Hans’ Squirrel Gun

Hans’ Squirrel Gun

I met Hans Weinmeister when he went to work for Jim West at Wild West Guns in Anchorage, Alaska.  He was friendly and knowledgeable about Kodiak Island, firearms, and Alaskan fishing and hunting.  I liked him immediately.

Time passed and Wild West Guns became the base for an Alaskan reality TV show called Wild West Alaska.  All my good friends at Wild West Guns were now celebrities.  I was happy for them.

Hans had seen many examples of my engraving as I completed various jobs for WWG.  He often spoke of having me do some engraving for him, but somehow it never happened.

Using the extra money he was earning from the TV show, Hans began investing in firearms, which was something he knew about.  One day he showed me a pair of Smith & Wesson Regulation Police revolvers.  They were stunningly beautiful examples of craftsmanship and precision not found in production firearms today.  Both had crisp edges, flawless polish, deep blue finish, and walnut grips that seemed to have grown from the steel.  I was impressed.

With a large grin, he asked me to engrave one chambered for the .32 Long cartridge.  I quickly agreed.  We kicked around various ideas, finally settling on some Jim White scroll and an animal of some sort.  Eventually, we came to the decision that a squirrel would be acceptable, as the .32 Long cartridge is a nice small game caliber.  

As I was thinking about squirrels and how various positions might work, I came up with an interesting idea.  I’d use the revolver’s recoil shield to replace a vertical tree trunk in my drawing, bringing a horizontal tree limb out from it for the squirrel to sit upon.  When I ran it by Hans, he was enthusiastic with the idea. 

After delivery, he often took it out of his gun safe at least once a week. Settling down in a comfortable chair with a favorite drink, he would admire the revolver’s workmanship and the engraving.  What more could I ask?!