Very long story short, my grandfather was giving me a hard time about the recent theft of my nova, and offered me 1 of his guns to replace my “duck� gun. Knowing full and well I would not take it, even if he let me, I reached for his Purdy
. He quickly told me I need a gun to use, and that was a collector piece. I was expecting this, and replaced it stating I had never touched it. He had a double auto and an Model II I had never shot, that I was interested in having but knew I would never “use�. Back and forth a bit, I asked him about his 1911. Only to learn he had 2, and a smith 22, and a Colt 380 auto of his fathers… I never knew. Both the 1911’s were gifts from his Uncle whom I never met, but my mother was particularly fond of. The gun was given to my grandfather when he enlisted in WWII. He carried it with him in the south pacific. The other 1911 he received upon the death of my GGU. Both had similar serial numbers. But from the condition, he knew this is the one he had taken overseas.The serial is C 76XXX, best I can tell it was manufactured in 1916 and mostly likely slated for a foreign government for or shortly after WWI? I will never know how my GGU acquired it. (please corect me)
Someday I get up the nerve to ask to touch the Purdy again. When I get time, I’ll post up how he got it, it’s a great story.
So, although this is not a museum piece, it means a lot to me, I do want to shot it, as that is what he will expect of me. Can anyone recommend a trustworthy smith in the central texas to austin area? I want to get it checked out and replace any springs and what not so that it can go to the range with me from time to time. It has probably sat in his nightstand (loaded) for 50+ years.
Real Character!
), so he went out and bought his own civilian version from a hardware store in Glendale, California (his home town) before shipping out. Dad was WIA at Iwo, and he was relieved of his weapons at the aid station before being flown back to Guam for surgery, including his personal 1911. Later, after recovering from his wound, he was promoted to 1st Lt and given command of a rifle company which was training for the pending assault on Japan when Japan finally surrendered. During this training, one of the enlisted men in his company was in possession of this particular pistol and was goofing around with it in his barracks tent when he accidentally shot himself in the hand (losing about half of the hand in the process). My dad confiscated the weapon and, figuring that Ma Green owed him one personally purchased 1911A1, he kept it. That is how the gun got into my family's possession. I inherited it in 1990 when my dad died, and that is how I came to be a gun owner.