What the Heck is This?

[Michael Comer]

http://gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=127905380

Anyone got an idea of what kind of gun this really is? Looks like a lot of strange things going on there.

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: What the Heck is This?

Hallo!

IMHO...

It is one of two things, either:

1. One of the cobbled together parts guns that were assembled in Liege up until the 1960's for sale to low income West Africans, (including fisherman for protection from pirates- interesting how that has shifted to the east side) or

2. More recently, a cobbled together old and new parts gun made for the U.S. army market bizaar "bogus antique" trade in Afghanistan by enterprising local merchants.

The buttstock is from a "modern" shotgun.

Others' mileage will vary...

Curt

[JimKindred]

Re: What the Heck is This?

Needless to say there is a sucker born every minute and some have already bid on it.

[rogue]

Re: What the Heck is This?

Well Jim, it is Confederate after all, right! That explains the sucker bids.
The lock does appear similar to what a friend of mine has seen in the bizarre near Bagram AFB in Afghanistan. The metal work has an eastern flavor.
S.Sullivan

[-Jesse-]

Re: What the Heck is This?

looks like a P.O.S. model to me..;)

[JimKindred]

Re: What the Heck is This?

Well Jim, it is Confederate after all, right! That explains the sucker bids.

S.Sullivan

I was originally going to say that if you mark an item or advertise it as CS a bubba to buy it won't be too long in coming along. I see such buys at nearly every gun show I go to.

[tmdreb]

Re: What the Heck is This?

I love how these moron dealers try to pass off every POS gun dug up in some third world country as "Confederate". You'll notice the provenance is always from some unnamed third party, such as "I was told..."

[JimKindred]

Re: What the Heck is This?

I love how these moron dealers try to pass off every POS gun dug up in some third world country as "Confederate". You'll notice the provenance is always from some unnamed third party, such as "I was told..."

Not sure if the dealers would be the morons, by passing these off as "Confederate" they generally find someone to buy a piece of junk like this. Any one that falls for the "I was told ..." story would classify as the moron.

Advice with any antique firearm purchase - buy the gun not the story. If you don't know enough to make an informed decision, walk on by.

[James A. Page]

Re: What the Heck is This?

Its definitely not from Afghanistan. I'm here (there) now and we lots of guns come through here--both captured and through the Bazaar circuit. Khyber Pass copies are common as are the real thing. However, this is a completely different style altogether.

Jim

[Gary of CA]

Re: What the Heck is This?

I can assert with certainty that the Confederates weren't equipped with such exotic weapons as the one depicted in the link. Had they been, the war would have ended sooner.

[unclefrank]

Re: What the Heck is This?

I once saw a photo collection of Hollywood prop guns used in the 40's and 50's. It looks like one of those. The main thing was that they were all Butt ugly!

[tmdreb]

Re: What the Heck is This?

Jim,

You're right. "Moron" wasn't the right term. I also don't have much respect for those guys who think those muzzle-loading African trade guns are worth as much as a new Italian repro musket.