mauser06

just had to share the joy of a new gun with someone...figured you guys would due


got home today from college for the weekend...usually come home every weekend so nothing out of the ordinary...

i open my bedroom door and immediately look on my bed because that is where mom and dad put my mail throughout the week and i see a gun laying there with a card...

hmmm my birthday was a couple weeks ago and they got me a GPS for my truck....what could it be?? dad gave me a pile of guns over the years but never with a card....what can it be??

i immediately seen it was a semi-auto shotgun...

upon closer inspection, a winchester model 50 12 gauge!!

hmmm maybe grandma gave it to me? nope..full choked barrel..hers is a modified...

better open the card....mom and dad bought it for me for my college graduation which is in a few weeks....but i guess because im leaving for the summer they figured they would give it to me a bit early to play with and enjoy...

why a winchester model 50? you might be asking...not a super rare gun...not very fancy guns...

well, when i was VERY young i started taking care of my grandmothers guns. they were left behind by my grandfather and her 2nd husband also left a few...like 8 long guns total...i would whipe them down and keep them oiled a few times a year ever since i could which was real young....well, at 12, i borrowed my grandfathers m88 in 308 and killed my first deer. then i started borrowing my grandfathers m50 12ga with modified barrel...i borrowed it pretty much every season....i killed a fall turkey with it, a pile of squirrels, bunnies, pheasants, doves, and my favorite...a pile of ruffed grouse. i always had a kinda natural ability for wing shooting...but that gun just connected with me...when i shot, something usually died...could been the fact that it was the only semi i hunted with and it wasnt uncommon for me to send 3 shells down range...but when your busting brush and limbs and hemlocks etc, the first 2 shots are usually knocking down the brush for the 3rd to connect lol...thats the biggest thing with rabbit and grouse hunting is you can often see them but not hit them because the brush in the way...

but i always loved that shotgun. my family and my grandma moved in together for a while and we kinda left on somewhat not so good terms...nothin huge just didnt really work out and dad told me make sure i left all her guns there....i asked her for the m50 and m88 several times...asked for them for birthdays and Christmas etc....no go....they are both my grandfathers...noone else in the immediate family hunts or takes care of the guns....but i honestly dont believe i will see any of the guns...both the sons are money hungry sharks and i wouldnt be surprised if they were sold already...i havent seen the guns since we left...

anyways, thats the story on why dad decided to buy me the model 50.

i have 4 other shotguns but dad knows i dont like wingshooting with any of them...only 1 is somewhat suitable and its a 28" mossberg 500 that i just hate carrying...going to turn it into a slug gun eventually...last year i actually carried my 870 with a 21" barrel(turkey gun) grouse hunting...

cant wait to shoot the new toy tomorrow!!! i dont know if i have any clays laying around or not...but im definently shooting it! kinda worried about the full choke...but the way that modified barrel used to shoot, im not sure it will effect me a ton...

kicking around the idea of getting screw in chokes for it...and also refinishing the stock...but i dont know...its an original winchester...ran the serial # and it was made in 1958....really isnt in bad condition...stock isnt that dinged but could be refinished....bluing wear is minimal..loading port is slightly wore but for the most part its in good condition...probably 80% give or take id say...

Swampdog

Good deal M, I remember something about your uncle or cousin or something like that seems like you were ready to give him a pretty good thumping.

homers brother

Not sure I'd be so quick to modify or refinish it. Something like that was obviously and thoughtfully picked out for you because of its sentimental value. You'll look at that gun someday and remember that original M50, as well as your parents wanting you to have one like it. Putting stuff on it and refinishing it won't enhance that sentimental value, just make it more functional.

stalkingbear

I think the shotgun will be more nostalgic as is. If it was in rough shape that would be a different story.

mauser06

yep i kicked around the idea and completely stripped it last nite...i havent seen any m50's in such good shape. they are either beat up or perfect. most show more blueing wear and dents and dings than mine...if i could just clean the wood, it would look great..but im not sure what i can clean it with that wont harm it....as far as i can tell its all original and hasnt been modified and im not going to modifiy it either...if the full choke doesnt work in the field for me, ive already found lines to get barrels...pricey...but i can get them. be neat to collect a bunch of barrels for the gun...

i love history and nostalga and stuff....sure for the same money dad could got me an 11-87 that shot 3" shells and took screw in chokes and this and that...but i love old guns and everything that comes with them...my Mauser is sporterized but shes a mauser...i love it...most people have no idea what a mauser is...but as much as i love the history and everything, i love to use the old guns....they get a little special treatment and wont be abused...but i enjoy hunting with them and using them.

swampdog, yep....that was the reason we moved out on not great terms...hatchet is burried but its more of a grit your teeth and bear it sorta deal...

i completely stripped her last night and cleaned everything...tightened the butt stock...who knows why on earth m50's are known for loose butt stocks...and if you dont know what your doing, you take the butt plate off and see the cap to the recoil spring and you have no idea what to do..so it stays loose forever lol. but shes nice n clean...honestly wasnt all too bad inside..bore wasnt bad either...doesnt look like she was used in a good long while....

im going for a run and then im going to come back and pack up the SUV with hunting and shooting gear and im headed to the farm the rest of the day....cant wait to shoot her...just something about firing a model 50...maybe because its recoil operated and has a recoil spring...i love it...

this one also looks to have a 30" barrel...i dont know what the other one had...26 or 28...it wasnt as long as this one....

i'll report back with the field test....gotta scrounge up some 12ga ammo...

mauser06

thinking about it, this is my first Winchester! i never realized i didnt own a winchester at all. just never got around to buying any because the ones i like arent real cheap! lol. i plan to kinda start collecting some though...id like a m88 or a couple 88s...and would love to own some pre-64 m70s.

no way im going to mess with an original winchester...i dont know how that thought entered my head...

if the full choke dont work out for me, i'll simply obtain more barrels for her...coz she wont be a safe queen ...heck i dont even own a safe then when i pass my gun collection on, noone else gets the idea to modify her just so they can use her....

id like to find a trap shoot...im going to check the paper...ive never shot real trap...ive shot real skeet though...trap has a little more distance and i think me and the full choke will work nicely on the trap field...i been shouldering it in my room and it shoulders perfectly and the bead comes up and settles naturally...that 30" barrel is a thing of beauty...

i'll report back later...going to take a box and see what the pattern looks like and maybe find some clays for the thrower...

tj_cubin

hmm... i finally just got my college diploma in the mail yesterday... maybe i need to share your story with my parents. I could really use a semi-auto 12ga...

(though asking for a gun while you are in the process of buying a handgun for yourself doesn't go over that well)

mauser06

haha...funny you say that...i have no idea when my diploma will come...got 2 weeks and finals left plus my internship this summer...THEN it will come...

but they know it WILL come...and know im leaving for summer/fall so they figured they would give it to me early so i can play with it...

i never really ask them for anything...they tell me ive been a huge help through the years and they appreciate it...they dont treat me much differently than my sister...but instead of clothes or toys or whatever here n there when we were growing up, i always got a gun...my toys are a bit more exspensive than girl toys...and they also helped her with her vehicle..which i bought 2 of my own...so dad has taken care of me...always in the form of guns lol...but ive helped the family move to and from 4-5 houses...i do the yard work...stuff like that...and they say they really appreciate it and like to show it by getting me a toy now n again...i got some good parents...cant complain at all.

i'll surely never forget my college graduation present...or my 11th Christmas and my first gun...or my 12th Bday and my 2nd gun, first 22...etc etc...but this one really does mean alot to me...they always say its the thought that counts...they aint lying...its already grown to mean so much more to me...


im goin shootin finally....

mauser06

just got back from shooting...

couldnt find any clays laying around and wasnt going to buy a whole box of them just to shoot a couple...

but she functions flawlessly

and patterns like a turkey gun...lol.

i'll have to post pics of the pattern...its a nice dense pattern that shot center...but at 20-25yds shes pretty tight...a 30" full choked bore i guess that was expected...i still love her...if i cant wingshoot with the full choked barrel i'll just get me another barrel...

JagMagMan

Congrats, on both the gun and the college work!