K22's SAD RETURN HOME AFTER 56 YEARS

[50 target]

On 12-17-1967 I purchased a used K22 of 1960 date a few months after I turned 21. My first handgun. On August 17, 1968 I sold it to my Brother after I learned that my group insurance at my new job would not pay for the medical costs for my yet unborn son as the doctor advised the insurance co that my wife got pregnant two weeks before the effective date of my insurance coverage. I never have figured out how he was so precise as he was never there for our conjugal visits. Anyway I had to come up with the money for doctor visits and delivery costs. Part of it came from the sale to my Brother. In 1969 off he went to Vietnam and a different journey in life to many places in the world. Due to many factors we were not that close in our early adult years. His life was more unstable than mine but he got the right woman on the third try. He settled down within 30 miles of me and for the last 35 years of his life we never had a cross word. He was my best friend and we enjoyed many hours of fellowship especially around our shared love of guns, shooting and reloading. Always good heartedly jabbing one another especially about our stumbles and missteps. Trading with one another was akin to a circus but always ended with a laugh and a hug. I lost him 3 years ago to Covid. What Vietnam and other factors couldn't do, Covid did. He requested that I dispose of his collection after he left us. He gifted many pieces to family and friends. Many were sold to family and friends. Last Thursday I acquired 6 pieces that were special to me as they had a direct connection between us. That K22 came home with me after 56 years.
If only the Almighty could allow us one trade HE would have that K22 and I would have my Brother. I miss him. My son and grandson will get what I have in guns and they have promised me they will never sell anything. That way they will always have family with them. They loved him too. In my inventory I have a summary of when I got the gun and details about what happened in the buy or trade that is special. In that way family gets a snapshot of my life that day. Many of you have traveled this same road. Cherish your family, hold them close, spend your time with them and your friends. Life and time are fleeting. If you have family and friends that are gun people leave them a piece of you. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present. Hug your family and friends today. Take care.

 

[steelslaver]

Sorry you lost your brother. Glad you have the K22 to help keep those memories fresh

 

[quinn]

Sorry about your brother. There is just somehting special about heirloom guns. We have a few in my family, the oldest going back to the 1860's is in my brother's hands and will continue to his son or daughter on his passing.

 

[lihpster]

My condolences on your loss. My brother passed in 2013 from leukemia. I have the Mod. 10 that I bought and gave to him for Christmas one year. I have all my father's guns, guns from 2 uncles from different sides of the family and my Granddaddy's shotgun. I had another uncle's shotgun, but I gave it to his son. Family guns are just a little more special.
Not that I hunt anymore, but when I did, I used the Winchester Pre-64 M70 that belonged to my dad, then to my brother, and now it belongs to me. Every member of my immediate family harvested deer, multiple, with this gun. When I hold it, I can feel them there.
You couldn't buy it for a billion dollars.

 

[Valmet]

Sorry to hear about your brother. It sounds like you guys grew into a great relationship. It’s always kinda neat when one that got away from us “comes back home” but your K22 is really special. Thanks for sharing

 

[silicosys4]

I'm sorry for your loss, be thankful that life allowed you to reconnect with him. It doesn't always go like that.
I'll bet that K22 is a sweet shooter. It will take some time I'm sure but in time shooting it will become more about the good memories than about the loss.

 

[Birdhunter6]

Thank you for sharing this story. It puts everything in perspective.

 

[oberon]

You just said a mouthful, friend.
Bittersweet and right to the point.
That is a deep and evocative story.
Puts things in sharp relief.
It is good for us to feel these things.
Thank you for posting.

 

[desmobob]

Thanks for sharing your story. Sorry for your loss...

 

[boykinlp]

On 12-17-1967 I purchased a used K22 of 1960 date a few months after I turned 21. My first handgun. On August 17, 1968 I sold it to my Brother after I learned that my group insurance at my new job would not pay for the medical costs for my yet unborn son as the doctor advised the insurance co that my wife got pregnant two weeks before the effective date of my insurance coverage. I never have figured out how he was so precise as he was never there for our conjugal visits. Anyway I had to come up with the money for doctor visits and delivery costs. Part of it came from the sale to my Brother. In 1969 off he went to Vietnam and a different journey in life to many places in the world. Due to many factors we were not that close in our early adult years. His life was more unstable than mine but he got the right woman on the third try. He settled down within 30 miles of me and for the last 35 years of his life we never had a cross word. He was my best friend and we enjoyed many hours of fellowship especially around our shared love of guns, shooting and reloading. Always good heartedly jabbing one another especially about our stumbles and missteps. Trading with one another was akin to a circus but always ended with a laugh and a hug. I lost him 3 years ago to Covid. What Vietnam and other factors couldn't do, Covid did. He requested that I dispose of his collection after he left us. He gifted many pieces to family and friends. Many were sold to family and friends. Last Thursday I acquired 6 pieces that were special to me as they had a direct connection between us. That K22 came home with me after 56 years.
If only the Almighty could allow us one trade HE would have that K22 and I would have my Brother. I miss him. My son and grandson will get what I have in guns and they have promised me they will never sell anything. That way they will always have family with them. They loved him too. In my inventory I have a summary of when I got the gun and details about what happened in the buy or trade that is special. In that way family gets a snapshot of my life that day. Many of you have traveled this same road. Cherish your family, hold them close, spend your time with them and your friends. Life and time are fleeting. If you have family and friends that are gun people leave them a piece of you. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present. Hug your family and friends today. Take care.

50 target, that was quite a story. Considering he kept that revolver for all those years and trips throughout the world, must mean how much it meant to him even though y’all weren’t close during that time. I’d like to think that when he decided to settle down with a good woman, he decided that he wanted to be close to you, giving him the opportunity to reconnect. Those 35 years, that y’all had together, sound perfect, remembering old times and making new memories. Having 6 pieces that belonged to him, and reminded you of notable moments you had together will always be special. Recording those memories on paper so that future “caretakers” of the family heirlooms will make sure that they are never lost to time.

I especially like the highlighted portion of your story above, and they are good words to live by! I am the last member of my direct family still alive. My father died when I was 6 in a plane crash while he was in the Air Force, my mother passed away from cancer when I was 23, and my younger brother died from suicide when I was 47 after suffering health issues for over a decade. Luckily, my mother remarried so I have another family. I am glad that you cherish your family, because as you said, life is fleeting. I have planned to do like you and gift my “gun stuff” to my friends and “second family members” and know that they will appreciate them. Thanks for sharing your story.
Larry

 

[Dave.357]

My brother’s K.22 started me down a long S&W path.

 

[robvious]

a good talisman of a journey 2 brothers took, together and apart... share the memories

 

[45Smashemflat]

Folks, it’s been mentioned already, but as an “inheritor” of a few family guns and other artifacts, NOW is the time to document that history. Jot down the stories. Perhaps “the art of the deal,” if that is part of it. Deer harvested, robbers backed down, loans made/recovered. If you don’t record it now, it gets lost in the sands of time.

It took many years and reaching out to many long lost relatives to put together why my grandfather had my great uncle’s duffle cut 98 Mauser. But now I know, and the fact that I took my first deer with it adds to the story.
Write it down before it’s forgotten…