mawkie
C&R Whisperer
-Going in I never expected to spend this much but it was all well bought, under market value, so no regrets. The auction catalog was a strange mix of "challenged" and pristine examples. You had to be looking with a clear head and sporting a knowledge of what's correct or you were going to over-spend on something of marginal value. Word from a well informed friend was that the collection came from a Sarco employee.
-For example, Enfield SMLEs. These I know best so I stuck to them. All the No1s but for two were humped with incorrect replacement parts. Most had new furniture that I'm certain wasn't part of a FTR rebuild. The Lithgow No1 was very nice and correct but had a sanded stock that removed the original Aussie markings. The only one I would have bid on was in the "bargain bin" section. An unusual 1918 dated No1 MKIII with cutoff. It would have been built post war using a receiver built to MKIII* configuration. The star was correctly cancelled when the cutoff was installed. That one spoke to me as a SMLE collector. Hopefully whoever got it didn't overpay.
-Me, I was after smalls and a commercial Walther Model 4 which was flying under the radar in what was supposed to be a military only auction.
-Got a pile of books including a reference that I've been chasing for a decade. Had to fight a dealer for my copy of Japanese Cruisers of The Pacific War so I didn't get it stupid cheap but did save $100 over what they normally bring on the market (NOS copies sell for $400). Paid market for the Skennerton British Sniper and Navy Luger books. Paid pennies on the dollar for the books on Russian armor and Luftwaffe aces. The killer buy was the stunningly nice Legion Condor book for $8.
-Snagged four factory Hi Standard mags for half price @ $35 ea. Also grabbed a lot of two holsters. One is a WW2, unmarked German holster for a HSc or other .32 pistol in VG condition. The other was the one I wanted: a Japanese foreign acquisition holster for a FN1910 or similar pistol. It's identical to the one I have for my Japanese FN 1910 but in much better condition. The lot price worked out to $70 ea, a steal in my eyes.
-The Walther Model 4 was also bought very well as 4th variation versions are uncommon as only 20,000 were built before production of the Model 4 stopped in 1928 for the new PP. This one is pristine with the only blems being two scratches on the trigger guard and a tiny bit of edge wear on the left side of the slide. Otherwise it sports a deep high polish factory finish and original mag. Is correctly marked "Made in Germany" as a commercial export to the US. The best Model 4 I've ever seen in person. And as a bonus, the German holster I got fits it like a glove. I'm going to research who imported Walther in the 20s and 30s (Stoeger?) and see if a domestic holster for it can be found.
-Would be interested to hear from other MDS members on what they took home from Redding this weekend.
-For example, Enfield SMLEs. These I know best so I stuck to them. All the No1s but for two were humped with incorrect replacement parts. Most had new furniture that I'm certain wasn't part of a FTR rebuild. The Lithgow No1 was very nice and correct but had a sanded stock that removed the original Aussie markings. The only one I would have bid on was in the "bargain bin" section. An unusual 1918 dated No1 MKIII with cutoff. It would have been built post war using a receiver built to MKIII* configuration. The star was correctly cancelled when the cutoff was installed. That one spoke to me as a SMLE collector. Hopefully whoever got it didn't overpay.
-Me, I was after smalls and a commercial Walther Model 4 which was flying under the radar in what was supposed to be a military only auction.
-Got a pile of books including a reference that I've been chasing for a decade. Had to fight a dealer for my copy of Japanese Cruisers of The Pacific War so I didn't get it stupid cheap but did save $100 over what they normally bring on the market (NOS copies sell for $400). Paid market for the Skennerton British Sniper and Navy Luger books. Paid pennies on the dollar for the books on Russian armor and Luftwaffe aces. The killer buy was the stunningly nice Legion Condor book for $8.
-Snagged four factory Hi Standard mags for half price @ $35 ea. Also grabbed a lot of two holsters. One is a WW2, unmarked German holster for a HSc or other .32 pistol in VG condition. The other was the one I wanted: a Japanese foreign acquisition holster for a FN1910 or similar pistol. It's identical to the one I have for my Japanese FN 1910 but in much better condition. The lot price worked out to $70 ea, a steal in my eyes.
-The Walther Model 4 was also bought very well as 4th variation versions are uncommon as only 20,000 were built before production of the Model 4 stopped in 1928 for the new PP. This one is pristine with the only blems being two scratches on the trigger guard and a tiny bit of edge wear on the left side of the slide. Otherwise it sports a deep high polish factory finish and original mag. Is correctly marked "Made in Germany" as a commercial export to the US. The best Model 4 I've ever seen in person. And as a bonus, the German holster I got fits it like a glove. I'm going to research who imported Walther in the 20s and 30s (Stoeger?) and see if a domestic holster for it can be found.
-Would be interested to hear from other MDS members on what they took home from Redding this weekend.
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