Guns previously owned by famous people

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Armored farmer

Armored farmer

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Does anyone here have a gun or guns that were once owned by someone famous?
How do you treat it? Is it a safe queen, conversation piece, or a shooter?
Do you have documentation?
Was it worth the extra co$t?
?..just curious.
 
I had an RKO Pictures property-marked Krag which was almost certainly used in the filming of Gunga Din, filling in for a Lee-Metford. It had very distinctive dings in the wood and I tried to visually match it to one actually handled by Carey Grant, but unsuccessfully. Its possible the wood damage occurred after filming that movie, of course.

It wasnt really worth much. DuPage Trading sold off a bunch for IIRC, $250 each a few years ago, and they were in pretty rough shape, missing sights and safeties. Mine was barely shootable, and I sunk more money into the sights than I recovered when I sold it.

I do still have the brass blank-firing adaptor. Lol.
 
The MGM prop sale back when had all sorts of movie guns but no direct link to any actors or such. I did acquire a trapdoor carbine with a tag from "Yellow Ribbon" and a a date but that is all.
 
loadedround said:
I have my late Grandfather's Colt SAA in 45 that he carried when he was in the charge up San Juan Hill in the spanish American War. He as a Calvery Sargent and served with Teddy Rooseveldt. I also have his saber and his medals. Not a famous man to anyone else, but he was my hero growing up.
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I have my great uncles Krag from the same time. Wonder if they knew each other. He went on to be a cook/meat supplier in lumber camps, then a mortician who took care of many Chicago mob hit corpses. My dad worked for him in the "laboratory".
 
I should add the sale was from a conglomeration of studios and included much of stembridge gun rentals excess stock. I did not see any handguns and the Winchester 92s went for a pile despite many being smoothbores from 1000's of blanks and not being cleaned. Might have used by someone famous but ruined.
 
index.jpeg

Agnes.jpeg

My wife is my favorite "Star" LOL!!

I still have this 41 SAKO M-39 my wife impaled her snowgo on when she hit a 1/2 buried fuel drum under the snow, trying to get a sot at a Fox we (and a camera guy) came on while trap checking. Luckily, the Romy 69 .22lr she was trying to shoot with flew free of her and the ride when she cartwheeled.

I put it in a another stock and its outside the tent right now.

me n wade.jpeg
The other 'famous" guy in my world is my grand son Wade. Thats us in the picture, I gave him a Tippman .22lr stocked as an 'Arctic warfare" type sniper rifle and at 1 , almost 2, he got his basics in. Now at 4, he can plink 6 inch steel at 100 yard very consistently.
Im looking to get him a Tippmen dressed like a Mosin soon..... :D

I will, say, Ive been offered weird ammounts of money for weird things we made on the show.
 
caribou said:
View attachment 1007853

View attachment 1007855

My wife is my favorite "Star" LOL!!

I still have this 41 SAKO M-39 my wife impaled her snowgo on when she hit a 1/2 buried fuel drum under the snow, trying to get a sot at a Fox we (and a camera guy) came on while trap checking. Luckily, the Romy 69 .22lr she was trying to shoot with flew free of her and the ride when she cartwheeled.

I put it in a another stock and its outside the tent right now.

View attachment 1007856
The other 'famous" guy in my world is my grand son Wade. Thats us in the picture, I gave him a Tippman .22lr stocked as an 'Arctic warfare" type sniper rifle and at 1 , almost 2, he got his basics in. Now at 4, he can plink 6 inch steel at 100 yard very consistently.
Im looking to get him a Tippmen dressed like a Mosin soon..... :D

I will, say, Ive been offered weird ammounts of money for weird things we made on the show.
Click to expand...
I suppose you are the most famous person I have ever talked to, caribou.
I did have a short conversation with Charlie Daniels, and bought his coffee early one morning in Kentucky.
Say hello to your family for me caribou, I'll buy your coffee if we ever meet!
 
Of course, everybody knows to check under the buttplate for ID, notes, prayers, etc.

Everybody knows that.

Terry, 230RN
 
I've handled several pistols that used to be in the John Wayne collection.
Nothing special about them except for the fancy engraving and the fact that they had never been shot.
Kind of boring, really.

My rubber or plastic studio-made dummies were actually more interesting to me, as they had actually been used for their intended purpose.
 
I remember a piece on movie swords, showing the gradation from closeup quality for lead actors to supporting actors, down to spear carrier extras.
 
index.php


Famous or infamous? This one belonged to Bill Carlisle, the last train robber in Wyoming.
https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/bill-carlisle

I met Bill when I was a kid, and he came out to visit my Aunt at the ranch near Medicine Bow WY.
https://www.talesfromthehighlonesome.net/gunsight.html


He and I became friends while I was in college and lived near his tourist trap curio shop and restaurant.
index.php

He kept this gun on a shelf under the cash register where he sat and kept watch over his domain.
When he finally sold the place and moved to PA with his niece, he gave me the gun.
index.php

Oh, by the way, Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch robbed the train on our ranch too.
 

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I haven't seen you around in a while Iggy. I thought maybe you got your topknot lifted.
I have been to medicine bow, but I was just a boy. I caught some brookies in a little stream and the owner of the mom and pop motel put them on his little chief smoker for us. I'll never forget that.
I was about 11 or 12.

Nice piece of history with that infamous six shooter.
 
Armored farmer said:
I suppose you are the most famous person I have ever talked to, caribou.
I did have a short conversation with Charlie Daniels, and bought his coffee early one morning in Kentucky.
Say hello to your family for me caribou, I'll buy your coffee if we ever meet!
Click to expand...
Thanks, Farmer, fame is a byproduct to my getting to make a living Hunting.....LOL! Hunt first, I always say :D
The only guy that was famous, that I ever got to know was Evel Knievel, . He sold oil paintings during the summers Glacier Hot Rod associations get togethers at NW Montana Fair time, in Kalispell, when I was a teen in the 80's. My dad was from Butte, and knew him pretty good. I met him for quite afew years each summer, he had some crazy storys.
At one time Gary Burghoff lived 4 houses down from me, in Kalispell, but I didnt meet him.

Im in a conundrum, here......World Famous on the Tundra......but I feel quite normal on THR. LOL!
 
I have a S&W pre-14 that was owned by General Lamar Tooze, not really famous but he did serve in ww1 and ww2 with distinction, wrote a book about his time in combat, and went on to command a significant portion of the troops stationed in the pacific NW during peacetime. It is engraved with his name, and was part of a consignment of guns owned by his estate. No lettered provenance although I'm 100% certain its legit. I paid $650, about what it would be worth without any aforementioned connection, and shoot it fairly regularly.

It was worth the money as I didn't pay any more than the gun was worth on its own, and I'd wanted a gun owned by a high ranking officer in the U.S. military who had served in combat.
 
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If anyone knows of a .38 Super Colt Commander with a "scripty" R V P L engraved on the right side of the slide, let me. know. I used to own it, curious as to where it ended up.
 
Iggy said:


Famous or infamous? This one belonged to Bill Carlisle, the last train robber in Wyoming.
https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/bill-carlisle

I met Bill when I was a kid, and he came out to visit my Aunt at the ranch near Medicine Bow WY.
https://www.talesfromthehighlonesome.net/gunsight.html


He and I became friends while I was in college and lived near his tourist trap curio shop and restaurant.
index.php

He kept this gun on a shelf under the cash register where he sat and kept watch over his domain.
When he finally sold the place and moved to PA with his niece, he gave me the gun.

Oh, by the way, Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch robbed the train on our ranch too.
Click to expand...

Awesome!
 
I guess now I will let you in on my secret.
I just lost a gunbroker auction on a 1980 6" S&W 25-5 that had belonged to Hank Williams jr.
I had the next-to-last bid of $1776. The next bid won it!
Oh well, I am a poor boy and don't need to ve spending $2k on a gun I don't really NEED.....but as a lifelong Hank jr fan, it sure would have been cool!
 
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