airbornetrooper
Active Member
I never knew my maternal Grandfather. He passed away when I was three months old, but apparently I got to meet him and there is even a picture of him holding me. Years later, as a child, I found his collection of military and hunting rifles tucked away rusting in a closet at my Grandmother's house. My Grandfather had a decent collection, and off my recollections I can remember the closet being stuffed with Arisaka's, Mauser's, US military rifles, 18th Century black powder rifles, Damascus steel double barreled shotguns, and various bayonets. My Grandmother did not want the stuff around (I think it reminded her of my Grandfather), and tried to sell some of the stuff locally. Needless to say, the local shops ripped her off. They told her it was junk (it wasn't) and gave her pennies on the dollar. According to her, the local police even showed up on her front porch one day (this was upstate New York) and said that they knew my Grandfather had pistols (he had a permit apparently), and asked if she would like them to dispose of them for her. She naively said yes and my Grandfather's bringback P38 and a few other pistols likely disappeared into the personal safe of some trooper or officer.
By the time I reached college about a decade ago (wow I'm getting old) I asked my Grandmother if I could buy the rifles, or at least clean the rust off them. This sparked uproar with my uncles, who thus far had expressed zero interest in them as they sat neglected in nondescript closet. Nevertheless, I cleaned all the rust and grime off them, and again asked if I could take them. By this time there were only a few left, and surprisingly she told me I needed to take all them. Immediately. I loaded up the car and brought what remained home. Out of all the rifles, this one is probably my favorite. It is a near immaculate Remington M1903A3, with all correct Remington parts. When taking it apart for the first time I found a cleaning kit in the buttstock (pictured). The story was that my Grandfather acquired it from the Directorate of Civilian Marksmanship (DCM) in the 1960's, but unfortunately I never found the paperwork. Either way, it will be one of the last pieces to leave my collection. Hopefully my kids take more of an interest in collecting than my Grandfather's children did.
By the time I reached college about a decade ago (wow I'm getting old) I asked my Grandmother if I could buy the rifles, or at least clean the rust off them. This sparked uproar with my uncles, who thus far had expressed zero interest in them as they sat neglected in nondescript closet. Nevertheless, I cleaned all the rust and grime off them, and again asked if I could take them. By this time there were only a few left, and surprisingly she told me I needed to take all them. Immediately. I loaded up the car and brought what remained home. Out of all the rifles, this one is probably my favorite. It is a near immaculate Remington M1903A3, with all correct Remington parts. When taking it apart for the first time I found a cleaning kit in the buttstock (pictured). The story was that my Grandfather acquired it from the Directorate of Civilian Marksmanship (DCM) in the 1960's, but unfortunately I never found the paperwork. Either way, it will be one of the last pieces to leave my collection. Hopefully my kids take more of an interest in collecting than my Grandfather's children did.
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