Years ago I was in the DC area visiting my boyhood friend, we had dinner at his wifes parents. Turns out her father worked in the CIA, and on finding out I was a gun friendly type, invites me to the basement. He had a foot locker of old guns, brought back from Europe after the first world war. His father was some type of official , and had recoverd the guns from a lake, where they had been dumped after the war to keep them from civilian hands. When the lake was drained years later, the weapons were found embedded in the mud, which was largely oxygen free. They were in pretty good shape, considering (mostly just finish wear) He had a nice 1917 colt .45 revolver, and host of oddball european pistols.
great "found gun trove" story
- Thread starter Tokugawa
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mbs357
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wow
Sounds fun. ;D
Sounds fun. ;D
45Broomhandle
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Somewhat Similar Story
Back in the '60s I worked for a nationwide farm/industrial equipment finance company. My job entailed lots of contact with equipment/implement dealers in the Midwest. I carried a few traders from my gun collecting endeavors, "just in case." At 5pm every day I'd head for my motel room. I'd learn from local dealers which farms I could hunt for Indian relics, and who the local "gun nuts" and dealers might be. That's how I spent my long, lonely evenings on the road away from my young wife and our new family. I'd recently purchased a new Browning Broadway, in the box, for $450, and discovered I couldn't hit anything at the traps so decided to take it along for trade one week. A John Deere dealer fell in love with it and asked me to stop by his home (farm) after the dealership closed as he had some old WWII bring backs he would be interested in swapping. After supper I went to his place and we visited. He wanted (had to have) the Broadway for a "pigeon problem" in his barn. He opened up a long, hall closet which was loaded with very old European hunting rifles and shotguns. About half were percussion guns, and nearly all had very fancy engraving and stock carvings. In those days you'd be lucky to get $25 for even the BEST of the lot. I was trying to let him down easy and get back to the motel to watch TV. He offered me the whole bunch, about 20 guns. Turns out one of his jobs was destroying piles of civilian weapons with gasoline and grenades, but he and other GIs on the team were able to "liberate" some of the antiques. I asked if he'd managed to snag any Lugers or Mausers. He looked kinda' blank for a moment, then said he had ONE item I might like but I had to swear to never let anyone know about it. He then reached up on a shelf in top of the closet and brought out a MINT MP-40. He said his squad had disabled a German ammo carrier and killed the crew. Upon inspection, it was filled with a shipment of new Schmeisser machinepistols. Last I heard - some 40 years ago - he no longer had the "pigeon problem."
Back in the '60s I worked for a nationwide farm/industrial equipment finance company. My job entailed lots of contact with equipment/implement dealers in the Midwest. I carried a few traders from my gun collecting endeavors, "just in case." At 5pm every day I'd head for my motel room. I'd learn from local dealers which farms I could hunt for Indian relics, and who the local "gun nuts" and dealers might be. That's how I spent my long, lonely evenings on the road away from my young wife and our new family. I'd recently purchased a new Browning Broadway, in the box, for $450, and discovered I couldn't hit anything at the traps so decided to take it along for trade one week. A John Deere dealer fell in love with it and asked me to stop by his home (farm) after the dealership closed as he had some old WWII bring backs he would be interested in swapping. After supper I went to his place and we visited. He wanted (had to have) the Broadway for a "pigeon problem" in his barn. He opened up a long, hall closet which was loaded with very old European hunting rifles and shotguns. About half were percussion guns, and nearly all had very fancy engraving and stock carvings. In those days you'd be lucky to get $25 for even the BEST of the lot. I was trying to let him down easy and get back to the motel to watch TV. He offered me the whole bunch, about 20 guns. Turns out one of his jobs was destroying piles of civilian weapons with gasoline and grenades, but he and other GIs on the team were able to "liberate" some of the antiques. I asked if he'd managed to snag any Lugers or Mausers. He looked kinda' blank for a moment, then said he had ONE item I might like but I had to swear to never let anyone know about it. He then reached up on a shelf in top of the closet and brought out a MINT MP-40. He said his squad had disabled a German ammo carrier and killed the crew. Upon inspection, it was filled with a shipment of new Schmeisser machinepistols. Last I heard - some 40 years ago - he no longer had the "pigeon problem."
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