Rifle, revolver celebrate Grant County's birthday

GRANT COUNTY — When Dan Cruz’s wife Kathy gave him the rifle 12 years ago, he was surprised.

Two years later, he received the matching pistol.

“I knew nothing about either one of these,” he said. “She did it in stealth mode.”

The reason for the secrecy?

There were just 10 rifles and eight pistols made like them. The pistols were only sold to individuals who had purchased a rifle.

Each gun is hand made, complete with engravings featuring details of Grant County.

“It took approximately two years to manufacture each one of these,” Cruz explained.

And Cruz is the only person who owns a set, who is from Moses Lake.

“These are indeed irreplaceable items,” Cruz noted. “I’m kind of proud of them.”

Both firearms are .45 caliber and are numbered five of 10. They are made of a nickel-silver base and coated in 24-karat gold.

The .45 caliber gun is synonymous with western times, Cruz, a gun enthusiast, explained.

“(It is) kind of designated as the standard western cartridge of choice, dating back to the 19th century,” he said.

The history of Grant County is tied heavily into the designs on the guns.

“Grant County, it’s 100 years old this year. If you think about this, this was, like, 40 years, 50 years before Grant County was even created when this .45 caliber revolver and firearm were created,” Cruz said.

Most ranchers, farmers and cowboys would have used these types of guns, he added.

“Early settlers actually fought the Indians with these guns,” Cruz explained. “That’s how it tied this all together.”

Both guns are collectors’ items, therefore neither has ever had a shell inserted into the chamber or the trigger pulled, Cruz said.

“But they’re actual replicas of the firearms, so they will shoot,” he explained.

THE PISTOL

The special edition revolver is a Colt model 1873 Single Action Army (SAA) revolver. It uses .45 caliber Long Colt ammunition and is stamped with two patents: Sept. 19, 1871, and July 2, 1872.

The wooden grip is engraved with a deer on one side, along with the patent numbers, and a moose on the either. Both sides show the 1889 seal of Washington state. Across the back, “Established in 1909,” is engraved, stating the year Grant County became a county.

On the bottom of the grip, “5 of 10” is engraved between two bear claws.

“Grant County Washington” is engraved along each side of the barrel. The barrel and cylinder are plated with 24-karat gold with a nickel-silver base, Cruz said.

THE RIFLE

The special edition lever action rifle is a Winchester model 94AE rifle. It is a .45 caliber Long Colt.

One side of the rifle, a picture of Ulysses S. Grant, Grant County’s namesake, is engraved, with the words “18th U.S. president.” To the left, a farm scene, with horses, a man with a dog, plow, barn and wind well, is engraved. A bridge with a waterfall and some grapes are engraved to the right.

The city names of Soap Lake, Moses Lake North, Ruff, Westlake, Electric City, Wilson Creek, Winchester, Warden and Grand Coulee are engraved as well.

Going toward the barrel, “Grant County” is engraved as well as a picture of a jack rabbit.

“There used to be tons of them,” Cruz explained.

On the top of the barrel, “Winchester model 94AE .45 Colt” is engraved.

Toward the trigger in the gold plating, a picture of an apple is engraved as well as the numbering, “5 of 10.”

Near the chamber, an elk is engraved. “Grant County Washington — since 1909” is engraved above where shells are inserted.

On the other side of the rifle, the city names of George, Marlin, Quincy, Ephrata, Trinidad, Stratford, Beverly, Mattawa, Coulee City, Royal City, Hartline and Moses Lake are engraved.

There are also pictures of a bird, and a cowboy riding a bucking horse engraved, as well as “Washington.”

On the left side of the stock, the 1889 state seal of Washington is engraved.

“It’s got an unbelievably good wood carving,” Cruz said.

It shows an engraved map of the state of Washington, with Grant County highlighted. The words “Grant County Washington” encircle the map.

THE VISION

Cruz’s hopes for the set are simple.

“I would like it to land in somebody’s hand who actually lives in Grant County,” he said.

Though he was born in Toppenish, Wash., Cruz moved with his family to Moses Lake when he was 5 or 6 years old — in 1957 or 1958. He left Moses Lake in the late 1970s, attended college as an undergraduate and graduate student at Eastern Washington University, and lives in Snoqualmie, Wash.

So even though he has ties with Grant County — his parents still live in the area — he would like to see the guns belong to someone who lives in the county.

“What I’d really like to do is … it would be really great with this set of firearms if I could get my initial investment plus a little bit, and we could raise money and donate the residual to Moses Lake or Grant County charities,” Cruz said. “That would be a really fun thing for me to do with this 100 year anniversary set of guns.”

Though he declined to reveal how much the set was purchased for, Cruz said the set is appraised and insured for $20,000. He said he is willing to sell the set for $15,000, but added he would not split up the pair and would only sell the set to someone residing in Grant County.

For more information about the pair of guns, contact Cruz at 425-292-9377 or e-mail him at dlcruz@comcast.net.