What is your oldest gun?

[Fivetoes]

Around 1920 My grandpa paid three dollars and an orphan calf for a Vincent rifle in what measures out to a 44 caliber. I don't know the age of the gun but I do shoot it from time to time.

[evan price]

Colt "Army Special" .38 Special revolver made in 1917, still locks up like a bank vault and I shoot it quite often.
A Husquevarna M38 Swedish Mauser carbine, 1944
A Turkish Mauser from 1938.

[sam]

M96 Swedish Mauser, made in 1916, if I remember correctly.

Beat me by one year. My M96 is marked 1917.

[cu74]

My oldest is [strike]probably either the Springfield Model 1903 or[/strike] the Schmidt-Rubin 1896/11 rifle, [strike]but I don't know when they were actually made.[/strike] manufactured in 1898.

UPDATE: Thanks to Battleriflefan for the web site reminder, I looked up the serial number - had done that for my other Schmidt-Rubins but somehow overlooked the 1898/11 rifle..... (Springfield 1903 was made in 1910.)

[SeekHer]

Are we talking smokeless cartridge guns, blackpowder cartridge guns or just BP guns?

Because I’ve got snaphaunce, wheelguns and dog locks from the early 1700s, Brown Bess from pre F&I Wars days to East Indian trade guns, Baker and Brunswick rifles to falling block and a few lever guns of Sharps, Ballards, Stevens, Harrington and Winchesters from the 1870s and for smokeless cartridge I have a Long Lee 1885 and a Lee Metford 1897, Mauser 1871/74 and K98 based modern hunting rifles but I don’t have many modern Mil-Surp rifles anymore…For the new members, there was a fire in our home Xmas last and everything was destroyed, re-enactment uniforms and civilians clothes, swords, cross and longbows, our complete collection of knives and 254 rifles and shotguns of ours and 43, all target guns, belonging to my wife and daughters…

Almost all the originals were on loan to various museums in the area and Ottawa and when we would play “dress up” it is with modern reproductions of the guns…Besides the historical aspect and of course not being able to replace them if they break while re-enacting or shooting, a lot of the metal is just too brittle and wouldn’t handle modern pressure cartridge loads and I’d rather not have them explode in my face, thank you very much…Four museums couldn’t always take all of them, they would take the 9 versions of the SMLE that I had but what about the other 33 SMLEs that were in the closet…

The loss, excluding monetary, was in the history of the guns that my family had collected for 150+ years and I was lucky enough to acquire a portion from inheritance—other cousins, who were also into guns, got pieces as well from the estates…Everything that could be replaced has been or are in the final stages of being made up and just awaiting delivery etc…

[NVGdude]

Mosin Nagant. Hex receiver Soviet 91/30, with Fin Stock, front sight and property marks.

Date on the Reciever tang: 1897

Next oldest would be a 96 Swedish Mauser dated 1903

[Draven]

Yugoslavian 24/47 Mauser, made before 1939... likely in the mid to late 1920s.

[Angus Lincoln]

My oldest firearm is another Swedish Mauser; a Carl Gustav 1912 M96 converted to an M38. Certainly one of the most accurate and handsome rifles made...ever

[blackeagle603]

Granddad's S&W .32 Double Action, Fourth Model. Pre-1898 taken in barter to pay off a debt owed to him -- probably from use of his sorghum mill or providing (draft) horse training for a neighbor.

LINK

[AZMARK]

Oldest gun is a sporterized Ishapore No. 1 Mk.III dated 1939, oldest stock gun is a M38 Swedish Mauser dated 1941.