I was asked by a family aquaintance(sp?) to help him find out how much some of his firearms where worth in case he had to sell them.

First off was a flat top ruger blackhawk with only double digit serial number.  

The one that made me cry was what he pulled out of his in-the-waist band holster, a Nazi Hi-power with all the proof marks that he brought back from Germany while serving during WWII. He has a CCW and uses this beauty for his carry gun[:O]. His kids are fighting over who gets his guns and he's seriously considering just selling them. I hope he doesn't but will gladly pay him good $$ for them[:D] I am tempted to buy him a new carry gun so he will quite packing that awesome antique around.
BTW he's carried it since the end of the war.
Fell free to begin weeping now. [>(]

idaho-ar15

if he ever decides to sell them outright, make sure that you point thim in the right direction. hopefully he can find people to keep and love these love worn antiques. i kind of admire someone who doesnt understand the "collectable" value of something intrinsically silly to collect.  i relish reading "valuable" comic books with my cheeto fingers, price be damned.  i dont want them to sit on a shelf! guns are made to be shot and loved, not sit on a shelf either.
 

Maybe I'm an atypical gun lover, but I think it's GREAT that his fine old gun is actually being USED for the purpose it was intended for.

I don't have any objection to keeping a gun in pristine condition, but I also don't have any objection to keeping a fine sidearm like that for self defense, and actually carrying it with you.  That's what it was made for, after all.  The wear and tear that gets put on it becomes part of its history and that makes it a MORE interesting gun than one that hasn't left a glass case in fifty years.  

Besides, could you think of a better gun to carry?  There can't be very many that would be a better choice.

If carrying a classic like that might make you cry, what about my case?

My case is, when I get my CC permit (shortly), my carry gun will be the only gun in my collection that I totally trust.  It's a Colt M1911 (NOT an M1911A1) marked US PROPERTY with Army markings, AA arsenal rework stampings (Augusta Arsenal), and the serial number is 386XXX.    If I were a particularly playful man, I'd let YOU call Colt and find out when that was made.

In fact, I AM feeling playful today, so if you want to know how old this gun is, call Colt and ask them.   Their number is 1-800-962-COLT.

Oh, did I mention this gun is in roughly 95 percent finish condition, with the finish being OD Parkerized, which was done at the Augusta Arsenal before it was surplussed in 1964?

Tomorrow I'll tell you how old this gun is if nobody has found out and posted it.

It's meant to be carried and used in self-defense.  It was before and it will be again, being in extremely serviceable condition and reliable enough that I WOULD trust my life to it.

CJ

[stick]bad cmjohnson[stick] [stick]bad[stick]

just kidding :)

To each his own. To me I'd put it in a nice display case and keep it as something to be handed down the generations as if it just came off the battlefield.

And yes your story made me cry[>Q]

idaho-ar15

Not to take anything away from your pistol but your Colt which was manufactured in 1918, as an AA reworked pistol is roughly worth 1/2 of what it would be if it was still in it's orginal blued finish.  

As for the refin, hey, blame the Army, not me!
If it WERE in its original blued condition, I'd never consider using it as a carry gun, and I would instead have turned the world upside down looking for a pair of original two tone magazines for it.

Yes, 1918 is correct.  Did you call and ask, or did you get that from a book?

Anyway, it's not like this gun gets shot or carried much anyway.  Realistically it gets maybe a hundred rounds through it a year, averaged out over the past ten years.

It's a good shooter, and I'd like to shoot it more, but I don't want to beat it to death, either, so it gets light use.  I'd trust it absolutely as a carry gun, though.  

In actuality, for concealed carry I'd probably want to pick up something like a Colt Defender, which I tried and liked very much.  The plastic trigger (and any other plastic parts) needs to be replaced with steel parts where practical, but the rest is quite nice for me.  The trigger is quite nice for a factory gun, and I'm not all that picky about triggers anyway.  I tried the LDA Para Ordnance design, and quite frankly hated the LDA action.   Cocked and locked is better for my tastes.

CJ

Quite a few on-line resources to dig out serial number info for the 'ole 1911s.  To get you started;

[url]www.coolgunsite.com/pistols/colt%20production.htm [/url]
[url]www.coltautos.com/1911ci_145555.htm[/url]

I always thought firearms were ment to be used unless they are unsafe and I think the Hi Power would make a fine carry peice. Guns in glass cases never really got my attention but the well worn, properly cared for 45 auto or S&W 44 Special riding in it's LEATHER holster always made me sit up and take notice. Where had it been? what had it done? Had it seen any "action"

Kind of like these people who bought toys when they were kids and still have them in the box after 30yrs. Maybe they are a little more valuable but so what.I want my firearms to go to someone who will apprecite them and use them not lock them in a vault.

what would make me cry is having that fine gun to to the melting pot/buzz saw.

THAT IS WHAT THE GOV'T WOULD LOVE TO SEE. but if it were mw, they would have to kill me first. and i wouold make sure to take a bunch of em with me.

Fortunately, that's NOT what the GOVERNMENT would like to see.  Just the whacko anti-gun assholes, of which some can be found working within the government.

As long as everybody keeps it firmly in mind that this is a government OF the people, BY the people, and FOR the people, everything will be just fine.

We can regain the unimpeded use of the rights that we have lost the use of, but it will take work.  If you don't vote pro-gun, or don't vote at all, you're effectively taking an anti-gun position.   Those who are not with us are against us by default.

Gun owners are the majority in the United States, but we're not on top because too many of us don't vote for our rights!

VOTE, DAMMIT!  [soapbox]

CJ

Since my other hobby is coin collecting, having things stashed away in a safe in nothing new to me.

Idaho-ar15, your story made me cry. My grandfather has a Nazi marked pistol (don't know what type) with Nazi marked ammo. It's his home defense weapon.

We tell him the only person he's going to kill is himself, but he's 82 years old and set in ways...

Av.

what makes me cry the most besides seeing fine vintage arms being chopped up is, [soapbox]

1.[b]is seeing them mutilated[/b] [>(]

like when some fool ground the stock lug off a luger or highpower or turns a kraig into a damm sporter

2.[b]seeing somthing refinished very poorly[/b] [>(]

like any nickel plated luger or an over buffed and blued 1903.
Dont even get me started on how people desicrate the wood on these things [pissed]

Nyah nyah, mine's a 1917 that *hasn't* been refinished. [:p]  Original diamond-checkered grips and the half-blued mag, too.

No way am I carrying it, though!

 Whatever you'd pay, I'll pay more!  [;)]

some people just DONT deserve to own fine firearms.



this is NOT a slam to anyone here, just a statement to all the people who "tinker" tooo much with rare and collectable guns that in turn kills the value. like someone said before, a fine firearm that is sporterized becomes a hunk of junk.
ive seen toooooo many sporterized, customized, carried, added on, not cared for firearms that would be worth a lot in original condition.
its really sad that some people dont know what they got and what its worth.

JUST A QUICK QUESTION

WHAT WILL YOU ALL DO WITH THOSE NICE OLD GUNS WHEN THEY COME FOR THEM ?

SEE LINK BELOW:

[url]http://www.kc3.com/news/chicago_confiscation.htm[/url]


WILLIAM

Agree – but:

Keep in mind that many of these firearms were “sporterized” in the mid 20th Century.  At that time, the original firearm was probably not collectable.  If fact, it may have been regarded as very nearly junk.  

While I’m generalizing a bit, keep in mind that back then people didn’t have the disposable income that they do now.   People bought things they felt they needed or could use. Most people couldn’t just “collect” things.

Buying an old military firearm and sporterizing it was a way of getting, say, a deer rifle for someone who either couldn’t afford or who couldn’t justify the expenditure for a commercially one.

Also, admittedly, there wasn’t the reverence for history that we have now.  Americans were much more pragmatic and “future” oriented.  Nostalgia back then meant thinking about WWII and the Depression.

It’s a shame many fine old firearms were damaged in this way.   Nowadays, there’s no excuse for it.  In fact, sporterizing a firearm now will most likely result in a gun that will cost more and still be inferior to a new one.