Why would any self-respecting FFL sell THIS?

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Poper

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http://www.gunbroker.com/item/636169812

Don't get me wrong. I like Browning shotguns. Especially the older Belgian made ones. And even more especially Belgian Made Sweet Sixteens. Whoever took the hacksaw to the barrel should be tarred and feathered.

It's just my opinion, but this is barely worth buying as a parts gun....
And I could use a parts gun. But not for $700!:eek:
 
Poper wrote:
Why would any self-respecting FFL sell THIS?

Well, the old adage is to "charge all the market will bear" and this being offered by a pawn shop in Plano, Texas, a city where there are plenty of people with deep pockets.
 
Wow.
That made my guts hurt.

I have a Belgium made Browning A5 16g from 1926 ( I think) with a very old custom rear sight

20170330_152222-2.jpg


The barrel on mine is not hack sawed.
Lol
 
Year ago, my father-in-law needed a lot of money to pay off some debts. He asked me to "loan" the money to him. I regarded it as a gift, but didn't want to insult him. He pledged a 12 ga. Browning shotgun that looks like the one in the picture (without the hacksaw cut). I oiled it down and stuck it in my gun safe and haven't touched it since figuring that he would ask for it back some day.
 
Cut the barrel off and finish the job. Would make a good "whippet" style gun, there are some 16 gauge buckshot loads out there.
 
The cut, if completed, would leave a barrel length of about 16 inches. Too short to be legal without a special license.
 
I mean, he's in the business of selling guns so I don't think he has any other option. It's an online sale... probably posted it to see if anyone will bite at the high price before he knocks it down later to move product. Just business...

Having said that, what idiot would start to hack a barrel?? Probably started until someone told them it was a collectible and a felony. Oh well. At least the seller showed it in the ad.
 
I can relate to this. I sell a lot of guns on consignment and get some real junk. Some are so bad that I am ashamed to have my name associated with them. Many have prices that you would pay for a new gun. When some Know-it-all comments on the price I tell them that I get paid to list them not price them.
 
It could have been stolen and recovered from the people who did. At that point, would you want it back in that condition? FFL or previous owner, if it had already been renumerated - or the owner simply gave up on it - time to move it along.

It also hints to the economic availability of spare barrels. It hasn't been. Goes to two things, tho - the general public never has a clue about older collectible items, see American Roadshow for dozens of examples of "reconditioned" items made worse by it, and secondly, the nature of humans at large. Some decide to do the wrong thing regardless of common sense. It's why we do need laws (not to state the NFA is needed.)
 
Selling it is fine. Attempting to sell it at an absurd price is fine. Failing to state that it is unsafe and inoperable is not.

Hmm, they don't know that. They do state that there is a big cut in the barrel and that the buyer needs to determine the safety to shoot. It is right there is the description.

Big cut on underside of barrel (see pic).

Safety:

You, as the buyer are solely responsible for determining that a used gun is safe to shoot. The firearms offered here have NOT been test fired but have only been given a visual inspection for resell purposes. It is a requirement that every used firearm be inspected by a licensed gunsmith before firing. By bidding or purchasing, you the buyer agrees to hold Plano Pawn Shop harmless against damages, injury, or death caused by defective merchandise.
[\QUOTE]
 
Scenario One: Rookie pawn shop employee takes in what looks to be very nice firearm and fails to notice attempted SBS job; bossfella now stuck to try and get back out of it what rookie put in.

Scenario Two: Bossfella t pawnshop used "Blue Book" for price, and would like to bank anything he gets over the $125 he probably paid for it. Will a dollop of "just don't care" about the barrel.

Scenario Three: Plano is wedged between some of the richest DFW folks ,and those who prey upon them. Bissfella is hoping that the arm is not semi-stolen to go with semi-bubba-ed, and hope is moves out of the shop quickly.

Were it not a 25 mile drive, I'd cruise by the shop just to see just how seedy a joint it might be (not all that glittters in Plano is gold).
 
"Selling it is fine. Attempting to sell it at an absurd price is fine. Failing to state that it is unsafe and inoperable is not."

"Hmm, they don't know that. They do state that there is a big cut in the barrel and that the buyer needs to determine the safety to shoot. It is right there is the description."

I'd guess a good lawyer might have a field day with this one if some knothead was dumb enough to shoot it and it blew up at the cut site.

I have a 1964 Browning Auto 5 Sweet Sixteen in excellent condition.... until a jackass at the shooting club knocked it off the rack and busted a chunk off the round knob of the pistol grip. :fire:

I would consider buying the hacksawed job for parts at $250. $700? Nah. I'd make my nose bleed at Numrich, first. :what:
 
The barrel is scrap iron. But the rest of the gun is in decent shape, or appears to be from what I see. I think the price is too high, but for someone with a beat up gun that had a usable barrel it might not be a bad option for a little less money.
 
I bet that could be fixed without changing the barrel. Shotgun barrels aren't made of high strength steel like rifle barrels, and shotgun ammo doesn't produce near the pressure. I wouldn't buy that shotgun but I wouldn't be afraid to fix it. Get a slug of brass or copper the proper diameter, shove it behind the cut, and TIG weld it. The brass or copper slug would draw away excess heat and keep the weld from over-penetrating into the bore of the barrel.
 
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