Author Topic: You just gotta' live long enough !  (Read 1114 times)

Offline OLUT

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You just gotta' live long enough !
« on: July 17, 2024, 08:41:11 PM »
Way back in 1968, I bought a nicely marked swivel breech percussion John Moll III gun at the old Las Vegas show. At that time, the seller said that there was a "sister gun" made with it, but lost track of where it went. After all these years, the local Amoskeag Auction posted an unmarked swivel breech by an unknown maker in their last sale. SURPRISE, the sister gun has resurfaced.. So now after 50+ years, the two guns are finally "reunited" in my collection. I guess that if you live long enough almost all guns recycle onto the market!


Offline Levy

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Re: You just gotta' live long enough !
« Reply #1 on: July 17, 2024, 11:45:30 PM »
Congratulations Olut!  Sometimes things just come together, even if it takes a while.  James Levy
James Levy

Offline Ky-Flinter

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Re: You just gotta' live long enough !
« Reply #2 on: July 18, 2024, 12:16:07 AM »
Congratulations!

Ron
Ron Winfield

Life is too short to hunt with an ugly gun. -Nate McKenzie

Offline OLUT

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Re: You just gotta' live long enough !
« Reply #3 on: July 18, 2024, 12:18:10 AM »
Ron, thanks for the upgrade from my "Over the Back Fence" posing to the big time of Antique Gun Collecting.... note that I ONLY needed to pay 7 times more for the recent gun than I paid for the sister gun way back in 1968. I was in grad school in Colorado and the wife & I traveled to Las Vegas on a shoestring. The original purchase put quite a dent into my limited funds , but at least the GI Bill paid for my tuition at the University of Colorado.

Offline AZshot

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Re: You just gotta' live long enough !
« Reply #4 on: July 18, 2024, 12:24:48 AM »
That's very cool, and very true.  Good things come around every lifetime, sometimes a couple times.

Offline Avlrc

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Re: You just gotta' live long enough !
« Reply #5 on: July 18, 2024, 03:29:47 AM »
Congratulations. I love stories like that.

Offline jdm

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Re: You just gotta' live long enough !
« Reply #6 on: July 18, 2024, 05:17:12 PM »
That's pretty cool!  Once in awhile  the collector god smiles down on you. Does the trigger guard actavate the swivel ? Are they full stock or half stock ?  Jim
JIM

Offline OLUT

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Re: You just gotta' live long enough !
« Reply #7 on: July 18, 2024, 06:12:34 PM »
That's pretty cool!  Once in awhile  the collector god smiles down on you. Does the trigger guard actavate the swivel ? Are they full stock or half stock ?  Jim

Yes, pulling the solid trigger guard to the rear releases the barrels to swivel (It is NOT the two-piece type trigger guard often used on German wenders and early American guns). This gun is half stocked with a ramrod on one side and a full length brass strip between the barrels on the other side. Note that this was made as a "rifle/smooth rifle combination" gun, with a bold X used to indicate to the shooter the rifled barrel




Offline jdm

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Re: You just gotta' live long enough !
« Reply #8 on: July 19, 2024, 03:13:41 AM »
Olut, Thanks. I love those swivel's.  You will have to send this to Bill so he can put the two together in is book.
JIM

Offline OLUT

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Re: You just gotta' live long enough !
« Reply #9 on: July 19, 2024, 04:26:45 AM »
Olut, Thanks. I love those swivel's.  You will have to send this to Bill so he can put the two together in is book.

Dr Paton photographed my original MOLL (and a bunch of my other multi-shot firearms) a while ago and I have sent him my comparison info on this new unmarked sister gun. Bill has gone out of his way to help me better understand the variations and attributes of these swivel breech type firearms. But I sure need for him to publish his seminal tome on Swivel Breech guns I can learn all the best terminology for the various gun components!

Offline jdm

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Re: You just gotta' live long enough !
« Reply #10 on: July 19, 2024, 05:46:39 PM »
Yes, Bill was very helpful sorting out all the different D. Boyers in the search on my swivel.  It has the split trigger guard to rotate the barrels. I find  the mechanical aspects of these very interesting.
 I to am looking forward to Mr. Paton's book.  Jim
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Offline Jerry Girard

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Re: You just gotta' live long enough !
« Reply #11 on: July 19, 2024, 08:21:10 PM »
There will be a "Moll Family" exhibit at the Kempton Gun Maker's Fair.
Jerry