What piqued your interest about military surplus?

[ssgross]

I had only ever fired a Red Ryder before Parris Island. My love of all things marksmanship started there. My first milsurp was a CMP Garand - took me a while to get to a place where I could afford to indulge my love of shooting outside of the Marine Corps setting. My wife's grandfather was an army vet who survived D-Day. He past away without seeing his great-grand kids. We talk about him with the kids every year on the D-Day anniversary. A couple years back, we watched a documentary on the anniversary, and my 10 year old son made me pause it and asked "Dad...Is that the rifle?" I said yes it is. He says "...Can I hold it?" We were both hooked. He clutched that rifle at port arms for 2hrs of documentary. I love working on, restoring, and tuning them just as much as shooting. Every time the kids hold one they are awed by the thought of decades or a century+ of service history. The rifles are a conduit for remembering what really happened - not just the big picture history book, but at an individual level. They remind us of what really matters in the world and what sacrifices it takes to secure it.