Gun found inside book donated to Maine Goodwill store

KTVL News10 ^ | 02/05/2015 | AP

[aimhigh]

Workers at a Maine Goodwill store got quite a shock when they opened a donated book: They found a gun inside. . .

The book was actually a small safe and inside was a .31-caliber black powder pistol.

Detective Dorothy Small says the department is turning to social media to try and find the gun's owner.

[Darksheare]

Maybe.
Never underestimate how far antigun zealots will go.

[Blue Jays]

Did authorities secure a two-mile perimeter to ensure complete safety For The Children^TM when this happened?

[SpaceBar]

What would that ammunition even look like?

Going out on a limb here but thinking a sphere of lead roughly 0.31 inches in diameter.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

Used to love shooting my replica Navy .36. Fun at night! Flame shoots about 10 feet!

[Darksheare]

I would be exceedingly surprised if they weren’t looking to arrest someone, anyone for it.

[Axenolith]

Not if that book is old, that could be quite the little find there!

[Axenolith]

A .31 inch diameter lead ball.

[CJ Wolf]

[Kirkwood]

Nice. A book with a prize inside.

[ltc8k6]

The gun is a .31-caliber, black powder pistol that was apparently made by Italian gun manufacturer Armi San Marco, which reportedly made replica period firearms in the second half of the 20th century.

[fatboy]

I don’t know what it is but I want one.

[ltc8k6]

Interesting little single shot pistol.

[Hugin]

My guess is somebody died and their heirs donated a bunch of stuff without actually looking through the books. Goes to show, always see if there’s anything in the books and open the back of any pictures. People hide cash there.

[Blue Jays]

I am on the "same sheet of music" with you.
Even if I vaguely thought it might be a gun I inadvertently gave away...I would NOT seek its return.

Great way to find your name splashed on the media, arrested, prosecution, and job loss.
All over a simple gun, that might not even be functional and/or you never knew existed.

Even if police/prosecutors found nothing to link you to a "crime" they would publish a follow-up story on page 48 just behind the comics but before the classifieds section. Nope...wouldn't get myself into that hassle over nothing. NO THANKS!

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

I had one of those years ago in .31 Cal! If you aimed for the center of the chest on a target it would hit the right hip! If you aimed for the shoulder, It would hit the lower chest. It was so underpowered it would not go through common auto glass or the sheet metal.
The sights were way off!

But, in it’s day, it would carry dirt and cloth and trash into the wound causing you to die days later of infection.

[Steven Scharf]

This is a dumb story. The book was not a real book, but a book safe. The gun was a replica that probably does not work. The likelyhood of finding the owner is nil. The “book” came from a central depository here in Maine of all of the Goodwill stores.

Good pr for Goodwill. They should sell the gun, but probably won’t.

[Inyo-Mono]

Used to love shooting my replica Navy .36. Fun at night! Flame shoots about 10 feet!

They are a blast (no pun intended) to shoot!

[Fresh Wind]

Makes you wonder if whomever brought the book in even knew it was in there. Owner could have bought a box of books at auction, got a few good ones out and chucked the rest.

Anything's possible. It was common for people to hide paper money in books in the past, and sometimes you do strike it rich with an old book.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

The first time I pulled the trigger, I got a chain fire! Exciting! Then I bought a can of Crisco!

[Does so]

A black powder pistol? That’s kind of odd to conceal something like that.

In Florida, a black powder firearm is legal for felons to carry or own. It is not considered a "firearm" under Florida law.