Free Revolver

[wch]

I got a call from a friend in California yesterday. He told me that his neighbor had a "pistol" that she didn't want in her house since her husband had passed away, and would he like it?
He went over to look at the gun and she told him that her husband had been offered $800 for it by an acquaintance but he decided not to sell it to the other man.
My friend asked if he could look at the "pistol" and discovered that it is a Colt Diamondback, 6 inch barrel, 22 caliber!
He, being an ethical man, told the widow of the value of the gun and she insisted that he have it at no cost. He struck a deal with the widow as far as lawn care and general maintenance around the house and he's the very happy new owner.
I never seem to run into these deals!

[rondog]

How sad. "Ew! A gun! Get it out of my house!"

[StuBach]

Good on your friend for offering to assist with the house maintenance in exchange cause she wouldn’t take money. I’m guessing widow feels doubly happy now, she got rid of the gun which she views as trash and she gets help with stuff, double win for her.

[nvbirdman]

I will assume (of course I will not ask) that your friend complied with all relevant California laws and waiting period, just like all of us on this forum would.

[single shot jimmy]

i will assume (of course i will not ask) that your friend complied with all relevant california laws and waiting period, just like all of us on this forum would.

lol

[1I-Jack]

I will assume (of course I will not ask) that your friend complied with all relevant California laws and waiting period, just like all of us on this forum would.

Probably lost it boating the next weekend...

[45workhorse]

Yep that surf off the left coast is really bad!

[Geezer in NH]

++++++++++++++++

[GOPHER SLAYER]

A friend of mine was given a Colt 45 1911 and holster by his neighbor. She was an elderly lady who found out he collected guns. Her husband was an officer in the Corps of Engineers during the 1916 expedition that spent a lot of time looking for Poncho Villa. Without success I should point out. In those days, officers bought their own side arms. I don't think he mowed her lawn. He didn't mow his own.

[bedbugbilly]

Good for your friend!

Hmmmm . . . . a deceased man's gun . . . is this one of those "ghost guns" that "Socialist Joe" is referring to?

[thegatman]

Spooky

[lightman]

Good on your friend for being a stand up guy and being honest with the Widow.

[imashooter2]

How sad. "Ew! A gun! Get it out of my house!"

The house I live in formerly belonged to my wife's Aunt and Uncle. He was a shot gunner and bird hunter. The house has a nice built in gun cabinet, unfortunately empty. It seems when the Uncle died his good friends helped the widow out by removing those dangerous Parker, Purdey and Davis doubles before they killed her.

[clum553946]

The house I live in formerly belonged to my wife's Aunt and Uncle. He was a shot gunner and bird hunter. The house has a nice built in gun cabinet, unfortunately empty. It seems when the Uncle died his good friends helped the widow out by removing those dangerous Parker, Purdey and Davis doubles before they killed her.

I believe karma catches up with such actions.

[jonp]

Good for your friend. I've been in a similar situation. Lady friend of a friend heard pistol for sale from someone so I was told and went for a look. Elderly lady wanted $100 for her late husband's pistol as she had no interest. He got it in WW2 when "away" doing "gun stuff" for The Army.

You think a Singer 1911 was worth $100?

I didn't know much about 1911's 25yrs ago but I knew what I had in my hand and I'm glad to say I told her what it was and refused to buy it for that price. I sooooo wanted to shoot just a few rounds through that masterpiece.

There are just a few pistols that just feel right in your hand and Mr.Brownings is one of them

[StuBach]

Good for your friend. I've been in a similar situation. Lady friend of a friend heard pistol for sale from someone so I was told and went for a look. Elderly lady wanted $100 for her late husband's pistol as she had no interest. He got it in WW2 when "away" doing "gun stuff" for The Army.

You think a Singer 1911 was worth $100?

I didn't know much about 1911's 25yrs ago but I knew what I had in my hand and I'm glad to say I told her what it was and refused to buy it for that price. I sooooo wanted to shoot just a few rounds through that masterpiece.

There are just a few pistols that just feel right in your hand and Mr.Brownings is one of them

Years ago I befriended a WW2 veteran who was a customer at one of my stores. Super nice guy who I loved talking history with when he came in for his daily papers. One day he overheard me talking with my assistant manager that I was into gun collecting and restoring and asked if I bought guns. I said I loved to but my funds were very limited so I stuck to mostly WW2 era trainer rifles. He than asked if I was interested in a Winchester Model 12 20ga that his FiL had given him when he asked for his wife’s hand in marriage, in 1952. He hadn’t fired the gun since but had taken care to clean and oil it every few years. I looked it over and it was in great shape so I looked at gunbroker for rough estimate on going prices. Explained to him that it was probably worth between $700-$1000 given it’s condition and that was way over my budget, best I could do was $200. Told him to take it to LGS (a major iron sight manufacturer at the time) and they should offer a fair price for it well above what I could.

He returned the next day, told me they’d offered him $400 for it. He had discussed with his wife and she had told him to sell it to me cause I would care for it like her father and she would want. I quickly headed to the ATM to get the money when another customer tried to offer him $500 in my parking lot for it. He refused saying he already had a deal with me and wouldn’t change his mind.

I got it home and quickly pulled it apart, cleaned and oiled everything and gave the wood a new tung oil finish. Once back together wife picked up the gun, held it to her arm, looked at me and simply said “mine!”. Told my friend about what had happened to his shotgun and he was thrilled that it was loved that much and so was his wife.

My wife has cherished that gun and I have maintained it ever since.

When you treat others fairly you will be rewarded.

[yeahbub]

Waaay back when I was an electrician, the company owner's son was sent on a job out of state, Tennessee, IIRC to do a complete rewire in a hundred-something year old house. Anyway, he came back a couple weeks later grinning from ear to ear, busting at the seams to tell us the story of having to pull up the floor boards in the attic and discovering three or four long guns that had been there for a long time. He told the old folks living there about them and they (friends of his parents) said he should choose one and take it with him, and they'd keep the rest. He wasn't a gun guy by any means, but he chose the one that was the most cowboy-lookin', an 1886 Winchester in .45-90. The finish by then was mostly brown with a little blue remaining, but it was in good mechanical shape. I wanted it baaad, but this was his 15 minutes of fame, so I had no chance. He described the others as single-shots and doubles, which was about the limit of his knowledge and he couldn't say what they were.

Some people have all the luck. . . . .