This is a strain I’ve regularly seen stocked at dispensaries for quite some time. Like consecutive harvests. That’s either a REALLY good thing or a really bad thing.
If you see a strain with regularity and the farm is legit (has high grow standards) then it is staying on shelves because smokers love it.
Seeing a strain on shelves over time is a really bad thing is if it is because it’s staying on shelves because nobody is buying it, and it’s not multiple crops but one big bag of one crop from a long, long time ago.
This Grandpa’s Gunchest, picked up at Oregrown in Portland, grown by Evan’s Creek Farms, is most definitely in the REALLY GOOD camp, given the standards both dispensary and farm hold themselves to.
I mean, just take a couple of minutes to go on a side quest here and scope the kind of stuff Evan’s Creek is producing these days.
If you don’t live in Oregon, the Oregrown dispensaries don’t stock shwag. They’ve regularly got stuff from some of the best growers in Oregon and, as such, the world.
Second, Evan’s Creek simply doesn’t grow boof.
Third, Surfr Seeds doesn’t breed bunk. No, sir, Surfr didn’t raise no bitch in Grandpa’s Gun Chest.
Great bud like this is one of the big reasons I love living in Oregon and why I’m such a huge proponent of deli-style dispensaries: they give all the hands that went into creating the herb their moment to shine to prospective customers and regular stoners alike.
On the docket for enjoyment today and for the last few weeks is Grandpa’s Gun Chest, which is a cross of the coveted Animal Mints #15 and Redneck Wedding, which is itself a cross between GMO and Trophy Wife.
Big names require big brains to cultivate correctly, and that’s what Evan’s Creek has done here.
My nugs were consistent in size, shape, and color. The buds were dense with little air within and perfectly cured to maximize the amount of rich terpenes for the end consumer to enjoy, which I have.
Moisture level was spot on, keeping the bud sticking together and sticking to my fingers and imparting plenty of flavor when smoked and dialing up the flavor to 11 when vaped, but more on that a little later on.
First, let’s just stop a moment to admire these beauties a little bit!
Appearance: Chewbacca’s Dingleberries
These buds are scruffy little fellas. Shoutout to whoever trimmed these because the work is top-notch, with anything resembling a leaf expertly removed without disturbing the long, gangly pistils that snake about the purple depths of these nugs, numerous cracks and crevices.
The coloring is a combination of heavily faded military greens and very deep violet. The distribution of these two colors is about 50/50, which gives it a rad contrast, not too dissimilar to the strong contrasts found on Zubaz pants.
Trichome coverage is comprehensive but not the thickest I’ve seen. I wouldn’t exactly call it a disco ball, but they’re all over the place, and very well intact.
The consistency continues dimensionally, with all 5 of the individual buds about the same height and width.
I’m well aware that size doesn’t really equate to a better high or anything, although I DO think they collectively retain their moisture in a jar a bit better than the small knobby popcorns.
They’re also easier to share with friends, like “hey, put this in your pipe and smoke it,” and you can toss them a whole intact, pretty little mini head of devil cabbage.
I took this Gun Chest to an outdoor BBQ on an unusually warm Portland spring day, and it was well received and seemed to complement the assortment of grilled meats and veggies well.
Smell: Hard to Hide Funk
This weed packs a nasal punch. If you open it up, then just know the room you’re in will smell of dankness for a bit. It would be hard to discreetly consume this stuff.
Overall, this is definitely on the kush/must side of the scent wheel. Opening my Re:Stash jar to take in a big whiff, the first notes I get are old book smell combined with upturned mossy log.
There is the unmistakable fungi funk from the GMO grandparent coming through via Redneck Wedding. A faint hint of peppercorn and crushed clove adds a pleasant kitchen pantry element to the Gun Chest’s bouquet.
I’ve got a jar of Firebird (Deep Jungle x Maui Sour OG) and a jar of Huckleberry Web to compare this Gun Chest by alternating each night when I light up.
It became abundantly clear that Grandpa’s Gun Chest is definitely on the umami end of the scent spectrum, with almost none of the citrus candy fruit smells present in the other two strains in my rotation when I reviewed this.
Like with any gun chest or old solid-wood cabinet, this stuff smells musty, dusty, woody, with a bit of gas tossed in on top, which you could equate with shoe polish or perhaps a dash of duct-tape adhesive fumes.
I’m presuming the gassy element is more from the Animal Mints #15 parent, which is also evident on the palate when smoked, leaving a cooler, “minty” Sichuan pepper-type sensation on the exhale.
If you like GMOs or just heavier kush-based delights like White Truffle or Soul Train, then you’ll be delighted with Grandpa’s Gun Chest.
The air in the room after blazing is like incense made with repurposed Christmas wreaths that have been sitting around for a little while. It feels like something you would want to light up with in a leather chair with a small fire crackling away before you.
Whether you choose to vape, water pipe, or roll up a dosh of Gun Chest in a joint the experience is a delightful one. The powerful terpenes and unique volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) found in this strain make for a memorable experience for newcomers and veterans alike.
Sensation: Get To Da Recliner!
Whether smoked in joints or vaped, Grandpa’s Gun Chest is a delight to consume. While the nose is undeniably wet, earthy, and classical GMO, the flavor is surprisingly smooth and clean, so if you’re not looking for full-blown dinner-time funk, then you’re in the clear with Gun Chest.
There is a full-bodied GMO flavor, but the finish is bready and smooth. It embraces you, like a ham sandwich on a fresh-baked sourdough roll with some full-cream butter and a bit of Dijon mustard.
On the exhale, the flavor tastes different, with a cleaner, almost minty freshness, like you just consumed a palate cleanser between two courses.
I’ve smoked a lot of GMO strains, and I’ve smoked a lot of clean and refreshing strains, but I have not smoked many that managed to combine both effects as well as Surfr Seeds and Evan’s Creek have here.
I generally like having a booster and a soother on hand, given the desired effects from my bud. Grandpa’s Gun Chest has served as a wonderful end-of-day soother for both the mind and the body.
Whether it’s a long day crushing spreadsheets like a corporate automaton or a grueling leg day at the gym (or both if you’re a real sick fuck), Grandpa’s got your back with a Gun Chest full of relaxing respite.
We’re talking a whole magazine of big and slow .45 ACPleasure to the mind and body.
The high has a gradual onset and is heavy in effect. I always get pretty stony with Grandpa’s Gun Chest and would thus definitely put it on the “Indica” end of the hybridized spectrum of cannabis.
It’s a solid body high, so I didn’t often feel like being active with the Gun Chest; it was very much a stay-home-and-watch-YouTube-or-roll-around-and-stretch-on-the-floor kind of weed.
Strength was above moderate, so heads up if you’re a newer smoker. If you’re like stronger body highs with a cool, calm mindset, I think that’s right where this falls, but remember, we’re all unique.
In researching the genetic lineage of this strain, I was surprised to find that one of its ancestors, the Trophy Wife strain, is generally considered quite CBD-heavy.
Given that Trophy Wife is one of the parents of Redneck Wedding, I wonder if some of these more therapeutic cannabinoids are being passed down to Gun Chest, resulting in the moderately intense body high I get.
Summary: Retro Classic Cannabis
People were raving about Redneck Wedding a lot in 2023, and it’s one of those strains that I regretfully did not get time to try while it was out in the wild.
Similarly, the fun factoid that seed packs of authentic Animal Mints from Seed Junky Genetics were selling for $2,000 a pop when they dropped makes sense when you get that rare, fresh, palate-cleansing exhale after that earthy, mushroom-y inhale of Grandpa’s Gun Chest.
This is how cannabis should smell. You could enter a preserved ounce of this in a time capsule in the Smithsonian as an example of what good craft cannabis was like in 2024.
If you’re into GMOs like Donny Burger or Hash Burger, then Grandpa’s Gun Chest should be on your list. If you’re into cleaner, brighter terpene profiles, then I think Grandpa’s Gun Chest should be on your shortlist of GMOs to try WHEN you feel like trying them, if ever. No pressure!
Candy fruit strains have been my life the last couple of years, but I’ve recently been surprised at how much I’ve been enjoying these more “maduro-esque” strains the last few years.
So don’t be intimidated by the name, Gun Chest’s bark is way scarier than her bite and the flavor, smoothness of smoke, body-filling stone, and unique finish are a rare combination of sensations I’ve yet to really experience with many other cultivars.
