[57Strat]

I walk in a local gun shop today and spent an hour or so looking all around the store, looking for that golden nugget. This gun store has guns in 4 or 5 rooms on 2 levels. I'm a good customer, so they let me look unsupervised in the stock room. They always have a few dozen used trade-ins that are waiting on clean up in the back room. I had looked at everything and did not find anything of interest, so I was heading home when something leaning in the corner of a dimly-lit back-room caught my eye. It was a minty 1888 Mauser 71/84 (tube-magazine) in original condition. It has a half-dozen incredible cartouches on the stock, and mint bore. EVERY frigging part on this thing has a matching number, even each screw and the sling swivels.

I was looking it over thinking this is too good to be true. I checked the tag and it was marked "consignment" w/o a price. I head down to the owners office and was stopped by one of the salesman. He tells me that he was going to buy it and had set it back. The manager overhead him and said that the gun was not marked with his name on it and that I am a good paying customer, so the gun was mine. SWEEEEET!!! I really hated to dog the salesman on the gun, but how often do you find a mint Mauser made in 1988?

The owner overhead the conversation and says "give 57Strat the gun for $550". I'm like "FOOKING SOLD!!!", and thanked the owner very much and told him how lucky I felt to have found this fine example of 1888 craftsmanship.

Not that I would sell this gun, but check out the price on the same gun on gun broker that is in a little worse shape than mine.

GunBroker Link


Here's a few quick pics. I need to clean her up.

http://bimmer.roadfly.com/bmw/forums/test/7895105-1.html

 

[stearmandriver]

I'm not in to guns that old, but DAMN... that is beautiful. Congrats on the find.

 

[57Strat]

Thanks! It's not something I could shoot. It fires a 11.15mm x 60 R round. You'd have to load your own to shoot this and cast your own bullets. The older I get, the more I like the older guns. The workmanship on the pre-WWI stuff is incredible. I just have to wonder how much hand fitting was required when you put a serial number on every single screw on a gun??

 

[AK Addict]

I had one of these and sold it for a nice profit. I'm still kicking myself.

 

[Commander47]

That is one beautiful piece of iron.

There is something really rewarding about holding onto a piece of history like that. I have trapdoor springfield in 45/70 that is really nice. Has the mil cartouches and such.

You really want those guns to talk to you.

 

[7.62mikemike]

Deal That I Missed

Went to the local pawn shop a few years back.They had a BSA Enfield made in 1916,all matching s/n,mint bore,not a ding or scratch one on stock or action.They wanted $100 for it.It was a Sat. and the insta-chek system was not so instant.I had to go check in at work,so I could not stay till insta-chek called back.The pawn shop called Monday and said I was approved but they had sold the rifle to someone else by mistake and I could come down and they would refund my money.Stupid people suck.