The Gunsmith Thread

Obviously, you don't ever sell Dad's gun. I have counseled others against it in the past (especially the ones who wanted to sell ME their Dad's gun). I have even bought these before with the stipulation that I will sell it back to them later for the same price I paid (in case they have seller's remorse, or decide they want to pass it on to family).

If your father was indeed a General and there is paperwork that makes the entire rig attributable to him, the value would be as high as some crazy collector might go for it at auction. These sets have sold for over $9,000.00 in the past but in new-in-box condition. People advertise this state as "un-fired" all the time, but no gun is "un-fired". They were all fired (at least twice to make sure they cycle) at the factory before they were boxed up. The other thing that increases the value of these is that original box. Collectors will often gladly pay hundreds of dollars more for the original box and original paperwork. This one (https://www.rockislandauction.com/d...olt-1903-general-officer-pistol-wholster-belt) sold for $6,325.00 back in 2017, and it wasn't anywhere close to new-in-box condition, nor did it include the original box.

Otherwise, an M1903 (just the pistol) in 70% condition (which is really good - about like the photo above) in working order, would be worth about $600. I have no idea what the rig would go for, either by itself or with the gun. It may be worth $300 to $500 on its own, depending on how bad a collector wants one. What gives me pause is that the General Officer's rig was never issued with a belt-worn spare mag holder. If that is mentioned in the paperwork as being part of the rig, it could increase the value to collectors even more.
 
Yes sir, it's a pocket hammerless Colt .32.....the Bill of Sale ( with letterhead " DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY,HEADQUARTERS, UNITED STATES ARMY WEAPONS COMMAND, ROCK ISLAND, ILLINOIS"), includes an issued inventory that lists a " Box Clip Holder ". Would that be the "spare mag holder" ?

BTW : the Bill of Sale/Certificate of Ownership states it was issued to my father upon promotion to General Officer......and not at his retirement as I had thought. In that case, it was most probably the sidearm he fired at terrorists/kidnappers when he was stationed in Buenos Aires in the 70's when kidnapping diplomats, and foreign dignitaries for high ransom was quite in vogue. That incident happened one evening when his diplomatic plated car was rear ended in a traffic circle and forced into another conspirator's vehicle...…. luckily, the Argentine diplomatic protective service agents riding and driving the car( along with a "chase car "a few yards behind the accident)had some bigger and much deadlier weapons than dad's Colt .32, which he carried in a briefcase.

Thanks THParent for the great info !
G5
 
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Cool story. Thank you!

I think what you have there is something that may be in the realm of one-of-a-kind. I am not the foremost historian on this sort of stuff, but that "box clip holder" makes that rig very rare, in my opinion. You may take solace in the fact that collectors would drool over it. ;)
 
Glock owners
If you polish these parts (circled below) it makes a difference with any Glock :
1590587960797.png
I usually polish the feed ramp on the barrel and the center bearing surface on the slide, while I'm at it.
I charge $25 for this and have a lot of satisfied customers. It takes me about 10-15 minutes.
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I have hard and soft polishing wheels on a stand grinder. I typically use jeweler's rouge (red) as a polishing medium.
No gunsmith I have ever met used a Dremel for anything. I usually fix things messed up by people with Dremels. ;)
 
"& his Bronze Star Citation".

I believe that it is illegal to sell an actual Bronze Star (among other medals awarded for valor).
 
I'm not mad at ya, buddy. :)
 
Regarding the sale of military decorations. This comes up a lot. To my knowledge (and that with $1.09 will get you an XL soda at Circle K) the MOH is the only decoration still prohibited for sale to/by US citizens. All other decorations, originally identified in 18 USC § 704 have sort of "fallen through the cracks" of 32 CFR § 507.8 which allows for the manufacture and sale of military...well, almost everything.

Some have said, "well, that's valid only if you're a licensed manufacturer on contract to DOD..." However, the law doesn't say that. I know I had no legal issues purchasing a bunch of medals for a display of USA decorations for my cadets. I have one of everything, literally. All are "real" with one exception, the MOH. The MOH I have for the display is a foreign replica.

Again...this is from my "working knowledge" and not from any position of expertise.

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
THParent said:
I was thinking of this one: 18 U.S. Code § 704. Military medals or decorations
But I may be interpreting it wrong. Pretty sure that it grew out of the Stolen Valor Act of 2005.
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Yep, that's the one I was using too. But there's that other one too...and I've not seen anything anywhere stopping the sale of any decoration/medal except the MOH, since either one of those.

I belong to a group of collectors...there's a group in Canada and the UK...they often have MOH's for sale...but are very clear to let you know if you are in the USA...no.

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
I have a relative asking about this SKS but I’m no expert and was wondering if the photo is enough to describe the features, etc. I did identify the sling so that’s out of the way.
36C99B9D-A598-4EA1-AD1F-FF7F46D9D889.jpeg
 
It looks nice. I think $450 is top dollar for a Norinco SKS. If I could get it for $300 or $350 I would be more apt to pull the trigger, so to speak.
7.62x39 is fun and cheap to shoot.
 
THParent said:
It looks nice. I think $450 is top dollar for a Norinco SKS. If I could get it for $300 or $350 I would be more apt to pull the trigger, so to speak.
7.62x39 is fun and cheap to shoot.
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Thanks for the info.
 
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