A melancholy day with my dad

**BucksCountyBob** · May 19th, 2013, 08:57 AM

So yesterday I went over to my mom and dad's house to do a couple errands for them. They are pretty elderly (Dad is 93, Mom is 85) and both have been ill recently so they are now very infirm. They've reached the point where they have to have somebody in their home every day for about 6-8 hours to help them get through the hard stuff most of us take for granted, like getting dressed, fixing meals, etc.

As a result of having people in his house and not being able to monitor what they are doing, my dad decided it was time to start giving me his firearms. We started this process yesterday.

I pulled his locked gun box from up in the attic and we set up a cleaning station on the kitchen table. He hasn't used any of these guns in about 13 years, and had forgotten how to break most of them down. Thank God for the interwebs, as we were able to find all the videos we needed to make this happen.

We cleaned each one of the guns together, over the course of a couple hours. My dad always takes care of his stuff, so they were already well lubed and clean, even after sitting in a hot attic for all these years. My dad commented on how heavy they were now. He couldn't even rack the slides on any of them.

God, I hate seeing him like this...

In any case, we cleaned them all up and put them back in the case. He handed over the keys to me. My dad can't talk very well any more...doctors don't know why. He managed to tell me how much fun it was to clean and handle them one more time. When it came time for me to leave, he insisted that we make up a "code phrase" for me to call him with when I got home safely with them (he may be 93, but he's still a funny, witty guy). We settled on, "The sandwich is in the refrigerator". This was a reference to our favorite lunch spot, which we visited for lunch after we were done with the cleaning.

I thought I'd be really happy when the day came that he gave me his guns, but to be honest, I was actually pretty sad. I wish we could still shoot together.

If you got this far, you deserve to hear the good part, which is what he gave me.

1) A Baby Browning pearl grip .25 ACP pistol.
2) A High Standard Supermatic Citation .22 target pistol, with an ML serial number, made in Hartford.
3) A Taurus 357 revolver.
4) His prized Dillon 550B press, with 38 special dies and all the various bells and whistles, which he used to reload all his own ammo until he was around 80 years old.

To be sure, I'm excited to become the custodian of his modest, yet high quality collection.

Having said that, I seem to be struggling with something in my eyes, as they seem to keep watering as I type this.

Regards,

BCB

**WVneighbor** · May 19th, 2013, 09:03 AM

Having said that, I seem to be struggling with something in my eyes, as they seem to keep watering as I type this.

Pollen is bad this year, down here too.

Make sure this days is one of the ones you keep in the file. It isn't often we recognize these days and make a special effort to remember them, but this is one of them.

**Bill67** · May 19th, 2013, 09:05 AM

I am reliving the day I did that with my Grandad and he gave me his Winchester95 and a 6mm Mauser. We could have been working off of the same script. I went to see my Dad at Easter (he just had his 79th birthday) and we set up a range on his property so we could shoot. I took everything I had and all that he had and we shot alot of ammo. He commented on how much that cost, and I said it was priceless. Don;t forget to get those guns out and use them.

**GrumpyBear** · May 19th, 2013, 09:19 AM

That was a great day that you will remember the rest of your life.

Sad on one hand because you and your dad will probably not shoot together anymore,but you spent a very good afternoon together cleaning his guns that are now yours,and you will always remember that time you spent together.

**internet troll** · May 19th, 2013, 09:28 AM

At this point it's not what you did together that's important, It's that you are spending time together. Glad you are both still creating memories and enjoying each others company.

**ungawa** · May 19th, 2013, 11:15 AM

Originally Posted by WVneighbor

Pollen is bad this year, down here too.

Make sure this days is one of the ones you keep in the file. It isn't often we recognize these days and make a special effort to remember them, but this is one of them.

Print it out and put it in the scrapbook.

Sounds like a good day to me.

**Jhaydeno** · May 19th, 2013, 11:21 AM

I lost my dad last year. Like the others said, enjoy the time spent and be thankful that he still has his mental faculties. 93 and still at home is a good full life that any one of us should be thankful for.
It doesn't matter what the gun is, I promise later in life you will look at it and smile! Even the old plastic stocked Stevens 22/410 over under in our cabinet makes me smile; it reminds me of hiking through the woods with dad learning to enjoy the outdoors (and shooting old railroad signs, but that's a story for another day)!

**MT1** · May 19th, 2013, 11:51 AM

That's a great but sad story. Thank you for sharing it. I guess the positive side is you got these while he is still with us. Several years ago my uncle started telling me I would one day have all of his firearms. He has a great collection of mostly milsurp rifles. I was very happy to think I would one day have them but at the same time realized this would likely come about as a result of his death.

Last year at this time I was in Norfolk, VA for an extended military school and spent many of my evenings at their house nearby. By the time I came home to PA he had given me his 1907 Colt revolver and a collection of bayonets. Earlier this week he and my aunt spent a day with us as they were passing through on vacation. This time he gave me an L1A1, a MAS 49, and approx 200 rounds of ammo for each.

My uncle is in his early 70s and more active than many half his age. Our visits are always overtaken by non stop talk of our favorite firearms and the ones we never bought but wish we had. Many of his rifles were purchased back in the 60s and 70s so it is always fun to hear about Argentine Mausers selling at Montgomery Wards for $19.00 or the "super expensive" Garands that sold at Rose's for $100.

Anyway, I am fortunate these transactions are taking place while he is still with us so I can hear the stories that go with each purchase.

**BucksCountyBob** · May 19th, 2013, 04:14 PM

Originally Posted by MT1

Anyway, I am fortunate these transactions are taking place while he is still with us so I can hear the stories that go with each purchase.

Fortunate indeed. He sounds like a wonderful guy and I hope you have many more great times together.

When I was 20 years old, my mom and dad moved to the Gulf Coast of Florida to retire. I was still in college in Washington, DC. I had no desire to live in Florida, but I did visit when finances allowed.

At the time, my dad had started a little neighborhood club of shooters. They would go over to the public outdoor range in Sarasota twice a week and shoot. It was there that I learned that shooting was supposed to be a social activity. I swear they spent more time bull-shitting with each other than they did actually shooting.

My dad would buy bricks of .22 for $4 at Walmart and spend the day shooting at golf balls and playing cards at 25 yards with his Glenfield Model 60. Every few breaks, he'd shoot a few rounds from his .38. Whenever I came to visit, he'd splurge on some .30 caliber for his M1 carbine. I still remember those hot SOBs running down into my shirt, burning the crap out of me

Even though my dad is a Marine veteran of WWII who served at Pearl Harbor (after the attack) and a Navy Veteran of the Korean war who served on a destroyer in the Sea of Japan, we never had guns in the house when I was a kid. We lived in NJ, and even then, they made it a pain in the ass to own guns. On top of that, my mom was the nervous type, and even though she shot many times herself when she and dad were dating, she didn't want guns in the house.

When we all moved out and they went to Florida, he more than made up for the lost time. It's fair to say this was his hobby and his passion as much as it is mine today, and it's because if his enthusiasm and desire to pass his knowledge of shooting and reloading on to me that I enjoy it myself now. Sadly, when he moved back up north 13 years ago, he pretty much gave up the sport, due to his health and concerns about living in the PRNJ with guns.

BTW, I went trap shooting with my 17 YO daughter today. We had a great time. Next week, she and I are taking the NRA Shotgun class at Wicen Farms together. Although I have two sons (21 and 25) as well, she's the one who is my constant range buddy. I hope, one day, to pass my collection on to her. Hopefully, that's a long way down the road. I would love nothing more than for her to teach her kids how to shoot using her grandfather's guns.

Thanks for letting me ramble, guys. It's been a weird, emotional time for me this weekend, and I just had to share some of my thoughts with somebody I knew would understand

Regards again,

BCB

**markshere2** · May 19th, 2013, 05:38 PM

Great story, thank you for sharing!

The rest of us... seize the day! Every day!

A word of caution to all of us, When you put something on the web, it's here forever.

I would never post a list of guns I acquired on the web.

The grabbers and scammers are on the lookout for our guns, I kid you not.