Years ago when I graduated from college a friend of mine, who is also a serious S&W collector, gave me a nice M64 snubby as a graduation gift.
It was completely out of the blue and I thought it was too generous a gift for just completing something I'd planned all along to do.
He told me someday I may be in the position to give someone something nice and to just keep that in mind.
Fast forward to this past Christmastime and I was talking with my retired father-in-law about guns (of course) and the conversation drifted to carry pieces. He usually carries a full sized pistol and he mentioned in passing that he'd had his eye on a Kahr CM9 as a warm weather gun so he could carry more frequently in the summer with just a t-shirt.
In fact, he almost bought one in December but then his water heater went out and that was a huge unexpected bill, especially since he's on a pension. The conversation drifted yet again and it never came up again.
Well, way back I used to work at a gunshop and still help them out on a very part time basis here and there and can order new guns from the distributor at cost. So, a lightbulb went on in my head and I set my plan in motion.
Today we invited Grampa over (he lives over an hour away) to visit our toddler, something we do every couple months. During the visit I steered the conversation toward guns and said I wanted to show him something. First, since he's a Vietnam-era Navy vet, I showed him an AR-15 I'd just built that looks pretty close to an M16A1 (original black triangular furniture, etc). Three-prong flash-hider and everything.
Then I pulled out the M64 and briefly told the story of how it was given to me.
Setting that aside I said "there's was something else I think you'd like to see", and I handed him a Kahr CM9. He said, "hey, that's he kind of gun I've been looking at."
I said, "yep, and this one is yours now."
After a moment of silence he quickly tried to hand it back and refuse saying it was too much and he just can't take it but I insisted and told him to turn it over and pointed out that I'd had it engraved with the motto from the ship he was stationed on while active, "TOP GUN - BAR NONE".
And I said, "see, there's no way I can take it back now".
There was a little more pushback but then he said "well, let me see it in the light" and we walked to a brighter area and it was clear it was his, now.
(I knew he'd try to not accept it, he's just that kind of guy, would rather have me put the money toward my kid or the house or whatever. That's why I had it engraved.
At the end of the visit he said again that he could never thank me enough, which I said was not necessary, that I was just happy to do it.
He's a tough leathery old coot a lot of the times, he is a professional curmudgeon, but I told him sometimes it's nice when things just drop out of the sky and he agreed, and I saw he looked a little misty in the eyes, something I've never seen in the 20 years I've known him.
I know how much water heaters cost and I imagine that he may have just never gotten around to getting the Kahr.
Felt pretty nice to do something out of the blue for someone that they would never expect in a billion years.
It was completely out of the blue and I thought it was too generous a gift for just completing something I'd planned all along to do.
He told me someday I may be in the position to give someone something nice and to just keep that in mind.
Fast forward to this past Christmastime and I was talking with my retired father-in-law about guns (of course) and the conversation drifted to carry pieces. He usually carries a full sized pistol and he mentioned in passing that he'd had his eye on a Kahr CM9 as a warm weather gun so he could carry more frequently in the summer with just a t-shirt.
In fact, he almost bought one in December but then his water heater went out and that was a huge unexpected bill, especially since he's on a pension. The conversation drifted yet again and it never came up again.
Well, way back I used to work at a gunshop and still help them out on a very part time basis here and there and can order new guns from the distributor at cost. So, a lightbulb went on in my head and I set my plan in motion.
Today we invited Grampa over (he lives over an hour away) to visit our toddler, something we do every couple months. During the visit I steered the conversation toward guns and said I wanted to show him something. First, since he's a Vietnam-era Navy vet, I showed him an AR-15 I'd just built that looks pretty close to an M16A1 (original black triangular furniture, etc). Three-prong flash-hider and everything.
Then I pulled out the M64 and briefly told the story of how it was given to me.
Setting that aside I said "there's was something else I think you'd like to see", and I handed him a Kahr CM9. He said, "hey, that's he kind of gun I've been looking at."
I said, "yep, and this one is yours now."
After a moment of silence he quickly tried to hand it back and refuse saying it was too much and he just can't take it but I insisted and told him to turn it over and pointed out that I'd had it engraved with the motto from the ship he was stationed on while active, "TOP GUN - BAR NONE".
And I said, "see, there's no way I can take it back now".
There was a little more pushback but then he said "well, let me see it in the light" and we walked to a brighter area and it was clear it was his, now.
(I knew he'd try to not accept it, he's just that kind of guy, would rather have me put the money toward my kid or the house or whatever. That's why I had it engraved.
At the end of the visit he said again that he could never thank me enough, which I said was not necessary, that I was just happy to do it.
He's a tough leathery old coot a lot of the times, he is a professional curmudgeon, but I told him sometimes it's nice when things just drop out of the sky and he agreed, and I saw he looked a little misty in the eyes, something I've never seen in the 20 years I've known him.
I know how much water heaters cost and I imagine that he may have just never gotten around to getting the Kahr.
Felt pretty nice to do something out of the blue for someone that they would never expect in a billion years.
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