Title says it all, and BTW I mean the military arm, not the sporting rifle.

Oh, and another thing..has anyone ever had their guns appraised? Not that mine are of great individual value (except my Dads Fox shotgun), but I have quite a few, so I'd like to look to the future now, before I get old(er) and (more) senile.

 

I would suggest doing your own appraisal by getting the book "blue book of gun values". It is referenced in many magazines and seams to be the go to book for figuring out the value of a gun. IMO it is a handy book to have anyway. Runs about $40.

As for the BAR, no. But if you get one I'll bring the ammo!

 

I've done my own research and am satisfied I made good investments years ago. I took my Combat Commander .45 to a gun show last year and the guy who had a few for sale offered too much money for mine. I turned him down, because his offer was too quick and too much.

I'd like to try the BAR, but haven't had the opportunity, yet.

 

I shot one in Marine Corps Infantry Training; but that was in 1964 . . . . so it's not very valuable experience now.

 

Yeah TI..I have an older copy of TBBOGV, I may need to invest in a newer one. At the same time, I might want to offer them for sale in the far future (I hope). I guess I need to find someone trustworthy that would handle that for me maybe.

"his offer was too quick and too much."

You can tell us Larry...I have one myself that I got a steal on because the guy consigned it at a shop needing rent money. But that was back in about '94. Heck, who would have ever thought my .380 LW Gov't Model would be selling for as much as they do now.

Reason I asked about the BAR was I flipped though "The Sand Pebbles" this afternoon (one of my favorite movies) and just thought back to firing a full auto M-14 in .308. What a beast! I know the BAR weighs 18-20 lbs, but military .30-06 loads at 500rpm? Ouch! (Yes, I used civilian round designations.)

 

I wasn't in the Infantry; but the Marine Corps had the BAR configured in several different ways so that, depending on the mission, it might be fired using a flat magazine, a round box magazine, or the more reliable bandolier, and the BAR teams were 2 or 3 men carrying the bulk of the ammunition, and maybe a couple 45's and a grenade launcher.

We were still supposed to be prepared to use any weapon that was available, and in case of being overrun, always being prepared to revert to being an infantryman to stay alive. That Browning, heavy as it was, must have been considered pretty reliable to have been used in both WWI and II and to have still been used when I was in Viet Nam. I think they replaced it with the lighter 7.62 M60.

 

Vic, $1200, cash. I got mine the same way. One of my drivers needed cash to make his week and wanted to borrow $60. He let me hold the Commander for collateral. He came back on Friday and told me to keep the gun. I had a friend run it through NCIC and it was clean. That was mid 70's, so the gun wasn't that old at the time. Serial number 70 BCXXXXX gift wrapped sometime in 1969 I guess.

Now, that Thompson we shot a few weeks back was a super heavy weapon Empty.

 

Holy crap...$1200? There must have been something about it you don't know. Even the newer fancy versions from different makers don't go that much. The LW Commanders get a premium I believe and even special editions don't get much more than that.

I paid more than you but it was in the mid 90's and only $325 or so, in CA...so it was a darn good deal then.

 

Although it has a 70 serial number it isn't a 70 series, as some people think. I don't know what is odd about it, and can't really find anything that would tend to make it more valuable, except its age and condition. No scratches, not even holster wear.

 

The only thing I know about a BAR is the one on the old TV show "Combat". Is that what we are talking about?

 

Probably Piddler...haven't seen that in a long time.