Hunting with truly vintage Griffin & Howe rifle

[Doublegun]

Dawn on November 15th found me sitting in the Huron National Forrest with an early (1927) 7MM Griffin and Howe Sporter across my lap. Hunting, especially deer hunting, with a vintage firearm is truly special. Plenty of time to stare at the ruifle and run my hands over the stock and 1903 action. And when the time came, one shot through the heart of a Michigan whitetail. The shot reminded me that even with 52-year old eyes I don't need expensive glass to take a deer sized animal. The Lyman 48 is perfect in every way and a beautiful piece of engineering.

 

[Atterbury Dodd]

Wow, that is a beautiful rifle! I need to get a vintage or a classic newer gun.

 

[Rathdown]

All of the best rifles were, in my opinion, made between the two world wars, or immediately after WWII up to about 1960.

 

[Renault]

Awesome! VERY nice rifle and "Waidmannsheil" !!!!!!!! I've always considered such a rifle as your G&H in .35 Whelen would be the "bee's knees!" But 7 x 57 is certainly nothing to sneeze at either. Only my second most favorite ctg of all time! Took my first deer with the old 7mm! Thanks for sharing!!!!!!

Renault

 

[Atterbury Dodd]

Doublegun, do you have any more pictures of the rifle? I would like to see the front sight and the other side...

 

[Corky]

It is a shame that the fashion in modern firearm design now favors ugly weapons in order to make the bearer appear to be more scary looking.

 

[Alex Oviatt]

Very nice! I always feel this way when I go hunting with my grandfather's Parker--12 Gauge side by side. Just went out to celebrate St. Hubertus' birthday--sporting clays. Clay pidgeons fled in fear when they saw me coming!

 

[Rathdown]

It is a shame that the fashion in modern firearm design now favors ugly weapons in order to make the bearer appear to be more scary looking.

Sad, but true.

 

[Renault]

Sad, but true.

Don't get me started......... Everybody wants a "Black Gun" and wants to be a sniper! And I believe they have contest to see just how much "stuff" they can attach to said rifles... We see it each & every day. But that's their gig and whatever floats their stick..... I'm happy with my checkered wood, blued steel, and real leather!

I once saw the best definition of MOA as "My own ability"!!!!!

Renault

 

[J.D. Hunt]

I once saw the best definition of MOA as "My own ability"!!!!!

So true D'Renault. :eusa_clap When all you need is a vintage weapon to place a bullet on an animal you can see unassisted, why does one wish to spend all that money on things one does not need to put food on the table. My full stock 7x57mm will do all of that even though it is to young to be called vintage, unless you count the age of the 96 Mauser action. Have not put the new sights on yet. It is the next project for me. J.D. Hunt

Renault[/QUOTE]

 

[Doublegun]

It is a shame that the fashion in modern firearm design now favors ugly weapons in order to make the bearer appear to be more scary looking.

Ah, yes. The hunter as assassian. Very sad. That being said, I do have a couple of non-wood guns (Rem 700KS Mountain Rifle with a Kevlar stock and a Beretta 390 Semi-auto) for environments that are too hard on really old (and valuable) guns.

Alex, you mentioned your grandfather's Parker, how about sharing some photos?

Atterbury, I'll take and post some more photos when I get a chance next week.

Thank you all for your compliments. For the record, it is even more of a pleasure to carry and shoot than it is to look at.

Cheers.

 

[jkingrph]

Very nice! I always feel this way when I go hunting with my grandfather's Parker--12 Gauge side by side. Just went out to celebrate St. Hubertus' birthday--sporting clays. Clay pidgeons fled in fear when they saw me coming!

It's amazing how fast those Clay pigeons try to get away.

I had never been into shotguns a lot, used them when I was stationed over in Turkey back in the early 70's and could not have rifled arms.

I picked up a few modern types including two doubles, as Win 101 20 ga and one of the nicer Ithaca SKB sxs 12 gages . A few years back I picked up a nice old Parker 12, and finally got my son, about 28 years old at the time, for some informal clay bird shooting. I gave him the Parker and let him shoot it a while, then another sxs and the Win 101. Not knowing what was what, and his first time shotgunning he picks the Parker as his favorite.

That Griffin and Howe looks nice. For what you were doing, I have a nice little Ruger 1a, light rifle, in 7x57, but it has a small Leupold scope as factory sights are not too good with my old eyes. I wish someone would make a nice receiver sight that would attach to the scope mount, and extend back. I saw where someone made one and may have to give it a try as that rifle just calls for iron sights

 

[1961MJS]

Don't get me started......... Everybody wants a "Black Gun" and wants to be a sniper! And I believe they have contest to see just how much "stuff" they can attach to said rifles... We see it each & every day. But that's their gig and whatever floats their stick..... I'm happy with my checkered wood, blued steel, and real leather!

I once saw the best definition of MOA as "My own ability"!!!!!

Renault

Hi Renault

The really funny part of all this sniper crap is that Gunny Hathcock used a store bought Winchester model 70 in .30-06 to do his work.

I always laugh at the extra Picatinny rails attached to the AR platforms. I want one with a laser, a flashlight, a harris bipod, and an electric can opener. I also saw a cute picture of a custom 1911 with the rail under the slide. The guy had built a custom bayonet for it. The guy was a serious smart a$$ by the way.

later

 

[Atterbury Dodd]

I also saw a cute picture of a custom 1911 with the rail under the slide. The guy had built a custom bayonet for it. The guy was a serious smart a$$ by the way.

later

Wow, that is funny. Although I do like modern military weapons for the most part, I believe most of the tactical crap sold to civilians is just a sales pitch.

 

[Oldsarge]

The Lyman 48 is a wonderful sight. I have one on my .318 WR by Greener. Even with 64 year old trifocal wearing eyes I would not hesitate to take any larger-than-coyote sized game animal out to 200 yards with it. On elk, make that possibly 250. The really wonderful thing is that, for enough money, Griffin & Howe will build you an exact duplicate of that very rifle. The classics still live . . . for enough money!

 

[1961MJS]

Wow, that is funny. Although I do like modern military weapons for the most part, I believe most of the tactical crap sold to civilians is just a sales pitch.

Hi

I teach pistol shooting with a USAF Sergeant who refers to it as "Tacti-Cool" both in spoken word and in print. Gotta love that one.

Later

 

[Renault]

On another forum there came up a thread in this very same vein. "What old school rifle might you use this season?" I went to my gun safe(s) and 98% of all the firearms I own are "old skool" ....... So it's really not an option to hunt with anything else.

I have nothing against composition or plastic stocks on rifles and shotguns. Or for that matter any of the new technologies in firearm developement. All this definitely have an important place in the hunting arena. However I have seen from a professional standpoint a degredation in the quality control of many of the current firearm manufacturers. Not all,,,, just many...... My co-worker and myself have a rule we live by. We NEVER buy a new firearm. They are too many quality, vintage and modern type firearms available for a fraction of the price of a new firearm. I suppose we have the edge on other folks being in the trade that we are. But owning a good quality, vintage rifle or shotgun is well within the means of the average fellow or lady!

The real irony is seeing folks purchase a black gun as their first firearm with absolutely no past or prior firearm instruction, and with no plans to receive any other than what they read from the "experts" on the web....... Same situation when they purchase one of the vast array of smaller .380 type plastic auto pistols. The majority are excellent quality, they just can't seem to get them to work properly as they cannot hold and shoot them properly!

Renault

 

[Oldsarge]

Back in BCT, I had my M14 taken away and it was replaced by a damned black mouse gun. I have heard that the later versions are much improved but that Buick Brake Drum Division model was a disaster on a sling. I've never really recovered from the trauma of trying to get that blasted POS to shoot straight. Maybe someday I'll get a coyote gun based on the AR frame but don't hold your breath. Besides, there are too many well made M98 actions out there to build up a gun on so why bother with 'modern'?

 

[Atticus Finch]

Back when I hunted deer, I enjoyed hunting with vintage weapons. I was a member of a club that ran dogs, and we tended to use shorter rifles. We didn't take shots that were much longer than seventy-five yards, so carbines were our weapons of choice.

Here are two that I used most often. On the left, my 1948 336 RC...made during the first year of the 336, I understand. On the right, my 1962 Model 94. Kinda a rare bird. The forearm extended only one inch beyond to band, in the post sixty-four fashion. I believe the 1962 and 1963 Model 94s were the only pre-sixty-fours made this way.

AF

 

[jkingrph]

Don't get me started......... Everybody wants a "Black Gun" and wants to be a sniper! And I believe they have contest to see just how much "stuff" they can attach to said rifles... We see it each & every day. But that's their gig and whatever floats their stick..... I'm happy with my checkered wood, blued steel, and real leather!

I once saw the best definition of MOA as "My own ability"!!!!!

I guess I'm an oddball. When I got back in the USAF reserve back in 90, I decided I wanted something similar to the service rifle, I had shot one in basic back in 69, so I picked up one of the Colt H Bar competition models, then later another which was modified with a free floated bull barrel for varmit shooting. Fast forward another 20 years and I got the bug for an AR in the 6.5 Grendel, the cartridge interested me, so I wound up building 3 in different confiturations, then making a lightweight carbine for the wife.

In the meantime I had acquired a nice old Parker, a pretty Huqvarna sporter, a Darne and a Charlin, and one of my favorites a little Ruger #1a, light rifle in 7x57. It's one of the long throated models, red buttplate so is most accurae with the long heavy bullets, but that's fine, I've played some games with it on free floating, and a set trigger and it's a shooter plus being a joy to look at.

I do like the black rifles although some are painted other colors for playing especially the Grendel caliber for long range, but am like a doctor I knew who said, "pretty guns shoot best".