Famous guns auctioned off.

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Even if I had millions of dollars sitting around burning a hole in my pocket, I don’t think I’d ever buy one of these “famous” guns. Certainly not one that just happened to be owned by a prop department and was held by a famous actor for a couple of brief film scenes. I guess I admire ideals more than many of the (inevitably flawed) men who have tried to live up to them. Even someone most would agree is a real hero, like General Patton, Audie Murphy, or Sgt. York, I’d have no real desire to own “the actual gun” they used. It should be in the possession of their descendants, or a museum. Besides, what am I going to do with it? Can’t shoot and enjoy it because it’s an irreplaceable piece of history, and after I show it off to my buddies and everyone agrees it’s cool, what then? It sits in a case I guess.

One could get really philosophical here... If you own a certain rifle, and you know, through painstaking research, that it was used in a certain war, or even a certain battle, the actual facts and circumstances are still almost never known. It’s got battle scars, and we usually assume “virtue,” but did it get that big scratch when a soldier dove into a foxhole to take up a flank position as part of a brave and successful counterattack? Or when it was dropped as it’s owner abandoned his comrades and ran yelling and screaming from the fight? Or maybe it was issued to a bored private guarding a supply tent at the rear, whose whole experience of the battle was hearing distant artillery fire. When the history is exactly known, it removes that ambiguity. Sometimes that’s really interesting, but to me, anyway, few of those details are worth paying thousands for.
 
Even someone most would agree is a real hero, like General Patton, Audie Murphy, or Sgt. York, I’d have no real desire to own “the actual gun” they used. It should be in the possession of their descendants, or a museum.
You win the "Head screwed on straight of the year award." ;) But I'm still interested to know what has been paid out by less sharper knives in the drawer.:rofl:
 
I wouldn't mind Jesse Ventura's mini gun with ammo backpack from Predator/ Schwarzenegger's from Terminator II (same gun)

That's wholly unrelated to it being in a movie though.

My friend Jack Crain made the knives for the movie Predator and also for Road House. Arnold gave Jack the Flak Vest he wore in the movie. He had it hanging up in his shop. I got to try it on. I'm gonna have to work out a little more to fill it out though. Arnold is a big boy. :thumbup:
 
My friend Jack Crain made the knives for the movie Predator and also for Road House. Arnold gave Jack the Flak Vest he wore in the movie. He had it hanging up in his shop. I got to try it on. I'm gonna have to work out a little more to fill it out though. Arnold is a big boy. :thumbup:

He made the knives for a lot of movies! He does some outstanding work, wish I could afford one.
 
He made the knives for a lot of movies! He does some outstanding work, wish I could afford one.

He was a hard guy to get to know. He was not overly friendly until he knew you better. My bud lived across the street from him in Weatherford Tx and he taught my bud a little about making knives. My bud was impressed with Jacks knowledge and heat treating know how. My bud has one of Jacks old forges with a hand crank air blower on it. He also has one of the Tomahawks from the series "War Of The Worlds" that Jack made.

Unfortunately Jack passed away a few years ago and like a lot of knife and other custom builders he took more orders than he could possibly fill and got a bad rap and then went through a nasty divorce. Another friend preached his funeral. I have no idea what happened to all his stuff. Maybe his ex ended up with it. I know he dumped a lot of expensive guns at the pawn shop that we would have liked to of bought from him. But thats the way it goes.
 
For a while, I knew the man who bought Jack Ruby's gun that he used to kill Oswald. I worked on it several times, mostly to get squibs out of the barrel. Jeeze the writing on that thing... seemed like every little corner had some property clerks mark engraved into it. He also had J.Edgar Hoover's gun, and was trying to obtain one of Charles Lindbergh's. Dunno if he ever got it. On the Ruby/Oswald gun, a near squib load was developed for that revolver, a Colt ... forget if it was an Agent or Cobra. Reason being is he was selling the fired bullets! I've got one of 'em here someplace still that got stuck in the barrel. He'd fire 'em into a barrel of water, and recover the bullets unharmed, have them engraved and mounted in a display case with some reproduction images and such.
 
Meh. A lot of the “famous” guys like wyatt earp and others were well-known for buying pawn shop guns and giving them away as gifts with a note for provenance purposes. Understand the historical importance of guns like the shotgun that was used to kill curly bill, or Stalin’s personal TT-33, or whatever, but to me the sentiment of such importance is tempered by the idea that it wasn’t necessarily as important to the historical figure as it might be to others.
 
Some folks collect match books and some collect old coke bottles. Movie props just do not crank my tractor.
 
I recall my WWII history readings saying the Nazis tried to use that picture as propaganda insinuating that Churchill was a ruthless gangster dragging poor Englanders into a war of his own doing.

Instead it backfired, as it steeled the British resolve to resist the Nazis by showing their leader taking up arms against them :thumbup:.

https://www.famouspictures.org/churchill-and-the-tommy-gun/

I’d sure like to see an image of our country’s leadership doing something with sporting arms other that using one as a prop while trying to take away our right to own, shoot and enjoy them. :(

Stay safe.

Like Lincoln test firing rifles on the WH grounds.
 
Someone can correct me if I am wrong but I seem to recall reading the Jesse James mother made a good amount of money selling guns she authenticated as being his. Most just bought by her for that purpose.
 
I recall my WWII history readings saying the Nazis tried to use that picture as propaganda insinuating that Churchill was a ruthless gangster dragging poor Englanders into a war of his own doing.

Instead it backfired, as it steeled the British resolve to resist the Nazis by showing their leader taking up arms against them :thumbup:.

https://www.famouspictures.org/churchill-and-the-tommy-gun/

I’d sure like to see an image of our country’s leadership doing something with sporting arms other that using one as a prop while trying to take away our right to own, shoot and enjoy them. :(

Stay safe.
Have we had a president who was a serious gun enthusiasts since Teddy Roosevelt ? I don't think you can count Ronald Reagan because those were just movie props
 
John Kennedy was an NRA life member if I recall correctly, and there are photos of him shooting here and there, but that doesn’t always mean he was politically pro gun or not. I think he was from what I’ve read, but he was killed before my time.

Stay safe.
 
Someone can correct me if I am wrong but I seem to recall reading the Jesse James mother made a good amount of money selling guns she authenticated as being his. Most just bought by her for that purpose.

Deep down I love that woman she is a kindred spirit.. She also sold rocks off Jessies grave that she replaced.. Wait wait I am having a moment..
 
One thing worthy of note when it comes to celebrity owned guns, Elvis was supposedly a bit of a gun guy.
Elvis was enough of a gun guy to perhaps call him a enthusiast. As far as I know he was not a collector , but he was a reserve deputy if my memory serves me correctly, and had a few guns .
 
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