Gun collection

[4x4x454]

I found out he also had Smith&Wesson and Colt collections some were still looking.

 

[Iggy]

You might check with the Cody Firearms Museum in Cody Wyoming.

http://www.bbhc.org/firearms/index.cfm

They have a very extensive Winchester collection and may be familiar with your FIL

Good luck.

 

[4x4x454]

Thank you but I have checked there and they don't have them. What I don't understand is some of the museums I contact do not reply.

Originally posted by Iggy:
You might check with the Cody Firearms Museum in Cody Wyoming.

http://www.bbhc.org/firearms/index.cfm

They have a very extensive Winchester collection and may be familiar with your FIL

Good luck.

 

[feralmerril]

I dont trust museums for a secound! Where I was raised as a boy, they had a colt .36 navy that was taken off cole younger just before the northfield raid. After the news of the raid someone noticed "from major quantrill to C younger" burnt on the inside of the flap of the holster! The police chiefs daughter had donated it to the oshkosh wisconsin museum. I belive the younger/james gang had taken their horses on the train to oshkosh on the way to northfield. The gun was taken off younger for vagrancy! I seen it a number of times as it intrigued me, yet I never seen it wrote up in any magazines or articles. Kind of a sleeper to the rest of the world.
Anyway, I went home to the museum to take another look at it about 10 years ago, and it and many more were gone. Now they went into murales with just a gun or two. I asked the museum currator about it. He just shrugged his shoulders and said I dont know. Maybe its in storage somewhere! He wasnt a gun guy. A old secatary heard me and said I remember that gun! She said we used to sell a picture postcard of it in the gift shop. I had her fish around for a card in storage and she did find one and I bought it. I have that card somewhere and havent been able to locate it, but someday I will and post it. Its a proof of history of the route the james gang took to northfield and lost to known history! And can you imanage the double history of that gun owned both by quantrill AND cole younger when he was with quantrills raiders, then rideing with jesse james? That museum partialy burned about 15 years ago. Its probley in the damp water damaged basement storage along with much other historical guns and items!
Yeah, be patriotic and give your guns to a museum! MY ASS!

 

[4x4x454]

My father in law had an old tin type of the Youngers.

 

[normanvin]

I would think that there would be some kind of a paper trail. I would want a receipt from a museum stated what was loaned. Maybe a contract.

 

[animalmother]

If his guns are in some museums, I would think he would have some paper work showing the transfer and the terms.

 

[feralmerril]

I would start by trying to locate old personnal close friends of his and seeing what they know. Cant you also go through old tax returns? If he did donate, records must exist somewhere.
As a aside, recently I think on the colt forum, someone asked a question that haunts me and caused me some sole searching. He asked if you collectors woke up one morning and was the only person left on earth, would we raid museums etc to add fine colts to our collection, or would it no longer matter without the human factor of haveing others admire our collection? Made me think!

 

[sonny]

Check his insurance company. He would have had riders on those guns. Good luck and forget the stupid remarks. Those guys are trying to insert humor where none is asked for...and they've failed miserably.
Sonny

 

[4x4x454]

Thanks for all who have had suggestions no luck so far but I will not give up. They are supposed to be worth well over a MIL.

 

[4x4x454]

Well we got some of them. I will now be getting some safes.
Here are some of the S&W most are NIB. Still looking for the rest But heired a PI that is former FBI so hopefully it wont be to long.

 

[4x4x454]

And some more. Most of them have not been fired since they left the factory.

 

[gjamison]

wheres the winchester's?

 

[feralmerril]

They laughed when I sat down to the piano!

 

[4x4x454]

Here are a few. Need to find the rest. We are still missing over 700 guns
but have a felling it wont be to long now. One the bed it starts whith a 1873 and gets newer from there. The ones leaning on the wall are shotguns. Winchester on the right. I really like the Model 10 lever action 10ga its in about 90-95%. But still looking.

 

[handejector]

GOOD for you.
We'd love to hear the details!

Do NOT store the guns in those wooden presentation cases!

 

[pharmer]

Ya done good 4By. I must confess that when I read this 2 years ago, I filed it under "pile of male bovine excrement." This is the greatest of possible outcomes. Now when do I get my share of dear Uncle Reginald's guns? Joe

 

[LoadedRound]

I'm just enjoying the pictures.
There's got to be a great story behind all this.

 

[HCD]

Ya- same as some of the others on details. Where were they? How did the PI find'em?

 

[ogilvyspecial]

Where were they?

That's what I was curious about, not so much the specifics, more along the lines of how widely they were disbursed.

Were they kind of in one region of the country, or all over??