Dream Rifle Obtained - Battleship Row Rifle

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  • Drmsparks

    Old School Rifleman
    Jun 26, 2007
    8,441
    PG county
    I love where your research ends up. Thank you for sharing your awesome find!
     

    mawkie

    C&R Whisperer
    Sep 28, 2007
    4,337
    Catonsville
    Really, this is an awesome find. Don't let Mawkie know though.:innocent0

    I'm sooooooooo jazzed at seeing this!! I'm a huge naval history buff, esp. of the dreadnought period. I've seen Ross rifles from HMS Canada and of course the famous Winchester Lee Navy rifles salvaged from the USS Maine. But nothing from Pearl Harbor. Amazing find, hearty congratulations!!
     

    SmokeEaterPilot

    Active Member
    Jun 3, 2011
    524
    Thanks for the kind words everyone. This is one of my Holy Grails. The rifle was relatively cheap, the seller is one of my subscribers/clients and knew what he had. He said "I took pity on you." Which I am perfectly fine with.

    Not all documented firearms are this exciting. Most are simple inspections, repair or lost memos, this is kinda outside the norm.
     

    mawkie

    C&R Whisperer
    Sep 28, 2007
    4,337
    Catonsville
    THIS is why I love collecting firearms. Yes, I enjoy shooting but the story of a firearm is so fascinating to me. IMHO this 1903 is like a Porsche 917 that has a successful race history. It's what collectors pine after and chase.
    Thank you so much for posting. It was getting a little stale here. What a nice surprise!
     

    SmokeEaterPilot

    Active Member
    Jun 3, 2011
    524
    THIS is why I love collecting firearms. Yes, I enjoy shooting but the story of a firearm is so fascinating to me. IMHO this 1903 is like a Porsche 917 that has a successful race history. It's what collectors pine after and chase.
    Thank you so much for posting. It was getting a little stale here. What a nice surprise!

    Yeah it's crazy without the paperwork it's just a regular mixmaster rebuild. My mentor who got me into this always told me:

    "people will always say, if this rifle could talk. Well it can just gotta speak the language."

    I'm finishing up another one now. That one is just as intriguing I'll post it when I finish that one. But I'm waiting on my FOIA request with the Army, they still maintain the DCM sales records from pre-WWII.
     

    mawkie

    C&R Whisperer
    Sep 28, 2007
    4,337
    Catonsville
    Well done. A find like that isn't luck, it's lots and lots of hard work. Congratulations to you, sir!

    Truth! And being educated enough on the subject to recognize a diamond when you see it. Then being fortunate enough to have the means to acquire it.
     

    TheOriginalMexicanBob

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 2, 2017
    32,176
    Sun City West, AZ
    The concept of "luck" is much misunderstood. What most consider luck is really opportunity + preparation coming together. Sometimes you run into something great but aren't prepared to handle it. Sometimes you're prepared but the opportunity doesn't present itself. When you're prepared and the opportunity arises...you go for it.

    If you buy a lottery ticket and it hits...that's luck.
     

    trickg

    Guns 'n Drums
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 22, 2008
    14,597
    Glen Burnie
    Thanks for the kind words everyone. This is one of my Holy Grails. The rifle was relatively cheap, the seller is one of my subscribers/clients and knew what he had. He said "I took pity on you." Which I am perfectly fine with.

    Not all documented firearms are this exciting. Most are simple inspections, repair or lost memos, this is kinda outside the norm.
    Define "cheap." Given the provenance, I'd tend to think that this rifle would be somewhat valuable.
     

    Sirex

    Powered by natural gas
    Oct 30, 2010
    10,380
    Westminster, MD
    That is really awesome!!!!

    You wouldn't trade for a Mosin I heard was used by Lenin's brother's stepsister's father in law, would you?
     

    SmokeEaterPilot

    Active Member
    Jun 3, 2011
    524
    Define "cheap." Given the provenance, I'd tend to think that this rifle would be somewhat valuable.

    I don't want to throw too much out there might+ be seen as rude or gloating. But I essentially got the rifle with cash + trade. Less than 1k total investment.

    The seller knew exactly what he had, so I didn't take advantage of him. He's a friend and a subscriber to my side business. He was doing me a favor. A VERY generous favor. We had a couple rounds of bourbon the night of the sale while talking US guns in our collections. So it was the best transactions I've personally had, every way I looked at it.
     

    trickg

    Guns 'n Drums
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 22, 2008
    14,597
    Glen Burnie
    I don't want to throw too much out there might+ be seen as rude or gloating. But I essentially got the rifle with cash + trade. Less than 1k total investment.

    The seller knew exactly what he had, so I didn't take advantage of him. He's a friend and a subscriber to my side business. He was doing me a favor. A VERY generous favor. We had a couple rounds of bourbon the night of the sale while talking US guns in our collections. So it was the best transactions I've personally had, every way I looked at it.
    That's just the way it goes sometimes. I recently made a deal on a very nice/special firearm and the seller could have made a lot more money on it than they did, but they sold it to me for just what they had in it because they knew it was something I would truly appreciate and take care of.

    Congrats to you on that acquisition!
     

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