Rifles with history
(This was to be part of another thread, don't know if it will be in twice, a new thread or ??I was disconnected from the Internet while typing.) I have a sub-collection of 10-12 rifles with known history which range purchase from vets family, my Tarawa rifle came from the Marine's son, to rifles with metal plates with Marine globe and anchor and location, to carvings/stampings with name and location acquired in the stock, most of these were from Japan. One is a cut down 38 long rifle with M1 carbine front and rear sights. There's a name stamped in in the stock and "Bhmo" " Burma." My first thought was the guy mispelled Burma and restamped. With a little research I learned that Bhamo is at the end of the Ledio road and was taken by one of the Mars Task force composed of the remains of Merrill's Maruders and fresh troops and a Chinese army unit. Someone in the Task Force had the 38 modified. Have a 97 sniper from Biak, an army officer brought it back, apparently cut the foreend, gave it to a NC museum, museum gave it to another person, and I traded a dog tag and $100 for the rifle. It had a paper tag on the butt from when it was stored in an Army ordnance facility in the 50s. It was possible to trace the officer and he had given an interview with a NC University publication. Got the story from him. My Iwo rifle came from Ivan Prall who was on the island during the fighting and shipped four rifles home, he sporterized two and kept two original.
I pestered him for years for one of the rifles. Even said I'd pay his price and give him a rifle of "equal quality", he wanted the rifles for his grandkids. He finally agreed to sell, guess he realized the rifles meant nothing to the grandkids. He said for me to set the price, described the rifle, mismatched with deep wrench marks on the receiver. I had a figure in mind, but posted this Board asking what you guys thought would be a fair price for a rifle as described. The answer was $150, I gave him $350. Rifle turned out to be an early, long handguard Howa with grenade fragments in the stock. Grenade had messed up the bolt somehow. Wrench marks came from the barrel being removed on Iwo, ordnance guy heated barrel to remove it and they found a live round in the chamber. (How do you remove a barrel with bolt in place, I don't know.) Anyway Ivan picked up a bolt from another discarded rifle. I'd rather have this one than an "Arsenal new" rifle. Could bore you with several other stories. As far as collectable rifles, "To each his own."