aarondhgraham
New member
I'm a 64 year old bachelor with no familial heirs to leave my guns to,,,
So in my will I have named a friend as the inheritor for each of my guns.
Of course the list is always changeable,,,
Like the lady I was going to give two pistols to,,,
But she passed away herself just a few months back.
Anyways, I have toyed with the idea that I don't need to wait,,,
In some instances I have decided that I want the joy of seeing the recipient accept a gift.
So anyways, yesterday evening I was sitting at my favorite watering hole,,,
A good friend and co-worker came in and we got to talking guns.
This friend has three sons of 8, 10, and 12 years old,,,
He's recently gotten into guns and target shooting,,,
His first rifle was the AR he just finished building.
He recently purchased a very nice SKS,,,
And a new Savage target style 22 rifle.
His 12 year old got a Heritage 22 revolver for Christmas.
So you can see he is a burgeoning gun-nut.
Anyways, we were talking about how he gets more enjoyment from his SKS than his AR,,,
He mused that there is something about older mil-surps that intrigues him.
He asked me about the Mitchel's Mausers he sees advertised on the web,,,
One of his favorite movies is Enemy at the Gate,,,
He said he wants a K98 Mauser very badly.
I told him that the Mausers from Mitchell are not thought of very highly,,,
It's my understanding that they are pieced together from parts,,,
And are only authentic as "Mitchel's Mausers",,,
Not true numbers matching specimens.
Then the beer kicked in and I blurted out,,,
"If you really want a true Mauser, I have one I will give you."
I am the proud owner (since I was 12),,,
Of the K98 my great uncle Banty brought back from the war.
It's a true battlefield pick-up rifle,,,
Made at the Orbendorf (sp?) factory in 1943 or 44,,,
He gave it to his younger brother (my grandfather) who later gave it to me.
His jaw dropped right into his beer mug.
Then sanity returned to me and I laid out a few caveats,,,
First, he must keep the rifle and pass it to one of his three sons,,,
Second, he is not going to get the gun until I've fired and fondled it some more.
Lastly, he has to promise that he will in fact shoot the dang thing every now and then,,,
Not just let it sit in a dark closet never to see the light of day again.
I woke up this morning and started thinking about my snap decision,,,
For a few minutes I was in deep regret about my offer,,,
But the more I think about it the happier I am.
I'm as sure as anyone can be that he will keep the rifle as an heirloom piece,,,
And sometime this summer we'll take it and his boys to the range,,,
After they all have a chance to fire the old gal a few times,,,
That's when I'll formally transfer ownership to him.
I'm going to create a letter of provenance for the gun,,,
It will state the known list of it's past owners,,,
And the history of it's hunting success.
Grandpa took a few deer with it as well as a black bear,,,
I've taken four deer and one razorback hog,,,
As well as countless rats at the old dump.
This is a big first step for me but I don't think I will regret it,,,
I want my firearm "treasures" to have a good home.
This will ensure at least one of them will not end up in a buy-back,,,
And I'll get the joy of seeing it go to a friend and his family.
My friend said,,,
"Aarond you've been drinking, let's talk about this later."
So I do have one chance to honorably back out the deal,,,
But as it stands now in the cold light of day,,,
I think I'm going to be happy about it.
Aarond
.
So in my will I have named a friend as the inheritor for each of my guns.
Of course the list is always changeable,,,
Like the lady I was going to give two pistols to,,,
But she passed away herself just a few months back.
Anyways, I have toyed with the idea that I don't need to wait,,,
In some instances I have decided that I want the joy of seeing the recipient accept a gift.
So anyways, yesterday evening I was sitting at my favorite watering hole,,,
A good friend and co-worker came in and we got to talking guns.
This friend has three sons of 8, 10, and 12 years old,,,
He's recently gotten into guns and target shooting,,,
His first rifle was the AR he just finished building.
He recently purchased a very nice SKS,,,
And a new Savage target style 22 rifle.
His 12 year old got a Heritage 22 revolver for Christmas.
So you can see he is a burgeoning gun-nut.
Anyways, we were talking about how he gets more enjoyment from his SKS than his AR,,,
He mused that there is something about older mil-surps that intrigues him.
He asked me about the Mitchel's Mausers he sees advertised on the web,,,
One of his favorite movies is Enemy at the Gate,,,
He said he wants a K98 Mauser very badly.
I told him that the Mausers from Mitchell are not thought of very highly,,,
It's my understanding that they are pieced together from parts,,,
And are only authentic as "Mitchel's Mausers",,,
Not true numbers matching specimens.
Then the beer kicked in and I blurted out,,,
"If you really want a true Mauser, I have one I will give you."
I am the proud owner (since I was 12),,,
Of the K98 my great uncle Banty brought back from the war.
It's a true battlefield pick-up rifle,,,
Made at the Orbendorf (sp?) factory in 1943 or 44,,,
He gave it to his younger brother (my grandfather) who later gave it to me.
His jaw dropped right into his beer mug.
Then sanity returned to me and I laid out a few caveats,,,
First, he must keep the rifle and pass it to one of his three sons,,,
Second, he is not going to get the gun until I've fired and fondled it some more.
Lastly, he has to promise that he will in fact shoot the dang thing every now and then,,,
Not just let it sit in a dark closet never to see the light of day again.
I woke up this morning and started thinking about my snap decision,,,
For a few minutes I was in deep regret about my offer,,,
But the more I think about it the happier I am.
I'm as sure as anyone can be that he will keep the rifle as an heirloom piece,,,
And sometime this summer we'll take it and his boys to the range,,,
After they all have a chance to fire the old gal a few times,,,
That's when I'll formally transfer ownership to him.
I'm going to create a letter of provenance for the gun,,,
It will state the known list of it's past owners,,,
And the history of it's hunting success.
Grandpa took a few deer with it as well as a black bear,,,
I've taken four deer and one razorback hog,,,
As well as countless rats at the old dump.
This is a big first step for me but I don't think I will regret it,,,
I want my firearm "treasures" to have a good home.
This will ensure at least one of them will not end up in a buy-back,,,
And I'll get the joy of seeing it go to a friend and his family.
My friend said,,,
"Aarond you've been drinking, let's talk about this later."
So I do have one chance to honorably back out the deal,,,
But as it stands now in the cold light of day,,,
I think I'm going to be happy about it.
Aarond
.