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Gatorade
02-22-2015, 02:56 PM
I don't get to go often but this one was special. My grandfather and I got to go to Trailglades here in Miami. We took a crapload of iron and and lead but didn't get to all of it. He needed to get back to Tampa by tonight. He is a 91 year old WWIi vet and has loved guns since he was a kid plinking land crabs with his Remington Targetmaster .22 Bolt action that he bought from another kid for $4. He still has it. To date I know of only one firearm that he has ever sold and that one was a Colt Woodsman to his brother. Well he has been living in Panama City for the last few years and has only been to the range once in the last 5 years or so. He came to visit with his great grand kids and to go shooting. The manditory safety lecture required every 3 years was an unavoidable hour or so that seemed to never end.

We shot the CETME .308 which worked fine except for a dry steel mag that didn't feed well. Shot a few inches to the left at 25 yards and about 12 inches left at 50 but all in all a good bit. The blackout rifle was not functioning because I left the BCG and charging handle in the other rifle in the safe. Didn't have time to pack carefully and was in a bit of a rush. Then we went over to the pistol side and ran the Rock Island 1911 .45 which ran great except for a couple misfeeds on the last rounds in one of the mags. I will have to keep an eye on that next time. He also got to try out my M&P 40C which he really liked though he said it had a bit of a kick. Had to leave the Vaquero in the bag due to time constraints but all in all he had a smile and was happy to go shooting. We weren't keeping score on the targets but if we were I would have deffinatly been the loser. He was keeping more of them in the black than me. He reminded me he rated sharpshooter, and marksman at different distances with the Garand and expert at pistol with his GI issue .45 while in the Army. Didn't go completly as planned but still a great range day. No pics as I was running targets and loading mags to make sure he was getting to shoot as much as he liked. I'll try to get pics next time. He already has a couple things he wants to try out next time. Rock Island .38 Super, Kel Tec Sub2000 in .40, and a Ruger LCP. Every time I talk to him he has something new he wants us to try out. I am haven't even been able to shoot a quarter of what he owns and he is still buying more.

Caleb
02-22-2015, 04:00 PM
Sounds like a great day with a great man. I bet he has a ton of stories to tell.

Xbonz
02-22-2015, 04:54 PM
Every time I talk to him he has something new he wants us to try out. I am haven't even been able to shoot a quarter of what he owns and he is still buying more.

Cool story.. Enjoy your family while you can..

We must be related :D

RKP
02-22-2015, 05:01 PM
Family time ... and with guns, doesn't get much better than that. :cool:

Tango3
02-22-2015, 05:12 PM
What a great time. Glad you shared it with the rest of us. Just plain special.

Rick

sstpierre
02-22-2015, 05:19 PM
Awesome Brother!

pony up
02-22-2015, 05:22 PM
I know you wanted everything to be perfect but trust me your grandfather had a prefect day that he will remember always, so should you. There is no better time. Good on you and thank you for sharing. My Abba left me his deer rifle but because of his health challenges we did not shoot or hunt together. I am praying that I will get shoot and hunt with my grandson. He is 4 so I will have to be lucky awhile longer. :)

pitor
02-22-2015, 06:04 PM
Awesome time with family, especially when it involves grandpa. The way it looks to me, you're probably the one who's going to inherit a good number of those guns so keep getting grandpa out to shoot with you.

Good times.

Riverpigusmc
02-22-2015, 07:29 PM
a good time was had by all

GD2A
02-22-2015, 07:47 PM
Fantastic!

LittleGator
02-22-2015, 08:32 PM
Sounds like quite a special day. It's great you were able to get out there with your grandfather. These are moments to treasure.

Gatorade
02-22-2015, 09:05 PM
Awesome time with family, especially when it involves grandpa. The way it looks to me, you're probably the one who's going to inherit a good number of those guns so keep getting grandpa out to shoot with you.

Good times.

Oh he already made that clear. He had two daughters and they each get half the collection. Bring back Artilery Luger was claimed by my aunt a long time ago but there are specific pieces that have my name on them like an NDM 86 and since the other Luger was claimed he made sure there was another For who ever didn't get the other. My sister said she has no interest so I will have a LOT of shooting to do. I may have to jump on the Peacemaker though....

pitor
02-22-2015, 09:39 PM
A Peacemaker? A true full blood Pacemaker? That's fantastic and you must get it ☺. You're both lucky to have each other. Keep creating memories with him as time goes by so quick it seems.

Gatorade
02-22-2015, 10:03 PM
A Peacemaker? A true full blood Pacemaker? That's fantastic and you must get it ☺. You're both lucky to have each other. Keep creating memories with him as time goes by so quick it seems.

Colt Single Action Army "Peacemaker" that one was my grandmothers uncles. i checked it on Colts serial number look up and it says 1875. That sounds about right. Serial number is in the 20xxx range. He said it is well used and had to have a little work done on it a long while back but that it works.

That may be my #1 pick whenever it comes time to split up the collection.

skosh69
02-22-2015, 10:16 PM
You can't put a price on the day you spent either your grandfather, pure awesomeness, thanks for sharing.