I was born in 1941, 3 days after Pearl Harbor was attacked. Mothers brother, Gene was in the army. While in Europe, He found a German Military Training Rifle in 22 caliber on a dead German soldier. It was made to look and operate just like the 98 Mauser Not sure who killed the soldier. He sent the gun to us and it was the first gun I ever shot. This gun was made by Walther and I doubt a better 22 has ever been made. Our family used that gun my whole life and when dad got older he gave me all his guns, so I still had the 22 all these years. Back to uncle Gene, He came back from the war and in 1948 he had cousin Charlie. I have grandsons who hunt and have left my guns to them in my will, but they never knew uncle Gene. So last weekend I called Charlie and told him I had a doctor appointment in Fort Smith Wednesday and I'd like for him to meet me for lunch, and I had a surprise for him. So after lunch I gave the gun to Charlie. He can better relate the history of the gun to his grandsons and keep it in the family.
That is an awesome story, @Sheldon Scott , and the perfect thing to do with that rifle. My first rifle was an old single-shot peepsight .22 that my grandfather gave me. I don't know what kind it was, but he was born in the late 1800's and he had owned the rifle for many years before he gave it to me. When I was in Junior High, the local rifle club started offering shooting classes to the kids my age, and we went every week and learned how to shoot at the targets. Our teachers were all guys who had been in the military, and they did a good job of training us. Those old army rifles were heavy ! Anyway, when my grandfather saw that I liked shooting, and was even a pretty accurate shot, he gave me his old .22 rifle. I cherished that all of my life, and it was about the only rifle that i ever used. When I moved out here and couldn't take it along, I gave it to my son in Idaho, and he will probably pass it along to my grandsons if he hasn't already done that. I think that it is great to keep these old weapons in the family and share the history of them.