New Pocket Model authenticity question.

[S.R.Custom]

So I have this consignment gun listed for sale...

http://tinyurl.com/ycsuu74

...and the history in the listing is as represented to me by the owner. But I don't buy it. It looks too good. Like it's had a restoration within the past 20 years or so. What do y'all think?

[Uncle R.]

I'm no expert so my opinion means nothing.
That said - dang! It sure is pretty...
If it's been refinished outside of the factory whoever did it was a real artist.
Uncle R.

[9.3X62AL]

It's a nice shooting example "on sight", for sure. The lettering and the "rampant Colt" don't show "filling" like some re-blues will. I'm not a collector--I'm a shooter, so a question of rebuild or refinish isn't critical to my needs--if it is done well. The appearance of the ratchet and ejector star's finish isn't as smooth and polished as that of the exterior's luster, but that may only mean firing with corrosive priming and less attention given to cleaning that that given to bore/chambers/exterior. Is the bottom step of the advancing hand's condition consistent with the level of wear shown on the ratchet edges? Finally, the caliber itself may lend itself to very little firing activity for the past 40-50 years. None of the 32s have been real market monsters since WWII, and ammo in 32 Colt has been scarce and expensive for quite some time. It could very well have "sat" since its re-barreling.

Just my random thoughts, bouncing around after seeing the pics.

[lathesmith]

Apparently, the fact that the gun has been re-barreled and re-finished is stated up-front ; the only real question, seems to be when. To most collectors I know, this would just be an academic question, since the gun is not being represented as an original with its original finish. Translated, this means that this gun to these guys would have about the same value whether it was re-furbed in the '30's or the '80's. It's still a re-furb, and a darn nice one at that. Is it worth the asking price? Only the open market can answer that question....
lathesmith

[BLTsandwedge]

Bad news gents,

SuperMag, you mentioned your other auctuions having rounds for the .32 short. California just passed a law banning mail order purchases of ammunition. This from the NRA:

Unfortunately, the Governor did sign AB962. This bill requires individuals purchasing ammunition be fingerprinted and registered at the time of sale, mandates that dealers keep these records and make them available for inspection by the California Department of Justice. Ammunition retailers would also have to store ammunition in such a manner that it would be inaccessible to purchasers. Finally, mail order ammunition sales are prohibited under AB962. Over twenty years ago, Congress abolished similar requirements because ammunition sales records were found to be useless for solving crimes. AB962 is a dire threat to our Second Amendment rights in the Golden State.

Tom

[Dale53]

It appears that our "Republican" Governor is no more a conservative than his wife's family. Surprise, surprise, surprise. That new law will sure put a dent in gun ownership in California (which is it's intent, of course).

Topic at hand - it seems to me that Al and Lathesmith stated it pretty well!

Nice looking little feller, isn't it? That'll be a pain to load for, too...

Dale53

[S.R.Custom]

Yeah, I saw that this morning. Although the provisions of the law don't take effect until 2/1/11...

http://dailypundit.com/?p=36540


I'm really not in the mood to comment on this insanity. But I will say this-- the Tea Party people need to step up the effort. Fewer tea parties and more pitchfork & torch parties. ;)

[9.3X62AL]

Maybe Molotov cocktails instead of tea should start getting served.