Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

My oldest son will graduate from VA Tech in June and accept a Regular Army commission in the infantry. He has worked hard to accomplish that goal and I would like to present him with a special graduation gift. He's a gun enthusiast who studies ballistics for fun, taught himself basic gunsmithing, and is licensed to carry a concealed handgun. I am open to gift suggestions from you, the experts. He has mentioned the Remington 700, S&W .44, and even told me about the S&W .50. I would like to purchase a Colt M1911 but must cap the expense at $850 - perhaps going to $1,000K for an exceptionally nice find. I know that's not a great deal of money to this crowd. I'm less concerned about weapon practicality than I am sentimental value. At this point I invite your thoughts and advice.

Respectfully,

Jim

I've been hearing/reading good things about Ruger's 1911 (if you can find one in stock)....

Meadmaker,

Thank you for taking time to reply. I'll add the Ruger 1911 to my list.

Jim

Lots of good options out there; the challenge is the find the best one for the individual. Maybe arrange for a shop to hold two or three of your top choices and let him pick what fits him best....

I gave my daughter a Glock 19 for her college graduation (after she passed a saftey course that also qualified her for her CHP which she now has). It fits her hand well and she likes it better than my Glock 22.

Semper Fi!
Chris
SSgt USMC '79-'91

I'm pretty sure that what my dad got when he graduated OCS was a quality set of binoculars (still have them). Eyes are important to an officer. Your son'd actually be able to use them on the job, too, unlike a personally-owned weapon.

Diomed, Meadmkr,

I appreciate the your insights. A Glock for a graduation gift, how cool is that? And binoculars, my dad sent me a pair during DS/DS and I still have those. You're right, seeing far was important and our supply situation wasn't good early on. Again, thank you.

Jim

I will offer some slightly different advice for gifts for the new LT. If he will be on active duty and living on post, his having a personal firearm will difficult. It sounds strange but most posts have policies that make it as big a pain in the @$$ as possible to discourage firearm ownership. I think it would be wiser to wait (on a firearm) until he gets to his station, and gets settled in. Here are a few ideas for other gifts that you can't go wrong with:

The binoculars aren't a bad idea, I'd recommend going with a set of compact Steiners (8 X 30 Military/Marine) at around $200-300: http://www.steiner-binoculars.com/binoculars/military/280.html

A good compact flashlight (you can't go wrong with a surefire) I prefer a G2, they are tough, $30-60 for incandescent models ($20-30 higher for LED) , going to last a while and aren't going to make you cry as bad as if you lost a $100 flashlight:http://www.surefire.com/G2-Nitrolon

A good Multi-tool, most folks go with Gerbers, The prices will be all over the place on them. I prefer SOGs myself: http://sogknives.com/store/B66.html

Another item that your son would benefit from, that seems to be disappearing from the supply rooms shelves is a compass. I recommend going with a Cammenga Phosphorescent compass, they don't get dimmer like the tritium model after a few years. You can usually pick them up for $40-80: http://www.cammenga.com/product_p/27.htm