This one is much worse than fingernails on a chalkboard. In this one their firearms "expert" advises a customer to alter and probably ruin a unique antique.
The episode is titled "Chummobile":
http://www.history.com/shows/pawn-stars/videos/playlists/full-episodesA woman brings in a small, portable writing desk with a concealed gun built into a trap door in the desk front and a button trigger so a person seated in front of the desk would get shot when the button was pressed. It reminded me of way back when the army paid in cash and lieutenant pay officers and their drivers went well-armed on payday, as a large company's cash payroll was 200 grand when a LT made 300 a month, his driver 85, and when you lost something it really did come out of your pay. A Victorian-era, portable payroll desk custom built for a railroad, coal mine, or other business back when companies paid on the job site, the insurance industry was in its infancy and cash payrolls were prime criminal targets.
The gun was an antique, black-powder alarm gun like you find on old, 19th-Century catalogs. It looked like it was brass. They were made to screw to a window or door frame, were loaded with blanks, and were configured to trip when an intruder opened the window or door, frightening the intruder away. Most were percussion, but this one was a .22 or .32 rimfire clearly designed for blanks, as it had a chamber but no barrel. Loaded with a live round, however, it certainly would hit something only two feet away. The 22 rimfire cartridge dates to Flobert’s BB Cap in 1845.
Not only could our “expert” not identify the firearm, he advised the owner to take it to a gunsmith to be “deactivated”, as it was likely “not a pre-1898 antique” and additionally could be considered a “concealed weapon” illegal to buy and sell without deactivation. Y’all were right. If he were a physician I'd apply to revoke his license.
