Adam Helmer
02-11-2006, 10:35 AM
I read an ad in our weekly "Penny Saver" paper last night about "Military guns for sale." I phoned the number and chatted with a retired guy with guns for sale. He lived nearby, so I drove over and looked at his pile of guns!
I never saw such junk. There were a dozen or so dirty, rusted rifles on the heap. I asked if he ever shot any of them and got a negative reply. It seems he inheirited many guns and never cleaned or shot any. I tried to look at the guns without touching the cruddy iron. There was not a penny's worth of oil on all of the guns. His prices were top dollar for "Poor to Good" guns in the $80 to $100 range for parts guns and I told him so.
I could have spent the rest of my life restoring those FN ABL49s, Garands, Swedes and 98ks to shootable condition and refinishing the dinged stocks. I thanked him for his time and left. I suspect far too many fine military arms are "going to seed" through neglect.
Adam
I never saw such junk. There were a dozen or so dirty, rusted rifles on the heap. I asked if he ever shot any of them and got a negative reply. It seems he inheirited many guns and never cleaned or shot any. I tried to look at the guns without touching the cruddy iron. There was not a penny's worth of oil on all of the guns. His prices were top dollar for "Poor to Good" guns in the $80 to $100 range for parts guns and I told him so.
I could have spent the rest of my life restoring those FN ABL49s, Garands, Swedes and 98ks to shootable condition and refinishing the dinged stocks. I thanked him for his time and left. I suspect far too many fine military arms are "going to seed" through neglect.
Adam