mawkie
C&R Whisperer
-I've a habit of grabbing hard to find accessories when they can be had on the cheap, even if I don't own the firearm they're designed for (yet). That's what happened two years ago at Redding in Gettysburg. I was there for an M1 carbine but saw a nice Roth Steyr 1907 holster loaded with Steyr Hahn strippers and ammo in with the smalls. Went for and got it for a really good price. Then the search started for a German issue Steyr Hahn, which was the last pistol to live in this holster.
-Fast forward two years and still no German S-H. Then up pops a listing for a Jo-Lo-Ar in rare .380 in a tiny rural VA auction. The odd Spanish pistol is in pretty rough shape with little finish left so I'm not overly enthused. But in the same auction photo is a nice looking Roth Steyr 1907. At this time I'm plowing as much money as I can into a new car kitty, looking to replace my old SAABaru. So I'm initially thinking this is gonna cost way more than I want to spend right now. RS 1907s normally hammer well above $1K with the excellent examples hitting $2-3K.
-But you can't win if you don't play. So I put in a throw-away absentee bid of $650 and figure I'll never hear from the auction house. Up comes auction day and I'm in Fallston at a car dealership dropping off my old SAABaru as a trade-in on a new GTI. I'm sitting in the new car when the phone rings and I see a VA number pop up. No way! Yup, got it for $5 below my max bid! Roughly half of what one of these normally sell for.
-She showed up today and it's in better condition than the weak auction photos showed. Austrian unit marked ID disc, Steyr manufacturer. A beeeg pistol for an 8mm cartridge that's anything but a powerhouse. Cocking the action is stiff as is the DA trigger. No manual safety. Fills the hands nicely, loads the internal magazine via stripper clip. That stripper is unique to the 1907 and they're crazy expensive when you can find them (we're talking $250 range per clip). Fiocchi ammo is out there for these. Just gotta find that rare stripper.
-Fast forward two years and still no German S-H. Then up pops a listing for a Jo-Lo-Ar in rare .380 in a tiny rural VA auction. The odd Spanish pistol is in pretty rough shape with little finish left so I'm not overly enthused. But in the same auction photo is a nice looking Roth Steyr 1907. At this time I'm plowing as much money as I can into a new car kitty, looking to replace my old SAABaru. So I'm initially thinking this is gonna cost way more than I want to spend right now. RS 1907s normally hammer well above $1K with the excellent examples hitting $2-3K.
-But you can't win if you don't play. So I put in a throw-away absentee bid of $650 and figure I'll never hear from the auction house. Up comes auction day and I'm in Fallston at a car dealership dropping off my old SAABaru as a trade-in on a new GTI. I'm sitting in the new car when the phone rings and I see a VA number pop up. No way! Yup, got it for $5 below my max bid! Roughly half of what one of these normally sell for.
-She showed up today and it's in better condition than the weak auction photos showed. Austrian unit marked ID disc, Steyr manufacturer. A beeeg pistol for an 8mm cartridge that's anything but a powerhouse. Cocking the action is stiff as is the DA trigger. No manual safety. Fills the hands nicely, loads the internal magazine via stripper clip. That stripper is unique to the 1907 and they're crazy expensive when you can find them (we're talking $250 range per clip). Fiocchi ammo is out there for these. Just gotta find that rare stripper.
