Gun collector remembers his dead wife by carrying a pistol with a picture of her on the handle
A HEARTBROKEN gun collector has found a special way of remembering his dead wife - by carrying around a gun with her picture on it.
Bereaved Dakota Simms, 22, says the love of his life Hunter Roberts is still protecting him despite her tragic death
Hunter was just 24 when she lost her battle with colon cancer in October last year.
Shortly before her sudden death she gave her gun-mad husband a special gift, a 1911 Rock Island .45 pistol.
She arranged for his initials to be engraved on the weapon before asking to have a photo of her printed on the handle, known to firearm enthusiasts as the 'sweetheart grip'.
Dakota, a contractor from Green County, Indiana, says he now carries the weapon everywhere he goes.
He said: "I call it my daily driver. I carry it everyday.
"I take it with me hunting to protect myself from coyotes or if I wound a deer and need to finish the job."
In return for the gift Dakota gave his wife a gun of her own, a Smith and Wesson Easy Slide 380.
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They exchanged handguns at Christmas the previous year and Dakota now counts his personalised weapon as one of his most treasured possessions.
He added: "That one is special now.
"She got it engraved so I could pass it down if I ever had kids."
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