as "what would grandpa want me to do with it"?

If he didn't want it in the family anymore, why hadn't he gotten rid of it already?

Whom in the family would he want to have it?

Is it possible that I was ultimately given this gun cause that's what was supposed to happen to it?

People are different but just the fact that it belonged to grandpa, he did use it a few times and he was awarded it for some reason, would be enough sentimental value to me to hang on to it.
 
reap said:
Inside was a Browning Citori grade VI. I remember when he got it as it was an award for something or other. He carried it in the field once or twice and then put it in the case and forgot about it as he liked his 870.
Click to expand...

Is this an assumption or a fact? If he forgot about it, that's one thing, but if he knowingly intended to save it, I would be very hesitant to sell it myself.

As has been said above, do some digging, and make an informed decision.
 
Go shoot some clays with it. You might put the 870 in the case and use the citori forever.:D

I also believe you should hang onto your grandfather's gun. Or you can PM me and I will give you my address....I promise it will have a good home and a clear spot in my safe:)
 
thoughts

guys... thanks for all the input. my initial opinion was to keep the gun but just wanted to make sure i wasn't crazy and get a bunch of "you have the gun he used and this one you should sell" kind of responses.

as far as my comment of him putting it away and forgetting it, i didn't mean forget that it was there, it was forgetting it that he wanted to use that one. a preferance thing.

again, i appreciate the opinions... you are solidifying my position.
 
Another line of thought would be:

'What a nice heirloom this shotgun would make to pass down through the family'.

Picture yourself in this scenario:

"Great Grandpa was awarded this gun for so-n-so, he occasionally used it, I (you) received the gun and used it as well and now I'm passing it to you".

Having received and passed on several heirlooms, I can tell you from experience that there is something very special that money can't buy about receiving then passing on an heirloom such as this.

As was posted earlier, people are all different when it comes to these kind of things. I would say the mere fact that you started this thread, leads one to believe that if you did sell this shotgun, you would probably regret it the rest of your life. Careful about your decision.
 
A grade VI Citori ....is not a common gun / for no reason other than that, don't be in a hurry to get rid of it....

Just because he didn't shoot it ....doesn't mean he didn't appreciate it ....and don't overlook the idea, that sometimes a piece of his long term memory may come back from time to time. I'd suggest you ask him about it...casually ...a few times, see if he responds.

There could be all kinds of reasons he didn't shoot it ( maybe it didn't fit him / but he didn't want to modify the beauty of the stock to make it fit ), maybe the weight or overall length didn't suit him ....or how it was choked, if it has fixed chokes...

If you go on the Browning website...under support ....there is a link to date the shotgun / that may give you a lot more info / it may be unique enough that Browning or someone might be able to tell you who it was made for, as a presentation piece...

I have a full Browning catalog at my desk ...and FYI only .... Grade IV Lighting in 2012 list price was $ 3,500 / and a Grade VII was $ 5,600 ( no grade VI in catalog that year )...where the standard Lightning was $ 1989 ....( they're all "Field" guns in terms of how they're stocks are configured...the grade IV and VII had some enhanced machine engraving on receivers, Grade VII had some gold inlay too, and better wood with more burl character over the typical Grade I or even other models of the Citori like the XS Skeet that was sold in grade III/IV at the same time for $ 3,200 without the adj comb...
 
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The thing is:

It won't cost you a penny to keep it - and you might be surprised at how a shooter's attitude, towards what kind of gun they're rather have, can change over the years.

If your attidude should change many years from now, and you want to try an O/U, at least you'll have an excellent example at your fingertips.

Also, your future might include a child or other close relative, than could use it, with you as the mentor. :cool:



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I took some pics of the shotgun with my phone, will try to resize them and upload them tomorrow so you guys can see it. The paperwork included that was in one of his file cabinets says it was December 1989.

The notes in the file explain the gun. He used to be a service manager for a Chevrolet dealership and his department had the highest CSI (customer service index) score for the region and so he was given the choice of either a trip for two to the Bahamas or this shotgun. Too bad for my grandma...

Seeing as everyone is of the same mind really makes me feel good about what I was thinking. So can anyone explain why the skipping of grade levels (V to VII) or better yet, do people really take these level of guns out in the field? I think I would be too nervous to take the thing out of the case... The wood is beautiful.
 
In 1987, a new grade 1 Lightning was about $ 700 ( I bought one new that year ).../ Grade V or VII was probably around $ 2,000 - $ 2,500 or so ...at that time.

Skipping grades / or evaluating wood grades...is not black and white / its more subjective....and over time, Browning has been putting a lot of Grade III/IV on many of their "target" shotguns ( XS Skeet models, XT Models )...so to order that upgraded wood on a Lightning model, as your own gun or as a presentation gun, just made it a little more special. But year to year - not every grade was offered in every model ....so it was probably common for them to skip a grade pretty often.../ but usually if you bought or ordered a gun --- they would evaluate the wood and mark the boxes accordingly.

Do guys hunt with Grade IV's thru VII's ...and Diana grades, etc...sure, especially for upland birds like Quail or Pheasant....where you can carry the gun into the field in a good soft or hard case and protect it in transit ...and you're not busting brush all day ...( I'm of an age, where I'm not hunting in briar patches anymore ...)..:D

All of my Citori XS Skeet models are Grade IV's ....and I've hunted upland with them...and I shoot sporting clays and skeet with them all the time.../ they are my primary field guns in 12ga, 20ga, 28ga and .410 ...

Here are my XS Skeet models ( 12ga at top, .410 at bottom ) ...all in 30" barrels...
http://thefiringline.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=82011&d=1339792349

Here are a couple of Citori XT's in 32" barrels...my primary Trap guns...the one with all the color at the bottom, I purchased used for about $3,000 about 10 yrs ago....and it was a special order Turkish Walnut stock from Browning made in 2002 and its probably a Grade VII / VIII in my opinion - previous owner pawned it in 2003 and didn't pick it up....and I was lucky enough to find it one day and sucked it up. The darker stocked one ...is a Grade IV XT - that I purchased new in about 2000 - and in the early 2000's that grade was common on the Citori XT Trap model guns.

http://thefiringline.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=82013&d=1339792349

http://thefiringline.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=92794&d=1384217534
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But I've seen guys out hunting upland game with some really fancy stocked shotguns - gold inlay -- etc....some worth well over $ 10,000 - $ 20,000.../ they are the guns they love, they like shooting and hunting with them.

Some of my Citori XS Skeet models have well over 250,000 shells thru them now( they're all at least 9 yrs old / some 14 yrs old ) ....and the 12ga, 20ga and 28ga ...have all killed their share of clays and Quail and Pheasants...and ducks - although I don't hunt much anymore. If I were going Quail hunting this year - the 28ga would be high on my list to take out.

So yes, I'd encourage you to consider taking that gun into the field...and be careful with it ( don't use it as a boat paddle or anything foolish ) - but enjoy it - have some fun with it ...and no matter what, I hope you shoot it well !

I have 10 grandkids now from 6 months old - to 22 yrs old .../ and when I get ready to divest myself of some of these shotguns, I hope they all get taken out in the field...by my kids and grandkids...or maybe their kids.../ if they take care of them, like I'm sure you will, my guns will live on in my family for many generations, I hope at least...:D
 
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I regularly hunt with high-grade rifles & shotguns - but I treat them with the respect any firearm is due.

I don't part brush with any, use one as a stream-crossing aid, lean them (however temporarily) against a vehicle, or lay them on hard/unpadded surfaces.

I just shoot animals with them, AND get to enjoy them in those idle times when game is idle/scarce.

That's not to say that an accidental slip/fall won't happen, and damage a gun - but the character marks those incidents might deliver to the firearm are usually easily repairable.


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Do not sell it for no other reason than it is NOT yours to sell. It is your grandfathers. Besides that, I don't know much about Altzheimer's but might your GP not have bouts of lucidity. It may bring a smile to the old guys face, even if he may not seem all there, to look at it. Of course you would never leave him alone with it.
 
I will present a different tack. I would sell it, if I didn't intend to use it, or I didn't even like Browning O/Us (which I don't). Unless you have a gun lover coming along in the lineage, it is going to get sold down the line in any event. I have sold all of the guns handed down to me except a Marlin 39, which I love and use. If I lose my wits, or die, I have detailed instructions on how my heirs can dispose of my guns and get the most for them. I know which few ones they will want to keep, short term anyway.
The young are trying to look out for the old, and the old want to do what's best for the young, and often neither gets served to the best result in the end.
 
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