My father, Austin Monk, died in 2005 and left me with more than 100 antique guns manufactured before 1900. They were scattered everywhere. Sixty-five of the rifles were stored in my Aunt Louise's basement on a twin bed. A layer of guns, then a blanket, then another layer of guns, then an old bedspread, more guns, more blankets... on and on it went. There were Sharps, Winchesters, Remington Rolling Blocks, and Muzzle loaders.
I decided to do something about these run-amok-guns once and for all. I had Austin's checkbook and his new Lincoln. How often do you get a chance to spend Dad's money? (The last time was the gas station when I was a teenager. I'd fill up the Volkswagen bug and say, "Just charge it to my dad.") I motored to Polson and had a visit with the gun-safe guy. The salesman asked me how many guns I wanted to store. I told him and we moved to the big safes. Then he asked me what kind of guns. I told him Sharps Rifles. Then we moved on to the expensive safes. He told me that the quality of safe should match the quality of guns and I had some high rollers. I didn't care. I was sick of all those guns all over the place and I had Dad's checkbook. We often asked Austin why he never had a safe. He said that if someone wanted to steal his guns bad enough they would also steal the safe. (Quite a few of the Sharps were stolen some years ago but handily recovered. More about that later.) If Austin were to buy a safe, he would have bought the biggest and the best. That was the kind of guy he was, so I just wrote out a check. I didn't feel it was a good idea to have the guns in the basement and had the safe set up in a secure off-site location and then began to move guns.
Moving guns is not an easy trick for an old lady. I decided one evening when I was in my pajamas to start packing them upstairs and into the garage. Sharps rifles are heavy. Most of them I could carry up two at a time without banging them together. One was heavy enough that I had to haul it up by itself. Most of them spent the night in the garage. The next day was moving-the-guns day.
I'll tell you what I know about each gun, and tell some Austin stories along the way. Hope you enjoy it!
Janet
