Did an ATF Form-6 import for a Franchi SPAS-15 from the Canadian distributor. That was the magazine feed variant of the SPAS-12. Rare piece, but just as awfully built and awkward to handle. Hated it & never regretted selling it.
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Guns I laughed at but now regret not buying
- Thread starter buffalowinter
- Start date
This kind of goes hand in hand with old 1903's, Mausers, Enfields and Mosins. There were literally barrels full of them that took years and years to sell for as cheap as $20. My dad always commented they were just old pieces of junk. Nobody knew which ones were the good ones. Well, my dads uncle was a gunsmith and DID know which ones were good or not. I wish I had been snapping them up when they were that cheap. I love Mausers now.
Shooting a 788 vs a 700(and clone) in off hand comps, like NRA bigbore metallic silhouette, is almost like cheating due to the extremely short locktime of the 788. If the triggers are pulled at exactly the same time in a 788 vs 700 shootout the bullet from the 788 is in the air before the 700 fireingpin has hit the primer in the 700.
nah,
a pallet or two of Valmet's, those FAMAS, and the Beretta AR70's and of course a pallet of HK94's, from the mid 80's
This thread was definitely on my mind today. Was in Cabelas today and looking at a well loved Miroku over-under for the 4th time in a few weeks. Decided it was finally time to bring it home or regret it later.
ETA: If any of you guys know much about these and can give me more info I’d appreciate it. It’s a Charles Daly Venture 12ga made by Miroku. I know it’s late 60s-early 70s and basically the same gun as a Citori.
ETA: If any of you guys know much about these and can give me more info I’d appreciate it. It’s a Charles Daly Venture 12ga made by Miroku. I know it’s late 60s-early 70s and basically the same gun as a Citori.
That about sums them up. Sort of Badge Engineered Daly.
That said, as shooters, fantastic guns! Miroku was very high quality and had very innovative manufacturing techniques for the time. It was the Zenith of Japanese QC and manufacturing ability.
They are not super valuable, but doubt you could ever find a comparable new gun for the price. And you could probably shoot it for three lifetimes and never wear it out.
Nice catch! You will not regret the purchase!
Sirhr
there was a guy , maybe from Tx or Louisanna, that set up at the Showplace show in Richmond Va for a few years that had one, and a pile of odd and neat modern (for the time) ''assault rifles''
wanna say back then it was $5K,, but honestly cannot remember
I did let a PE57 slide, as in I was supposed to take it home , but did not feel that was right so told Dad if it did not sell at the next show, I would
next show was a very small show in a hotel in Charlottesville Va, and it was the first gun sold at $3500,, that was in the early 90's
still kicking myself
I had a nickel P7M13, and sold it...HK P7M8 - I had a couple of opportunities when I was a lad, but blew my $$ on a 79 trans am which I wrecked less than 6 mo later
Glad you didn't laugh and brought it home. They are excellent guns. I have the Citori version, but so what, it was built at Miroku. Best bird hunting gun I've ever owned. Took 29 quail down in Nevada one year out of 32 shots. Just pattern it, and see how it fits. I'm kind of short and stocky and mine fits great. The worst shotgun I ever owned was my Remington 870 Wingmaster. It didn't fit me for shit. I had to practice throwing it forward and bringing it back into my shoulder. My Citori (MIroku), I just brought up.
As to how it works, it's just recoil actuated arming. It cocks on opening the action and of course it goes on safe when it does. The safety is dual. Forward and away arms the lower barrel, IIRC. And, Forward and toward the right arms the upper barrel first. Mine is I/C lower and Mod upper chokes. Added: One of the great things with this is the auto ejectors. Makes reloads very fast. Also, what sirhr said, they won't be worth as much as the Belgian made O/U's for Browning, but they work every bit as good.
You'll like this shotgun.
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Really appreciate the info @sirhrmechanic and @sandwarrior, I’ll report back after I hit the range with it!
Update: shot a couple rounds of trap today and I’m in love! Seems like someone converted the ejectors to extractors and honestly I don’t mind it. Fits me way better than my 870 and swings so well.
Update: shot a couple rounds of trap today and I’m in love! Seems like someone converted the ejectors to extractors and honestly I don’t mind it. Fits me way better than my 870 and swings so well.
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Those SSA M40s were tempting back then. Maybe with McMillan producing some new smear stocks the SSA and Remington could make a complete repro/tribute M40A1? Likely a pricey beast it would be.
I didn't buy mine "cheap", and even still the price has more than doubled. So having a few more stashed away would be nice.
Ruger boat paddles! Yikes, the ugly, heavy gun nobody wanted and stores couldn't give away,now people are paying silly money for them. That would have been an investment nobody saw coming.
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I don't really expect some huge drop in pricing. I was just thinking what could be accomplished with all new pieces. A future addition for the reget list in 20 years.
Pick the wrong ones and you will be selling guns.
Just look at all of the for sale stuff here.
I would say it depends on your outlook on things. I'll agree, as much as I hear it in the gun world, they aren't great "investments". However, if you want something to shoot and take care of, they can at least hold their own. Bottom line is you want to have them. Either they are cool (to you) or you like shooting them. If they hold their own or even gain, that is a worthwhile investment.
Back in the early 90's I worked at Turner's Outdoorsman in Reseda, CA. The employee Discount was Cost +10%. I had a SP-89 on layaway just before the ban for $625. My timing chain gave out on my Toyota at about the $500 mark and I had to eat the DROS+$30 restocking fee to live. None of my friends/family could see the value in it and loan me some money even at 25% interest! The other big regret was Sham at Sherwood/Northridge Importers offered me a pallet of 1000 Fal mags for $900 the month before the Assault Weapons Ban. At the next Pomona Show I saw FAL mags being gobbled up for $20-$25 a mag as the CAI FrankenCanuckFals had just hit the market.
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I remember in the later '80's STEN guns for $600-800 and kit/repro MP-40's for $900-$1200. A couple buddies who were into re-enacting WW2 tried to talk me into the then Secret Squirrel $200 NFA Gun Club... but it was all to mysterious and scary back then.
The Big Secret on all things German/European was the G7 revalued the dollar in the fall of 1987 and the price of everything HK, S&B and Steyr etc. doubled over the next year/s. The most expensive "Cool Gun" I had seen back then was a SIG AMT at Martin B Retting for about $1200. The Recycler in SoCal had 4-5 pages of gun adds with used HK 91s, 93's and 94's for $400-$500 depending on accessories while B&B Guns were selling all three BNIB for $489. SP-1 Colts were $350-$400 used in the Recycler when you could buy a BNIB Mini-14 blued for $239. BNIB FALS and AUG's were in the $700 range. B&B had a sale on FNC Folders and Valmets M-78's for $499 for a .308 in 1985-1987 while the other Valmet models were in the $500+ range. Used Uzi's were $400ish and $500+ in the stores. Daewoos and Ar-180's were down in the $250-$350 range. No one could believe it in the summer of 1989 when California stopped Private Party sales and EVERYTHING changed.I should have stocked up on HK91 to HK94
The dirtiest, greasiest M14 mags were $35 at Numrich back then.
I left the Air Force after 10 years in the early 1990's. Broke, recently divorced from a horrible woman who dragged me into court monthly, going to college and trying to rebuild my life. A local gun store was my happy place. I could buy a modest priced gun, lightly shoot it for a month and trade it in for a $50 dollar loss and buy another one whenever I had cash. They had $69 SKS, 1200 cans of AK ammo for $49 bucks. 10 gun cases of SKS for $599. I hardly had cash for a Happy Meal. It was a tough time, but damn, I'd have bought it all if I had the cash.
I did buy two NIB milled Chinese SKS and two cases of ammo. A few months later, Bill Clinton banned the import and the ATF declared the ammo, "armor piercing" and stopped the import. Prices sky rocketed and I sold it all to fund my college classes.
I did buy two NIB milled Chinese SKS and two cases of ammo. A few months later, Bill Clinton banned the import and the ATF declared the ammo, "armor piercing" and stopped the import. Prices sky rocketed and I sold it all to fund my college classes.
If I remember right, the excuse to ban the 7.62x39 was because a company (I forget which) had a made an AR pistol in that caliber so that made the ammo 'pistol' ammo and that allowed them to ban it since we weren't allowed AP pistol rounds. Lots of old surplus was still around quite cheap in those days.
Yes, they went with some crap like that as the excuse. It was mild steel core over gilding metal, the cheapest way to make ammo, very common in 3rd world countries.
These were never cheap in at-the-time dollars either. C. 1990 I actually handled one for sale (as I did quite like them) and it was north of $5000 even then. College kid? Might as well have been One Million Dollars.
Yep, they "reinterpreted" the way they saw things to screw us. Had people threatening anyone who talked about making a 5.56 pistol. They didn't want to lose their 62gr. Then, in a number of years, everyone wanted a big pistol with a brace. A few reinterpretations and we get screwed again. But hopefully the fed boys get a big back handed B-slap over it.
Back in 1978 I was offered an HK93 with 4 mags for $400. However as a poor college student it might as well have been $20K. Still regret not finding a way.
