Wedding present pistols

[rduchateau2954]

A good friend and shooting buddy of mine has managed to snag a good one and for some crazy reason she agreed to marry him. Talking to them recently they weren't real sure where to register or what to ask for when they registered. There isn't anything they really want or need.

This is especially difficult for me as I have the interior decor / home goods sophistication of rock. So unless they change their minds about having a gun room I'm pretty much out of luck.

However I've had this idea rattling around my head for the last week or so about a matching pair of pistols. My buddy's bride to be comes shooting with us when she can and she enjoys it, but has pretty clear financial goals for the future that doesnt leave room for aforementioned room of guns.

One gun she always loves to shoot is my Ruger MKIII Target. So that's what I'm thinking I'm going to go with. I'm pretty set on some engraving on the upper / barrel along the lines of (First & First Lastname DD/MM/YY) but beyond this I'm all over the place. I've never really had any super custom gun work done so I'm going to need a lot of help from y'all on this one.

A few thoughts that have been rattling around so far:

1.) Engraving. I've always been a fan of the engraving style on something like a classic Remington as opposed to the "BBQ gun". Beyond that engraving has never been my thing so I'm pretty ignorant on the subject.

2.) Coating. (COATING OPTION IS OUT ATM) My original thought was to try and weasel info out of them without being too obvious. Things like "if you could have a gun done in any of the available cerakote colors, what would you pick?" and use that but I see two problems with that. One being if they both pick colors that look horrible together or two how something like cerakote lays down over engraving.

The other issue being if they would pick colors that Ruger already offers the MKIII in it would defeat the purpose.

2a.) I'm thinking the coating will just be on the upper. Draw the eye to the coating, see the engraving kinda thing.

2b) My other thought was some kind of metal plating. Rose gold maybe? I have very little knowledge on this kinda thing.

3.) Some sort of sweetheart grips? I've seen 1911 guys do it with their wives but think it might be cool to get in touch with their parents and try to get pictures of them when they were young kids.

3a.) If the grips are possible, would it be easier done on the 22/45 vs the standard MKIII frame?

4.) Presentation. First thought was classic hardwood and glass box, guns facing each other, barrels slightly down. Then I realized that if I did that the engraving wouldn't work as one side would have the ejection port in the way. The only solution I can think of here is both guns will have to face the same way. Any input here is huge as I'm so far out of my artsy fartsy element here it makes my brain hurt.

I'm sure there is more but I wanted to vomit this all out on a post for you guys and see what y'all have to say.

 

[AlexanderA]

I would tread very carefully on this. Likes and dislikes on guns are very personal. I'll give you an example. As you may know, U.S. Army general officers used to be issued a Colt pocket pistol, which they could choose to buy and keep upon retirement. Well, one such officer was getting ready to retire. His staff "borrowed" his pistol, and had it professionally completely covered with floral engraving. Then they presented it to him at the retirement dinner. I don't know his reaction, but if it had been me I would have been furious that they had ruined my pistol.

 

[rduchateau2954]

Alexander, I'm not sure we're on the same track here.

I would buy a pair of guns, have the work done, and give them the guns as a wedding present. I'm not taking any of their guns to do this.

 

[Sovblocgunfan]

Your sentiment is very generous. In the right setting, a gun gift would be very memorable and moving.

However, it seems to me sometimes simple is best. If I were in your shoes, I would gift as follows:

Consecutive serial numbers
Custom grips for him and her
A presentation box (with or without glass) with plaque

I don’t know that I would do much to the guns themselves. I could see personalizing them, but I would ensure names and dates were done underneath the grips, like a wedding ring with the date inside.

Done simply, the gift will speak for itself-a lot of additional ornamentation may have the opposite effect from your intentions. It will still be just as memorable, and just as appreciated.

 

[rduchateau2954]

I'm thinking coating may be off the table. It seems most customized mkiii have coated uppers.

I'm curious why you suggest the date be hidden?

 

[Taurus 617 CCW]

A pair of pistols is a wonderful gift idea. I agree with Sovblocgunfan, keep it simple. I have worked with Cerakotw quite a bit. It will fill in light engraving to the point where you won’t see it. Plating the gun in other finishes will dramatically add cost sometimes double. A presentation box is a good idea. You could do one with laser cut foam and velvet over the top of the foam so it looks nice. You could have a plaque attached to the box with the engraving you desire to commemorate the occasion.

 

[Sovblocgunfan]

I'm thinking coating may be off the table. It seems most customized mkiii have coated uppers.

I'm curious why you suggest the date be hidden?

I’m driving right now but will reply as soon as possible

 

[rduchateau2954]

Sooo... I just wandered across this picture. This done to thet whole gun without the with all the extra stuff on them might be a nice classy custom touch without looking like a nerf gun.

 

[Sovblocgunfan]

Sooo... I just wandered across this picture. This done to thet whole gun without the with all the extra stuff on them might be a nice classy custom touch without looking like a nerf gun.
View attachment 812018

I really like that idea. Didnt even know that was a thing, but i like it.

To answer your question about hidden engraving, I’ll say a couple things to start:

I’m only saying what I would do here-in the terribly unfortunate event that they may separate, they may not want that kind of reminder on a firearm. Nor would I want to put them in a position where they have to question what to do with their gift if that were to ever occur. After all, you are not just giving them monogrammed towels here, right?

Please don’t take this the wrong way, either: engraving a name and date in a conspicuous place isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. That may cause the receiver to be a bit self-conscious, or maybe cause them not to want to take the guns to the range. That’s why I’d suggest it be under the grip.

Full-on engraving is something I would not attempt without a lot of prior thinking and planning and discussion with an engraver. Too easy to produce something your friends may not like, or may reflect your taste instead of theirs. I personally like the arts-and-crafts/nouveau style engraving that Felix Funken did on an Auto 5 for the 1930 World’s Fair. I also like more traditional European oak leaf-style engraving but not everyone else does.

Perhaps I’m off base, though. You know your bud and his girl better than any of us. It’s certainly your gift to give, and good friends will always receive a gift as it is intended.

 

[rduchateau2954]

You make good points here.

With the engraving what I had pictured was really really simple and basic. Think Remington 1100 curly Q's just a bit before and after the name. If I can find exactly what I'm talking about I'll post a picture.

I do like the idea of a plaque in the box.

Without engraving the guns can go in the box any which way. Has anybody ever come across a display box or style that stood out?

The sweetheart grips, this feels like another rabbit hole.

The nice thing is I'm always tinkering with guns so it's not unusual for me to be bouncing an idea or two off of whomever happens to be in the same room. They haven't even set a date yet so I should have plenty of time to weedle likes and don't likes out of them. And by them I mean her. I could buy him a pee yellow hi point and he'd shoot it.

 

[Sovblocgunfan]

Definitely feel em out and see what they like. Their style of dress, jewelry, vehicles, etc will give you pretty big clues about stuff like engraving. Frankly the case coloring you found would suit well, but adding engraving to that would be too much, I think.

But yeah, I could see names and dates in script, with a couple of flourishes. But I’d be afraid to do much more than that.

And if you are going for something like the case coloring I would not add sweetheart grips (although I could see a place for that on somethig like a stainless finish).

For display cases, there are so many choices it’d make your head spin!

 

[bassjam]

If it was me on the receiving end, I'd be happiest with a matching set of MKIII's with no engraving. If this is something you want your buddy and his wife to use, don't make it too pretty or they may never use it. Same with a presentation box, it might make them more inclined to leave the set in the box and never touch it.

One of my buddy's got me a bone stock Marlin Model 60 for my wedding. Even without engraving or anything, I'll never forget who it came from and it's easily my favorite wedding gift even though it's nowhere close to the most expensive. And since it's just a generic Marlin 60, I have no qualms about taking it squirrel hunting where it'll get dings and scratches.

 

[drobs]

I used to give the bride a hundred dollar bill and the groom a switch blade. Figuring they probably could use the cash more than some nick knack from Bed Bath & Beyond.
These days I've cheapened out a little bit. I give each of them a American Silver Eagle coin in the current year matching the wedding. I tell them it's made from real silver and it's value is based on the price of silver.

Examples:
https://www.jmbullion.com/silver/silver-coins/american-silver-eagles/uncirculated-ase/

 

[Erief0g]

Adding to the idea.
Matching pistols
Gift certificate for personal customization explaining what you considered but wanted that final touch to be their discretion which allows them to use said funds add they see fit.
A pre paid Visa would open the door to any possibilities as well as a stock of ammo

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I think you should go with the color case hardening by Doug Turnbull that you posted pictures of above. I like the idea of just the date they are married under the grips too. To tell the truth when I first looked at this thread I was thinking about Turnbull before I saw your post. Very nice indeed.

 

[rduchateau2954]

I think you should go with the color case hardening by Doug Turnbull that you posted pictures of above. I like the idea of just the date they are married under the grips too. To tell the truth when I first looked at this thread I was thinking about Turnbull before I saw your post. Very nice indeed.

I just worry about durability. That and I requested a quote when I posted that picture but haven't heard back.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I just worry about durability. That and I requested a quote when I posted that picture but haven't heard back.

Turnbull does real color case hardening with charcoal and bone like it was done 140+ years ago, not that painted on stuff Ruger does. It will last just like on an original Winchester 1873 made well over 100 years ago.

 

[shafter]

I'd be more apt to give them their wedding present 10 or 15 years late. With the divorce rate being over 50% I don't get spending money on weddings.

But if I was going to do what you have in mind I would keep it simple. Maybe some custom grips with their initials and wedding date. That way they can swap them out easily if they want to. I probably wouldn't engrave but if I did it would be low key and classy.

 

[aarondhgraham]

Here's an idea,,,
Buy a matching set of plain Jane guns,,,
Then have fancy matching holsters made for them.

The holsters can be tooled as fancy as one can imagine,,,
So their wedding date and names or other words can be there.

This way, you don't alter the guns at all.

As far as mounting them in a box,,,
Do it similar to this and the engraving (if any) will be visible.


I've considered engraving the name of these guns on the slab-side of the Barrel,,
They are named Veritas (Truth) and Equitas (Justice).

You can buy very nice boxes at this website,,,
Hampel's Woodland Products.

I've purchased several cases from them and have always received a good product.

Aarond

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