Pawn Stars episode with desk gun

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answerguy

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That was a rather baffling item. Someone on another board suggested it may have been a stage prop. Better than any idea I have for it's intended use.

A funny comment from the gun expert. He suggested it could be a problem because it's a concealed gun. Only if you're carrying it down the street.

Best description I can give for it: It's a children's size writing desk, when you depress the ink well a trap door in the front of the desk opens and fires a 22 short round.
 
What ever happened to foster care or adoption as a way to get rid of unwanted children?
 
Who knows? My guess is that you load it up when you leave at night and when someone comes to pilfer or ransack your office they get a nasty little surprise in the groin area. Someone may have had it made because they suspected someone else was stealing from them or spying on them.
I hope that it makes it back on the show so that we find out more about its history.
 
It was a pretty cool desk, you can tell Rick wanted it bad!

Too bad the patent # couldn't be read!
 
I know it's really asking too much from "reality" tv but to me it was annoying when he said he couldn't risk buying it because the law is the law.

So what you are saying is "I've chosen not to become a federal firearms dealer".

I would think most any pawn shops would be losing potential income without having a FFL. I was suprised they didn't have one.
 
The wife and I discussed the FFL (lack of) thing. We both thought it odd. Just one less thing to hassle with, though.

"when you depress the ink well..."

I guess that would keep a fella from "dipping his pen in the company ink!"
 
On the plus side, I've been wanting to buy a gun from that shop. I figured I could fly down and drive back. If everything he sells isn't considered a firearm, would that simplify things or would I still maybe have problems if I came back trough Cali ?
 
RimfireChris, you'd have to look into your state's law, and see if it mirrors federal law concerning antique firearms.

I know that for me (in NJ), they restrict ALL firearms, and make no exception for ones made prior to 1899.
 
This one is much worse than the fingernails on a chalkboard when these lads take valuable antiques to the range for shooting and bayonet charges. In this one their firearms "expert" advises a customer to alter and probably ruin a unique antique.

http://www.history.com/shows/pawn-st...ars-chummobile

A woman brings in a small, portable writing desk with a concealed gun built into a trap door in the desk front and a button trigger so a person seated in front of the desk would get shot when the button was pressed. It reminded me of way back when the army paid in cash and lieutenant pay officers and their drivers went well-armed on payday, as a large company's cash payroll was 200 grand when a LT made 300 a month, his driver 85, and when you lost something it really did come out of your pay. A Victorian-era, portable payroll desk custom built for a railroad, coal mine, or other business back when companies paid on the job site, the insurance industry was in its infancy and cash payrolls were prime criminal targets.

The gun was an antique, black-powder alarm gun like you find on old, 19th-Century catalogs. It looked like it was brass. They were made to screw to a window or door frame, were loaded with blanks, and were configured to trip when an intruder opened the window or door, frightening the intruder away. Most were percussion, but this one was a .22 or .32 rimfire clearly designed for blanks, as it had a chamber but no barrel. Loaded with a live round, however, it certainly would hit something only two feet away. The 22 rimfire cartridge dates to Flobert’s BB Cap in 1845.

It could possibly have been a stage prop, but the unit looks purpose-built and well-made. Namely, too well done for temporary use.

Not only could our “expert” not identify the firearm, he advised the owner to take it to a gunsmith to be “deactivated”, as it was likely “not a pre-1898 antique” and additionally could be considered a “concealed weapon” illegal to buy and sell without deactivation.

Words can't describe what poor advice that was on several levels. If he were a physician I'd apply to revoke his license.
 
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I would think most any pawn shops would be losing potential income without having a FFL. I was suprised they didn't have one.

I, too was rather dissapointed that a pawn shop of that magnitude doesn't have an FFL. I also can't remember any episode where they bought something newer than 1899. Thats a shame because they could probably expand their business with modern firearms.

I respect antiques and I own a few, but like I said a pawn shop of that magnitude should have an FFL.
 
i think the guys on the show take the line they do with items like that because of possible legal repercussions. a good, thick CYA blanket is something that is smart to have when in the public eye.
 
Thats a shame because they could probably expand their business with modern firearms.

I'm thinking that right now they are more in the TV business than the pawn shop business. The History Channel already has plenty of TV shows about modern firearms. The audience for those shows is predominately men. Pawn Stars does pretty well attracting women viewers. The network doesn't want that to change.
 
On the plus side, I've been wanting to buy a gun from that shop. I figured I could fly down and drive back. If everything he sells isn't considered a firearm, would that simplify things or would I still maybe have problems if I came back trough Cali ?
You're good to go in California.
 
I was suspecting it was something of an alarm system, along the lines of a "hey, we're being robbed" panic alarm before the days of electricity. Perhaps it could have used some kind of proprietary tear gas or pepper cartridge. The inside of the drop down door appeared to have residue that could have supported this idea, though it could just as well have been black powder residue.
I'm sure eventually someone will be able to track down its real purpose. It's a shame the patent number wasn't legible.
 
Bob Smalser is spot on , I think. It sure looks like one of the alarm guns I've seen. In general, I've been very unimpressed with that particular weapons expert...I've seen him really drop the ball on pieces in the past (ie difficulty identifying a trapdoor springfield carbine).
 
My idea of the desk purpose was for a traveling merchant. Or a gold trader during the goldrush era. Or even a mariner due to the use of brass over steel.

Basically the secretary would use the desk to write down information of the transaction. If the seller decides to get a little fiesty, the secretary would hit the inkwell. It doesn't matter as much as if it hits the seller as long as it provides a distraction and alarm. The desk has to be small so it could be portable.

Think of all the "pocket guns" of that era and all the contraptions to conceal and deploy. The desk looks like it would fit right in line with that era's style. Not only the desk style but the mechanics.
 
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