# 14030 - Is There A Question Here?
12/28/2010
Cari, Corinth, VT, USA

I got this gun when my grandfather passed, and didn't no how much it was worth today and how much he might of paid for it. I would never sell this gun I've used it for rifle hunting my whole life and is the only gun I would ever use.

Answer:
Cari, I am not sure what you are trying to ask. If you are trying to find out the value of your Winchester, my records show that it was manufactured in 1972. I would expect to see a Mod 94 like yours for sale at a gunshow in the $150 to $300 range depending on condition.

# 13992 - Unidentified 1768 Gun In Michigan
12/28/2010
Casey Bancroft Mi

Gun has 1768 marked on it, appears to be the date, the side plates have number on them 30 or 80. I am trying to determine if this was a American or British gun, it appears to be as old as the date marked on it. In 1978 my grand parents bought a old farmhouse and moved it 6 miles down the road, I was 11 at the time. We took the roof off from the house to move it. I found the gun in the attic. We have kept it all these years without trying to find out any info on the gun. I have thought about taking pictures of it and trying find a appraiser that could determine the type of gun and value.

Answer:
Casey- You sure don’t give us much to go on. Let’s assume that the number 1768 is actually the date it was made. It has probably been near Bancroft, Michigan for a long time, and while some old gun collector may have had it mailed from some place far away, it more likely got brought there for actual use sometime after 1768.

Early colonization of North America included British control of the Hudson’s Bay region, and the Atlantic coastal colonies from Maine (actually Massachusetts then) through Georgia. The Spanish had grabbed Florida and most of what was Louisiana and points west. The French had settled the St. Lawrence river region from Nova Scotia and Newfoundland up to Quebec City, Montreal, and upstream to the Great Lakes. From there, the French traders, the famous voyageurs, established domination over the entire Great Lakes region, and after short portages to the headwaters of the Ohio and other tributaries down the Ohio river region- basically everything between the Appalachians and the Missouri River, continuing south to the point where the Spanish controlled the mouth of the Mississippi.

In 1756 the French and Indian War broke out. This is sometimes called the “Great War for Empire” in Europe, as it covered much more of the globe than just the interior of North America! The French lost the war (not the first, nor would it be the last time they lost a war) and under the 1763 Treaty of Paris they gave up their Quebec colony to the British. Although there was continued French trade presence in the Great Lakes region after the end of the French and Indian War in 1763, it is likely that any guns found dated after 1763 are probably British, not French.

The Michigan area was dangerous even back then, with the natives ignoring law and order and shooting at innocent civilians, until the British put down Pontiac’s rebellion which lasted 1763-1766. Unfortunately, unrest and anarchy continue unabated in Detroit and Dearbornistan. All these years, it has been a wise move to keep a gun handy to protect yourself against attack by people who don’t like you for whatever reason- ethnicity, religion, race, financial status, football team loyalty, whatever.

If you had sent some photos, we would have been able to figure out more about your gun, but instead, all you got was a lousy history lesson. John Spangler

# 14042 - Merry Christmas 2010!
12/25/2010

From John and Marc at FineOldGuns.com, we want to wish all of our friends and visitors a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Answer:
John & Marc

# 14015 - Santa Fe Rifle Value
12/21/2010
john, baton rouge, la

The gun is in good condition and is in working order, need to get an idea on a good price to sell

Answer:
John, Santa Fe / Golden State was one of the big surplus dealers/importers in the golden age of military surplus arms circa 1960-64 when millions of military surplus rifles were dumped at unbelievable prices. Remington Rolling blocks were 62 cents a pound, .303 Lee Enfields were retailing at $9.95 in local department stores; M1917 Enfields were $29.95 and M1 Garands made in 1941 were being sold in 100% original condition with about 98-99% finish for $79.95 after being brought back from England where they had been sent as Lend Lease supplies in the dark days of 1942.

I don't know of anyone who collects this kind of firearm so the value of your rifle will be as a shooter. I would expect to see a rifle like yours selling at a gunshow in the $250 to $350 range depending on condition and time of year with prices rising the closer it gets to the opening of deer season. Marc

# 13989 - BRNO Model 20 7 X 57mm Rifle
12/21/2010
South Africa

Manufactured 1947 from date on metalwork. Knurled round receiver, butter knife bolt handle, double trigger. I can't find any reference to Brno model 20`s, only model 21`s. What is this rifle and what would it's value be in USA.

Answer:
Sir- Sorry, we just don’t know anything about those. It sounds like an excellent gun, in a good caliber that would have a lot of shooter interest. John Spangler

# 13949 - Allen & Thurber Pepperbox Assembly
12/18/2010
Art, Spring Hill, FL, USA

Typical A&T 6 barrel .31 Pepperbox. No serial # that I can see. No sooner had I got it some years ago then the hammer spring slipped off inside the grip. I've tried but can't figure out how to make it stay if I have it correctly placed. Please help!

Answer:
Art- Pepperboxes were early forms of revolvers, but instead of having a barrel in front of the cylinder, they just used an extra long cylinder so that it served as a barrel as well. Most of the pepperboxes had five or six shots and barrels three to five inches long, but they were all heavy. However, the weight was a trade off for the advantage of having multiple shots available at a time when most pistols were still only single shot.

It has been a long time since I messed with one of those, so any mechanical advice I gave you would probably be wrong. However, there is a place that sells a 5 CD set with over 1,200 exploded gun part diagrams for about $15, a bit less if you download it. They even offer one free diagram by email, so I would recommend you get the diagram from them and see if that helps. http://www.emilitarymanuals.com/expdiabppistol.html

The NRA Firearms Disassembly books have details on the Allen Pepperbox as well, and that may provide better information on how to get all the parts together than just a parts diagram. While they don’t give step by step instructions, it looks like the key is the fact that the mainspring tension screw (visible in the front strap of the grip) can be backed off, and then the spring can be wiggled out of position (with the grips and probably the sideplate removed). It looks like the hammer and sear assembly are held together by a screw, and that the rear of the sear has a notch. There is a link (sort of like a hollow square) that connects the notch on the bottom rear of the sear with a notch on the upper tip of the mainspring, which then pulls up on the sear and the back of the hammer (pivoting around the screw, so the same action forces the front of the hammer down). Hope that helps. John Spangler

# 14028 - Loan Star Gun?
12/18/2010
Tommy, Memphis, Tn

How many were made ?

Answer:
Tommy - I am a big fan of Pawn Stars, I was wondering if the Loan Star Commemorative was introduced to honor Rick, Corey, Chumlee and The Old Man? If you were really asking about the `1970 LONE STAR CARBINE` then I can tell you that total production was 38,385.

I am not a big commemorative fan, in my opinion, commemorative firearms are poor investments and I almost never willingly purchase them. Although some commemoratives have pretty hefty book values, actually selling them for listed prices is about impossible, even for the few relatively scarce models. If your commemorative is in perfect condition, it has never been fired and it comes with the box and all of the original papers, the blue book sets the value at $925. If it has ever been fired (even once) or it is not in perfect condition, it is just a fancy shooter and value will be in the $300 or less range. Marc

# 14031 - Navy Arms Info
12/14/2010
Netherlands

How old is this gun because the serial number only has 4 numbers? every gun I saw had at least 7 numbers. And how much is it worth?

Answer:
Sorry to have to tell you that your firearm is not all that old and not all that valuable. Navy Arms was founded about 1960 by Val Forgett in Ridgefield, NJ. They were among the first to have Italian gunmakers turn out copies of Civil War and other antique firearms. Bill Edwards excellent book "Civil War Guns" describes these early efforts, including the problem when the first batch all had bent trigger guards, just like the original they had copied! I often see Navy Arms firearms selling at gunshows in the $100 range. Marc

# 13967 - Unknown Gun
12/14/2010
Christy

swirls I have a gun that is about half the size of your pinky and was told that it is some sort of watts gun and there are not very many left in existence. my grandmother said it was from the civil war. Do you know what this could be

Answer:
Christy- Sorry, we have no idea at all about what this might be. It sounds like it may be one of the novelty or toy guns made in the mid 20th century, but that is just a wild guess. John Spangler

# 13988 - Old Ammunition Found With Old Gun
12/11/2010

My dad died about 2 years ago at 83. We found his fathers 5 shot hand gun packed away which hasn't been used for over 60 years there are also the bullets wrap up in old cheese cloth. My question is- are these bullets dangerous because they are so old?

Answer:
Sir- I don't think you have to worry much about the bullets being "dangerous" in terms of blowing up on their own. However, due to the age, they may or may not fire if you tried to fire them. Also, internal corrosion from the primer or powder may have weakened the case so that it may fail, leaking out hot gasses if you tried to shoot this ammo and it actually went off.

Many people would recommend that you just dump the old ammo in the trash and let it go to the landfill, but others may have different ideas.

My guess is that the gun is probably not safe to shoot with modern ammo either, and many of the old guns were made for black powder ammunition loaded to much lower pressures than modern smokeless ammo.

That addresses your “safety” concerns. However, some old ammunition does have value to collectors. I am 99% sure that yours is just “old ammo” and not worth anything, but while millions of rounds of “old ammunition” may be worth nothing, or a few pennies, nickels or dimes, a few very rare and exotic cartridges can bring tens, or hundred of dollars from fanatical collectors. Of course, they are the rare and exotic rounds, and it takes an expert to identify them.

Hope that helps. John Spangler

# 14026 - Early Colt 1911
12/11/2010
Ken Glendora Ca

Letters WG in circle left frame front of grip, United States Property frame, rearing colt rear slide, left slide marked patented Apr 20 1897 Sept 9 1902 Dec 19 1905 Feb 14 1911. Condition is EX w/minor holster wear. and front of Frame grip is graying. May I again impose on your knowledge about pistol. year made, collectible, approx value? Thanks, Ken

Answer:
Ken, the year of manufacture for Colt 1911, serial number 18611, is 1913. Goddard`s book, `The Government Models` indicates that 1911 pistols in the serial number range 18501 to 19000 were shipped to the Rock Island Arsenal on January 9 1913. The `WG` marking that you mention is probably `WPG` in a circle. The `WPG` in a circle inspectors mark stands for Major Walter G. Penfield, USA who inspected Colt M1911 .45 Pistols from 1909 to 1914.

It sounds like you have a nice pistol, I would expect to see an early Colt 1911 like yours offered for sale at a gunshow in the $2500 to $3500 range. Marc

# 14025 - Bicentennial Commemorative
12/7/2010
Shandra, Eugene, OR

What is a 30/30 Winchester Bicentennial gold plated carbine rifle worth?

Answer:
Shandra, commemoratives are current production guns designed as a reproduction of an historically famous gun model, or as a tie-in with historically famous persons or events. The Winchester 1976 U.S. Bicentennial Carbine is one of the most often encountered of commemoratives. Winchester manufactured a boatload of them (19,999) in 1976.

I have a very low opinion of the entire commemorative firearm concept. Although some commemorates have pretty hefty book values, actually selling them for listed prices is about impossible, even for the few relatively scarce models.

If your carbine has ever been fired, if it does not have the original box and papers, or if it has even one small scratch or blemish, it has been my experience that it will sell very slowly (if at all) at a significantly lower price. Since I don't handle commemorates, I don't have a good feel for what yours will sell for. My guess (as always offered with a full money back guarantee) is that you will be lucky to get $350 to $550. Marc

# 13986 - Turkish Mauser Rifle Ankara
12/7/2010

I have a rifle marked: t-c as-fa ANK ARA 1938 7.90 I THINK IT IS AN OLD MILITARY RIFLE. WHAT IS THIS AND WHAT MIGHT IT BE WORTH.

Answer:
Sir- I would expect to find ones matching your description offered at a gun show at prices around $75 and up. This is an old Turkish military rifle. Most of these were very poor quality to start with, and were used and abused severely before being sold off as surplus. Personally, I would NEVER attempt to shoot one, but other people seem to do so without bad consequences. These are very common on the surplus market. Just Google "Turkish Mauser" and you will find lots more for sale. John Spangler

# 13987 - Drilling- Three Barrel Shotgun - Rifle
12/4/2010
Peter

I have a Deutche Waffenfabrik Georg Knaak Nitro shotgun and I was hoping to get more information about it. The side by side barrels are smooth bore and there is a smaller rifled barrel underneath. The gun is decorated with wildlife animals and a nice walnut stock which has a pop open compartment for storing shells in. I have no idea what the calibers are and would love any information you might provide for me. Thank you.

Answer:
Peter- Your shotguns is actually a "Drilling" or three barrel gun. These were very popular with German hunters circa 1890-1940, and many were brought home as souvenirs after WW2.

Values depend on calibers (usually 16 GA x 16 GA over a rifle caliber that can be just about anything, but usually some obscure European cartridge that is not readily available.) Also on condition, maker (a few well known names can bring big money, but most are unknown individual gun makers). Finally, value depends on visual appeal to the buyer, as most were made to European tastes of 100 years ago and may not appeal to today's hunters or shooters.

Values seem to run from maybe $700 retail for one with external hammers in an oddball caliber in mediocre condition up to maybe $2000-2500 for an extra handsome gun in top condition in a known caliber. Maybe more with the correct telescope if it is fitted for a scope. These tend to be slow sellers as few people are interested in them, despite the superb craftsmanship. John Spangler

# 14017 - Colt 1917 With No Number
12/4/2010
Katie, Pasadena, Texas

On front of the cylinder the numbers 938 are stamped on the front. My Husband has a 1917 Colt Revolver Military issue with us army model 1917 stamped on the butt, but no military issue number. Very good condition. He has been trying to find out how much this revolver could be worth. Can you help us out and let us know the history of this Firearm, and why It wouldn't have a military issue number on the butt...You can plainly see that it was never stamped on there.

Answer:
Katie, This revolver was manufactured in December of 1918. All U.S. government Colt 1917 revolvers should have `UNITED STATES PROPERTY` markings on the bottom of the barrel and U.S. army marking on the bottom of the butt. Colt sold the 1917 revolver commercially both before and after the war.

Your question is hard to answer without seeing the revolver. I am guessing that you mean that the number that is usually found stamped on the butt by the lanyard ring swivel is not present. You should examine the revolver to determine if has the eagle head acceptance stamp on the left side of the frame near the hammer, and the `UNITED STATES PROPERTY` markings on the bottom of the barrel. If these are present then the pistol was definitely accepted for military service. If they are not present, the pistol may have been put together from left over parts, or it may have been one of the commercial models. Neither of these kind of revolvers would have number on the butt.

The other explanation is that someone ground off the numbers on the butt. This could have happened because the revolver had was stolen, and the person who stole it was trying remove evidence of the crime. We have seen a number of Colt Model 1911 automatics that have the U.S. Property markings ground off, and a few that are even missing the serial number. Marc