Rumbler... The Legend

[Frady]

I moved to Tallahassee in 2009 to pursue a graduate degree. I had to sell my truck and needed a vehicle. I came across a 84 CJ7 that I just had to have and I met Mike to test drive it. Among other things we talked a little about shooting and he told me about TGF.

I bought the CJ7 with a clear expectation that it was "as is". About a week or two later I was getting a weird issue and I called him up just to get some advice. He immediately knew the problem and said he had been suspecting the motor mounts for a while. He absolutely insisted that he order the parts and that I bring it over so he could replace them. No matter how much I told him it wasn't necessary he refused to accept no and informed me the parts were already ordered.

I later had another issue (it's a jeep thing) and when I called him I had to make him promise not to try and order parts. He tried to anyway.

We ended up taking a lot of classes together over the years and became friends. Anytime I would call him and ask about a piece of gear or drill we ran he was always trying to give me his stuff. We often disagreed, but he was always humble and as friendly as anyone I've ever met on the range.

A few years ago a disorganized group of kids from FSU started a shooting club. I wrote it off pretty quickly as a shit show but Mike took them under his wing and spent WAY more time than anyone else would have and really helped that group get started. He donated money, made ammo and supervised many FSU students at Talon. The only payment he ever got was a bunch of grief associated with fixing mistakes made by teenagers. I don't think many of the RAFSU folks really knew how lucky they were to have him as a coach.

*edit* I should also add that RAFSU became a pretty fantastic organization under his guidance, and has suffered in his absence.