They found my gun, after 10 years! (((NOW WITH PICS)))
The other week I get the mail, and notice one to me from the Seattle Police department. I open it up and apparently, they had found my gun that was stolen from my home over 10 years ago.
This week, I finally had the time to go to the evidence room at the police station to recover my gun. When I initially talked with the detective, he told me the gun was found in some landscaping near the Seattle University campus, and it appears the gun may have been buried there for as long as my gun has been missing, and, per his words " destroyed beyond any hope of reconditioning".
I picked up the gun yesterday, and the gun was in fact in bad shape (pics when I get home later tonight), it was completely taken apart, wheel housing and even grip all taken apart, the bullets were seized in the wheel housing and was covered in dirt, but all the parts were there. I take it anyways, so now I don't have to worry about my firearm floating around the streets and it was a gun given to me by my father, whom passed two years ago.
Anyhow, I get home, and start to polish it up, little bit of hot water to get rid of the dirt, some CLP break free, take apart the trigger housing and take out all of the dirt, CLP the bullets and after on tape with my hammer on the bullet catch get all 5 bullets out and wouldn't you know it, the detective was DEAD wrong! The gun was in incredibly great shape given the fact that it was in the ground for 9 years! the ONLY thing that had erroded beyond the finish, was all in the wheel housing, on one side (pics to come) the trigger was still smooth, and cycled the wheel. The frame is in the exact same shape I remember it in and polished up well. Even the barrel itself, after a once over with my boresnake and some CLP was in great condition. All I really need done is to swap out my wheel housing and have a spring replaced in the hammer because it sometimes does not catch and doesn't trigger the single action (wheel cycles, but trigger doesn't get pulled back, but it cycles just fine and single action effectively.
I'm hopefull and call one of the dealers not a mile away from me, Bear Arms. I ask him and he tells me he's not a gunsmith. But tells me that it'll cost at least 5 times what the gun is worth. I say " 1,500 dollars?" he says, or there abouts, and goes on to tell me what he has in stock comparible. I'm not interested in "another" 38, I just want this one fixed and further explain what I need done. " oh yeah, well it'll "probably" be 7-800 dollars.
My old gunsmith has since moved over to the other side of the mountains. So I'm looking for an honest gunsmith that'll do work on this old gun. It's a M88 Amadeos Rossi, 2" snub 38. It's not an M frame S&W, or custom Colt, but it means something to me. So I know it'll be like polishing a turd, but again, it's sentimental to me, and although I'm happy to have it back, i'd love to see it functional again.
Any recommendations of an honest gun smith in the Washington State area? All else fails I'll take him to my guy up north at Lynnwood guns. He's done some work on my AR's for me that I know is an honest guy, just wanted to see if anyone else here may know of someone else around here.
The other week I get the mail, and notice one to me from the Seattle Police department. I open it up and apparently, they had found my gun that was stolen from my home over 10 years ago.
This week, I finally had the time to go to the evidence room at the police station to recover my gun. When I initially talked with the detective, he told me the gun was found in some landscaping near the Seattle University campus, and it appears the gun may have been buried there for as long as my gun has been missing, and, per his words " destroyed beyond any hope of reconditioning".
I picked up the gun yesterday, and the gun was in fact in bad shape (pics when I get home later tonight), it was completely taken apart, wheel housing and even grip all taken apart, the bullets were seized in the wheel housing and was covered in dirt, but all the parts were there. I take it anyways, so now I don't have to worry about my firearm floating around the streets and it was a gun given to me by my father, whom passed two years ago.
Anyhow, I get home, and start to polish it up, little bit of hot water to get rid of the dirt, some CLP break free, take apart the trigger housing and take out all of the dirt, CLP the bullets and after on tape with my hammer on the bullet catch get all 5 bullets out and wouldn't you know it, the detective was DEAD wrong! The gun was in incredibly great shape given the fact that it was in the ground for 9 years! the ONLY thing that had erroded beyond the finish, was all in the wheel housing, on one side (pics to come) the trigger was still smooth, and cycled the wheel. The frame is in the exact same shape I remember it in and polished up well. Even the barrel itself, after a once over with my boresnake and some CLP was in great condition. All I really need done is to swap out my wheel housing and have a spring replaced in the hammer because it sometimes does not catch and doesn't trigger the single action (wheel cycles, but trigger doesn't get pulled back, but it cycles just fine and single action effectively.
I'm hopefull and call one of the dealers not a mile away from me, Bear Arms. I ask him and he tells me he's not a gunsmith. But tells me that it'll cost at least 5 times what the gun is worth. I say " 1,500 dollars?" he says, or there abouts, and goes on to tell me what he has in stock comparible. I'm not interested in "another" 38, I just want this one fixed and further explain what I need done. " oh yeah, well it'll "probably" be 7-800 dollars.
My old gunsmith has since moved over to the other side of the mountains. So I'm looking for an honest gunsmith that'll do work on this old gun. It's a M88 Amadeos Rossi, 2" snub 38. It's not an M frame S&W, or custom Colt, but it means something to me. So I know it'll be like polishing a turd, but again, it's sentimental to me, and although I'm happy to have it back, i'd love to see it functional again.
Any recommendations of an honest gun smith in the Washington State area? All else fails I'll take him to my guy up north at Lynnwood guns. He's done some work on my AR's for me that I know is an honest guy, just wanted to see if anyone else here may know of someone else around here.
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He asked if I owned a Kimber .45. I told him that it had been stolen. He said it was he had it and was being kept as evidence for a counterfitter. Cutting out the middle of the story here; the judge ordered it destroyed. The Agent tried to get that overturned and returned to me but no such luck. That sucked as it was a Kimber Pro Carry in stainless and was a retirement gift from me to me when I retired from the army. He notified me last year that it had been destroyed. The other three guns have not been recovered. (Colt Target that was part of my Grand Dad's estate, a Colt .25, and the Colt Huntsman that had been returned to me in Denver.) Hopefully, someday they will show up.
