Whiskeyhotel2020
Member
This beautiful piece started life as a Smith & Wesson (not sure of the model) in .357 mag. It belonged to my grandfather. It rode in a paper bag in his trunk. Once he got home it would be placed in a holster next to his bed that is unless he forgot to bring it inside. This practice drove my dad up the wall. My dad inherited it when grandpa passed. He called me up one day and told me that grandma found it sitting in a holster at the bottom of one of grandpa's drawers. After reminiscing about grandpa's routine my dad in an irritated voice he told me that most of the bluing was gone and there was a lot of rust and the frame had some deep pits. He causally mentioned that he sent the Smith to a custom shop to have some work done. This shocked me because as much as he and I discussed custom work we would love to have done to various firearms we've owed he was skeptical about sending a gun through the mail. He was also worried about paying someone to work on a gun and having it returned and finding out it wasn't done the way he wanted. I asked him who he sent it to and he told me that I'd have to come over when he got it back to find out.About a month and a half went by and I got the call. I could hear the pride and satisfaction in his voice as he told me that UPS had just dropped a package off. It took me a few days to finally get home. Once I got there my dad handed me a business card with a tight group shot through it. The card was from Gary Reeder's shop. It was the only firearm to be sent off to have work done. My dad had Reeder do an action job, put a new barrel and cylinder chambered in .45 colt, add the gunfighter grip contour, and refinished in black chrome. Spring and summer came and went and we never did get together for one reason or another. We never did get to the range to pull the trigger on the Reeder together. Dad died last fall. I have the Reeder now. I have taken it out a couple times and I know that dad would have been very happy with the way it shoots.
