Posted on 10/11/2011 9:17:15 AM PDT by Stoutcat
“...a Walther PPK in .22lr, probably makes collectors wince..”
Stop, stop! You’re breaking my heart! I bought a .22 cal Walther PPK in 1970 at a NATO R&G club for $56.00. Traded it in 1985 as partial for a perfect I mean perfect Mauser C1930 Broomhandle pistol from the original WWII vet who liberated it and I still have that one but I’m kicking myself yet for letting go of that wonderful 007 gem.
Oh well you’re not a real collector if you don’t have self inflicted footprints on your third point of contact.
How about this: I found a Norwegian .45 M1914 in perfect matching condition and used it for a while and then sold it for peanuts to a friend of mine.
Or, try this: I bought my first Garand rifle at a gun show in 1970 for $125 and it had a bunch of unusual features - an odd gas system, and odd rear sight and a strange coloration to the receiver. I carried that puppy on all my hikes, shot lots of cheap surplus ammo and then when another friend showed interest, sold it to him for $125 (even threw in an original bayonet). Turned out to be an experimental version of the M-1 that was sent to Britain in 1941 - had over a dozen proofs on the breech, had I known what to look for.
Ow.
I’ll see your Garand and raise you one Walther PPK which I bought in 1971 from the WWII vet who brought it back. I was in a gun shop and intercepted this guy before he reached the counter and gave him $105 for it. Like new in the holster extra mag. Sold it three years later for $175 because I needed the money (note to self, nobody should ever need money that badly).
I have not sold a gun since just before Clinton was elected. That one was a perfect PolyTech AK Legend which have since more than tripled for what I sold it for.
To some the Norwegian 1911 is a .45 with a funny slide release. I know, I passed on one because I thought $400 was too much. Oooof....
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