For classic and vintage fans...
 

I bought one of my holy grail pistols today. I'm posted to Edmonton doing workup training for Afghanistan, and went to the local gunshow on Saturday (much better than the Winnipeg show back home). An old fellow was there with a table full of his very impressive collection of very rare and good quality old military handguns he was getting rid of. And selling at prices that would have been fair 10 years ago. He had a few things that interested me, but a dealer snapped them up as soon as he brought them out.

But when I talked to him afterwards he showed me the list of everything he had, including everything he left at home - which, as it turned out, was the good stuff. As soon as I saw this on the list, I offered him a deposit sight-unseen. He saw my army hoodie and told me I didn't need a deposit. I showed up an hour and a half into the show today carrying $900 cash and he told me he'd already turned down half a dozen offers on it.

Why all the fuss? It's all matching, all original Colt M1911 chambered in .455 Webley & Scott auto as part of the 1919 RAF contract (sorry about the pictures, I just snapped them quick at the show):

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/PICT0343.jpg
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/PICT0344.jpg

These are super-rare, original condition 1911s are hard enough to find, but on top of that most .455 1911s were rechambered to .45ACP by swapping out the barrel and mag - I've seen .455 mags alone sell for $300. You can see it's got the W (for Webley) prefix serial number and "CALIBRE 455" rollmark, the RAF stamp and is covered in British crossed flag proofs.

As an example of how good a deal this was, here's one in similar condition and without the RAF stamping. http://www.simpsonltd.com/product_in...f059ee4fafceb3 While US prices of original 1911s are higher than Canadian, this was still an amazing bargain.

When I pick up the gun I'm going to look at some of his other stuff, including a Webley-Fosberry he wants $5000 for. I might. There's some other stuff I probably will buy, including a Rast-Gasser M1898, a Webley-Green and Prussian-contract "Red Nine" Broomhandle.

Congrats on the buy, the 1911 looks great (a little scratched up but in great shape), glad to see you got such a good gun.

I personally recommend you buy that Red 9, Broomhandles look and shoot great and Red 9s shoot 9mm, which is a lot easier to find than 7.63 mauser pistol rounds.

My dad fixed up a Luger P08 from 1944, a war bringback with all matching parts for a friend who just sold it on Gunbroker for $2500 dollars! I got to put two mags through it for testing and it shot great. I'm glad he got such a good price for it. Personally I don't like the toggle on Lugers but they shoot great.

But again, that's a damn fine 1911.

It is a little scratched up - the flash on my camera (wasn't my usual gun camera) makes them stand out more. You gotta remember it's the mirror polished bluing Colt put on the commercial 1911s up until the 20s (the .455s are part of the commercial series) so it shows wear alot more than a parkerised A1.

As you may recall, I have a Broomhandle in 7.63mm, and I no problem getting enough ammo to shoot it as much as I care to shoot a gun that valuable. And while Broomhandles do shoot fairly accurately, the're quite uncomfortable to shoot as they have terrible ergonomics. My Luger shoots very well as well, though it's quite finnicky about ammo.

What I'm really excited about is actually the Rast & Gasser, they're incredibly hard to find.

Wow, that is quite the purchase. Congrats! It may be pretty beat up, but still, quite a nice find.

I for one think the Broomhandle fits great in the hand but it may just be me. I'm just saying a Red 9 is more conveniant because 9mm is pretty universal but if you can get 7.63s enough, it's your choice.

Oh, it fits the hand well enough when you pick it up, but when you actually fire it the left hand edge of the frame is sitting right on your thumb joint. Combine that with the heavy muzzle flip you're getting from the grip being that far back and you don't have a particularly ergonomic pistol.

Now that's a real beauty. :)

Thanks. I've recently bought a very nice Rast & Gasser 1898 from the same fellow, and he's got a couple of French M1892s left to show me. He also has a Webley-Fosberry, but I don't see buying that until I get back from overseas.

I used to keep a C96 "non-gun" in my room, which was basically a replica pistol composed of Zinc. I recently took it out because whenever I pick it up my finger swell with some type of allergic reaction, I assume it's the zinc.

Thought you might appreciate my most recent purchase:

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...1T/No4T006.jpg

Lee-Enfield No. 4 Mk I sniper varient with a No. 32 3.5x scope . Very nice.

If you want to use the correct terminology, it's a No.4 Mk.I(T), and that's a a No.32 Mk.III scope. It's amazing how far optics technology has come - my C7A2 has a 3.4X on it, and the snipers are using much more powerful glass.

I was close enough. :cool:

Nice gun, how'd you get it?

Some more of my recent purchases:

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/Bodeo001.jpg

This is one that, oddly, I looked for for years before finding. It's an Italian Bodeo M1889 in 10.4mm Italian, this one made in 1925. There's alot of variation in Bodeos, espescially for a military weapon, but this one is a pretty standard Trooper's model with the folding trigger, and likely would have been issued to machine gun troops in WWII. The Bodeo is one of those guns that was obsolete soon after being introduced, but kept in production for a long time because they were too useful to throw away.


http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/P5120742.jpg

This is a French MAS M1935S M1, a simplified alternative to the SACM M1935A adopted in 1935, and used simultaneously. It fires the somewhat underpowered 7.65mm Longue cartridge, and has a very awkward safety lever, but otherwise it's a good little gun. It's evolved from the 1911, but is quite a bit smaller, and this one is in almost mint condition.


http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/PICT0353.jpg

This is an Austrian Rast Gasser M1898 made by Steyr in 1917. Although it's definately not the prettiest handgun ever, they're extremely well made and have alot of good features which would be copied over the years. It's neat in that its an 8 shot in 8mm Gasser, making it a pretty underpowered, and is in spite of its year of adoption a profoundly 19th century design.

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...y/PICT0363.jpg

This is a British Martini-Henry Mk.III in 577-450 Boxer-Henry, made in 1882 at Enfield. The Martini is mostly remembered for its use in the 1879 Anglo-Zulu War, but was a front line weapon for almost 20 years. While the Mk.III arrived too late for the Anglo-Zulu war, I wanted one because it's the model specially issued to the 90th Winnipeg Rifles during the 1885 North West Rebellion here in Canada, when the rest of the Candian militia at the time carried the older Snider-Enfield. It's missing a cleaning rod in the picture, but I've since bought a replacement.


http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/PICT0356.jpg

This is a German Mauser Gewehr 98, made at Oberndorff in 1917. I looked for a Gewehr 98 for many years, but they're surprisingly hard to find because, for a number of reasons, the survival rate was somewhat low. This one is all original, including the distinctive Lange rear sight, and although it's a little rough, because they're so hard to find I can live it.

how's finding 455 ammo? Or a lot of those obscure calibers? I know they're more collector's guns, but everything deserves to get shot once in a while:D

.455 Auto ammo is one of the few truly impossible to find calibers out there. I have a single round from 1941 that I bought at a gunshow for 8$. That said, its very easy to cut an extractor groove in .45 Colt cartridges and form them to the appropriate size, and you can even buy pre-formed brass. .455 Webley isn't bad, most gun shops that cater to collectors have it.

I've managed to shoot most of my guns over the years, either with very expensive ammo from specialty manufacturers (Fiocci is the big one, also Precision Cartridge Inc, Old Western Scrounger, even Norma or Hornady for the only slightly rare stuff) or using surplus ammo. In fact, so far the only stuff that eludes me is .455 Auto, 8mm Nambu, 7.65mm Longue, 8 x 50mm Mannlicher. I haven't tried with 10.4mm Italian or .450 Boxer Henry, but Fiocci loads 10.4mm so that won't be an issue. .450 is gonna be more of a challenge, but likely doable.

The lack of decent collector's gun shops in my city and the hassles with shipping ammo in Canada are the two biggest factors. When I'm in Edmonton I have a buddy who used to work for the big shop there and he gets them to order specialty stuff for me, its just a question of paying.

When I turn 21 i will get a C&R and Want the following:

Mosin 91/30
SKS
Mosin m44
TT-33
Nagant revolver (2 of them, there that cheap)
CZ-52 (prob 2)
K98
P38
c96
Lee Enfield
Webley model (any used in ww2)
Carcano
beretta m1935
Arisaka
Finnish Mosin 39
Sweedish mauser 6.5x55
Krag
Makarov
steyr 95

Of these, my dad owns the Mosin-Nagant 91/30, SKS, TT-33 (and Norinco Type 54), Karabiner 98K (multiple ones actually, he has a lot of Mausers), Walther P38, a C96 Broomhandle (one pistol, and the rare carbine in great condition), A Lee-Enfield Mk 4 sporterized and a jungle carbine, a few different Carcano rifles, some Arisaka rifles (I say some because I don't know which models they are off the top of my head), three different Krag-Jorgensons, and a Steyr 95 (the straight pull is facinating).

Of other interesting notes, he has a Swiss Veterelli (spl?) in carbine and military rifle, and a Schmidt-Rubin 1905 straight pull. He's been collecting guns since he was my age, so his huge collection isn't too surprising.

Unfortunately he doesn't have any of the "cool" guns like we see in the movies. I've been asking for a Beretta now for a while....

And since he has to fix so many guns, some cool ones eventually come in. I'm going to shoot an AMT Automag V .50 AE and an AMT Backup 380 soon, both from the same guy.

Sorry if I'm bragging, I'd add pictures but it would take forever. And this is Nyles' board to show off his awesome collection of guns, not mine. Maybe I'll make my own board on this some day.

Well, AMT is supposed to have some of the worst triggers on the market, but shooting the 50 ae must be sweet,

And the reason i didn't put m1 garand on the list is i plan to ahve one before I turn 21, of corse:cool:

And i need to add k-31 swiss and an unsporterized 1917 enfield, and a 1917 revolver to accompany it.

I thought the Automag had an excellent trigger, as did the Backup so maybe it is a different gun by AMT.

I have an M1 Garand, check my profile. I love that gun, but .30-06 is too expensive to shoot often. I keep a clip loaded in it though so if I pull the action back I can hear the *PING!*

AMT switches hands frequently it seems, I know currently they have pretty bad QC. HI standard is another company that went down the tubes.

My rangemaster sells m2 ball at 20 cents a round when its in bulk, korean surplus. He has a little store he does as a side biz, hes retired now.

Something about the Automag I both liked an disliked was how the lever that is usually a decocker is just a firing pin block, and doesn't drop the hammer. This allows you to test the trigger without dry firing the gun, but now you have an extra step when decocking the gun.

Can't wait to shoot it though.

Few more guns I've bought recently:

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/P6270765.jpg

US Army Colt M1901 in .38 Long Colt - this of course being part of the series (from the M1889 to the M1905) of essentially identical of Colt .38 revolvers (solt commercially as the Colt New Army) used by the US military. These weren't successes in service, as most of you probably know - the .38 Long Colt round was underpowered and it was found in the Phillipine Insurrection that they wouldn't stop a charging Moro at close range. What's less well known is they also had somewhat weak lockwork - the cylinder rotated counter-clockwise, in the same direction it openned, and could easily get out of timing if abused.

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/P6270767.jpg

This is a British Webley Mk.I, the original military Webley adopted in 1887. It's interesting to put this next to my 1916 Webley Mk.VI - there are the obvious differences - the shorter 4" barrel and the bird's head grip, but there's alot of little differences - the extractor stays out in the open position rather than snapping back down, the cylinder can't easily be removed, the hammer and stirrup lock are shaped differently - it's a fascinating example of the evolution of the design.

I also just made a deal on a French M1892 revolver, commonly (though incorrectly) called a Lebel. These are neat in that they're the only non-US military revolver I'm aware of with a swing-out cylinder - except it swings out to the right, not the left. I'll explain why once I actually get it and have decent pictures. In the meantime, here's the sellers photo:

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...guns/lebel.jpg

Of those, I have everything but the Krag, Makarov, Beretta and CZ-52 - the Beretta is prohibited in Canada, and Krags are even harder to find than in the US, and the Mak and CZ are outside of my area of collection. Far as Webley's used in WW2, you'd be looking for either a WAR FINISH marked .38 Mk.IV or a .455 Mk.VI, since many officers never transitioned to the .38. Alternatively you could get an Enfield No.2, which was the standard British revolver of the war, and a copy of the Webley anyways.

I have a thing for old gns, problem is Id have to shoot em, no so not too rare/vintage. I have a huge interest in milsurp, tacticool guns actually dont do much for me, A Lee enfield has about 50x more soul than a ar-15 IMHO.

Yeah, I shot the POS they call the Automag V. It broke after three shots. The magazine catch broken and the screw holding the sights on hit me in the forehead. I have some shots of me shooting it I'll upload later.

Be really awesome if you came across one of these>

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/45/13...437695.jpg?v=0

I know where there is one, I'm just trying to come to an agreement with its owner.

Picked up a couple more unexpectedly today - excuse the poor photography.

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...3/HPIM0869.jpg

This one I'm particularly excited about, this is a Belgian Mauser M1889 Carbine, used in WW1. Belgian army Mausers are ridiculously hard to find, and nobody seems to know why. It's not like they didnt make many. Best theory I've heard is sometime after 1940 they were loaded onto a train bound for Germany for re-issue, and it ended up getting bombed en route. The Belgians were actually the first country to use Mausers, other than the black powder models, and so the action is very different compared to the Mauser 98 everyone is used to. They also incorporate a steel barrel jacket like the German Gewehr 88 Commission rifle, which is a cool, if useless feature.

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...3/HPIM0868.jpg

This is a Browning Hi Power, of course, but its a Nazi-marked Hi Power, known in German service as the P.35(B). They kept them in production after conquering Belgium and issued them mainly to the Waffen SS, who were on the bottom of the list for German-made kit. I'd happily keep it, but a Nazi Hi Power is a holy grail for a friend on mine so I'll probably sell it to him for what I paid and shipping.

I always feel guilty when I hold a nazi gun. It could have been used to kill the good guys! :(:)

I have a few Mausers, a Luger, and a Walther P38 that are Nazi marked, but I don't think I've ever handled a Nazi P.35. Nice gun!

Didn't Hitler himself keep a decorated Browning HP as his sidearm?

I know he had a PPK, but the HP? Not sure.

It was actually a PP, not the PPK.
http://www.momentsintime.com/Gun1B.jpghttp://www.momentsintime.com/Gun2.jpg

I too heard he used the PP (he commited suicide with it), but I never heard about him using a Hi-Power.

I believe he was a fan of firearms and weaponry, so it wouldn't surprise me if he had the good taste to use an HP.

But obviously his taste in other things makes him a universal scumbag. ;)

Hmmm, maybe I'm mistaken, then. But I thought he also had a pair of HPs, done to the same specs as that PP.

Yeah, he had a PP and a PPK, both were ornate, but the PPK is what he allegedly killed himself with, even though it was in another part of the country.

Never heard of it - I do know Herman Goering carried a Smith & Wesson Military and Police.

I wouldn't say Hitler was a fan of firearms, but more or less behind in it. When he formed his army, he kept the Mauser 98 rifle and ordered a carbine version of it in service. He didn't like submachine guns. He believed the rifle was the best weapon, but he was easily impressed when the STG-44 or MP44 came about. His orders were so strict, infantry weapons didn't advance much during the war.


Well it's not the weapon that kill people, it's just a tool. Remember that it doesn't kill, but the person holding it. I've seen weapons held by many different people, swords hundreds of years old, held some and I always wonder how many lives this weapon has taken, but you don't admire how many lives were taken by the weapon. You're supposed to admire the craftsmanship, the art of the weapon itself and appreciate that.

Hitler tried to shoot himself, but the gun malfunctioned. The cyanide took him instead.