Grand Pa's pistol on display

Here it is: Grand Pa's .32 lemon squeezer on display.  After much angst and waffling back and forth in the ebb and flow of opinions lodged in response to the blog post below, we opted to save Grand Pa's pistol from a sale into the oblivion of an unknown future.  Below the pistol is a hand carved leather pouch that contains his military record.  On the outside, it is carved,
"Pvt. R.H. Parsons
Troop H, 17th Cavalry
Douglas, Arizona
Transferred to
HQ Troop, 4th Cavalry
Ft. Ringgold, Texas"

Many THANKS to all who provided their thoughts on this matter!  jp

Grand Pa's pistol

(Six more photos below blog post)

I never really knew my Grand Pa very well.  My Mom and he didn't get along so we didn't go there much.  He was a railroader until he retired--mostly working the switchyards in Lafayette, Indiana.  Back when he was a teenager, he enlisted in the US Army and somehow got shipped off to the gawd-forsaken wild lands of Arizona before the First World War.  Believe it or not, my Grand Pa was a US Cavalry man.  He was one of the first enlisted men to be issued the now famous 1911 .45 Gov't model.  He and his fellow soldiers were under Gen. Blackjack Pershing in the legendary chase of Pancho Villa.  Grand Pa was stationed in Douglas, Arizona, and participated in many of the cavalry chases of the elusive Villa.  I actually have some of his military papers showing service dates there in Arizona.  Back home in Indiana, my Mom has an original panorama showing Grand Pa on his horse lined up with all the other pony soldiers.

When Grand Pa came home, he fathered four sons and had to raise them all by himself after his wife died shortly after my Dad was born in 1922.  In those days, Grand Pa was a mule skinner and wrangler for Purdue University's horse and mule herd.  He taught his sons how to be good hunters at an early age because that meant they were putting food on the table.  People didn't hunt for sport back in the 1930's there in the Depression--they hunted for food.  Grand Pa was one of those tough love guys who would give each kid a single cartridge and say, "Don't come home unless you kill something with this."  He was an abusive father and often beat his sons if they failed to kill something with the single shell.  He accused them of wasting his ammunition and that was a cardinal sin back on those days.

For some reason, my own Dad never liked pistols--he only like long arms and that's what we collected as I was growing up.  Shotguns, rifles, muskets, you name it, the house was often filled with long arms but, curiously, no pistols.  Dad would never allow me to have a pistol.  If we went to the range, I was welcome to fire a military surplus 1911 .45 but I could never actually OWN a pistol.  Plenty of rifles, but NO pistols allowed.

I never knew Grand Pa had a favorite pistol until my Dad died in August 1998.  When I went back for the funeral I was prowling around in his bedroom and digging through drawers and, lo and behold, I found a pistol.  I pulled it from the drawer in amazement.  Heck, I didn't even know what kind of pistol it was!  My Dad had served as a top turret gunner on a B-17 in WWII and had been shot down and somehow survived six Nazi prison camps.  Only one of his crew was alive when my Dad died--Jack Bowen, one of the two waist gunners.  Jack was from Texas and a shooter from the git go.  He took one look at the pistol and said, "That's an old lemon squeezer, John, and here's how you break it open."

Well, I took it back to Arizona.  This was in the pre-9/11 Era so I simply stuffed it in my suitcase and didn't give it a second thought.  Over the years, the pistol has resided in a variety of drawers, closets, cupboards, boxes and bins.  For several years I thought I had permanently actually lost the pistol.  It disappeared in 2006 and only was found again in April 2011.  It has been residing safely in a locked .50 ammo can tucked into a secret spot.  I was very relieved to find it but still really didn't (and don't) know what to do with it.

It was probably manufactured in the early 1900's but could have rolled off the S&W production line as last as the 1930's.  I haven't yet figured out how to equate the serial number with the production date.  In any event, it was probably designed for use with old-fashioned powder, possibly even black powder.  I can't imagine it could take the pressure of modern smokeless powder.  I would rate its condition as the high side of fair or maybe the low side of good.

Yesterday, I decided to take it for a walk around the various local gun shops.  I took it to Ski's and the owner didn't know what to offer for it.  He said it could be worth anywhere from $100-$500.  Then I took it to Max's and they only offered me $50 on trade in.  I took it to Ross Gun Shop but those people look so dour in there I didn't even want to talk to them about it.

This morning, I have been researching the pistol and learning more about it.  I did find one up for auction and the owner of that one thinks it is worth $400.  You can click here to see his auction.

I know it's probably heresy to sell of Grand Pa's gun, especially with his Pancho Villa pedigree.  However, I'm not a gun collector, I want to actually SHOOT the firearms I own.  Likewise, I don't have any appropriate context in which to display Grand Pa's pistol.  So, it looks like I'm gonna sell it if I can get a fair price for it.  I'm guessing it ought to be worth $200, plus or minus.  I suspect I will register to be a seller on one of the online gun auction sites and give it a whirl.

Before taking that big leap, however, I'd like to hear the opinions of my shooter buddies: Jef, Tom, Gary, Brad, Wes, and Matt.  I hope one or all of your guys weigh in on this topic.  Just use the comment function below so we can all hear your thoughts on the matter.  THANK YOU!

Well, that's my story and sticking to it!  Cheers, jp

Today

Today we spent a lot of time messing with our Pistol Target Shooting Hobby.  We went to Ski's Gun Shop and then to Max's Gun Shop and then to the Ross Gun Shop.  We also visited Sportman's Warehouse.  We discussed pistols via email and phone with HD and also talked to Matt Q. about the location of a shooting area east of town.  We bought 50 rounds of 9 mm and 50 rounds of .38 Special.  We found out that our Grand Dad's .32 S&W Short revolver is basically worthless.  That was a let down.  We swapped out our H&R speed loader for two five round .38 loaders plus upgraded to a two unit speed loader holder.  The difference in cost was a mere $13.  We also bought a pair of ear muffs and eye safety glasses to carry in our "range kit."  We picked up a classic NRA Range Officer Hat and a great case for our .38 snubnose at Deseret Industries.  We even ordered a .38 Special keychain on Ebay for under $4 including shipping.

Frankly, I haven't paid much attention to .38 Special since I bought my snubbie back in 1974.  That's a story we will tell one of these days.  We got both the snubbie and the H&R 9-shot revolver on the same day in Lebanon, Indiana.  We learned today that the prices of the snubbies has skyrocketed.  I think I paid well under $200 for the Airweight back then.  Now you'd have to pay maybe $350 for the same thing.  Inflation, I guess.

I'd really like to create a nice weekly shooting event on the same day at the same time each week.  I learned down in Arizona that having such a Lighthouse Beacon was a Good Thing.  Everybody looked forward to that time and place each week.  They organized their life around that schedule.  I think that's a good thing.

Yesterday, Houn' Dawg took me to a place out where the basalt meets the soil and it was a great spot. Unfortunately, there's no guarantee that any given place there will be open on any given time and day.  It's hit and miss (no pun intended).

We had a real good time.  HD brought some long .22's and they were a hoot to shoot.  We both struggled with our pistols. Surprisingly, I had my best success with my most difficult pistol--the snubbie.  That little two inch barrel is a real handful.  It's hot and and it's HARD!  If you merely flick your wrist a millimeter, your round will sky out in a heartbeat.  It's best at what the Old Timers called "card table range."  No doubt about that.

I'd like to get pretty good at ten yards.  I feel like ten yards is within what the military likes to call "the rules of engagement."  I'm not sure you can shoot somebody at ten yards and be legal so I do need to check up on that.  But I figure if I can hit a tight group at ten yards, I can hit some thing a lot closer with a high degree of probability that what I am shooting will stop advancing.  I guess that's a real key to the equation.

This evening, I have been spending a lot of time researching Range Bags on ebay and various item for sale with regard to .38 Special.  It's been a lot of fun.  This is one way to exercise my shooting hobby without spending a damned dime.  The cool thing about shooting only once a week is that it gives the participants time to spend to get ready for each week's episode.  After each shooting range episode,  we then each go back to our little rabbit holes and sit around and think of a way to improve ourselves the following week.  It's a cool cycle and schedule and I am really glad to think I might have a willing partner in this arcane practice.

THANKS, HD!

Many Cheers, jp

Hard to believe this blog address is available!

This is going to be a blog about weekly shooting.