I got to see and handle a Reising today!

[NIGHTLORD40K]

I was at the gunshow today with my daughter and spied a very distinctive muzzle-brake bobbing through the crowd by the concession stand-


Although, Id only ever seen the Reising M50 in books up to this point I recognized it immediately, though I assumed the gentleman was toting one of the (still quite rare) semi-auto variants made postwar by Harrington and Richardson.

Well, the fella took his hotdog and wandered to a table near us, so I had the chance to compliment him on his neat gun. This chap was surprised I was aware of the Reising and quite generously offered to let me fondle it. Turns out it was a fully functional M50 SMG, complete with selector switch!

For those who arent familiar, the Reising was used by the Marines in the early stages of WW2, but proved unreliable when exposed to jungle conditions and was replaced quickly once sufficient Thompsons and Grease Guns were available.

At this point I started sizing him up as a potential ATF agent, but he appeared to be on the level- though his asking price of $6500 seemed extremely low for a registered NFA gun......

In any event, I didnt ask too many questions and handed back a very cool peice of history that I never expected to see, let alone handle.

Just proves you NEVER know what you will see at a gunshow!

 

[troy fairweather]

there a cool gun i live about a mile from were eugene reising was born. if ever by these parts i could take you to a guy who has all of his equipment and parts, he has more then 50 guns and parts to build many more. i have shot them a few times, there great fun.

 

[hps1]

My wife's cousin was a deputy sheriff and had some neat toys in his car back in the 50's. He had a Reising and a nickel plated 10 gauge double hammer gun w/10-12" barrels that I lusted over. He said the 10 ga. would really break up the bar fights quicker than the Reising. Guess most folks didn't even recognize the Reising but the business end of a sawed off 10 ga. is something to behold.

Regards,
hps

 

[AlexanderA]

though his asking price of $6500 seemed extremely low for a registered NFA gun......

That's probably what he'd get if he sold it to a dealer, so he figured he'd make some individual buyer a deal.

I'm old enough to remember when Reisings could be had for $350 (plus the $200 transfer tax). They didn't really interest me, since I had just paid $750 for a Thompson.

 

[Dan Forrester]

What really seems to hurt the value of the Reising is magazine availability. That magazine in the picture only holds 12 rounds. And those magazines when available are very expensive.

If someone would start making new production magazines again the value would go up considerably. It would make a great suppressed carbine especially since it fires from a locked breech.

Dan

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

What really seems to hurt the value of the Reising is magazine availability. That magazine in the picture only holds 12 rounds. And those magazines when available are very expensive.

If someone would start making new production magazines again the value would go up considerably. It would make a great suppressed carbine especially since it fires from a locked breech.

Dan

Ya, the fella had 2 magazines. Strangely, there was a Reising mag languishing at one of our LGS for over a year. It just recently sold- for $100.

 

[hso]

his asking price of $6500

Is extremely low for a transferable Reising, but then there are old vets who are happy just making 10X what they paid for something vs. collectors that want the full market value.

 

[bannockburn]

Very neat gun show find! As AlexanderA already wrote back in the day it was probably the least expensive full auto you could get for your money. I have seen a few in museums but never one for sale at a gun show though I did come across one of the semi-auto versions once. Had a pretty hefty price tag on it though.