I thought Id share my favorite story involving Michael. In my first year in Anchorage I bought a beautiful No.6-1/2 Rigby Ballard whose caliber was only marked as .40 Cal. I was more collector than shooter and actually posted here first looking for help to identify the caliber.
Michael responded asking me to call him. He invited me over to his house. I was excited to meet a fellow collector / shooter in a new town. When my wife asked me where I was going, I responded, I met this guy online. She looked at me and said, maybe you want to try that again .... After laughing about it, I drove to Michaels house.
Michael met me at the door. He was a BIG guy! He was very tall and had a big frame. He was on a call and invited me in and sat me at his kitchen table. When he finished the call, he invited me to see his gunroom. He opened the door to his garage and motioned for me to go first. I was a bit leery because there was nothing that suggested gunroom to me and he was right behind me.
Then he told me to open a door that was in the far corner and go in. Now, a normal person would have excused themselves and left fearing for their lives. I opened the door and walked into a shop room with some small machinery (e.g. lathe, mill, workbenches, etc) but still no gun-related anything. This was when I got scared and I honestly thought to myself, if I run out of here screaming now, will I be saving my own life by not winding up in some guys freezer (Ive seen enough bad movies. I know how this could end.). Michael put his hand on my shoulder and I thought oh no ... this is it. He pushed past me with one concealed door left that opened to the room you see in the photos above.
I am so very happy I trusted Michael that afternoon and didnt embarass myself by running out screaming. He was a great friend and mentor. He took the time to explain things to me and this room held many, many treasures. No matter what their value he was very proud of everything in this room.
I can still here him saying, Now look ....
Last edited by Joe Dobrzynski; 02/14/19 09:26 AM.
