Just read a post on Snipershide that Robert passed away......

RIP Robert

RIP Robert

please inform on what happened someone when you hear..horrible news and just shows you never know when your time will come..tremendous loss for his family and friends.his talent in gunsmithing was phenominal but not of importance in this context..

RIP, prayers for his family.

interesting..so few comments on his passing..no matter your opinion on issues that he had with his buisness a few years ago from what i understand he tried and made good on many of his backlog and communication lapses.granted buisness is buisness and i understand that.i do not worship at the altar of any gunsmith.all i know is human beings are human.they can have issues and maybe not handle things as well as others.his skills as a riflesmith were as good as any and better than most and he was humble.i remember the beating he took on this forum.i learned long ago not to judge until you walk in others shoes.i just wish others would express some comment on a decent persons passing.but alot wont.very sad.

sloone,

I ran across another thread on this forum that had more traction. Mid-summer gets kind of slow around here too so I'd take the lack of response with a grain of salt.

I'm glad Robert is finally at peace. And condolences to his family.

He had been very depressed for a good while. Over the last few months he was non-communicative with my other gunsmith buddies. He was in a very dark place and couldn't dig himself out of that hole. He took his own life per a friend of his.

thanks s kane and godogs.i lived with severe depression for a few years many years ago.it manifests in many different ways in different people..you cannot fully explain it as it is not just about feeling sadness.to much to try and explain in this brief text..medicine saved my life.i would not been able to continue with it and would not of survived my battle without the life saving meds.there are those who try many different meds and still suffer so deeply.he built a rifle for a close friend years ago.phenominal it was and is..god rest his soul..just horrible to the core.

Very sad to read this thread, even more so to hear a result of self harm. I never met him but sure enjoyed many a build threads on the Hide and enjoyed the heck out of a couple 2nd hand rifles he built. He could certainly build an accurate rifle for sure.

Any link to an obit?

DF

that is too bad. I did not know him or even have any of his work, but a good man has passed and he shared a lot of interests with us.

Never met him or even commissioned him. But a very sad story indeed. It’s amazing how the most talented often have demons that haunt them

Prayers for Robert. May God be with him. This is terribly tragic, especially for his family members.

Please if you know anyone suffering with depression, take it upon yourself to make sure they get treatment.

RIP Robert

There are a number of posts on this forum referring to the crap Campfire members dumped on him. I was not familiar with that aspect. What was the deal there?

Know one of the contributing factors to his depression was a $2500 monthly rental on his CNC outfit. He was in a vicious cycle of being so depressed he couldn’t work, much less communicate with others. No work——->$2500 a month due before other expenses...it just put the hole he had dug for himself deeper and deeper each month.

What a crying shame.

$2500 a month on a rental could cause some stress.it certainly wasnt a big contributor with this i dont believe.clinical severe depressionlike roberts is a severe chemical imbalance which can only be helped primarily thru medication.dont know all the issues he had with trying to overcome his battle.this illness can show a myriad of symptoms with different people.he obviously was getting no relief for years.been there and thru it and you cant explain it if you never experienced it.life altering and devastating and dibilitating is a understatement.

$2500 a month on a rental could cause some stress.it certainly wasnt a big contributor with this i dont believe.clinical severe depressionlike roberts is a severe chemical imbalance which can only be helped primarily thru medication.dont know all the issues he had with trying to overcome his battle.this illness can show a myriad of symptoms with different people.he obviously was getting no relief for years.been there and thru it and you cant explain it if you never experienced it.life altering and devastating and dibilitating is a understatement.

He was a very close friend. We always kept in touch after I attended his gunsmith class. We use to kid with each other how boring the two rifles that he built me. Money was not an object when they were built. Robert spent more time than usual on these two rifles and later admitted these were the most accurate rifles that he had ever built.

Would love to share some pictures but will need some help from a member

Can you text?

I couldn't find an obit, no family info, etc.

You'd think a man of his accomplishments would have more said about him than what I'm seeing.

DF

My memory was that he disappeared for an extended period of time and lots of people that had sent him money and parts were left wondering

I believe when he resurfaced, that’s when he hired the guy to help him manage customer service

I never met him nor have I seen much less shot one of his rifles but it sure seemed like he could build a good one. Hate to hear he had demons he couldn’t overcome

$2500/month on CNC equipment - you’ve got to build a good many more than the 50 guns/year his website says to break even on that I would think

https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/robert-gradous-obituary?pid=196471545

photo
Robert Ballard Gradous
Hephzibah, GA—Robert Ballard Gradous, 58, husband of Kimberly Kurtz Gradous, entered into rest Monday, July 6, 2020.
Memorial services will be held Monday, July 13, 2020, at 2:00 PM at 3021 Old Waynesboro Rd, Hephzibah, GA.
Mr. Gradous, son of the late Carolyn Ann Gradous and Dr. Bruce Gradous, was self-employed which included farming, mechanic and gun machinists.
In addition to his wife and father, he is survived by his sons, Joseph Ballard Gradous, of Hephzibah, and Joshua Bruce Gradous (Amber), of Savannah; and his brother, Tim Gradous (Laura), of Hephzibah.
Chance & Hydrick Funeral Directors, 2502 Richmond Hill Road, Augusta, GA, 30906.
www.chanceandhydrick.com
Sign the guestbook at AugustaChronicle.com/obits
The Augusta Chronicle - 07/12/2020

Sorry to read this. He bedded a rifle for me about 8 years ago. Very nice to deal with.

Spent a half a day with Robert 7 years ago when he built my rifle...

Felt like I was in the presence of a guy who knew what the hell he was doing...
Still have this rifle and probably always will.... RIP

CLICK:
gradous 308

sako.beautiful rifle.also to others i belive robert did a lot of work for others with fluting and other machining jobs.much more so his investment in his cnc equipment was most likely paying quite a bit for the cost for it..i regret now putting off the build i was going to have robert build for me..

Robert is the one who taught me how to fit and chamber a barrel. He spent a day and a half with me and wouldn’t accept a dime for his time. A quirky guy for sure but a real genius.

RIP Robert

Very, very sad. RIP. I have seen videos of his work. He was a real craftsman.

Depression is a real and deadly burden that can strike anyone, anytime.

quirky..arent we all in our own way.god bless

This is Sad news, I only read about him on the Fire, may he Rest In Peace and God bless his family.

Very true.

Too bad depression is such a dark illness, more than one way.

Dark for the victim, dark in that it's not spoken about enough, lingers in the shadows until it's too late.

And, then there's the lingering guilt and remorse of family and friends. "Why didn't we see this coming, what could be have done, etc. etc..." Blaming themselves for something they probably couldn't have prevented. Once someone makes up his or her mind, it's hard to intervene...

Closure is such cases is more often than not, really difficult...

DF

So true. Not too long ago I was reading about this very topic (suicide/depression) in the campfire forum.
And based on the volume of ignorance shown in that thread, there's a lot more education and enlightenment that needs to happen around depression.

Sad deal.

I think it's more of a factor due to the old crusty, racist, ignorant, obese old men that live in the classified section but I also agree with you....grin...

It tends to get real personal when you see it up close, when it involves family or friends.

This in not something to just brush off because it's uncomfortable.

It's real and all too prevalent.

You can't understand something you haven't experienced, haven't walked in their moccasins.

People tend to discount what they don't understand or find objectionable. This is one topic that refused to be swept under the rug...

DF

Absolutely spot on. I'm dealing with it now as my 15-year old son took his own life in late May. It was painful to read this about Robert as I had always respected his work. The pain and torment left in loved ones after a loved one decides this path is beyond comprehension. As stated in my other thread, you can't begin to really understand the "low" they're in as your mind isn't in the same place.

I remember reading your post.

I could feel your anguish, but no way could I fully experience what you were and are going thru.

I feel for the Gradous family and friends. There's not much one can say, other than to just be there for them.

Sometimes it's awkward the way people interact with the family, making it uncomfortable for everyone.

I'm sure you experienced some of that, people trying to say the right thing when there really is no "right thing".

DF

as i stated previously on this thread.unless you have had clinical depression you cannot understand it.it cannot be described as to the feelings associated with it.mine started over 40 years ago.i suffered with a internal strain and mental anguish people can not even begin to try to comprehend.meds saved my life period.talking to a psychiatrist after suffering terribly for almost 2 years got me diagnosed thru testing.it is horrible on your family and friends and when i was diagnosed it was in 1985 it was not nearly as understood as it is today.the mind is so complex and as people know if you cant touch it or see it so hard to be understood.all i can say is i would of preferred to had a finger or toe broken daily and continuously every day over and over than have suffered with this horrible mental torture.again im assuming robert felt no real relief from any meds he i hope tried.this is so sad and if i wasnt living in missouri now and concerned with this covid-19 issue i would of flown east for his service.no one should ever think of this as cowardise..it is not at all.i pray he is at peace.god bless

devnull.truly from the bottom of my heart i am so sorry for the loss of your precious son.i can only hope the good memories will carry you and your family forward.always know and understand this is not caused in anyway by you and your loved ones.

Thanks for sharing.

Hope that helps someone.

DF

Devnull, my condolences and prayers for you and your family, as well as all of Robert's.

God Bless.