Please, Not Another Gun!

[theotherwaldo]

Were you ever in a position where you just hated to see another gun?

Back in the late '80s I worked nights at the Anniston, Alabama Post Office, unloading, sorting, and loading the semi-loads of mail, then sorting the mail for the local runs. These runs included the Anniston Army Depot and Fort McClellan. One of the more common cargoes for these runs were rifles and machine gun components being sent in to be decommissioned and scrapped.

These weapons were often very poorly packed and were usually sticking out of the ends of the boxes. Parts were leaking out as well. Sights, bolts, and trigger assemblies got swept up and thrown away.

After all, these things were just scrap. No one cared...except me.

It just griped my soul to watch these once-fine weapons being treated this way.
It hurt even more to realize that these guns would soon be scrapped.

Anyone else ever find themselves in a similar position?

 

[Bushpilot]

Nope. But I would have felt the same way. I'm glad I didn't have to see it..

 

[22250Rem]

Worked in a chemical waste incinerator for a couple years in the mid 1990's in between power plant jobs. We occasionally did "gun burns" for some local police departments. They consisted of mostly stuff that had come from gun buy backs, or confiscated stuff where no owner could be located, etc. They had all been in the police property room for a long time. Pretty much all junk and they were put into fiber drums and taped shut so we couldn't see them. Long guns had the stock removed so the gun would be short enough to fit into the drum ( stock was still in the drum so the entire thing still got incinerated). So I never had a very good look at what went in but it was sad to see what they looked like when the process was complete. It must have been really sad to see U.S. rifles and machine gun components and related stuff getting sent to the scrap processors. Here's a picture of a small semi-auto pistol that came out of the incinerator looking pretty good, comparatively speaking, ( most stuff came out worse & sometimes unrecognizable) and I couldn't see it when it went in but I'm sure it looked better than it does in this picture. Still not sure of the make or model but that's one gun that will never be in circulation again.

 

[Demi-human]

Thankfully, no. The torture (and temptation) would be more than I could bear. I'm sure some benign screw or cover would fall out of a box and my trinket collecting self would be caught on camera sparing destruction to a ten dollar "Ahrrg, Matey!" ejection port cover.

At the cost of a felony.

Why does "getting guns off the street" mean we have to euthanize them? Can't we give them new forever homes?

Like puppies!

 

[ontarget]

Thankfully, no. The torture (and temptation) would be more than I could bear. I'm sure some benign screw or cover would fall out of a box and my trinket collecting self would be caught on camera sparing destruction to a ten dollar "Ahrrg, Matey!" ejection port cover.

At the cost of a felony.

Why does "getting guns off the street" mean we have to euthanize them? Can't we give them new forever homes?

Like puppies!

Wait a minute, isn't there a thread going about dangerous dogs? You know, cute puppies grow up and become mean once in a while, maybe we should outlaw rehoming puppies.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

maybe we should outlaw rehoming puppies.

Pitbull puppies at least.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

deleted

 

[D.B. Cooper]

View attachment 785190

Meh. That will buff right out. Little JB weld, she'll live to fight another day.

 

[brennok]

Once upon a time I helped some family inventory a collection they acquired. By the end I think we were all over revolvers. It would be one thing if they were all different models, but 80% were one model. After a while seeing something different was the only thing that kept us going.

 

[entropy]

Still not sure of the make or model but that's one gun that will never be in circulation again.

Looks like a Beretta M1934.

Meh. That will buff right out. Little JB weld, she'll live to fight another day.

 

[ClickClickD'oh]

Still not sure of the make or model

By the pins and missing magazine release, that would be some form of compact external extractor 1911.

 

[Mauser lover]

I was thinking a Star compact thingy. Too much slide for a Beretta (at least a 1934)

 

[ClickClickD'oh]

I was thinking a Star compact thingy.

I think we are on the right path now with the "not quite 1911" 1911 clones. Llama Airlight is also a strong contender

 

[entropy]

I think we have a winner!

 

[Mauser lover]

Ah, it's the Llama! Look at the extractor length! The Star is too long.

 

[22250Rem]

Thanks for the identification help........ The whole barrel and action is packed tight with some type of residue that got solidified in there when it went through the kiln, and I managed to chip some out of the muzzle....... I used to think it was something in 25 ACP but now it seems that it might even be a .22!...... It's a small auto pistol and definitely not a .45 or .380 close as I can tell. Here's a couple more pictures showing size..... The whole slide is only a hair over 5 & 1/4" and I can get the front section of a 22LR bullet into the muzzle even though it's still not completely opened up yet. Any ideas?.... I'm still stumped; but I'm no expert on identifying pistols.

 

[SharpDog]

PM Me for my FFL's shipping address:

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Firearms (ASPCF)

 

[Mauser lover]

Thanks for the identification help........ The whole barrel and action is packed tight with some type of residue that got solidified in there when it went through the kiln, and I managed to chip some out of the muzzle....... I used to think it was something in 25 ACP but now it seems that it might even be a .22!...... It's a small auto pistol and definitely not a .45 or .380 close as I can tell. Here's a couple more pictures showing size..... The whole slide is only a hair over 5 & 1/4" and I can get the front section of a 22LR bullet into the muzzle even though it's still not completely opened up yet. Any ideas?.... I'm still stumped; but I'm no expert on identifying pistols.View attachment 785319 View attachment 785321

Yeah, it is a Llama, I'm pretty sure. They made a .22.

 

[22250Rem]

We have a winner !........ Mauser lover was pretty sure it's a Llama and I found a .22 cal. Llama on Gunbroker.com and after holding what's left of this one in my hand and comparing it to the on-line pix I'm now sure that it's a Llama..... Everything matches up perfectly. Thanks for the help; I kind of figured with all the collective knowledge and experience here on THR that someone could come up with an answer that has eluded me for many years. I don't recall seeing any Llamas in person at any LGS's or gun shows and nobody I've shown it to over the years had any ideas. The one on gunbroker looked nice and even had the original box and they wanted a $434. minimum bid IIRC. By the looks of it and the asking price it appears they were a decent quality handgun... They were made in Spain (?) and IIRC Llama went out of business some years ago (?).

 

[BSA1]

Many a year ago a local store had a new blue finish Colt Detective Special in the gun case for a long time. Everytime I went shopping in the store I would stop at the gun case and say to myself that I should buy the gun. The one day it was gone.

The following Sunday a man used it to shoot his ex-wife two times in front of their two children killing her. The gun was recovered still in the factory box along with the owners manual and other paperwork along with new box of ammunition with 8 rounds missing from it. He took the gun out to the country after buying and test fired it six times.

I pleaded with my Chief to let me buy it and almost cried when he took it out of the evidence locker to be cut up and destroyed at the city maintenance shop,

 

[entropy]

That's about how my Dad felt when turning in a Colt Bisley that a perp had pointed at him, knowing it's fate.

 

[Mauser lover]

We have a winner !........ Mauser lover was pretty sure it's a Llama and I found a .22 cal. Llama on Gunbroker.com and after holding what's left of this one in my hand and comparing it to the on-line pix I'm now sure that it's a Llama..... Everything matches up perfectly. Thanks for the help; I kind of figured with all the collective knowledge and experience here on THR that someone could come up with an answer that has eluded me for many years. I don't recall seeing any Llamas in person at any LGS's or gun shows and nobody I've shown it to over the years had any ideas. The one on gunbroker looked nice and even had the original box and they wanted a $434. minimum bid IIRC. By the looks of it and the asking price it appears they were a decent quality handgun... They were made in Spain (?) and IIRC Llama went out of business some years ago (?).

ClickClickD'oh actually suggested it before me. Just to get the credit to the right direction... I said the Star, but the Star has a longer extractor. I think Llama started in Spain. They aren't there now, and I don't know if they were somewhere else in between either. They are in the Philippines now (different company, same name probably).

 

[Elkins45]

Thankfully, no. The torture (and temptation) would be more than I could bear. I'm sure some benign screw or cover would fall out of a box and my trinket collecting self would be caught on camera sparing destruction to a ten dollar "Ahrrg, Matey!" ejection port cover.

At the cost of a felony.

Why does "getting guns off the street" mean we have to euthanize them? Can't we give them new forever homes?

Like puppies!

Here in KY there’s a state law that the guns have to be auctioned off. Sadly, they only let FFLs participate in the auction.

Guns confiscated by Fish and Wildlife are sold directly to the public at auction. They always go for way too much.

 

[JWF III]

As for the op’s situation... My first thought is of that old Johnny Cash song “One Piece at a Time”. But instead of a car, I’d be building a gun(s).

Wyman

 

[theotherwaldo]

As for the op’s situation... My first thought is of that old Johnny Cash song “One Piece at a Time”. But instead of a car, I’d be building a gun(s).

Nope. Don't want to visit Club Fed.