Photog
Member
Did a few day trips this last four days with the wife...time to get out of town for awhile. Went to a small town here in Colorado and visited the local museum. A VERY good experience. I knew it was going to be good when I walked into the museum and happened to see an old Savage 99 sitting on a elk head mount. Just out of curiosity, I asked the caliber. The volunteer turned, took the rifle down and handed it to me to inspect! I then proceeded to other parts of the museum where he explained they were a "hands on" museum. Handled a bunch of WWI uniforms, WWII uniforms from all branches, old tools, medical supplies and numerus firearms. Each item had a tag on it saying who it belonged to, who donated it and if possible a bit of history. Saw an old single shot shotgun that was quite unusual as it was similar to an H&R or Iver Johnson, but had a barrel with a solid rib on it. Never seen one like that before. Spent the better part of two hours there and want to go back for more.
The not so good experience is that I stopped by a gunshow. I had taken a few items to sell or trade, including a 2nd gen Colt SAA in box, 1st issue Colt Cobra in box, a couple of Randall knives and fairly decent Remington Rand 1911A1. I stopped by one table where a gentelman had a gun I was interested in. It was marked at $1350. He asked me what I had to trade and I told him everything that was in my case. His reply was, "Well all of that would come pretty close to an even trade, just about $200 shy on your part." I was a polite person and left before I really started laughing. A few tables later my wife spotted one of the new M29 classics. The seller had a pic of Dirty Harry next to it and proceeded to tell my wife that that was the exact same gun that Clint Eastwood carried in all of the movies. She knows enough about Dirty Harry and his M29 to know what to ask. When she said she thought the one used was a bit older, without the internal lock and such things as different grips, different markings on the barrel, no MIM parts and such, he proceeded to "correct" her and inform her that the gun has been manufactured the exact same since its introduction in 1935 as the first magnum handgun. He told her that she could take one made in 1935 and the one in front of her and without looking at the serial number, even the manufacturer could not tell the difference.
It is disappointing that sellers at gunshows have to act like that. They should know enough about the items they are selling to carry on an intelligent conversation. As for the slightly lopsided trade, don't treat someone like a moron...there is a good chance somone will know more about it than they will ever possibly be able to learn.
The not so good experience is that I stopped by a gunshow. I had taken a few items to sell or trade, including a 2nd gen Colt SAA in box, 1st issue Colt Cobra in box, a couple of Randall knives and fairly decent Remington Rand 1911A1. I stopped by one table where a gentelman had a gun I was interested in. It was marked at $1350. He asked me what I had to trade and I told him everything that was in my case. His reply was, "Well all of that would come pretty close to an even trade, just about $200 shy on your part." I was a polite person and left before I really started laughing. A few tables later my wife spotted one of the new M29 classics. The seller had a pic of Dirty Harry next to it and proceeded to tell my wife that that was the exact same gun that Clint Eastwood carried in all of the movies. She knows enough about Dirty Harry and his M29 to know what to ask. When she said she thought the one used was a bit older, without the internal lock and such things as different grips, different markings on the barrel, no MIM parts and such, he proceeded to "correct" her and inform her that the gun has been manufactured the exact same since its introduction in 1935 as the first magnum handgun. He told her that she could take one made in 1935 and the one in front of her and without looking at the serial number, even the manufacturer could not tell the difference.
It is disappointing that sellers at gunshows have to act like that. They should know enough about the items they are selling to carry on an intelligent conversation. As for the slightly lopsided trade, don't treat someone like a moron...there is a good chance somone will know more about it than they will ever possibly be able to learn.
