Fingernails on a chalkboard....

[beast44k]

Watching Pawn Stars on TV, they just bought a mid 1700's Brander blunderbus.....why do they go out and shoot these things???

IDIOTS!!!

[Bob Smalser]

This guy knows his market.  Having shot in a few ATA tourneys there, I can say Vegas is a weird place, and if he thinks he'll get more for it if it's shootable, then it's his right and his risk.  He's definitely right that featuring the range event on TV raises the price of the artifact rather dramatically.

The good news is he insures there is a knowledgeable adult there to supervise, and assuming same adult properly cleans the piece and applies appropriate preservatives afterwards, then minimum harm is done.

But I'll have to admit when Fatso #2 executed a bayonet charge with a lovely flintlock coach gun they later reportedly sold for $24k, I wuz a bit concerned.

[beast44k]

I just hate their thinking, that it's only worth anything if it'll fire, and put it Chumley's hands.
I know they have a gunsmith inspect it closely for safety, but it's rediculous logic to me.

[greybeard]

I am not sure if it males any differencs as to wether it's revelent but I think they loaded a squib load of about 25 grains,.  Bob

[Lucky R A]

    The damage is not so much to the piece they are shooting, but to others who take their old guns out and try them out under less controlled circumstances.   I have noticed more at "open shows" where you have a broad spectrum of the public in attendance, people asking if the originals I have displayed are shootable.  It you explain that a gun has had the barrels stretched or that the barrel is 200 years old of uncertain strength or care, you get comments like, "I wouldn't want it!"    I take solace in that those are not the people who will pay the price a fine original brings.  It is just bad advice being put out there to a public who takes it for gospel.  There will probably be some serious accidents that the press will blame it on the GUN!   Why get me worked up when I just had my first cup of coffee in the morning!

[beast44k]

My first flintlock was a 3rd pattern brown bess, I had just gotten it, and the kids were interested on how a flintlock works.
I dry fired it a couple times for them to see the sparks, after about the third time, I realized the wood above the lock broke loose.
It appears the main spring was too stiff, so the shock of the snap was too much for the frail wood to absorb.

[loco219]

I do not agree with their view that a firing example is worth much more, no true collector would ever shoot some of those items. They have shown some nice guns, the Key gun, the cannon, a few blunderbuss, some flint rifles, etc. The stage show is just good TV, and the ratings are high. The grandfather seems kind and tolerant. His money is made and he has earned his daily nap. Rick seems knowledgeable, but I get a cocky vibe from him I don't like. The grandson Hoss seems like a lost cause to me. If the old man was smart he would sell out when the time comes. I do like the show though, its entertainment !

[Fullstock longrifle]

This opens up the same can of worms we've talked about off and on for a while now.  There are many here who like to shoot the old ones, and many (like myself) who think that's a bad idea.  When I first watched Pawn Stars, I almost fell out of my chair when Rick said that they had to shoot some flintlock to test it, and it would be worth more if it fired.     Their "expert" agrees with that.  This is the same guy who posts $20,000 Brown Besses on his web site.  I've been tempted to email him and ask if he's test fired all of them, and if he hasn't, offer him less money.  My guess is, that would go over like gas in church.

Anyhow, the show is fun to watch, those guys are hustlers, and they teach a good lesson to what you can expect in at a gunshow if you walk in trying to sell something.  I especially enjoy seeing the people on the show who walk away from Rick's lowball offers, his face usually tells the story.

FK

[JTR]

  Come on guys, it's just a tv show, and as such has very little bearing on reality!

I about choked the first time I heard the "if it shoots it's worth more" comment as well, but it's just part of the show.
I've known Sean, the gun expert for many years. If they want to shoot one of the things, he checks it over for them, loads it light, and hands it off to one of the 'Stars'. Ka-blammo, just part of the show!

If anyone watching the show is taking anything they say about gun handling/shooting seriously, I suggest that look for a better source. Remember, it's tv. It's not real! It's just entertainment!

John

[Thom]

But people do take it seriously and it makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck.

I had thought about posting about this sometime ago. I do enjoy the show however, but I wouldn't trust a 200 year old breach plug or barrel.

Thom

[Mike Gahagan]

What amazes me the most is that anyone would take guns like that to a pawn shop to sell.Common sense should tell them that an old gun with ornate carving and engraving is more than likely to be something special and wouldn`t normally be found in a pawn shop.I catch myself screaming at the TV to "DON`T TAKE THE OFFER" but they always do.

[JTR]

Guys, It's just a tv show.
Don't take Anything you see as the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Come on, do you really think that people stuck on an island in a reality tv show are really stuck on an island?? 

John

[Fullstock longrifle]

Your right John, it is just a TV show, but unfortunately it's a reality show, and for most people who have little or no knowledge about antique guns, they take this stuff as fact.  At least Myth Busters does a pre-show caveat that goes something like this:

"don't try this stuff at home, we are what you call professionals".

Some knuckle head will blow himself up one day with the famous last words from Pawn Stars, "you gotta shoot it to see if it works"!  

By the way John, no offense intended, just a difference of opinion. 

FK

[jdm]

I know it's just a show and I enjoy it. That phrase "If it shoots it's worth a whole lot more" bothers me.  I wish they would give that a rest . Someone unschooled in antique firearms could get hurt or do damage to the weapon.   

       JIM

[JTR]

By the way John, no offense intended, just a difference of opinion. 
FK

None taken Frank, of course.
I don't agree with them saying it has to shoot either, nor do I agree with shooting the old ones in general, but then I guess I just look at it as a tv show. 
John

[Dphariss]

Its TV its entertainment so long as the ratings are good everything else is secondary.

If their other experts are no better that their gun guy is none of their stuff is believable. But I suspect he looks good on camera and maybe is member of the actors guild or what ever they call themselves.

Did anyone watch to one where they took a very beat round top Coke machine to one of their "restorers" and when he was done it was a much later square top machine? Some restoration

I watch it because some neat stuff comes through. They probably scour the entire US to find it all though.

Trying to find the truth on TV is like reading a Newspaper.
The scary part is they might be shooting a corrosive substitutes in some of the old firearms.

Dan

[gregg]

 "Did anyone watch to one where they took a very beat round top Coke machine to one of their "restorers" and when he was done it was a much later square top machine? Some restoration "

Yes and i thought I must not of been paying attention?

Only good thing is the guns have people watching. Maybe it puts us in a better light?
I notice more shows like that. People seem to want to see guns?? Good for us? Gun guys have
been wining at to polls. Not as much as we would like I know. There seem to be a time they just seemed not to show any guns??  Thanks to the news media.

I love the ones where  I'm getting married and need the money. Ha one day party and she right or she not. Not worth the lost of a find gun!!!! Grow up children!

I tell you . We see them as art and history. There hunters and gun guys that look on all guns as you would a POS pipe wrench. No I don't get it and its hard to see.

[jsteele]

There are threads all over the internet about the switches before the firing parts.  The Trapdoor episode is a well documented one.  There are also documented instances of the producers asking collectors to bring guns in.  It appears much of it is contrived.


Jim

[mr. no gold]

As it happens, JTR and I know two of the participants in the show, and while they do not seem willing to discuss the 'nuts and bolts' of the show, if you listen, you can pretty much get the story in their conversation. Like any tv show various parts are shot in groups and the 'expert' is brought in to do several sequences. It all goes together in editing.
One of the 'experts' is indeed an expert and is most knowledgeable about antique arms. He rents arms out to the studios for use in productions requiring vintage guns, (Pirates of the Carribean, etc.), so firing them in a limited manner is not foreign to him. My preference is not to ever fire an antique gun; its part of my retirement plan.
Dick   

[Dphariss]

I was thinking of the "expert" that said the loading gate on an SA Colt was a replacement since the assembly number on the gate did not match the serial number
Maybe he tells everyone that to allow for a "better deal" when buying them I dunno.

Then there was the pair of (most likely) officers pistols that were described as English Dueling pistols IIRC.

Then there was the "loose breech block" on the TD Springfield. In reality they are SUPPOSED to be loose. If tight the rifle would be unsafe.

I am sure there are others I have missed or forgotten.

Its a TV show. Its likely completely scripted or nearly so.

Dan

[Daryl]

Loved the one where the idiots wrapped the big 3-D kite around the top of a light pole in the park - $75.00 worth of fun!

[Fullstock longrifle]

My favorite was the guy who brought in a "WWII" Ejection Seat.  The "expert" identified it as from a F4 Phantom and said it was probably loaded.  I wondered if they were gonna ask "Chomley" to sit in it and pull the handles.

Hey, I would enjoy seeing that!

[loco219]

My favorite so far was the guy who tried to sell the fake flintlock pistol. He was so *#)*^~, they showed him stomping and ranting in the parking lot. He said he bought it at a gunshow for $800, and if the seller said it was real it " had" to be real. That was priceless.

[beast44k]

I watched part of that episode, I didn't get to see them talking to the expert, but I saw it was copy when they first were talking and pointed it out to my son.
I wanted to watch and see if the expert noticed it wasn't real.....was it the guy from Tortuga in California???

[loco219]

It was the same guy I think. The guy who owned it reminded me of a Bobby Knight personality. He had told his wife he was going to make a big turnover on his $800 investment, then when he found out it was junk he went half nuts, because he knew he had to go home and tell her he just lost $700. He sure was steamed !