So-called “Bonnie and Clyde” Guns Sell for $130,000
Once again we question the media’s fascination with “legendary” criminals such as Bonnie and Clyde. Vintage firearms, reported to have belonged to the pair of violent bank robbers, have sold at auction for $130,000. There have been several accounts, and many of these note that the value of the guns is based on their connection to the duo.
We must ask, why can’t the media see value in other vintage firearms? Why is it that the media taints firearms except when those are tied to colorful criminals from 80 years ago? Shouldn’t the firearms used by heroes in World War II be of value as well?
Anti-Gun Crowd Targets “Replica Guns”
We’ve long said that the reason anti-gun crowd hates semi-automatic firearms is that they look so darn menacing. Now iWatch News via The Huffington Post claims, “Fatal Texas shooting highlights struggle to regulate replica guns,” noting:
The fatal police shooting earlier this month of a Texas middle school student clutching a BB gun — the latest in a series of incidents involving imitation firearms — spotlights how localities and states have struggled to identify and control both look-alike toys and guns that fire something other than bullets.
Now we agree this was a tragedy, and one that shouldn’t have happened, but this news article doesn’t address all sides of the issue. Instead it limits the focus and throws in no shortage of bias:
And, even though some U.S. cities and states forbid it, kids regularly play with increasingly real-looking guns in neighborhood streets, parks or forests and in their own yards, sometimes attracting police attention that ends in children’s deaths.
Again, we agree these can be tragedies that should and could be avoided. But should we only blame the toy guns? Children have played with realistic looking toy guns for decades. Isn’t part of this really that police are being told too often to shoot first and ask questions second? How often are 10-years shooting at police?
Whilst we understand that this country has seen too many school shootings in the past 20 years, we should understand that the majority of kids aren’t killers and are just playing.
But this article doesn’t address another issue – collectors. If replica guns were banned, it would truly hurt collectors, re-enactors and history buffs. No collector is going to want an orange musket to hang on the wall! Of course these anti-gun zealots don’t care about preserving history when it comes to vintage firearms in the first place!
Historic Guns From Infamous Bank Robbers Auctioned Off
So here is something to consider. The media in the last week has been reporting that guns that belonged to Bonnie and Clyde would go up for auction. These guns actually KILLED people, but because they are associated with the infamous bank robbers it apparently is both newsworthy and acceptable – at least in the eyes of the media.
Now we see many antique firearms as highly collectible and more importantly historically valuable. This goes beyond mere monetary value of course. So we understand why the Bonnie and Clyde guns would be so sought after.
But yet, isn’t the mainstream media that reports on gun buybacks and practically cheers when guns are guns handed in are destroyed. How much potential history is lost there?
Consider that the guns that could end up being destroyed might have been used in World War I or World War II to ensure that we remained the land of the free and home of the brave. But to the media, those are as bad as any gun wielded by a criminal and deserve to be destroyed.
The irony is that media fascination is what made Bonnie and Clyde folk heroes of a sort, so it is no wonder there is sudden fascination with the guns they owned. But it is a pity so many other historic guns simply end up destroyed.
Hartford Gun Buy Back “Takes Guns (including collector’s items) Off the Street”
Among several gun buybacks held this past weekend, the reporting on the one in Hartford, Conn. caught our attention. The CT Mirror reported:
The New Haven haul included 34 handguns, 26 long guns (including three sawed off shotguns), two fully automatic assault rifles and one Uzi. Police gave out gun locks free of charge to anyone turning in a weapon, and individuals were asked to fill out a questionnaire explaining the history of the gun and their motivations for bringing it in. All participants agreed to complete the survey.
“A number of elderly people came in,” said Pina Violana, injury prevention coordinator for Yale-New Haven Hospital. She helped coordinate the event. “They said they just wanted the guns out of their house — they had grandkids and worried for their safety but didn’t know how to get rid of them,” she said.
Some of the guns could have been considered collector’s items.
We are scratching our head s on this one. We aren’t sure if this is a mistake in the reporting, but if someone handed in two fully automatic assault rifles, would they really fill out the questionnaire?
But we make special note of the final line above, “some of the guns could have been considered collector’s items.” Despite that fact it is likely those firearms will still be destroyed, reportedly crushed and melted down. What a sad fate for “collector’s items.”
Gun Values – Historic Colt Lightning Pump Carbine – I have this old gun.
Jim Supica of the NRA National Firearms Museum evaluates a Colt Lightning pump carbine with a special history on American Rifleman TV’s “I have this old gun”, episode 505
Gun Collecting: Sad Turn for Wabasha Museum
This past week we heard a sad story about the Arrowheads Bluffs Museum from the Winona Daily News in a story titled, “Wabasha museum owner: It’s time to be done.” The paper offered this somber passage:
“Buses don’t stop at the Arrowhead Bluffs Museum anymore; they all go straight to the casinos. Riverboats don’t bring loads of people willing to drive up to the farm, sitting atop a bluff west of Wabasha.”
Perhaps this passage explains the situation even better:
“And the last time Les Behrns had a school group visit his homemade museum, it just wasn’t the same. ‘Kids have no interest in history,’ he said Wednesday. ‘They pull out their phones and start texting right away.’”
The sad fact is that this sounded like an amazing museum:
“In 2008, he auctioned much of his coveted Winchester collection, some 260 guns and more than 800 shell boxes. Pieces of his former collection now reside all over the world — more than a third of the items were shipped overseas — and more will soon join them. Les said his remaining collection has drawn interest from as far as Saudi Arabia.”
It is simply the sad state of our interest in history.
Firearms from the MAX
Some "heavy" guns from our friends at International Military Antiques were on display (and on sale). Just bring a trailer!
Fall means many things, kids go back to school. Football season starts, Christmas is just around the corner, and it means it is time for the MAX (Military Antiques Xtravaganza). The annual show is taking place this weekend at the Monroeville Convention Center, just outside of Pittsburgh, PA. And a look at the firearms of the show proves it is firearpower to the MAX! Read more
Truro Daily News: A Firearms Collector’s Delight
Canadian newspaper Truro Daily News offered a fascinating story about a gun collector this past weekend. It was an interesting read, and one that is normally left out of mainstream newspapers. Instead of talking about buybacks, gun crime and other negatives of firearms, this one showed that guns can be worthy of collecting.
The story notes:
“Ross MacInnis was 10 years old when he built his first gun. Now, 78 years later, the Shubenacadie man estimates he’s owned about 6,000 firearms in his lifetime.
It is an interesting story about a great collection, and the start of a worthy club, the Maritime Arms Collectors Association.
Gun Collecting: Gun Trusts
To many gun owners it may be as much “in guns we trust” as it is “in god we trust.” But this week Forbes.com offered another thought. Instead of putting your trust in guns, how about putting your guns in a trust. Contributor Peter J. Reilly offered this thought:
“Gun Trusts are used for two main reasons. The first is to expedite a transfer of a National Firearms Act firearm. Using a trust means you do not have to obtain the approval of your local Chief Law Enforcement Officer (CLEO) and the application can be sent directly to BATF. This saves a lot of time. Registration of a NFA firearm to an individual or corporation takes approximately one to three months to complete. The firearm cannot be handled or transported by any other private individual unless the firearm’s registered owner is present. However, NFA items owned by properly drafted trusts may be legally possessed by any Trustee and a beneficiary may use the item in the presence or under the authority of the Trustee. The second reason is to provide detailed instructions over disposition of one’s gun collection.”
Forbes.com: Gun Collections Pose Special Estate Problems
Gun Collecting: Julia’s fall firearms auction billed as an extraordinary event
—A rare Colt rimfire in extraordinary condition, and believed to be the finest known example is estimated for $175,000-$275,000.
Our friends at Military Trader are reporting that James D. Julia auction will hold its fall firearms auction Oct. 4-5. The sale will feature more than $10 million in sale value including a diverse, fresh-to-the-market grouping of rare and valuable items.
Session 1 begins with rare and collectible Class III firearms. Included in this auction is one of the rarest and possibly most desirable Class III item available. The Colt AR-15 M1 #106 original select fire test rifle is known as the “Coconut Rifle”. Prior to the Vietnam War, Colt developed this model and produced 20 examples for sales promotion. This specific one was the primary test gun fired by General Curtis LeMay who targeted watermelon, coconuts and other flora and fauna. LeMay was so impressed he immediately ordered 10,000 units for the USAF and the M-16 was born. This exact gun was also tested by President John F. Kennedy and various other dignitaries. The gun carries what is thought to be a conservative presale estimate at $40,000-60,000.
