Always loaded..........

[jnyork]

I went to the home of an elderly lady, friend of my wife, she wanted me to come over and look at a gun, she wanted to get rid of it. Her husband has been dead for 30 years or so.
Out of the closet comes the rifle in a zipper case. I open it up and it's a 1954 model 94 Winchester, standard carbine, in decent condition. Out of habit, I pop the action open and out jumps a loaded cartridge!! I jack out 4 more from the tube.

"Always treat every firearm as loaded until you have personally proven otherwise!" (Rule #1)

It's true, fellers, they are ALWAYS loaded.

Anyway, I gave her about what it was worth and we parted friends.

[Hobie]

Good for you for checking AND getting a neat rifle!!!

[Griff]

+1 to what Hobie said.

[rjohns94]

well done

[Ysabel Kid]

Well done indeed!

It will be better done when you post a picture of that puppy!!!

[J Miller]

Great job. Got you a really nice Win 94 and some free ammo too.

ALWAYS PAYS TO BE CAREFUL!


Joe

[iceman]

You have ot always check, it is the unloaded ones that can get you in trouble.

[Doc Hudson]

Quite a few years ago, a friend asked me to check out an old Marlin Lone Star Shotgun. She told me that her husband had been unable to open the action and couldn't figure it out.

I was assured that the gun was not loaded.

I fiddled around for a while and decided that I need to let the hammer drop from full-cock. I pulled the hammer back and almost pulled the trigger, but I just could not do it.

I walked to the backdoor, pointed the gun out at a high angle and dropped the hammer. Linda nearly fainted when the old gun roared. When she got her nerves under control, she said,"I'm going to kill that darned Joe! He was waving that thing all over the place and pointing it at me. I'm going to kill him."

Yep they are all loaded, especially the ones other people swear are unloaded.

[GonnePhishin]

Out of curiosity, were the cartridges green with age?

[claybob86]

Good job! And the pictures?

[Doc Hudson]

Out of curiosity, were the cartridges green with age?

Not that I recollect. The gun had been used just a couple of years before. IIRC, the shell was a little tacky from oil residue but not corroded.

[jnyork]

Out of curiosity, were the cartridges green with age?

The cartridges in the 30-30 were just as new, except the brass was a little dark. We live in a very arid climate and corrosion is not much of a factor here. There was absolutely no rust on the rifle.

[kimwcook]

Good for you for checking. All firearms should be checked as to whether they're loaded or not. Many an unloaded firearm have killed a lot of people.

[Pathfinder09]

AMEN! Good on ya!

[KCSO]

So far on six seperate occasions muzzleloaders have come into my shop with loads still in the tubes. One was wadded with paper dated 1864. One Muzzleloading rilfe had the bore fillled with oiled paper that was pages from a machinests magazine dated 1952. The oily paper didn't help, and the bore was rusted.

[morgan in nm]

Very nice find. I bought a 1955 carbine a few years ago that was nearly unfired or at least appeared that way.

On treating a weapon as it were loaded, great point. Once, my local gun shop got in a shotgun for repair and was told that the gun was empty. I don't know why but the dealer held the shotgun toward the ceiling and pulled the trigger, (BANG.) Blew a big hole in the ceiling and bb's went everywhere. After some pretty good scolding, he checks every time now.

[2ndovc]

When I was a kid I almost did a very bad thing with a flare gun. My Grandfather had passed away and my Dad brought home a bunch of his stuff.
Digging through one of the boxes in the garage I came accross a neat old 12ga. flare gun. I had the striker pulled all the way back and thought to myself that it me be loaded. Sure enough it had a round in the chamber. Could have burnt the house down!

Always loaded!


jb

[alnitak]

I was born in 1954. Was she looking to sell that rifle?

[jnyork]

.

Anyway, I gave her about what it was worth and we parted friends.

[dkmlever]

Years ago my wifes friend's dad passed on and his widow asked us to come out and get his guns to sell. All of them were loaded! A 45, 22 revolver a 38 detetive special, I always check!

[steveb]

Always loaded! Congrats on your good find.

[FWiedner]

It happens, and it's embarassing when it does.

I was showing my older brother a little semi-auto pistola a few years back. As I recall, I took it out of the case and dropped the magazine (do you see this coming?) and turned to pick up something else before I handed it to him.

My brother had been a marksmanship and firearms safety instructor for years, and him being him, he did the right thing before further examining the firearm in question. He pulled the slide back to verify that the chamber was empty and VIOLA! Out flies a live round.

There was potential for disaster, but everything came out on the good side thanks to my brother's good habit, but you just never live some things down, especially when a sibling is there to point and laugh.

That was nearly 20 years ago and he stick picks at it...

[alnitak]

.

Anyway, I gave her about what it was worth and we parted friends.

Ooops, sorry. I missed that part.

Good find!

[Mutt]

GOOD SMARTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



....................................................Mutt

[dr walker]

I cant remember how many times I have found loaded guns while cleaning houses. Most often they have been forgotten.
A few months ago I pulled a beautiful Smith and Wesson pre-29 4 inch barrel with factory Ivory grips out of a couch. It had fallen down the side of the cushion and into the frame, when I moved the couch to clean under I heard a clunk. The owner wondered where it had gone, but "knew it would turn up sooner or later" . It was loaded.

My great Aunt shot and killed her husband with an old rifle, she didnt know all guns are always loaded.