Guns with stories behind them...

[BobWright]

This dainty little S&W Model 36............

I was sort of looking for a good little .38. One day, at the range, I mentioned this fact to a friend of mine. He told me he had just traded one in at a local gun shop. I think I left him standing there in mid sentence.......I immediately hied there and bought this gun.



Well, I kept it and put maybe a few hundred rounds through it. One day my gunsmith called me and told me of the death of my friend, who had also been his father-in-law.

As time went by, Christmas approached and he was pondering what to give his wife for Christmas. Being in a generous mood, I suggested this little .38, as it had been her father's gun. He welcomed the suggestion, and I sold him the gun for a mite of a profit, which was still a fair price.

He told me after the Christmas holidays that his wife really appreciated the gun, even to the point of tears welling up in her eyes at times, recalling it as a memento of her Dad.

Bob Wright

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Great story with a happy ending!

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Twenty-some years ago, on my lunch break, I saw this minty Euro-spec P220 9mm in the display case at a local shop, with one magazine, for $550. I turned right around, ran out the front door, and drove like a madman to the nearest ATM.

Walked back in with $550 in my pocket- and the gun was gone. Just that fast.

Fast forward 5 years, and I strolled into the same gunshop on my lunchbreak and........there she was again. $500 with FOUR factory magazines! Just so happened it was payday and I had five crisp hundos burning a hole in my pocket- but only for a moment, lol!

Turned out the fella who beat me to it had taken it back up North, procured the rare and pricey extra mags, then parked it in his safe until he retired down here five years later. Apparently, he never even shot it before deciding to trade it back in to the same local shop where he got it originally.

So, I had to wait a few years, but in the end, I got my gun.

 

[Dframe]

Not exactly a story but one of my most prized guns is a Detective Special carried by a police officer for 32 years. I bought it from him when he retired. It externally worn, has a grip adapter, and shows a lot of scratches. It was a serious working gun for more than 3 decades and I wouldn't change a thing

 

[BigBlue 94]

One of my revolvers was pawned by a guy twice. The second time, he put his girlfriends name on the pawn ticket. He went to prison (many years) on a felony charge, she paid the remaining balance to get it out of hock, then sold it to me for more than double her investment. And i still got it for 60% retail value. With some 5.56 rounds on the side even.

My 1873 winchester came from a family friend who's son fell out of grace so he sold it to me instead.

Most of my guns are family passdowns. Some of which have been in the family over 75 years. A couple about 100 years. Namely a winchester 1897.

 

[ontarget]

My first gun was an Ithaca .410 single shot.
As a dumb teenager I sold it to my future Sister in Law for gas money. She bought it for her husband for his birthday.
Fast forward 25 years we were reminiscing about old times and that gun came up.
She thought that my son should have that gun and made her husband give it to him right then and there.
In the end it all worked out. And we all got a good laugh.
My boy will hopefully keep it until my grandson is big enough.

 

[Armybrat]

I bought this Model 36 for my MIL after hearing how she had scared off a late night intruder with a little potmetal Titan .25. I was unaware she had bought the little autoloader at her local hardware store. (This was in the early 1980s)
My son now owns both guns.
Pardon the terrible picture.

 

[Armored farmer]

Many of my guns are family heirlooms, most have an interesting story.
My aunts second husband passed suddenly. He still had some of his possessions in the over-the-road semi that he drove. A friend boxed up his effects and returned them to my aunt who stashed them on her garage floor in cardboard boxes.
Salty slush melted off her car, and found its way into the boxes. A few years passed before she decided to sort through the boxes of what she thought were trucking paperwork and documentation. What she found was the rotting carcass of a revolver. She brought it to me and asked if I wanted it. I recognized it as what was left of a Colt Python, so I of course I wanted it. I took some pictures and sent it to the Colt custom shop for repairs.
I few months later I got it back with a new barrel, grips, hammer, bluing, sights, and a tuned action. I think the charges were less than $500.

If you look closely, you can see pitting in the cylinder flutes and bolt notches.
The barrel says Python Elite. It is easily the most accurate centerfire revolver that I have.

 

[WestKentucky]

I need to catalog pictures.

what story needs told today?

The Sportsman 999 my grandma bought while grandaddy was in Korea so that she could carry a gun while tending cattle?

Same grandma for as long as I can remember carried a large cigarette pouch/wallet thingamajig that contained a pack or Doral Menthol Lights, $40 in bills and $5 in coins, and a RG model 31 in 32swl? In her last few years I bought the gun from her when I took her home from thanksgiving dinner, for $100 in $10 bills. She needed groceries and had a few great grandkids that needed some Christmas presents.

Or maybe my granddaddy’s marlin 336 that he hunted deer with for 40 years and never chambered a round other than to shoot and scare off the coyotes interrupting him watching the deer eat at the edge of the cornfield. As he passed his granddaughter broke into the house and stole it along with a couple others. I took grandma to the pawnshop where we gave the pawnbroker his money back and the guns (per grandmas instructions) just disappeared never to be seen again. I got the 336 and grandmas 22, my sister got a bolt 410 but it’s at my house now too in safe keeping for her son, he is 12 and will soon get the gun. Maybe this Christmas.

Grandmas 22 has a story bigger than it is. It fed her, her 6 siblings, her parents and her grandmother during the depression. She got a box of shells each month, and was expected to run a trot line on the way to/from school while her older siblings (she was the baby) worked penny jobs to pay for the farm and try to get by. At about 8 yrs old grandma witnessed her oldest sister get hit by her boyfriend, grandma and her 22 put a quick stop to that. Her sister still married the clown, but he was a drunk and that was always an issue. Grandma straightened him out a few times. Nobody can hit with it, but she could. She showed me up one year shortly after I got it. Everybody else had left and she asked me about it knowing the sights were way off. She ate my lunch shot for shot with it and never missed. Bounced a 20 ga hull out of the yard until she could no longer see it to shoot it.

on the other side of the family things stayed more civil. My grandparents only had 4 guns. My granny tried to shoot herself with a baby browning and Paw took it and threw it out the window of the truck. My uncle retrieved it. Paw has a H&R (American I think) 22 revolver, a Phoenix 25acp, and a no-name 22 single shot. I got the single shot, and he still has the pistols. His 22 was given to him by his grandfather in the 30s and it was used then. It is already a fight in the family over who has it, but he made it clear last year that when he asked everybody for help with a gun when some troublemakers moved in down the road, my marlin 60 showed up loaded with quick shoks in minutes and nobody else offered to even talk about it.

How about my S&W 30-1 that was given to me by my wife on our first honeymoon? Or the 20ga shotgun I worked for all summer mowing and whatnot for my grandaddy.

If only my Mauser 1914 could tell it’s story, or the antique revolvers.

 

[dickydalton]

Old Ruger2

• dickydalton
• May 25, 2019

Long story.

 

[Armybrat]

Old Ruger2

• dickydalton
• May 25, 2019

Long story.

I’ll wait.

 

[stonebuster]

My F-I-L was the resident state trooper in our town in the early 60's. Before that they had a "Civilian on patrol" who carried a Colt Cobra 38 spl. It was given was given to my F-I-L by the former "cop's" widow. Shortly before my F-I-L passed he asked that this gun be offered to our police dept. to display in the hallway of the PD where historical pictures hang. It now hangs on the wall of the PD along side of his picture and the rag tag recruits of the first police force he organized.

 

[cfullgraf]

My maternal grandfather was a doctor in the Medical Corp in France during the Great War. He was an avid sportsman, hunting and fishing in the Ozarks for most of his life. Before he shipped out, he bought a Colt 1908 to take with him as the medical personnel were generally not issued firearms.

The gun was passed to my uncle and then to me. About 10 years ago, my youngest daughter and I researched the locations were my grandfather was stationed in France and then toured eastern France to see them.

Through researching Army reports and with the help of some folks in the military archives and a caretaker at one of the WWI US war cemeteries in France, we located three locations where my Grandfather was stationed in the fall of 1918. Two were hospitals built in the early 1900s, one was still in use and the third location was a marshaling point for US soldiers coming to France before being deployed to the front lines. That location is still a French military facility.

On the trip, besides the locations where my grandfather was, we toured the Waterloo battle field, Patton's grave site, a German WWII cemetery just up the road from Patton's cemetery, Bastogne and Malmedy, a Maginot line fort, Verdun, and the Normandy beaches. We also stopped at locations my daughter was interested but not related to world conflict. A great trip

 

[Iggy]

This one belonged to the last train robber in Wyoming.. Colt's Thunderer

The Gentleman Bandit.
https://www.talesfromthehighlonesome.net/gunsight.html

He and I got to be friends when I was in college. He kept it under the cash register of his
tourist trap motel and restaurant in Laramie where he sat surveying his domain daily.

He gave it to me when he sold out and moved to PA with his daughter.

 

[defjon]

View attachment 949942
Twenty-some years ago, on my lunch break, I saw this minty Euro-spec P220 9mm in the display case at a local shop, with one magazine, for $550. I turned right around, ran out the front door, and drove like a madman to the nearest ATM.

Walked back in with $550 in my pocket- and the gun was gone. Just that fast.

Fast forward 5 years, and I strolled into the same gunshop on my lunchbreak and........there she was again. $500 with FOUR factory magazines! Just so happened it was payday and I had five crisp hundos burning a hole in my pocket- but only for a moment, lol!

Turned out the fella who beat me to it had taken it back up North, procured the rare and pricey extra mags, then parked it in his safe until he retired down here five years later. Apparently, he never even shot it before deciding to trade it back in to the same local shop where he got it originally.

So, I had to wait a few years, but in the end, I got my gun.

I really love this. Thanks for sharing it with us!

 

[stonebuster]

View attachment 950335
This one belonged to the last train robber in Wyoming.. Colt's Thunderer

The Gentleman Bandit.
https://www.talesfromthehighlonesome.net/gunsight.html

He and I got to be friends when I was in college. He kept it under the cash register of his
tourist trap motel and restaurant in Laramie where he sat surveying his domain daily.

He gave it to me when he sold out and moved to PA with his daughter.

Loved reading that story you linked!

 

[sarge83]

I have a 4 inch Model 29, no dash with target grips that has a story behind it. My wife's mom essentially walked out of her life and her grandmother, dad, step mom and another little old lady helped raise her. This little old lady lived next to them and her husband was a cop in a small town from the 1940's to the 1970's. The story I got was he bought this Model 29 when they hit the market immediately and had it sent to gunsmith in Oklahoma, I cannot remember the name of the gunsmith but essentially he slicked it up as the little old lady told me and he did it has a crisp single action trigger and the double action is smooth as silk and different finish on it which I am puzzled about, can't decide what it is exactly.

Her husband carried this piece from the 1950's until her retired in the early 1970's and from what I have gathered used it in some gunfights along the way killing one suspect and wounding others. He passed away and his partner in the department that he trained bought the Model 29 from the little old lady and his partner was my uncle. I ended up marrying the little girl this lady helped raise and we had kids and my oldest son loved to stay with this little old lady in the summers when there was no school, they were best buddies.

This little lady passed away about 12 years ago. My uncle came to me about five years ago before he passed and asked me if I would like to buy the Model 29 from him and I did and put it in the safe. Now my oldest son who stayed with the little old lady who's husband was a cop and carried the Model 29 is a rookie cop so he's getting the Model 29 and her husbands dressed uniform night stick which she had given me. I think she would he very happy knowing her little man had her husbands sidearm and night stick.

 

[bannockburn]

Getting back the one that got away...

When I was a whole lot younger (and single), I decided I wanted to see more of this great country of ours. Had pretty much settled on heading out west and figured I could really use some more additional funds before I left town. Now I didn't want to sell off most of my guns, just one or two that would bring me the most cash. At this time I had a Colt Combat Commander that was part of a limited run from Colt's Custom Gun Shop. It was given an action job and was accurized, had an MMC adjustable rear sight, a Gold Cup trigger, and had a bright nickel finish. This was one of the most beautiful guns I had ever seen and to top it all off I got a really great deal on it!

And this was part of the problem I had with the gun; it was too nice for me to even want to shoot it! So there it sat until I decided if I had to sell just one gun this one would: (1) bring me the most money for it and (2) go to a good friend of mine who was always asking about it ever since I showed it to him. So we agreed on a price but before we closed the deal I asked for and got the Right of First Refusal. What this meant was if he ever decided to sell the gun he had to offer it to me first before he sold it to someone else.

Years past and I eventually moved back home. My friend still had the Combat Commander and found that it was as accurate as a Colt Gold Cup but wasn't at all fussy about what ammo you ran through it.
That was the good news...the bad news was he wasn't interested in parting ways with it. Now I had to find a way to get that gun back so I went to work on a plan to get him to want to trade it back to me instead of selling it. This meant doing my due diligence on finding something he wanted more than the Colt and I finally found it!

Sometime in the mid '80s Colt introduced a new down-sized 1911, the Colt Officer's Model ACP. It was very much in demand and in short supply. It was also something my friend lusted after. Now he was married with a couple of kids and didn't really have that kind of spare change on hand to buy something like this. But I did and I also found out that he liked the surplus Walther P1s that were being imported at around this same time. Just so happened I had both these guns and so we struck a deal and made the trade. I had my Combat Commander back and since it had been used already I didn't have any more problems with not shooting it and finally getting the maximum fun out of it ever since!

I eventually bought another Colt Officer's Model ACP and picked up a French made Manurhin P1.

 

[horsemen61]

Getting back the one that got away...

When I was a whole lot younger (and single), I decided I wanted to see more of this great country of ours. Had pretty much settled on heading out west and figured I could really use some more additional funds before I left town. Now I didn't want to sell off most of my guns, just one or two that would bring me the most cash. At this time I had a Colt Combat Commander that was part of a limited run from Colt's Custom Gun Shop. It was given an action job and was accurized, had an MMC adjustable rear sight, a Gold Cup trigger, and had a bright nickel finish. This was one of the most beautiful guns I had ever seen and to top it all off I got a really great deal on it!

And this was part of the problem I had with the gun; it was too nice for me to even want to shoot it! So there it sat until I decided if I had to sell just one gun this one would: (1) bring me the most money for it and (2) go to a good friend of mine who was always asking about it ever since I showed it to him. So we agreed on a price but before we closed the deal I asked for and got the Right of First Refusal. What this meant was if he ever decided to sell the gun he had to offer it to me first before he sold it to someone else.

Years past and I eventually moved back home. My friend still had the Combat Commander and found that it was as accurate as a Colt Gold Cup but wasn't at all fussy about what ammo you ran through it.
That was the good news...the bad news was he wasn't interested in parting ways with it. Now I had to find a way to get that gun back so I went to work on a plan to get him to want to trade it back to me instead of selling it. This meant doing my due diligence on finding something he wanted more than the Colt and I finally found it!

Sometime in the mid '80s Colt introduced a new down-sized 1911, the Colt Officer's Model ACP. It was very much in demand and in short supply. It was also something my friend lusted after. Now he was married with a couple of kids and didn't really have that kind of spare change on hand to buy something like this. But I did and I also found out that he liked the surplus Walther P1s that were being imported at around this same time. Just so happened I had both these guns and so we struck a deal and made the trade. I had my Combat Commander back and since it had been used already I didn't have any more problems with not shooting it and finally getting the maximum fun out of it ever since!

I eventually bought another Colt Officer's Model ACP and picked up a French made Manurhin P1.
View attachment 950564
View attachment 950565
View attachment 950566

I’ve always enjoyed seeing that commander!

 

[wiscoaster]

This thread title caught my eye because I like to buy guns with "stories" behind them. But I found over time I forget what the story was. So, just recently I started a new word processing document called "Gun Stories" so I could preserve the "story" behind that particular gun and/or some special reason I bought it. Several examples of what I'm doing:

CZ 75
Mfg 1992, Czechoslovakia, LEO trade-in, rumored Israeli police. Bad finish, stripped & polished.

VZ 27
Mfg 1944, by FNH, Belgium, scrubbed top strap and proofs?

Walther PP
Mfg 1965, W. Germany, LEO trade-in, Bavaria Police marked.

Mauser K38
Mfg 1941, “bnz” / Vienna, Waffenamts, Russian capture marked.

Doesn't need all the details, just enough basics to remind me.

And it's kind of fun.

 

[bannockburn]

wiscoaster

Good idea! Over time and with enough transactions taking place it's easy to forget the When, Where, Why, and How (also How Much)!

The neat thing I found about the Manurhin P1 was that at one point in time it was issued to the West Berlin Police. Due to restrictions placed on German armaments after WWII, the police were forced to look elsewhere for a new sidearm. The P1 filled the bill nicely as while most German police officers were probably very familiar with the Walther P38, having the updated P1 version made in France satisfied the requirement that it wasn't built in Germany and therefore acceptable for adoption by the police department.

 

[bannockburn]

horsemen61

I’ve always enjoyed seeing that commander!

Me too brother...me too!

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

wiscoaster

Good idea! Over time and with enough transactions taking place it's easy to forget the When, Where, Why, and How (also How Much)!

The neat thing I found about the Manurhin P1 was that at one point in time it was issued to the West Berlin Police. Due to restrictions placed on German armaments after WWII, the police were forced to look elsewhere for a new sidearm. The P1 filled the bill nicely as while most German police officers were probably very familiar with the Walther P38, having the updated P1 version made in France satisfied the requirement that it wasn't built in Germany and therefore acceptable for adoption by the police department.

Well...dont forget that Walther's German plant in Zella-Mehlis had fallen on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain, and the French had sacked the Mauser Oberndorf factory of its machine tooling, so they didnt have alot of choices when it came to new P38s, lol.

 

[bannockburn]

NIGHTLORD40K

Another interesting point about the West Berlin Police guns is that Manurhin originally had contracted with Portugal for new P1s. At some point though the deal fell through but Manurhin had already made up some slides for that order (there's a Portuguese proof mark on the right side of the slide), so they ended up using them with the West Berlin guns instead.

 

[Speedo66]

Back in the late '80's there used to be gun shows at Yonkers Raceway, just over the Bronx line outside NYC. Pretty good shows, large with lots of competition, so pretty good prices.

But also some characters, I did say it was in Yonkers. One guy always had a lot of Chinese junk, i.e., crossbow pistols, ninja stars, chuka sticks, etc., and also a few milsurp guns. All his guns had a story.

I'm looking at a really beat up M-1 Carbine he had and he says "You know, that Carbine used to belong to Audie Murphy. That's the gun he earned all those medals with". So I say really, this particular gun? "Oh yeah, I bought it from his family." I grew up in NYC, I know when I'm being conned, but figured I'd just play along.

He finally came out with an outrageous price for it, and told me it was worth a lot more, but he liked me. I told him I would've bought it, but I didn't think I was man enough to carry Murphy's gun, but I'd pass his card along to a military museum I knew who would carefully check out its provenance and be honored to have it. He told me don't bother, it would be sold before the end of the weekend to a high end private collector.

So I passed up buying the gun Audie Murphy earned his Medal of Honor and so many other decorations with. lol