What have you found when you bought an old used gun?

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Big Larry

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What's the neatest thing you've found, when you've purchased an old used gun? I bought an old 12 ga SXS from a pawn shop, for a wall hanger. It is an old gun, it has the damascus steel twist barrels, hammerless, but with two triggers. Got it home and was checking it out. Took the butt plate off, and something was rolled up inside it. I took it out, and lo and behold, it was hunting license from 1934, from Earth County, Minnesota. Had the guys name and what kind of ducks he'd shot that year. Pretty neat I thought. I've tried a couple times to track the guy down, I'm sure he's dead by now, but thought maybe his kinfolk would be interested in where the gun wound up. Even called the Game Department up there, to see if maybe they'd be interested in the license for their display. They were kinda like, yeah, no, maybe, I don't know. So, I figured since I thought it was neater than they did, I'd just keep it.

What have other folks found? Just curious.
 
I'm not real sure, but I think this is supposed to go with that old thing...
--Kinfolks selling off parts of an estate

It was just the leather gun case the Model 12 came with back so many years ago...

:)
 
Well, I didn't exactly buy the gun, but...

My mother in law gave me my late father in law's 1903 Springfield, which I am restoring. A few weeks later she found the reciept for it and gave it to me. He had paid something like $15 for the rifle.

I had the reciept framed and it hangs on the wall next to an old picture of him driving a Farmall tractor. :cool:
 
I bought a 91/30 Mosin Nagant today actually. Neatest thing?

Well, after I got home, I realised I had this bronze goo all over my white shirt. It was so neat finding that gun to be so dirty.
 
2 nearly 80 year old rifles made in the same month- 1 already had, and the other bought at a show.
 
Swiss K31 - found the tag inside the buttplate with the name, birthdate and address of the last guy who owned the rifle.

Finn M39 - seeing the "8" (as in 1898) on the receiver. Of course, I knew that it was an antique before buying it, but it was still neat to see that this rifle was older than all of my grandparents.

Garand (not so neat) - a crapped-out op-rod spring.
 
I once opened the buttplate trapdoor of an 1896 Krag and found, unused and still in the original package, a very old and dried up - condom. Obviously at least one soldier believed in using his rifle and his gun.

Jim
 
I bought a Turkish Mauser from J&G last year and when I started cleaning it, I found that someone had written "HELLO" in pencil on the stock underneath the barrel.
 
Hmmm.

I wonder when the practice of protecting the bore with a condom originated?

I'm sure the practice started earlier than Vietnam…

The only other thing that comes to mind was that maybe that old Krag saw service in the charge on San Juan hill with the "Rough Riders"… LOL...

Otherwise, coolest thing I've found is the nametag under the buttplate of my K31 as well...
 
I heard about a guy who opened the buttstock compartment on a FR-8 and found a '70s-era Spanish porno mag.
 
My first handgun was a used Dan Wesson .44 magnum. The guy I bought it from apparentlly was not familiar with cleaning procedures. The barrel was so caked with lead It took me an hour to clean it. I think if I had tried to fire it that way it would have blown up in my face.
 
Bought and old well used Colt 27 sistema, Gun looked like someone left it in the mud and had orange clay under the grips. Wasn't expecting much but gun cleaned up great. Replaced all the springs and talk about night and day. Gun has about 90% of the blueing left and looks great. P.S man does she shoot well.....Great buy! and 100% reliable......Cant say that for some of the newer guns I bought from other manufactuers....:D
 
I've found dried-up grass and mud underneath the buttplate of my VZ-24.
Who knows, maybe it was grass from another country long ao?
 
I found 3 coins, all from the early 50's, behind the buttplate of a Yugoslav mauser. They were a 20 Dinara, and a 1 and 5 Dinar.
 
At a gunshow a couple of years ago, minutes apart, I bought a S&W model 18 from a dealer and a model 14 from a walk in. Ser # on the 18- 1k63xx, the 14-1k23xx. Both made about a month apart in 1970 or '71. Joe
 
I have a Finn 28/30 with shrapneal embedded in the stock. You can see the gouges and feel the bits of metal when you run your hand over the gouges.

I fear for the fate of the soldier who carried that gun.
 
I found I bought a Ruger Mark I that shoots low, way low. :uhoh:

I guess I should just consider it a "stupid tax."

-Jeff
 
I bought a old colt 38spl from a pawn
shop for $139.00.Turns out it was a
pre war official police,i later sold
it for $375.00.
 
I once opened the buttplate trapdoor of an 1896 Krag and found, unused and still in the original package, a very old and dried up - condom. Obviously at least one soldier believed in using his rifle and his gun.
Click to expand...

Maybe someone carried the gun and condom more recently on a hunting trip. I was thinking to cover the barrel, but draw your own conclusions.
 
when i was looking for a mod 60 about a year ago, i found one that looked absolutely brand new. It was majorly on sale, for 35 bucks, because he swore it had a problem, the guy he got it from told him so. I offered him 30 and he took it. when i got it home it was liked locked up... couldn't get it to go fully forward, or pull the bolt to the rear. tried to load some rounds down the tube, no good, couldn't even see them trying to peak out into the lifter. So I take it apart, and waa laa! The seller tried to load a 22 mag round in it , and totally jammed up between the feed tube and lifter. Took it out , and it is now perfect.
 
Pretty interesting items found over the years. The reason I asked this, my illegitimate brother in law, was telling me a story about finding something once in an old gun he bought. I mentioned to him that I'd just bought this old shotgun, and he asked me if I'd taken the buttplate off yet. I said, no, got the gun and a screwdriver, took it off, and my eyes bugged out when I saw something inside the stock. I looked at him, like he planted it there on purpose. I had look of shock on my face. Facts I've gained since I found that license, was most hunters used to do that with their hunting license. They'd roll it up, stick it in the stock. Most people didn't carry their wallets with them while out hunting. Back in the 30's wallets were a lot bigger than what we carry now.
 
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