Possible M1917 Buy

[Art]

I stopped at a hock shop. The proprietor there and I are on good terms and he has cut me a break on stuff in the past, though I've never bought a gun from him.

He showed me an M1917 (Eddystone) that had walked in the door. It had some "patina" but no pitting. It was pretty gummed up I suspect with cosmoline. The stock is a high point, only a few dents and dings, the hand guard is a replacement but a nice one, looks like it hasn't been refinished. I told the old boy I'd check it out when he got it cleaned up. If the bore bright and shiny and the MW is reasonable I just might buy it. I don't think $600.00 will be a bad price if it cleans up like I think it will. We'll see..........

[Col. Colt]

With the Anniversary of WWI looming, (and the steady decline in what a dollar is worth) a decent M1917 should be worth $600! Good luck on it! CC

[joem]

If the barrel is in good shape it's a fair price to pay. Not a steal but a good price IMHO.

[RC20]

$600 and a good MW reading I think so. If the mfg all match for sure. If in cosmoline ne at least some chance not issued.

you might pick up Steven Mathews TE/MW gage as that allows you to chew the Throat Erosion as there are cases of a good MW and a bad TE due to use of blanks.

His email is fatmatthews2@hotmail.com>; Price is $54 (its the 1903 gauge but is right on for MW and TE is very close though not calibrated) I can get you address if interested.

Its what he calls a hobby level gauge, good enough precision to give you a good idea of what you have.

[Art]

Well, no M1917.

I showed up Friday, MW wear gauge in hand to make the final decision on the rifle, but the old boy that had hocked it decided he wanted it and the other three guns he pawned back. The loan period had expired but the dealer who jokingly said he's like the prostitute with a heart of gold let him have the guns back for the additional interest plus a little extra for the time one of his guys spend degunking the M1917. The dealer was a bit unhappy with the old boy because after agreeing to let him have them back which is actually costing him money the fellow didn't show up on the appointed date. I suspect he was scrounging up the money.

I told the dealer that I would have made a point of telling the fellow just how close that M1917 had come to walking out the door.

Oh well, easy come easy go.

[Dick Hosmer]

Sometimes you just have to strike when the opportunity presents. Over 50 years of collecting, and with a very modest budget at that, I can truthfully say that I have regretted WAY more pass-ups than purchases. Does that mean that one should be fool-hardy? No, of course not - I always did my homework. and in most cases probably knew more about any given gun than the seller. My first thought here is that if you had taken the gun when it was available, and cleaned it yourself, that the shop owner (given your relationship) would have taken it back if you didn't like the results - no harm, no foul.

[RC20]

The one good score I got was pure lucky. I walked into the store and was looking at a Luger (all matching). Price was a bit high, the local Luger exert walked in, gave it his blessing though he had several similar ones and not interested. Going on that I traded a couple of harder to move guns for a fair price. Knowing you are not dealing with BS types is all good (store guy I knew and his take on the Luger guy was right on).

Know your basic stuff or who to trust.