Have you ever bid on a unseen group of gun items and when you get them, this happened?

So, an estate sale happened a few states away and I looked the items over. Your typical hodgepodge of stuff and I did a little quick counting and made a bid:



I did this mainly because of the Pachmayr box. It arrived Friday and I paid particular attention to the NIB looking grip box marked $14.99



So then I opened the box...Uh oh:







So, to recap...I ended up with two original Civil War Spencer carbine combination tools, ($125+ each on Ebay), an 1879 US marked Trapdoor Springfield combination tool, ($25) a German WW2 G43/K43 original barrel band, ($50?), some Polish VIS 9mm grips which may be newer repros, a set of older smooth walnut Colt 1911 grips, a new in package, 1970's Colt Python Pachmayr presentation grip and these literally brand spanking new Goncalo silver washer, K frame targets which were probably removed from a brand new gun and put in the Pachmayr box.

Moral to the story...Always check inside Pachmayr boxes. I told my wife when I bid on them, "Y'know....I have seen brand new grips stuck in replacement boxes".

This is exhibit "A" of that.

I bought a collection of guns and miscellaneous. Ladies husband passed and I was rounding things up.

66-2 4" was one of the guns. Unfired but had pachmayrs on. Still had inspection stickers on gun.

She went out to a small storage bin. And was pulling out ammo when she came up with a rag wrapped around the original grips for the 66. Gun became whole again.

Got to look at everything.

This has happened to me a few times. I've found a few Tyler grips this way, too. Warm fuzzies

Sometimes you think you are buying a horse, and you get a jack ass! Has happened to me more than once! Bob

MelvinWalker said:

Moral to the story...Always check inside Pachmayr boxes. I told my wife when I bid on them, "Y'know....I have seen brand new grips stuck in replacement boxes".

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Shhhhhhh!

You're giving away one of my secrets! I've found a boatload of new take-off grips in Pachmayr boxes, including S&W Targets, Combats, Magnas and Colt Python grips.

I've had great experiences using online auction platforms like invaluable.com, liveauctioneers.com, HiBid, and others. I tend to go for gunsmith specials—bundles like (3) .22 LR rifles or (3) British .303 rifles from WWII. That’s where I’ve found the most interesting deals.

So far, I’ve rarely been disappointed. I usually win auctions at around $70 to $100 per rifle or handgun, which is pretty reasonable. Honestly, if the firearm doesn’t need some kind of repair or TLC, I’m almost disappointed—it takes some of the fun out of it. Part of the appeal for me is the process: cleaning, diagnosing, fixing, and learning as I go.

My main reason for getting into this wasn’t just cost—it was about getting hands-on experience with real firearms. Reading about a weapon is one thing, but owning it, working on it, and picking it up from your FFL takes your understanding to a whole different level.

It’s a rewarding way to learn, collect, and explore firearms history—especially if you enjoy a little gunsmithing along the way.

To be honest though, as nice as the S&W grips are, the rest of the stuff is actually worth much more if I add it up...You always see these lots of parts, and sometimes they are junk and sometimes, not so much. This time I won..The last group I bought was all junk with a bunch of weaver scope bases.

s&wchad said:

Shhhhhhh!

You're giving away one of my secrets! I've found a boatload of new take-off grips in Pachmayr boxes, including S&W Targets, Combats, Magnas and Colt Python grips.

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I bought a collection of guns(son selling dads), I also cleaned out the gun room.

I found a set a Stags. The note card indicates a Colt SSA , with a serial number that's in the short serial number range in book says they could letter to gun. Rare. Very valuable.

It is for one of the guns he kept, I know the gun is lettered .

I'm working on getting that gun and letter.

I would have expected to find a set of take off grips in an old Pachmayr box. I think you did good.

Then I've had this happen. Cleaning out everything from multi gun purchase. Found box, empty off course.

He sold it the day before he called me. $300.

Went to a local auction this morning and only won one lot of 3 boxes of Remington ammo from the '60s; .30 Mauser, .218 Bee, and .32 Auto. Paid $69.30 after premium and tax. Mauser box was partial, .218 was full, and then opened the .32 box and found it full of these....

I recently won a bunch of red army AK-47 rounds.

I recently picked up a red white and blue JM grip for a round butt N frame that were in a hogue grip pack for 19.95. Couldn’t complain about that!

Vacationing in AR in 2000, wife and I were staying in a B&B in Ozarka. The owner and her husband gave us a “Heads-up” that our morning brkfst would be in the kitchen but they would not be present as they were attending an estate sale down the street in the morning.
We asked a few questions and decided to attend also.
The auctioneer was in the living room barking/hawking items …and wife and I didn’t have much time to look thru the house at what might interest us….
… but about that time he held up a 1911 ACP. (a 1911…not a 1911A1. it was marked “U.S. Property”) … he said it’s pedigree was that it had been the family’s great-uncle’s pistol in WW-! …and that the now-deceased nephew had carried the same pistol in WW2…and had shot down a Focke-Wulf 190 with it while in England.
(yeah…sure, I thought.. auctioneers will say anything to hype up an auciton)

The pistol had clear plastic grips on it…not the original grips… kinda disappointing…but otherwise the pistol was in excellent condition.) The auctioneer also mentioned the family would be keeping the holster and web-belt for their posterity.

The bidding started at $200 and when it got to $500 I quit bidding. It eventually sold for $1100.

Only THEN…did the auctioneer, while handing-over the pistol to the winner… reveal that there was a newspaper article which went with the pistol.
The article was a Little Rock paper which included a photo of a FW-190 on the ground in England…and the article quoted an English newspaper that told the incredulous story of a “lucky shot” that the “Yank” had made… firing at the low-flying FW-190 as it strafed troops on the ground…. and the lucky shot had penetrated the side of the cockpit killing the pilot who failed to pull-up…sliding into the trees.
The local constabulary had chopped-out a piece of the FW-190 windshield and handed it to the G.I. who’d made the lucky-shot…. which was used to fashion a set of new grips for that pistol.


Sure enough… it was a true story! I told the auctioneer he’d done the family a huge disservice by not revealing that information and the newspaper-clipping BEFORE the auction…as I estimated that pistol and newspaper article to be worth perhaps TRIPLE what the gun had sold for. (I certainly would have bid it up to at least $2K personally. I tried to buy it from the winner but he was having none of it. I don’t blame him.)

I bid on a random auction for about 9 different mfg gun boxes, and I bid on a S&W 10-7 RHCP. Different auctions, different sellers. When the boxes came, one of the boxes was for a RHCP 10-7. Not the same gun but a pretty rare box nonetheless. Totally random.

I'm a traveling RN/NP, my area I cover 7-8 cities, I am always stopping at yard sales and estate sales. I bring home tons of ammo, mags, grips, holsters, and , before Virginia enacted FFL transfer rules, I used to buy tons of weapons. I still do, just have to make the trip to the dealer. My most recent finds were a 55g drum of oem NIB s&w wood grips for all models, a ton of s&w 3rd gen mags, 2 taurus deputy 357/38 NIB, a Cimarron pistolero nickel 9mm saa, 2 cases of imi 158gr blue tip, 7 cases of 45lc 255gr fmj, 3 cases of cci lawman 45acp. If I'd been faster on the gas, I'd have got there fast enough to grab a crate of moving and 3 sky's with synthetic camo stocks. Moving went 220 each sks''s went for 325. I can't complain.

I also got my hands on a brand new AGIP gas globe.

sousana said:

I'm a traveling RN/NP, my area I cover 7-8 cities, I am always stopping at yard sales and estate sales. I bring home tons of ammo, mags, grips, holsters, and , before Virginia enacted FFL transfer rules, I used to buy tons of weapons. I still do, just have to make the trip to the dealer. My most recent finds were a 55g drum of oem NIB s&w wood grips for all models, a ton of s&w 3rd gen mags, 2 taurus deputy 357/38 NIB, a Cimarron pistolero nickel 9mm saa, 2 cases of imi 158gr blue tip, 7 cases of 45lc 255gr fmj, 3 cases of cci lawman 45acp. If I'd been faster on the gas, I'd have got there fast enough to grab a crate of moving and 3 sky's with synthetic camo stocks. Moving went 220 each sks''s went for 325. I can't complain.

I also got my hands on a brand new AGIP gas globe.

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People like you should be followed…and detained….

You should see the old oil cans, still full, I found last year at an estate sale at kings mill, that and some Toby jugs and about 900rnds of 38spl in plastic reloadable cases from the late 80s or so. Paid like 170 and found a collector in Colorado who paid me 500 plus shupping. Got loads of rich homeowners here abouts in kings mill, ford's colony, thank, Williamsburg, York county, Gloucester, poqusan, Hampton, newport news, Norfolk, VA Beach, Suffolk, Chesapeake, Smithfield, portsmouth. Last year I bought me a Nissan Titan with a hard cover lockable tonau cover for the bed. And before you ask, I ALWAYS buy the wife something nice, it deflects her from all I've bought lol.

MelvinWalker said:

So, an estate sale happened a few states away and I looked the items over. Your typical hodgepodge of stuff and I did a little quick counting and made a bid:

View attachment 763042

I did this mainly because of the Pachmayr box. It arrived Friday and I paid particular attention to the NIB looking grip box marked $14.99

View attachment 763043

So then I opened the box...Uh oh:

View attachment 763044

View attachment 763045

View attachment 763047

So, to recap...I ended up with two original Civil War Spencer carbine combination tools, ($125+ each on Ebay), an 1879 US marked Trapdoor Springfield combination tool, ($25) a German WW2 G43/K43 original barrel band, ($50?), some Polish VIS 9mm grips which may be newer repros, a set of older smooth walnut Colt 1911 grips, a new in package, 1970's Colt Python Pachmayr presentation grip and these literally brand spanking new Goncalo silver washer, K frame targets which were probably removed from a brand new gun and put in the Pachmayr box.

Moral to the story...Always check inside Pachmayr boxes. I told my wife when I bid on them, "Y'know....I have seen brand new grips stuck in replacement boxes".

This is exhibit "A" of that.

Click to expand...

Closest thing to that, I bought a stainless Uberti Remington C&B replica off of a gun forum once, "sight unseen" for a hundred bucks. When I got it the gun was practically new. A couple of the chambers were out of spec. I picked up a new cylinder for $65. Issue fixed and it's a keeper.

dobk63 said:

Went to a local auction this morning and only won one lot of 3 boxes of Remington ammo from the '60s; .30 Mauser, .218 Bee, and .32 Auto. Paid $69.30 after premium and tax. Mauser box was partial, .218 was full, and then opened the .32 box and found it full of these....

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Nice find! Looks like a D head stamp so most likely Canadian made. 32 Rim fire is getting quite expensive!