Oh Dad...

[Skribs]

I should preface this by saying my Dad complains about a boss he had 20 years ago that carried, who would take his (supposedly empty) pistol and show it to his coworkers by waving it around (thus violating gun safety).

Yesterday, I was showing my parents my new XDm, and I handed it to my friend to check how the grip works for him. My Mom went off on him for not safety checking (but he pointed to the flat loaded chamber indicator). So I hand the gun to my Dad next, and he holds it at an awkward angle trying to pull the slide back and look in the chamber. I had to say very sternly to him, "Dad, when safety checking a gun, you're not supposed to have the muzzle pointed at your gut!"

I was talking about it with my Mom today, and she said I have to put this on the internet. So here it is.

 

[RNB65]

My Oh Dad moment was last year when I was visting my Dad and asked him where his 50+ year old Winchester 94 .30-30 was at. "I sold it," he said.

Oh, Dad... :banghead:

 

[NorthBorder]

I sure wish I could have some Oh, Dad moments again:

 

[jimmyraythomason]

I sure wish I could have some Oh, Dad moments again:

Me too..

 

[dbarnhart]

Me three. My own son is 23 and I have discovered that there is no greater pleasure in life than spending time alone with your adult son doing something you both enjoy. I wish I had known that years ago while my father was stile alive.

 

[KAS1981]

When I was a little kid, too young to care or know what the big deal was, my dad traded a WWI 1911 with a 4-digit SN (not sure the manufacturer) for a Colt Woodsman & $100 cash.

The good thing is he did the trade with my uncle (who still has it), so there's a sliver of a chance I might be able to obtain said 1911.

 

[CSballer89]

My grandpa told me a story one time about when he had worked at a glass plant, a co-worker was a little bit short on some cash. (This was in the late 50's) The co-worker offered my grandpa a 1911 that said co-workers family member carried on D-day in WWII, for $100 and my grandpa's .22. My grandpa wanted to get into the .45 scene so took the deal and it wasn't that much longer until he said the co-worker was after him to get the 1911 back.
:banghead:

 

[offduty]

YEP would love to have an oh Dad moment again. Did a lot of shooting with Dad. Was very fortunate to have him teach me about guns. I was blessed with all of his guns after he passed. Every time i am out shooting I think of him and how he preached safety and how he taught me how to shoot. I often shoot/hunt with one of his guns, in honor of him.

 

[1911fan]

I wish I'd had a Dad, instead of a wicked step-father. Sounds like I missed out on a lot.

ed

 

[KenW.]

My dad was a rifleman. There were rifles in every closet. I nearly cried when he sold off his collection and I didn't get a chance at his pre-'64 model 70 featherweight in .243 win.

I did, though, get Grandpa's Nazi-proofed Hi-Power.

I had found myself living 1,983 miles away from him back then.

R.I.P.

 

[USAF_Vet]

My old man sold his Civil War era musket that I was hoping to own one day, along with the CW cavalry saber. Both were mounting in a nice display case, but the musket was fully functional. He also sold his 7mm magnum. I can't complain too much, they were his after all, but he knew I lusted after that musket and saber from the first day I saw them.

 

[El Mariachi]

Dad and I lived on our old 1940's, forty two foot Swedish fishing trawler back in the early 70's in So Cal. Think I was about 15 then. One day while I was up on deck making some fishing lures I heard this horrendously loud 'Boom' from down below. Thinking that Dad had either blown up the alcohol stove or perhaps a fuel line to the gas engine, I flew down the companionway to see whutdahell had happened. And what do I find? Dad sitting at the salon table with a look of disbelief on his face and his Army issued WWII 1911 in his hand. And then I saw the hole in the bulkhead behind the other seat----the bulkhead that separates the salon from the forward v-berth. I asked Dad what happened and is he OK. He says 'Ya, I'm fine', puts the pistol down on the table, gets up and heads towards the v-berth. Opens up the door to one of the hanging lockers (where he hung his nice dress shirts), pulls five of them out that were on hangers, lays them on the table where we both see that there's a hole thru the pockets in all of them. Holy crapoly! Then we both go into the v-berth and see the 'exit' wound on the other side of the locker....and then a big nasty gash thru the mahogany trim over my bunk, where the hull meets the deck. Thank gawd that the bullet traveled at about a 15 degree angle into all of that lumber and stopped before leaving the boat. Pheeewww. Lesson here? If anyone needs to use a bullet trap to check a weapon more than a boat owner does, I'd like to hear it.........

 

[Pegwedge]

My last Oh Dad moment was last month when we went squirrel hunting for the first time in a very long time. I had gotten out of hunting over the last couple years and thought we should go out one morning. Well my dad has recently learned how to text. So instead of sitting there and enjoying being outside with the solitude and whatnot I get texts from my father every two minutes... "Get any yet?"

 

[Hunterdad]

To my knowledge, my father has never even shot a gun.

 

[Dnaltrop]

My old man and I had a rather confrontational past, details aside, he survived Prostate cancer, He's years past the 2 they gave him on Multiple Myeloma, ( Blood cancer, and still in remission, thank you Thalidomide and other cutting edge treatments, yes... THALIDOMIDE)

It's sad, but the Myeloma shifted his entire world of priorities, It took a few years as he adjusted, but he's become quite a listener, and far more participatory in the family than he had been before.

I think I'll go drop my kids off with him and let him play. Thanks for putting the seed in my brain.

And yes, we shoot a LOT more together than we have in years now. Both of us are movement impaired, it's a good way for our wives to kick us out and make us stand for a few hours.

 

[Mainsail]

I thought you were supposed to hand someone a firearm with the action open?

(...except at the gun store because they don't like people slamming the revolvers by flipping their wrist or allowing the slide to slam forward on an empty chamber.)

 

[GMcBoozer]

My first firearm related oh dad moment was today. He accidentally poured water on a few boxes of HPs I just bought. Looks like I'll have some paper punchers in a year or two when they finally dry out.

 

[tlynch]

He's years past the 2 they gave him on Multiple Myeloma, ( Blood cancer, and still in remission, thank you Thalidomide and other cutting edge treatments, yes... THALIDOMIDE)

Congratulations! Treasure the time you have.

Today is the 6th anniversary of my father-in-law's passing from multiple myeloma. It is a horrific disease, and watching it tear a strong man down was tough to take. We all wish we could have had more time with him.

I am glad that there are more options, and some successes for others.

Regards,
Tom

 

[Konstantin835]

My dad reluctantly takes me shooting until I get my license and we have a grand old time arguing about gun control on the way home. Its like arguing with a brick wall but if I can get him to shoot as well we have a good time. At least until he disregards gun safety and tells me to relax when I correct him.

 

[Legionnaire]

My Dad's in his eighties, lives close by, and is still a friend and counselor. But he wasn't into guns or hunting, so neither was I. That didn't come until I married a fine woman whose own father is a great outdoorsman. I am blessed that both are still alive and active. Plenty of "Oh Dad" moments with my own Dad, but none of them gun related.

 

[Sport45]

Be honest now. Do the 'oh Dad' moments begin to outweigh the 'dammit boy' moments you put him through? I know they don't in my case...

 

[788Ham]

I'll never forget the "Oh Dad" moment I had about 7 years ago. My Pop had a Savage `99 in .300, I don't know how many times over my lifetime I watched him clean that thing, rub oil on the stock and barrel and put it away again. Pop had survived prostate cancer by about 5 years then, but he was getting tired, didn't move as fast as he once did, and liked to sit out on his deck and watch the birds in the backyard. I'd stopped by one afternoon, just to shoot the breeze and to see my Mom also. Pop said something to Mom, my hearing isn't good at all, she got and left, about 5 minutes she was back, carrying the old rifle case Pop always had his old rifle in. Pop took it from her, rubbed his hands up and down the profile of that ol' Savage, then handed it to me saying, "Here, I want you to have this old rifle, take care of it." That's when that "OH Dad" thing hit, with tears running down my face, I reached out to take it, but put my arms around his neck and kissed him, then hugged him until he told me to let him go. My pop's been gone almost 5 years now, his tired ol' heart finally gave out Valentine's Day 2006. Sure miss the times we used to go shoot, hunt and fish together, life ain't been the same since.

 

[yellatynot]

you guys are making me want to drive all night wake up my son and say s*^@% work lets go shoot something. sounds like you have had great times

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Be honest now. Do the 'oh Dad' moments begin to outweigh the 'dammit boy' moments you put him through?

Ha! Not even close.

 

[Bravo Sierra]

It might have been 30 years ago, but I can still hear his voice, and he's been dead almost 20 years.

"Son, I want to talk to you about that gun you have" is how the conversation started. My dad never fired a gun. He didn't like them even though he grew up out in the middle of the wilderness in UP Michigan.

The next time we had a talk, it started with "Son, I want to talk to you about the beer in the trunk of the car."

He let me keep the gun, and he made me pour the beer out.