I once had a gun I would not sell. There have never been any hunters in my family and my dad refused to allow a rifle in the house. My boyhood friend, Fred, went hunting all the time with his Dad and Grandfather and once he turned 14 years of age, his dad allowed him to hunt on his own. I would tag along and act as Fred's spotter. Once in a while, I was even allowed to carry the rifle, mostly a .22 or a .243. I even got to shoot a squirrel or a woodchuck on a rare occasion. This continued for years until I went to college. I graduated and returned to my home town, took a job, got married and continued to spot for Fred. At age 22 I received my first bonus and purchased a clothes-dryer for my wife and a worn but well preserved Winchester Model 88 in .308 Winchester with a fixed power 4X scope from Fred, who sold it to finance the purchase of a Remington Woodmaster in .308 Win. I was surprised he sold it as it had been his father's rifle. The Model 88 is a rare breed. A lever action gun with a rotating bolt and a detachable magazine. Easy to carry, east to shoot and accurate. The first time I went afield with Fred, after spring woodchucks, I saw a woodchuck and whispered: "Fred - woodchuck!!" while pointing across the field. Fred's response was: "Shoot the damn thing, you have a gun!" And so I did. Fred and I went on to hunt deer all over New England, my very first was a nice heavy 8-point in Maine. We also shot bear in New Hampshire and Newfoundland, moose and caribou in Newfoundland, more deer in New England and multiple woodchucks, other "varmints" and other game: they all fell to the "88", fed with hand loaded 110 grain to 220 grain bullets of the day. This was always my first gun and my favorite even though I was well on my way to collecting many "nicer" firearms. Then Fred begat Leif and Lief turned 10. Just before Christmas, Fred called and asked to buy "his fathers rifle" to give to his son. I refused saying that his father had other guns and this was my "first" and it was special to me. Fred called the next year with the same request - he received the same response. Over the next several years, Fred made the same request and then gave up. A few years past by and Leif turned 18. Fred's wife Jane called, pledged me to secrecy and said that she wanted to buy the old "88" to give to Fred so Fred could give it to Leif for Christmas. I refused and she upped her offer. I refused again and she pleaded and upped her offer again. When she offered well over $2000, I told her that the gun was not mine to sell, that it belonged in her family and that I had simply been renting it all these many years. Now that I had received fair value for my "rent", I was giving it back to Fred so he could give it to Leif. That fall, Leif shot a really big 8 point on his dad's land. The "88" was back home.