I was sure there would be a thread for this.
I looked up the serial number for my Colt’s Government Model 1911 .45 ACP pistol. It was made in 1917. I’ve ordered a blue, National Match barrel for it to replace the stainless steel barrel it has now.
It reminded me that I have a Winchester Model 92 rifle (not carbine – 20-inch octagon barrel with rifle stocks) that was made in 1897.
I am reminded that I have an M1 Garand that I bought at an auction a year ago or so that needs some attention. I broke it down and checked the numbers, all show a Dec 43 to April 44 part numbers except for the barrel. Must have been some VFW guys project gun because it would be unlikely that one went this long without it being broke down and retrofitted a long time ago.
Time to clean, document and get it ready for display. It looks pretty awesome with stock polished, bayonet attached and the leather sling treated.
I have been downsizing lately. I am not getting any younger and my daughters are not collectors. They each are happy with their Glock 19s. Our local Scheel’s Store will buy or take trade ins. Six months or so ago I sold back a Beretta M9A4 and a Walther PPK in .380. Lately I sold a vintage Remington Wingmaster 12 gauge and a Ruger SR 1911 3 inch in 9mm. My hunting days are long over and the 1911 lacked a left handed thumb safety. In the transaction I bought a S&W M&P Shield EZ in 9mm to replace the 1911 as my carry. The ambidextrous thumb safety makes it more versatile
Except in rare instances (collector items) how much value does a gun lose from new to re-sale as used? Akin to a car…it loses a huge amount of value the second you drive it off the dealer’s lot. Do guns hold value well?
I bought a S&W M&P compact in 9 mm around 15 years ago. I like it, and it’s my daily carry. But the slide has always had some rust spots on it, which has annoyed me. I read somewhere that S&W had a manufacturing problem in their plating shop during that time. I assume they have fixed that problem.
Any love for main battle rifles (MBRs) here? I own two metric FALs - an Imbel and a DSA. They’re heavy, inaccurate, have lousy triggers, difficult to scope, and use the (inferior) tilting breechblock mechanism. But I have a love them for reasons I can’t fully explain. The FAL just feels good in my hands, and is fun to shoot. And it can be field-stripped by a drunk monkey; I can remove the firing pin in less than six seconds.
I had an FN FAL, which was a lot of fun to shoot. I sold it in 1987 so that I could afford the deposit on my first apartment. I thought, ‘I can always buy another one.’ Then came the bans. Last time I looked (many years ago, out of curiosity) the FN-made FALs were very scarce, and ver, very expensive. But I don’t want one now. I would like to seriously reduce my collection.
[I don’t remember starting this thread. My wife made martinis last night, but 13 hours ago I was only on my second one.]
I am not a long gun shooter and the only rifle I own is the obligatory Ruger 1022
I have a High Standard Riot gun in the safe but I haven’t fired either of those in years
I am down to half a dozen handguns and I plan to thin them down from there.
I am very fond of my 1967 Browning HiPower. I find it equal to or slightly better than the 1911s. Two must have modifications: The magazine safety that will not allow a trigger pull without a magazine has to go. It took five minutes including finding the small punch needed to push the pin out. Once that tiny part is gone the magazines drop free properly. I live about 45 minutes from Cylinder and Slide in Fremont NE and they installed an ambi safety for about a hundred bucks.
It has never been a collector’s item and has always been a reliable shooter.
I have several WWII era rifles: M1 Garand, Mouser K98, Mosin Nagant, Arisaka Type 99 (which is pretty much impossible to get ammo for). Most Ariaka’s have the mum symbol scratched off since surrendering a weapon with the Emperor’s symbol on it was considered to be a disgrace. Someone took a screwdriver and defaced the mum on mine, but it’s otherwise still intact.
I also have a 1950s era Yugoslavian K98.
I have a replica 1853 Enfield rifle-musket, which was the second most popular weapon of the Civil War. The Springfield rifle-musket was the most popular, but it has crappy flip-up sights where the Enfield has a much better ladder sight, which is why I chose it over the Springfield.
I have a replica 1756 English Land Pattern musket (aka “Brown Bess”). I chose the 1756 over later models because while French muskets tended to get better over time, English muskets just got shorter and cheaper.
The Enfield, being a rifle-musket, is pretty accurate, and compares fairly well to a modern weapon. A skilled soldier back in the day could hit a man-sized target at 500 yards with one. My old eyes aren’t anywhere near that accurate. The ladder sight goes out to 1200 yards, which I would say is optimistic at best. If you hit anything beyond 600 yards or so it’s mostly luck.
The Brown Bess is a smooth bore, so it’s not so great accuracy-wise. But it is fun to shoot. It doesn’t really have sights on it. You can use the tang screw at the rear and the bayonet lug at the front as kinda-sorta sights, but they aren’t that great for aiming.
I also have a couple of Pennsylvania caplock rifles.
And I have an antique .22 rifle that belonged to my father.
For pistols, I have a .22 target pistol, a fancy reproduction 1851 Colt Navy cap and ball revolver, and a .44 magnum revolver in case I ever feel the need to channel Dirty Harry.
I don’t have much of an interest in anything later than WWII era. I might get an M14 at some point, but that would be the most modern rifle that I would like to have.
I have a Mauser Gew-98 that was made in 1917. The original barrel was so pitted that it was nigh on impossible to eject a round though, so I had it converted to a K98 with the shorter barrel, shorter stock, and the turned-down bolt. I also, like you, have a Yugoslavian one I’ve never used.
I also have an Enfield No. 4 rifle. Haven’t fired that one either.
I have two Uberti Cold 1851 Navy Pistols, a Colt 2nd Generation 1851 Navy, a Colt 3rd Generation ‘Signature’ 1851 Navy, an Uberti Colt Walker revolver, an 1849 Pocket Pistol (I think it’s Cold 2nd Gen), and an Uberi 1858 New Army Revolver. I’ve only fired the two Uberti Navies.
I’ve lost count of my 'AR-15’s. Two are Colts; an AR-15 and a CAR-15 made in 1979. The others I built myself. And I have a Costa Mesa-built Armalite AR-180 (folding stock).
And a bunch of others.
Generally use, most of the guns I sold only lost 10% to 20% of what I bought it for which isn’t bad for something I actually used a lot.
For example I bought a new gun for $800 a few years ago, and I saw it selling somewhere else for $650 used.
I think the reason I don’t remember starting this thread is that a Mod edited something and the date changed. This happened with another thread yesterday.
Anyway…
I have a C96 ‘Red 9’ ‘Broomhandle’ Mauser. It would be nice to have an ‘authentic’ holster for it. One such holster doubles as a shoulder stock. Obviously, it would be illegal to put the stock on the pistol. But is it legal to use the stock as a holster, as long as it’s never put onto the pistol?
I pulled out my ‘Red 9’ pistol, and looked up the s/n.
The year of manufacture for serial number 80xxx is 1905.
The short extractor with two ribs replaces the long thin extractor.
Military ‘‘Red 9’’ pistols had a separate serial number range (1-150000) and were manufactured between 1916 and 1918. Standard pre war commercial models fall in the 39000 - 274000 range.
OK, now I’m confused. According to the search, my pistol was manufactured in 1905. A differnet site says my s/n range falls from 1906-1911. I thought my pistol was made in 1916.
Now I don’t know. I’m going to guess it was made in 1916. Unless anyone else can offer data.
Where can I buy .22 Magnum ammunition?
In most cases, very little, unless it gets obviously worn. But selling for full value involves doing your own legwork selling privately (however legal means), as stores operate on thin margins so selling it to them, they will pay you less than you can get otherwise. But even the value of new ones can vary tremendously. Buying local anything is always nice, but sometimes you can get cheaper online, even with all the FFL fees.
I only have one that’s worth half what I bought it for in 2009 or so. But a lot of what I have is old, so they’re worth the rarity.
That’s rather easy to find. Big box stores should have it. Next to the .22 LR, but you might’ve missed it as they look the same unless you pay attention to the length or the box labels.
I googled, and I’m not finding anything. I have a 3-pin Ruger Single-Six with two cylinders, I can’t tell which is which, so I thought I could buy a box of .22 Magnum to see which cylinder is which; but I can’t seem to find any .22 Magnum.
If it’s like my poor man’s Ruger (Heritage Rough Rider), the .22 mag won’t even fit in the LR cylinder. But they’re also externally distinct.
I think Ruger customer service could probably see if there’s any identifying marks too.
I have a single six manufactured in 74, so a newer model than yours. I just went out and looked at the cylinders to refresh my memory and the 22WMR cylinder on mine has a slight ‘step’ towards the front of each chamber to accommodate the fact that the 22WMR cartridge is slightly larger than the 22LR cartridge. The 22LR cylinder is bored straight through.
I picked up my 1937 Mauser P.08 Luger yesterday. And… DOH! I’m at a sporting goods store! I got some .22 Magnum rounds while I was there. ($22? Man, ammunition has become expensive!) I’ve made some purchased on eBay: A reproduction wooden magazine bottom for the Luger, a blue, modern-production, Luger magazine, and a reproduction P.08 holster w/tool (the pistol came with the tool).