My Uncle Gene ( mother's brother) Was in the Army during WW2. I think he spent most of the time in Holland. He never told me the details but in the later stages of the war the Germans were using any weapon they could find. Uncle Gene found a dead German who had been using a single shot 22 caliber military training rifle. He sent the rifle to us as I think he'd owed my dad some money. I was born in 1941 so was only 3 or 4 when we got the gun. I used that gun all my life growing up and when dad got older he gave it to me. I loved that gun and kept it and used it until last spring. After Uncle Gene came home from the war In 1946 or 47 he had my cousin Charlie. In my will I specify that my guns will be given to my two grandsons. But I got to thinking that my grandsons never new Uncle Gene and Cousin Charlie would probably appreciate the gun more than anyone else would. He lives in Fort Smith about 60 miles from me so the next time I was in town I called him and asked him to meet me for lunch. During lunch I told him all I knew about the gun and when we went out I surprised him by giving him the gun. During the years I had it I did some research and found it to be a DSM34. The one I had was made by Walther.
If Cousin Charlie has children, they will treasure the gun and the history that goes with it. You did good.
What a wonderful story, @Sheldon Scott ! I think that you made a great decision, and that your cousin will treasure that gun from his father. My grandfather was in WW1, and he gave me his old single shot .22 when I was about 12 years old as a birthday present. I am not sure how long that he had it; but I don’t think that it came from the war, although it might have. I don’t remember ever noticing the make of the rifle. When I was in Jr. High, we had a local Rifle Range for us kids, and it was run each week at the local shooting gallery and we were taught by guys that had been in either WW2 or Korea. I enjoyed shooting and was actually pretty good at it, and excelled in all of the shooting positions, except for standing; but I passed that one, too. I kept that rifle all of my life and then ended up leaving it with my son when we moved out here from Idaho about 19 years ago; so I used it for a lot of years of my life, and it was most valuable because it was a gift from my grandfather.
@Sheldon Scott Great story! Sometime during the War, my Dad, who was too old to serve, obtained a Colt .45 ACP in a trade with someone. It has serial number 58119. I believe that makes it's mfg. date around 1916. At 10, it was the first handgun I shot, just one round. After adulthood, I kept it locked up for years until realizing I couldn't "take it with me", I gave it to my great nephew, who is in the Marine Corps. He will cherish it forever. Frank
Enfield 303 rifle and Bren machine gun (old WW2 stock) while in the army cadets at grammar school. Later, when I lived on a farm used to borrow a hand made twelve bore up and over shotgun for shooting rabbits and deer.
That was a great story, @Sheldon Scott . My first gun was Grandma's 410 shotgun, "killin' SNAKES " , gun she called it. She was tough as nails, but sweetest women ever to walk the planet.