This could be a dangerous addiction...

Today, I got another chance to hit the pawn shop circuit.  While ostensibly looking for files and steel to use as knifemaking material, I found two more pawn shops with pretty good collections of weapons.  This is in addition to finding Bachman Gun and Pawn off of Northwest Highway in Dallas (I went last week after work).

Bachman Gun seemed like a good store, with a very good selection, but somewhat standoff-ish folks behind the counter.  But anyways, nothing here really caught my eye.  I'll be writing about 3 pistols, each of which is the first example that I've handled.  Coincidentally, each was also designed by John Moses Browning.

After finding Ella, taking her home, disassembling and cleaning her, I can't keep my eyes off of old pocket pistols.  At Miller's pawn, I finally got a chance to check out their collection.  A few weeks back, the first time I came by, I saw that their guns were all stored in a separate, caged in, locked area.  I asked if they had the area closed off at the time, and they mentioned that they would have it opened up again during the week.

This time, I asked if they just keep it closed off during the weekend.  The lady behind the counter surprised me, and said: "We don't let anyone back there unless they have a concealed handgun license".  Chuckling, I reached in my pocket, pulled out my wallet, and showed her mine.  I said "I've never heard of a policy like that before!"  She said that it helps them keep out the young punks that just want to play with the guns and act like idiots.  Apparently, normally, if they think they'll have a problem, they just ask what kind of gun someone is looking for, and then go in the back to pick one out.  Things to remember/consider if I ever really want to think about running a gun shop.

After she unlocked the door, she left me alone to browse in peace.  Now, let me tell you, it may have been a small space, but they packed it full of awesome.  Someone there has good taste.  I'm not going to focus on them, but for any gunnies in the Garland area, let me tell you, they are chock-full of great deals, beautiful guns, and great finds.  Two, side by side under a glass case, really caught my eye.

I didn't take any photos, but I wish I had.  The store has a "no cell phone use in store" policy (either the owner's feel that its rude, or they're type A control freaks... not that the two are mutually exclusive), so I didn't take any snapshots with my phone.

So, without pictures of my own, Find # 1 looked something like this:

A Colt 1903 Pocket, this particular gun had a nickel finish.  This was the first example of these guns that I've had the chance to handle (I need to start getting to gun shows... either that, or I need to stay away), but after delving into pocket pistols with Ella, I've been hoping to catch one in the wild.  Checking the serial number, this is a Type III pistol, manufactured in 1920 (almost like Ella's big sister).  The shop wanted $495, and checking with my blue book (guessing approximately 80-90% condition), taking into account the nickel finish, this seems to be a pretty decent asking price.  If this pistol stays around for a while, I might have to bring my wallet and go back for a chat to see just how low they'll go.

Find # 2, sitting right next to Find # 1, looked a little like this:

This beauty is a Browning 1955 in .380 ACP.  The 1955 model is an imported FN model 1910, with the Browning name, chambered in .380.  In a break from earlier designs, Colt wasn't interested in the model 1910, leaving FN to serve the European market with the model 1910 in .32 ACP, and neglecting American buyers.  This form of the pistol survived from 1955 until 1968, when the Gun Control Act of 1968 made importation of this pistol impossible to profitably import.

The example I saw has a very high serial number (possibly made in the very last runs in 1969?) of 644315.  By my guess (I'm not too practiced at appraisal yet), this gun was probably 70%, maybe 80%.  Like I said, I don't have a ton of experience with appraising condition.  The folks at the store were asking 395, which seems to be quite a bit higher than what the blue book would value this gun at ($250-275).  It's a good looking gun, but unless they could be talked down quite a bit, it wouldn't happen.

After oogling the pretty girls at Miller's, I headed up the street to Bob's Pawn.  I wasn't impressed with the folks here.  Again, these folks were stand-offish, rude, and seemed like they were in a big damn hurry to get me out of the store to close up (ten minutes before their closing, while I was handling a pistol).  Oh.  Also... they wanted 3 bucks and a quarter for a rusted over dull file.  I offered two bucks for it, because I wanted the steel for a knife.  My large mill file find from earlier in the day is in great shape (which I got for a buck), and is probably of more use to me in the shop as a file than as scrap steel.  Anyways, this thing was rusted out, pitted and useless.  And he wouldn't take the two.  I'm ok with a shop trying to make some money... but two bucks in the register for what is essentially a piece of brittle scrap... or a customer walking?  I'm not sure I get it.

Dissatisfaction with Bob's pawn aside, here's a picture of what Find # 3 looked like:

While technically, this could be considered another example of the FN 1910, I'm still counting it as a fresh example.  Basically, the FN model 1922  is an upsized 1910, designed to meet the request for increased grip length and magazine capacity, as well as for a longer barrel for the Yugoslavian military.  I'd guess the example I saw today was >90% condition, which leaves the stores price at $325 pretty reasonable.  Unfortunately, without photos of the gun, I don't have a way of identifying the gun's markings to identify its origins.  I'm pretty sure I didn't spot any WaA stamps, so I'm not thinking that this gun was made during the Nazi occupation of Belgium.  Regardless, this pistol felt great in the hand, and is absolutely beautiful.

Well, that's a wrap for finds that caught my eye on the pawn circuit.  I have to say, after handling these beautiful weapons, I have to wonder how a gun like this one can ever catch the eye.

Seeing the Glock version of a .380 pocket pistol next to any of these designs (Only one of which, at 89 years old, was designed in the last century... Its like trying to compare Roseanne Barr

with Catherine Zeta Jones. 

No, worse.  It's like comparing John Lithgow's nude scenes in Season 4 of Dexter (

with Zoe Saldana.

Form follows function, beauty is in the eye of the beholder... Yeah, sure.  However, the sad truth is, no matter which way you look at it, Gaston Glock may have been a great craftsman, but he is no artisan.  Like Mr. Glock, John M. Browning revolutionized firearms design (unlike Mr. Glock, over, and over, and over again), but he also did it while combining humble materials to transcend engineering and create works of art.

Oh.  And Zoe Saldana is HOT.  End of discussion.

Guaranteed to stop an assailant...

with bouts of hysterical laughter.

With another nod to Tam, I just had to comment on this poor, unfortunate, mistreated pistol.

Click for link to original picture

Somewhere, somehow... Someone thought this was a good idea.  Having recently purchased a Sig SP2022, I'm hoping that my new semi-auto carry pistol hasn't already been contaminated.

How the hell do you holster this thing?

Seeing this tumerous growth, all I could think was "All its missing is a bayonet AND a bipod".  Then, I realized, Sig had been generous enough to offer a bayonet (some assembly required), free with purchase of your DIY sidearm cancer

This converts a weapon with 5 basic user interfaces for use in shooting (slide, decocker, trigger, magazine release, slide stop), 6 if you count magazines, and ups the count by how many?  Light switch with two modes (light and strobe), which requires either multiple presses, or an additional setting on a slide switch (that can be bumped).  An activation button for the laser.  A holographic sight with multiple brightness settings?

I can see the usefulness of a weapon light.  I can see the usefulness of laser sights, especially when the activation is automatic (Crimson Trace).  But the benefits seem incredibly outweight by the added complexity of all these devices.  Along with mounting a sight that prevents the use of backup iron sights in case of dead batteries, electronics failure, glass breaking, etc...?

When I'm relying on a pistol, the last thing I need is to be fumbling with light switches, turning on my holographic sights to have a weapon I'm capable of properly aiming, and that I'm incapable of holstering in an accesible manner.

If you need all these devices on a weapon, you're already in some serious shit, and you need a long gun, so put them on your long gun (but make sure you have iron sight backups).  Leave your pistol alone... Of course, if you NEED all these devices, they're not gonna help anyways... You're the weapon, not your gun.

Identifying Mr. Schmidt (Rubin)

Ok, so, turns out I was right.  A quick rumble around the web let me figure out, I was looking at a Schmidt Rubin Model 1911 manufactured in 1917, proofed, inspected, and certified by a Major Mühlemann.

Kind of cool to be holding a weapon manufactured in a country surrounded by, but not a participant in, "The Great War".

Maybe I could make a little money on the side...

Wandering through pawn shops a while back, I stumbled across an interesting gun.  What stuck out immediately for me as it sat on the rack was a barrel shaped lug on the bolt handle.  It looked just like this picture shamelessly stolen from The Arms Room:

I hadn't actually seen a Schmidt Rubin in person until now, but I was fairly sure that I recognized the gun.  Several years back, before I bought my first centerfire rifle, the first gunsmith that I met (Emerson at Custom Cartridge in Las Cruces, NM, which is to this day my favorite gun store) had recommended this weapon if I'd like a cheaper shooter that was a tack driver.  I read up a little on the guns at the time, and haven't looked at them since.  For a better review than I could write, take a look at what Tam has to say.

I asked the guy behind the counter to let me take a closer look, and he pulled the gun off the rack and handed it over.  It looked like someone had sporterized the stock, and the forward hand guard was missing, leaving the barrel bare from receiver to muzzle.

I took a peek at the label for the gun, and noticed that they had it labeled as a Mauser, in .303.  Now... I'm sure that this isn't the biggest failure in gun identification I've ever seen (the media seems to have a talent for it), but labeling a Swiss rifle as a German Mauser, and claiming that it's chambered in a British caliber (that as far as I know, neither the Swiss or Germans ever really used), is definitely a step toward that direction.

I should have snapped a few more pictures, and maybe tried to get a better idea of what model of Schmidt Rubin I was looking at.  All I ended up taking photos of were the proof marks on the receiver, so that I could at some future date have a better idea of what I had in my hands.



They're asking $300 for it.  If I could get it for a century note, I might think about it.  I know that 7.5 X 55 Swiss has dropped a lot in price (comparitively) since I was first looking, but it's still not a Wal-mart caliber, so I'd have to figure that into the decision.

Anyways, maybe I could offer to identify and price their guns, either for a little cash, or in trade. Who knows?

Coolest BAG day yet!

Howdy folks,

This is my first time post in ages.

I was browsing through pawn shops here in Garland looking for files and deals on tools for my shop, and I spotted a Remington 51 in the glass cabinet. They were asking $400, and after several days of reading everything I could find on it, I went back and walked out $200 more broke, but grinning like an idiot.



I'm sure that she's pre-1923 because there are no barrel codes on the left side of the trigger guard, but I'm not sure beyond that. According to Ed Buffaloe (http://unblinkingeye.com/Guns/Rem51/rem51.html), the pre-1921 guns should have a 9 serration slide (mine does), but no Remington trademark or caliber stamp on the barrel (mine does). This makes me wonder if I just have a 1921-22 gun, and the slide was replaced, or if I've just got some weird transition period gun.







I took several while I was taking the gun apart for cleaning.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/6168453...7627503875725/

As you can see, the slide seems like it was sanded with pretty rough paper (See above on slide shown in barrel stamp photo. The take-out pin has been sanded down a bit with the slide, and the left side of the frame is missing some blue and seems to have been lightly scratched up by the trigger guard. I think there was some light engraving on the left side of the slide, which prompted the bungled refinishing attempt.

Otherwise, the frame and internals seem to be in great shape, there's a small amount of pitting near the left grip (probably where it rubbed against skin while being carried?).

I'm not sure how to proceed in restoring this gun. I'm not sure if I should look to Numrich for a replacement, or try to refinish the current slide. I've never done any bluing, and it kind of intimidates me. I'm also not looking to put significant monetary investment into the equipment to do so, because I'm not likely to be using it on any other projects.

I bought the pistol to be a shooter, also because I wanted it to have a good home (one that wouldn't abuse it with sandpaper!). Still, I'd like to retain as much value in the pistol as possible, and I'm not sure if replacing the slide or refinishing the current is the better choice.

Any suggestions?

If the suggestion is to refinish, any recommendation on good gunsmiths in the Dallas area?