So sad to hear of Roberts passing. Robert did my first custom barreled action for me last year. I was fortunate enough to have a few phone conversations with him. He had a very candid way of explaining things. If you ever talked to him, it was a conversation you would probably never forget. He was a class act all the way. Always had time to talk and share knowledge.
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Gunsmithing Robert Gradous
- Thread starter HolyCity73
- Start date
Wow, this is extremely sad. I spoke with him on the phone twice and he was always a gentleman and gracious with his time. He did an AI barrel for me in 6.5X47 and that thing is crazy accurate. I hope the good lord likes accurate rifles. I sure know Charlie Daniels does.
This is a true loss. There are lots of good gunsmiths, but there was only one Robert Gradous. Prayers for his family and friends. He was an artist and genuinely good human being.
I ordered a rifle from Robert. I didn’t know squat. He took way to much of his time to try and educate me on the details of such a fine rifle. When the gun was done, he did the same and invited me to come back so he could teach me how to shoot long distance. He really took care of me. I’m sorry I didn’t go back. Good man.
Rest In Peace, Robert.
Robert was a brilliant gunsmith and a truly wise man. As many others have said, he always took the time to talk rifles and everything shooting, day or night. I also learned more about combines than I cared to know, haha. I will never forget spending time at his shop working on my rifle and, more importantly, learning about life. I wish I could have done it again.
But one of his sayings rings in my ear and is something I will never forget. He always told me, "If you're going to do something, learn from the best, then strive to do it better than anyone else". I have taken that advice to heart in all aspects of my life. He even convinced me to get my PhD in engineering. I am grateful to Robert for all the invaluable lessons and will miss him dearly.
Robert was a brilliant gunsmith and a truly wise man. As many others have said, he always took the time to talk rifles and everything shooting, day or night. I also learned more about combines than I cared to know, haha. I will never forget spending time at his shop working on my rifle and, more importantly, learning about life. I wish I could have done it again.
But one of his sayings rings in my ear and is something I will never forget. He always told me, "If you're going to do something, learn from the best, then strive to do it better than anyone else". I have taken that advice to heart in all aspects of my life. He even convinced me to get my PhD in engineering. I am grateful to Robert for all the invaluable lessons and will miss him dearly.
There will be a small memorial held Monday the 13th @ 2:00 pm at the Gradous property for anyone who would like to attend. 3021 Old Waynesboro Rd.
Hephzibah, Ga 30815
Hephzibah, Ga 30815
So Sorry to hear of this. I have read, and heard, nothing but good things about Mr. Gradous, his work and his rifles.
Harry
Harry
Since large gatherings are currently not allowed in funeral homes in GA right now, a memorial is being held for Robert at the family farm on Monday July 13 at 2 pm
3021 Old Waynesboro Road, Hepzibah GA
Any and all are welcome. There will be a short service and eat together afterwards.
3021 Old Waynesboro Road, Hepzibah GA
Any and all are welcome. There will be a short service and eat together afterwards.
So terrible ... Thoughts to the family. His reputation speaks volumes! RIP
This is truly sad news. Please forward my condolences to his family.
I’ve spoken to Robert numerous times over the past ten years regarding rifles, shooting, reloading, etc. He was a wealth of knowledge and always so very courteous. I was planning on having him build a rifle for me in the near future.
The firearms industry is less today than it was yesterday.
Sincerely
Dr T
I’ve spoken to Robert numerous times over the past ten years regarding rifles, shooting, reloading, etc. He was a wealth of knowledge and always so very courteous. I was planning on having him build a rifle for me in the near future.
The firearms industry is less today than it was yesterday.
Sincerely
Dr T
I’m driving from Maryland and will be there Monday. Thank you for sharing.
RIP. Talked to him a few times when he would stop in and buy reloading supplies from me when passing through. Nice guy, he will be missed.
Robert was a true gentleman. I spoke with him on occasion and he was always gracious, friendly and giving of his time. His passing is a loss to us all. May he Rest In Peace.
Very sad news. Peace and God bless to the family. As one Georgia son to another RIP Robert.
I had the privilege of being at Roberts shop for 3 different builds, every time was a huge learning experience for me. I am so sad to here this news, we have truly lost a great smith and I will never forget him.
Godspeed brother.
Godspeed brother.
OMG! I haven’t talked to him in a few weeks and he was having some health concerns, but nothing that serious from our talks. He was a true gentleman and will be missed in the community.
This is terrible news. I have two masterpieces built by Robert that I will cherish even more now.
Fuck 2020.
Fuck 2020.
Robert built my first custom rifle many years ago. He invited me down to build it with him. He told me it wasn't much fun building them alone. I told him I picked him to build it for a reason and helping would only diminish the quality of the rifle. His response was rifles are like working on lawn mowers once you know what you're doing. Sadly I couldn't take him up on his offer. RIP Robert.
Sad to hear. RIP Mr. Robert Gradous. We all are at more loss than most of us know.
Condolences, and my respect for a great gunsmith and his family. I will continue to remember him whenever I will use one of his products.
Sad to hear Condolences to his family and friends. I didn't know the man but read his post here and lurked around his website. Really sounded like a nice fella and someone i would have loved to visit with. RIP
he was so nice over the phone, I unfortunately never had the privilege of meeting him in person. i had contacted him about coming down to his shop and building a rifle alongside....sounded like it would be an amazing experience. He was so pleasant and forgiving of my naive questions
i had hoped to go down there when Covid had settled down.
reading so many of the comments it is very evident that he will truly be missed.
i had hoped to go down there when Covid had settled down.
reading so many of the comments it is very evident that he will truly be missed.
Reading on SH about his exploits in rifle building was what prompted me to occasionally advise intrepid rifle designers to stop trying to be someone who needs to be in control, and to leave the parts selections to the professionals.
From reading about him it became immediately clear that he was the Gunsmith to whom you gave info on application and chambering, and simply took what he built for you. I think that would be the best approach when he had your work in his shop.
I've known two other gunsmiths whom I could trust in such a manner; one is gone, and the other is overworked.
Greg
From reading about him it became immediately clear that he was the Gunsmith to whom you gave info on application and chambering, and simply took what he built for you. I think that would be the best approach when he had your work in his shop.
I've known two other gunsmiths whom I could trust in such a manner; one is gone, and the other is overworked.
Greg
***I just wanted to add a quick note for the community.
I have only known Robert for a short time, but we quickly became friends and I was planning a trip to his shop to assist him in doing some work on one of my guns. How often does a long time gun smith invite someone to their place to help and learn.. not often. I know from talking with Robert in March and April when the Covid-19 situation was really starting to ramp up; that he had stated he had finished several jobs and sent them out without payment. I know that times were/are hard and that many found themselves on reduced hours at work or without a job at all. This is where Robert truly shinned and stated to pay when you can and take care of your family first. He was nothing but a class act of a man! I urge anyone that still has pending payments to work towards getting those returned/paid to help with the expenses his family is now having to deal with and to make things right for the amazing work that he surely delivered. Thanks much for listening!
I have only known Robert for a short time, but we quickly became friends and I was planning a trip to his shop to assist him in doing some work on one of my guns. How often does a long time gun smith invite someone to their place to help and learn.. not often. I know from talking with Robert in March and April when the Covid-19 situation was really starting to ramp up; that he had stated he had finished several jobs and sent them out without payment. I know that times were/are hard and that many found themselves on reduced hours at work or without a job at all. This is where Robert truly shinned and stated to pay when you can and take care of your family first. He was nothing but a class act of a man! I urge anyone that still has pending payments to work towards getting those returned/paid to help with the expenses his family is now having to deal with and to make things right for the amazing work that he surely delivered. Thanks much for listening!
Jered Joplin will be doing a family fundraiser for Joseph and Kimberly Gradous.
The details I know of right now include a rifle to raise money for his family with 100% of the proceeds going to Kimberly Gradous.
Last I heard we still needed to find a 501C3 to help but the details included
Rifle Valued at $14,950
Tickets to cost $25
Scope & Bipod to be determined but expected to be donated
Funeral is Monday 7/13/20 at 1400hrs
The details I know of right now include a rifle to raise money for his family with 100% of the proceeds going to Kimberly Gradous.
Last I heard we still needed to find a 501C3 to help but the details included
Rifle Valued at $14,950
Tickets to cost $25
Scope & Bipod to be determined but expected to be donated
Funeral is Monday 7/13/20 at 1400hrs
My story with Robert is like so many others. I'm just a nobody who knows as close to nothing about precision shooting as possible, yet when I decided to ask Robert to spin up an AI barrel for me, he went so incredibly far beyond my expectations that, after a single phone call, I knew I wanted him to do any and all future gunsmithing jobs I could possibly need.
I called him out of the blue one day and explained to him that I wanted to see if he'd be able to spin up a .338LM barrel for an AXMC. He said absolutely and he spent over an hour talking to me about various options and just regular bullshitting about everything, not even just guns/shooting. He went on bugholes.com and picked out a barrel that would work best for my situation and told me that I could order it and have it shipped directly to him to avoid having to re-ship it once it arrived. I ordered the barrel and had it shipped to him and he called me several times over the next few weeks to verify things we'd discussed and was always very patient with me when I didn't quite understand a concept he was explaining, and used very simple metaphors with other fields to further my comprehension of specific mechanics/concepts. He never went too fast or got frustrated and was incredibly humble in his responses to all my questions, which were probably very stupid questions. His responses were never, "this is how you need to do it" but rather, "if I were building myself an xyz, I would probably go with ____ and here's why:" followed by an incredibly informative explanation.
I discussed with him the possibility of spinning up an AI barrel in 30-06 for no reason other than I really want one, and he said he felt very confident that he could modify a .300WM magazine to make it all work perfectly. We discussed refinishing a 10/22 stock that I had. We discussed several other projects as well that I intended to send his way when he got caught up after his illness earlier this year. I'd imagine I spent somewhere between 15 and 20 hours on the phone with him and every minute of it was with a humble man who was genuinely trying to just have a good time while also being informative but never pushy. Unfortunately, none of the projects we had planned ever made it to fruition, but I hope he was able to spend time with his loved ones at the end.
I hope his family is able to see these stories and understand that while it's not at all the same, we're all mourning with them.
Rest peacefully Robert, your personality will be greatly missed.
I called him out of the blue one day and explained to him that I wanted to see if he'd be able to spin up a .338LM barrel for an AXMC. He said absolutely and he spent over an hour talking to me about various options and just regular bullshitting about everything, not even just guns/shooting. He went on bugholes.com and picked out a barrel that would work best for my situation and told me that I could order it and have it shipped directly to him to avoid having to re-ship it once it arrived. I ordered the barrel and had it shipped to him and he called me several times over the next few weeks to verify things we'd discussed and was always very patient with me when I didn't quite understand a concept he was explaining, and used very simple metaphors with other fields to further my comprehension of specific mechanics/concepts. He never went too fast or got frustrated and was incredibly humble in his responses to all my questions, which were probably very stupid questions. His responses were never, "this is how you need to do it" but rather, "if I were building myself an xyz, I would probably go with ____ and here's why:" followed by an incredibly informative explanation.
I discussed with him the possibility of spinning up an AI barrel in 30-06 for no reason other than I really want one, and he said he felt very confident that he could modify a .300WM magazine to make it all work perfectly. We discussed refinishing a 10/22 stock that I had. We discussed several other projects as well that I intended to send his way when he got caught up after his illness earlier this year. I'd imagine I spent somewhere between 15 and 20 hours on the phone with him and every minute of it was with a humble man who was genuinely trying to just have a good time while also being informative but never pushy. Unfortunately, none of the projects we had planned ever made it to fruition, but I hope he was able to spend time with his loved ones at the end.
I hope his family is able to see these stories and understand that while it's not at all the same, we're all mourning with them.
Rest peacefully Robert, your personality will be greatly missed.
So sorry to hear this news. We'll miss seeing him at the Peanut Match. I wish I could make it to the service to show my respect for Robert. I'll probably save my Gradous Win. Mag. for special occasions now. He built good stuff! I pray that his family and close friends can find some peace in this terrible loss. RIP Robert!
He was a very close friend. We both suffer with depression and he was there to help me as I was to help him. I will really miss him. We use to kid with each other how boring the two rifles that he built me as they were so incredibly accurate. Money was not an object when they were built. Robert spent more time than usual on these two rifles and later admitted that the 6.5x47 was by far the most accurate rifle that he had ever built.
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Both world class gunsmith and gentleman! RIP and condolences to all his family and many friends.
“For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.”
Just learning of Roberts passing as I am out of the country. I will miss my friend.
Robert Gradous Obituary (2020) - Hephzibah, GA - The Augusta Chronicle
View Robert Ballard Gradous's obituary, send flowers and sign the guestbook.
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