Call me Ahab

posted by Caleb on Jun 2

Speaking of collectible Berettas, at the 1500 there was a fully transferable Beretta 38A for the low-low-buy-it-now sum of $14,000.  I figure that’s only about half of what one of our cars cost, so it’s totally affordable; plus I’d then have a 9mm submachine gun for shooting…uh…squirrels or something.

In terms of collecting Berettas, any of their submachine guns constitute the Holy Grail of Berettas as far as I’m concerned.  One of these days I’ll figure out a way to convince my wife that spending 14 thousand dollars on a gun is a totally worthwhile investment.  “But honey, it will only appreciate with time!”

posted by Caleb on May 30

The Indy 1500 starts today - I’ll be there after work this afternoon cruising the aisles for vintage Berettas.  Specifically, I’m looking for a post WWII ‘34 Beretta in 9mm Kurz to go with my WWII vintage ‘35 Beretta in .32 ACP.

I’ll try and grab some pictures of what Tam describes as a “wamdigenous” (spelling?) gun show, and hopefully I’ll be able to A) find what I’m looking for and B) negotiate Mrs. Ahab into letting me burn the money on it.

posted by Caleb on Jan 29

Tam hits right on what makes old guns so awesome.

The possibility of what a gun has seen, and where it’s been is always one of those things that has intrigued me, and has in part spurred my interest in C&R firearms (aside from my ability to get carry guns in the mail); you look at that old pistol and you kind of wonder out loud “what have you seen?”

posted by Caleb on Aug 30

Chris discusses his desire that Midway USA would stop sending him fliers, because he is going to go broke.

As I said, I feel your pain. I currently have fliers Beretta, Cabelas, and Cheaper than Dirt. Midway USA sends me catalogs, emails, and fliers. Century International sends me catalogs and emails.

I only have so much money that I can spend on gun stuff, and I just don’t know. Not that I want them to stop, because otherwise I’d never have known that Century has Manurhin Walther PPs for sub $300.
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posted by Caleb on Aug 30

Short story - I won the auction for the vintage 1920s-ish Beretta .25 Auto. I literally got it for a steal, so as soon as I get my FFL and the money out to the seller, it should be on its way home to me.

I love having a C&R license.

Now if I could just get Midway USA to get some Speer Gold Dots in stock in .25 ACP, I’d be all set.
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posted by Caleb on Aug 20

I get a lot of crap from my dad because I like Berettas. I have vague memories of him being less than thrilled when he had to switch away from his .357 for a Beretta when the Sheriff’s Office mandated the change to the new “wondernine”. When I was a Coastie, I had the service issue M9 Beretta, and despite the known issues with the 9mm cartridge in ball form, I never once had a problem with the gun. I was one of very few people that was not enthusiastic about the switch to the new Sig Sauer pistols; I don’t really believe that a .40 S&W FMJ offers significant advantages over 9mm FMJ.

However, that’s beside the point of today’s blog. As I’ve mentioned, I have a terrible case of Gun ADD, which causes me to flit from one potential purchase to another. A lot of times, if I don’t like how a gun shoots, or how it fills my hand, I’ll turn around and sell it pretty quickly. However, one C&R purchase that I’ve been thrilled with is my ‘35 Beretta. I blogged about it while guest blogging at Sebastian’s, and in the four months since then it’s become one of my favorite guns.

So, while looking for a new gun to purchase next month, I stumbled across a couple of places to find a model 418 Beretta, .25 ACP. A good James Bond fan would know that this is the gun that Bond carried prior to his .32 ACP Walther, and was forced to trade in during a scene in Dr. No. Obviously, the .25 ACP is rather anemic, and wouldn’t be my first, second, or third choice for a defensive cartridge. But then again, I wouldn’t be buying this gun as a “primary defensive weapon”; I’d be buying it because 1) It’s an old Beretta, and 2) James Bond.

It remains to be seen whether or not my gun ADD will hold out long enough.
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posted by Caleb on Aug 2

A few bloggers that I know of, as well as myself, have Type 03 FFL licenses; or as they’re referred to in the vernacular, a C&R license. As you probably know, C&R stands for Curio & Relic, which is a specific class of firearm as defined by the BATF. Sebastian gives a pretty good explanation of what exactly a C&R gun is - basically it’s a gun that is either A) on the list, or B) more than fifty years old. I’ve talked a wee bit about C&R in the past, and now that I’ve had my license for a while there is plenty more to talk about.

One of the big things about C&R guns is the old “collect or shoot” question. Some firearms that are classified as C&R are quite valuable, and there are plenty of people who purchase C&R firearms for the collector value, and never really shoot them. That’s fine, but it’s not my cup of tea. While the historical and collector appeal of certain guns is still there for me, my primary goal when purchasing C&R firearms is to have more guns to shoot. Sitting there and looking pretty isn’t really a concern.

Something neat about being interested in C&R guns as shooters is that you will sometimes get really good deals. For example, an old Colt revolver that’s been reblued has lost a lot of its collector value due to the reblue process. If you’re lucky, that means it gets priced lower and you can snap it up. Similarly, guns that have barrels shortened, or different sights installed can also loose a lot of their collector value; again that should lower the price on the C&R market.

I’ve had a couple of people ask me about using a C&R gun as a carry gun. If you can find one that works for you, go for it. The biggest issue with that is since you’re probably dealing with a gun that is 50+ years old, make sure it is in perfect functioning condition before you carry it. Now that I’ve said, the CZ-82 in 9mm Makarov was recently classified by the ATF as a C&R. This is a thoroughly modern, and recent manufactured pistol. If you were going to get a carry gun via a C&R license, that would be my first recommendation. If you’re leaning more towards the revolver side of things, the C&R market is littered with old S&W’s and Colts. If you pick carefully, you could quite easily get a fine functioning .38 Special.

The other “fun” thing to do with C&R guns is make projects out of them. There are some guns available that are in “almost” functioning condition, or are pretty beat up, etc. You get an old wheelgun for $100 bucks and then you can tinker with it; if you damage it beyond repair it’s not like you just broke your $1000 CQB Tactical Destroyer. Or, if you’re like me, you’re scheming ways to buy an old Smith for $150-$200 and then it off to Bowen Custom and have all sorts of fun things done to it. Sure, it would tank the “value” of the gun, but I’ve always wanted a Bowen customized S&W.

The long and short of it is that C&R is a fun, and often inexpensive hobby. While the major drawback is that the ATF can audit your records at any time, it is really, really cool to have guns shipped directly to your house.
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posted by Caleb on Jun 25

Ahab likes: 1) Pistol caliber carbines, 2) Bolt action rifles.

Ahab wants: A pistol caliber carbine with a bolt action.

This gun is really cool.

I found it while cruising Gunbroker this morning; according to the auction it’s a CZ24 Mauser that was fitted with a no longer manufactured conversion kit to covert it to .45 ACP. It takes standard 1911 magazines. How cool is that?

Now to see if the budget committee (aka Mrs. Ahab) will okay the capital necessary to make the acquisition.

posted by Caleb on Jun 14

The alternate title for this post could have been “Why I like C&R guns”. I often think of guns from the early 1900’s as having come from “The Golden Age”, a time period littered with classic designs, graceful lines, and nice hats.

There is something almost enchanting about the lines on a Remington 81, or the feel of a 1903 Colt Pocket. I can’t help but idly wonder when I pick up a Colt Official Police if it rode in the holster of a G-Man during Prohibition.

I have always enjoyed handguns; handguns from this era (obviously) have a special appeal to me. You wonder if the owner slipped this gun into his pocket as protection against thugs; or if he was a thug himself, and this pistol was his method of intimidation.

Old guns promote flights of imagination, a nick out of the grip of an Official Police causes me to pause for a moment, and wonder if it was placed their purposefully by the pistol’s owner, to commemorate a certain milestone. A 1914 Mauser sits in my hand, and I can’t help but wonder if this pistol was the last resort of a Hun officer, somewhere in a trench in France.

While my flights of fancy regarding my older handguns are precisely that; the fact that the mere possibility exists that this gun has a strong connection to the past is worth it. For me, it creates a link to something that I never got to experience, a time when men wore great hats, liquor was illegal, and an ‘03 Colt in your pocket was your best friend.

posted by Caleb on May 18

I have Gun ADD, a condition in which I literally want almost every gun I lay eyes on “the most”. This means that from one hour to the next, I can go from plotting to have a new NAA Black Widow, to another Walther P22 for my collection, to a Mosin-Nagant, all because each gun has some feature or factor that has aroused my fancy…until the next gun.

So, the purpose of today’s exercise is for you guys to pick my next gun. Of course, this only works if you actually comment on the post, so keep ‘em coming. Here are the candidates for “Ahab’s Next Gun”.

Mosin-Nagant M38 - The carbine version of the venerable Mosin-Nagant rifle, chambered in 7.62×54, sans attached bayonet.

CZ-50 - Continuing both my love for mouseguns and C&R guns, the Czech CZ-50 chambered in .32 ACP.

CZ-82 - So I can be cool like Sebastian.

Ishapore 2A1 - It’s an SMLE chambered for .308 NATO. Pretty cool if you ask me.

‘58 Remington Clone 5.5 inch barrel - Pretty much the same as my current ‘58 Remington clone, except with about 3 less inches of barrel. I’d outfit this with another Kirst Konverter.

Alright, those are your choices! No write in candidates, vote in the comments!

Update - This will stay on top until 9 am tomorrow!