16ga.com ~ View topic - "Friends" that treat your guns improperly?

Joined: 12 Sep 2010 Posts: 1973 Location: Maine

I don't loan mine to anyone. I might allow people I trust to handle the gun in a controlled, non-shooting setting. And that's still a short list.
One shotgun, which I bought new (my 12ga Simson sxs), has been fired only by me and the gunsmith who put some check rounds through it after doing some repairs. In 31 years.
You don't loan out guns, wives, dogs, chainsaws, hedge trimmers or snowblowers. You might loan out a lawnmower. I'm loath to loan out the snowshovel I keep in the car. Between people who don't know how to handle and take care of stuff and knuckleheads who will misuse it and hurt themselves or others, there's no need for the headaches.

Joined: 12 Mar 2012 Posts: 686 Location: Ontario

As others have mentioned the list of "friends" I would loan a firearm to is incredibly short. I suppose I may be fortunate in that most of my firearms no one would want to borrow. They are mostly old and chambered in obscure and more often than not cartridges that have been obsolete since before WWI or WWII that are only available from my loading bench. That and most are afraid of, in no particular order: single shot rifles, drillings, combination guns, handloads, black powder, cast bullets, flintlocks and something that doesn't have a "safety" on it.

Joined: 19 Apr 2008 Posts: 477

I would never loan one of my quality guns to anyone. I am picky about their condition. I have a Beretta 390 that is my loaner gun. Its all black and I am not very concerned about any cosmetic damage to it. My brother flies out from Mass every year and we go up to SD for a week of pheasant shooting. He uses it and takes nice care of it, but he's still not getting one of my nice wood stocked guns. Why risk it.

I have one gun that I'll loan to my brother. He gave me a 12ga skeet gun when I last graduated. So I let him borrow it for a season if he wants it. It's a decent bird gun, despite being the wrong gauge. It's an older herter's import when the style was to have 26" barrels for skeet. It's not particularly heavy, and points good. He shot it last week when we did a preserve hunt with his younger boys. I let him take it home to clean it when we were done.

I probably won't ask for it back anytime soon. I haven't shot it in several years, but it's a good loaner gun. It seen quite a bit of use in the last fifty years, so the finish is already worn.

I let my nephews and niece carry one of my break guns if they go hunting with us. That's just a couple of supervised hours, though.

I have a few friends, I would lend about any of my guns, but they have their own guns, so usually not necessary.

I once had a neighbor whose yard I routinely cut. He had no mower. I re-sodded half of my front yard in rug fashion, edge to edge. It was late spring. I couldn't mow for a couple of weeks in order to give the roots a chance to take hold. Wife and I went out of town over a three day weekend.
Our grown son stayed home and was instructed to water daily which he did. While gone, my neighbor in an effort to repay me for taking care of his lawn over the years, rented a lawnmower and set the blade as low as possible and cut the grass almost to the roots. We had a heat wave during the weekend. The sun baked what was left and when I came home, the grass was scorched brown and scalped to the dirt. All I could do was thank my good neighbor. I wanted to kill him but there is legislation against that in my state. A year later he borrowed my lawnmower. He returned it full of gas from a gas can that he found in his deceased father's garage. There was no telling how old the gas was as his dad had been dead for years. I didn't know the origin of the gas until I tried to start my mower. He told me the mower worked fine when I gave it to him. He filled it with gas after finishing his lawn. He proudly showed me his dad's old gas can which had more dents than a demolition derby winner's car. I had to have the carburetor rebuilt because of the garbage and water in the dead gas. The problem was solved when he moved.

Member Joined: 07 Jan 2013 Posts: 398 Location: Virginia

Gil - your experience reminds me of that old saying "No good deed goes unpunished."

Joined: 07 Sep 2014 Posts: 419

In general I do not loan guns. Fortunately I can use New York State gun laws to help justify. I do have a few guns that I would loan to a very limited number of people.

I am very particular with my property, not just guns. I am also particular with other's property. When I am in a gun shop and going to handle a gun, I take off my watch and any jewelry that I may have on.

Recently I purchased a brand new Browning Cynergy Trap Combo that came with exceptional wood. Unfortunately it is a high gloss finish that shows everything.

First day on the trap field a guy I shot with asks if he can see it. I said yes and he picked it up and between his College Ring, Diamond Ring and heavy case watch left three marks in the gun.

Bob

Member Joined: 25 Jun 2008 Posts: 1863 Location: Wisconsin

We keep a mossberg 500 3.5" 12 and a box of 3.5" sixes as a downpour/ loaner gun for use on our hunts only, no traveling. You shoot that one a time or two and you won't borrow it again. Reno

RENO , dad used the reverse on mom when I was a kid . We'd shoot backyard clays routinely . Eventually , mom would show up with her little short barrel m37 and want to participate . Dad always had a heavy pheas load just in case . He'd load er up , she'd touch her off and then had no INTEREST in shooting it or the 97's thereafter . Cruel , maybe , but quite effective !

Joined: 15 Jun 2010 Posts: 1358 Location: Twin Cities, MN

This makes me think I need to keep an eye out for a used pump with synthetic stock. If I borrowed it I wouldn't have to worry. Besides not borrowing stuff I also don't borrow money. If I borrow a friend, or worse, a relative money I plan on not ever seeing it again. That way if I do get repaid I consider it a bonus. Explained this to my wife and she had to learn the hard way by "loaning" money to a sibling. I also feel this way about books. Only one person I would loan a book to and he knows who he is. If someone wants to borrow a book, and I like that person, I buy them a copy. I love and revere my books as much as my guns. Had a friend beg me to borrow an expensive engraving book as he was considering ordering a custom gun. Never saw the book again and it was a gift from my brother. Guy claims he never borrowed it. I think it got loaned to someone else. Now my dogs - there is no one on earth I would loan a dog to.
Regards,
Jeff

Member Joined: 06 Nov 2005 Posts: 328

I have a friend who travels a few times a year.
I take care of his dogs when he travels.
One dog is a Boykin and this dog stays at my house. His other 3 are setters. They stay in his kennels while he is gone.
He has told me a number of times to take his dogs out and go hunt with them whenever I want.
I told him I would feel absolutely horrible if something happened to one of the dogs while I was out hunting them. So I have never borrowed them.
Never will.

Member Joined: 13 Dec 2008 Posts: 460 Location: Texas

I would sooner give the man a gun than loan one out. Too many bad experiences over the years.

Joined: 25 Aug 2014 Posts: 286 Location: Finger Lakes

Never really had to loan a gun out. Most my friends have plenty of there own. I don't think I would want to borrow a gun myself and I take care of my stuff. Things can happen and I don't want that responsibility. Me and my dad swap guns back and forth from time to time but that is something totally different then loaning out to friends.