The Christmas of 1956 still sits clear as day in my mind. I had just turned twelve on December 3rd, and that year when I walked into the living room, there it was under the tree. A brand new Mossberg Model 185 . Bolt action. Three shot. Twenty gauge. All mine. Right next to it sat another gift that would quietly shape the rest of my life. Two books from my aunt by Jack London , Call of the Wild  and White Fang . I did not know it then, but those two gifts, one steel and walnut and the other...

When Uncle Kenny picked up another 1911, it took him straight back to his Army days. His own 1943 1911A1 has lived through World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, passed through the hands of Rangers, soldiers, and friends. Here’s how the 1911 evolved and the story this one still tells.

Cousin Denny’s mule-plowing days and his trusty Winchester Model 36 come to life in this story of Missouri farm life, 9 mm Flobert history, and a rare find during a Webster Groves firearm appraisal.