What are the chances?

[John (Rojo)]

Sounds like a Grims Fairy Tale, but here goes.  In 1983,  I met a fella selling a 1911 Schmidt Ruben rifle.  It came out of a private collection.  Condition was collector quality.  My offer was not accepted,  and the gun sold to someone else.  I did pick up a collector quality Steyr that I outbid someone else on.  Eight years later,  I went to a gun show and happened to see a most gorgeous Schmidt Ruben rifle of descriminating collector quality.  I asked the owner where he got it and he told me it came from a private collection.  I told him that the last time I saw one that nice,  was eight years ago and told him where.  He then said,  "You're the guy that got that nice Steyr I wanted."  I said,  you must be the guy that got the Schmidt out from under me.  We both laughed.   I walked out with the Schmidt Ruben I so much wamted eight years earlier.  

I guess it was meant to be.   I believe the chances of  running across that rifle at that time and place, all those years later,  had to be pretty slim.

John (Rojo)

[Frog123]

I believe it! Sometimes you just have to be in the right place at the right time. My first deer rifle was a Marlin 336 in 30/30, nothing fancy. I killed my first deer with it when I was 13 and quite a few others till I git a 30/06 in high school. I don't remember how we traded or what for, but my brother swapped me out of it. I asked him for first option to buy should he decide to get rid of it. Well something happened and he wound up trading it for a dog. This created some hard feelings between us for awhile. The gun had been gone for about ten years when he called me at work one night asking if I wanted to buy a 30/30. "Not really, I have a bolt and a pump 30/30." He said that I needed to come take a look at that I could probably get it pretty cheap. He works for a company that supplies parts to light industry, he had been at this factory about a mile and a half from my station doing inventory when this guy there approached him wanting to know if he was Nathan, the guy who did all the deer hunting. He tells him he is. Then the guy asked if he wanted to buy a deer rifle. Nathan told him not really, but he'd check with me since I was always looking for good deals on guns. Nathan took one look at the gun and called me telling me I needed to come up there and look at the gun. My partner and I rode up there and met with the guy out in the parking lot. As soon as he took the gun out from behind the seat of the truck I recognized it as my old rifle. I had split the toe of the stock and had to have it repaired. I handled the gun, made sure it was working then talked numbers. When the guy told me he wanted $100.00, I liked to knocked him over with the cash. I got my rifle back and my brother made good. From talking with the guy we figured the gun had changed hands at least five times in ten years just inside the plant.



Frog