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9 October 2007

My Favorite Firearm - Priceless

Posted by Darrell under: Guest Writer Series .

 

My Favorite Firearm
by Kevin Paulson

My favorite firearm is a 270 rifle. It is the rifle, I used at my first attempt to take a mule deer and missed. It is the rifle that I used to take my first doe antelope with my father when I was 17 years old. It is the rifle that I took my first whitetail, elk, mule deer and it is the rifle that I just used to take an antelope with just 3 weeks ago.

This rifle started as a Fabrique National (Belgium Manufactured) with a Mauser style bolt action and was manufactured sometime in the late 50s and early 60s. It came with a pretty standard stock and this action and style was a favorite of the gunsmith that took this rifle and began to create a plan for it. The gun was being built for Ardel who was his brother in law.

The gunsmith who built this rifle was my grandfather Elton B. Paulson(the B stood for Bud, which everyone called him). This rifle was built in the early to mid 60¹s and was built in the California Style that was so important during that time. It has a high Monte Carlo rollover on the cheek pad and was built with high grade Claro Walnut. The checkering was hand done by Bud and the inlays present a beautiful set of lines that make the rifle look like a screaming Ferrari.

The rifle was built with a 1960 Weaver scope that long ago fogged up and was replaced with a Leupold. Grandpa had installed a Timney trigger in this rifle and it is set at about 2.0lbs and the action is blistering fast.

My Grandfather had every single book ever written by Jack O’Conner so the rifle being a 270 brings about thoughts of someday taking the rifle sheep hunting or down to Mexico in pursuit of big mule deer. I pick up the rifle and I think of my grandfather shooting mule deer in Wyoming or Prairie Dogs busting wide open with he and my father side by side. It reminds me of trips side by side with my own father and how strong those memories are for me and how they shaped me as a human being.

This rifle really brings out every emotion that I have about hunting. It reminds me that hunting for me is about the traditions of the past as well as being in the moment. It reminds me that I have a duty to carry on that tradition to my children.Many years of hunts and the small signs of aging had the rifle looking like it had the marks of many hunts knicked into the stock. The bluing had begun to turn grey and there was a small rust spot from the elk hunt in 18 inches of snow. About 9 months ago, I took the rifle to a gunsmith and had it re-blued and the stock rubbed out, buffed and oiled. He did a wonderful job and I know my grandfather and my father would be proud of the work he did to bring the rifle back up to its beautiful condition.

I took the scope off a year ago(for another rifle) and it needed a replacement so when Leupold brought out its 100 year Limited Edition Scope, I had to get one for this rifle. The scope just seemed to remind me about American craftsmen and how companies are forgetting that these weapons are about art and they are about memories and they should mean something to the person who carries it into the field.

It was important for me to bring the rifle on my latest antelope trip before this rifle was to be stored away for Tristan my son. It was important for me to know that I had my Grandfather and my Father walking with me in the field on that hunt. Every couple of months it is going to be pulled out, oiled, rubbed down, admired, with memories flooding my heart and brain and then it will be put away for the next time. In time Tristan will shoot this rifle and he will take his first antelope with it, his first deer and it will carry on the memories and even when it is someday his rifle it will always be my favorite rifle and it is truly priceless to my family and to me. Kevin PaulsonKevin Paulson is the founder of HuntingLife.com. You can read more from him on the Hunting Life Blog. For his diligence in preparing this article, I’m going to send him whatever he wants from the AlphaTrilogy Swag Shop. Thanks Kevin!——————————————————————–

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