Well I can't say it's a lie, but I found out that I had been lied to about guns on a number of occasions. I had a manager at the pawn shop in Porter Texas set me straight on a number of issues today, and I thank him for it.
I was browsing the rifle rack and noticed a M1903 Springfield on the rack with a straight stock, and sights mounted forward of the receiver. Now this would fit in nicely with the 03-A3 I already have. So I asked the clerk about price.
His response of $2,000.00 caught me a little off guard, and I lost a bit of my composure when I asked if he was kidding. Well the manager was there to set me straight and fill me in on this collector piece.
I had not been handed the rifle yet, and I was only able to see it from across the counter and aisle, but did notice the patchy high gloss stock, and the rubber slip on recoil pad, a real classy touch. And more importantly, the
30-06 written in bold letters on the tag.
The manager informed me that this gun was 100% original! Wow, I thought I have never seen one of those in a pawn shop before and asked to look at it. As the clerk was getting the rifle out of the rack, I inquired to the manager about how is this gun different from those that the CMP sells for $500-600??
This is where I learned a lot about the CMP and guns in general I did not know, thanks to this guy. He informed me that
the guns you get from the CMP and at gun shows are reproductions!! Thank goodness I now know that, will save me a lot of money in the future. I asked if it had been through an arsenal rebuild, and was told again it was 100% original and in 30-06! 30-06 wow, that was quite unexpected (I had already forgotten that, even with the tag right there)! This gun is something special. 30-06!!
As I now had this extremely valuable museum quality piece of history in my hand I was able to gaze lovingly at it's finer features. First the gloss finish of the stock is patchy and the surface is rough. Probably because this rifle fought in every war until now, and those MinWax finishes they put on them 100 years ago are supposed to look like that now. The second feature I notice, adding to it's value I am sure is the two tone finish. The receiver has that light browning effect these rifles get as they age on it's smooth surfaces, and the end of the barrel has that gray parkerized finish that is highly desirable. (I never realized that this is what a 100% original is supposed to look like.) I show the clerk the barrel, with a production date in 1944 and let him know that the manager is FOS.
To the clerks credit he asked what I thought it was worth and if I would like the owner to call me when he got in regarding it. I declined, but mentioned I would check back next week. I really want to look at the serial number again, and see if they continue my education.
But I am glad to know those things about gun shows and the CMP. Reproductions who would have thought it.
If you guys want to go appreciate a fine firearm, that is obviously supposed to be in a museum, please stop by and check it out. I am sure the manager will be happy to educate you on the finer points of this old war horse as he did me.