This belongs with you Paul....

[branxhunter]

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=491639693

Marcus

[j0e_bl0ggs (deceased)]

Now that is a nice falling block....

[gitano]

That's very interesting! And in Anchorage too! Could save $75 on shipping too.

Getting this rifle would certainly force me to 'liquidate' some other ones. However, it has been my intent of late to turn the old ones purchased for "investment" into different ones of greater value.

Closes in a little less than 4 hours. We'll see what happens.

Paul

[Hunterbug]

You need that gun, Paul. Not want, need. If you bring it down when you next come we'll take it for a coyote or two.

[gitano]

Shame on you, Marcus!

Paul

[gitano]

I placed a bid to test the waters, HB, and I'm keeping an eye on it. I've got an idea in my head about how much I'd be willing to part with for it. The real question is how bad does x****x want it.

Paul

[gitano]

I chased it up to $1805 but somebody wanted more than me.

Paul

Oops. I chased it an additional $50 and got it!

Sue's gonna kill me.

Paul

[j0e_bl0ggs (deceased)]

Congrats!

[Hunterbug]

Nice! I can't wait to hear how it shoots and maybe try it next summer.

[branxhunter]

I chased it up to $1805 but somebody wanted more than me.

Paul

Oops. I chased it an additional $50 and got it!

Sue's gonna kill me.

Paul

Hahahahhaaaa!!

Looking forward to hearing the range report, and your review of the mechanism.

Marcus

[JaDub]

My GOD !!!!    I`d be afraid to scratch it.   It`s a work of art.    Hooooo  Weeeeeeeeeee  !!
 
    Your marriage WILL survive this.  8-)

[sakorick]

My GOD !!!!    I`d be afraid to scratch it.   It`s a work of art.    Hooooo  Weeeeeeeeeee  !!
 
    Your marriage WILL survive this.  8-)

My thoughts as well.

[gitano]

"I have a cunning plan..." :D

Actually, Sue and I went through the "gun thing" in the late '90s. My pension plan - with the state of Alaska - took a big hit with the stock market crash of '98 ('99, whenever it was). I was seriously ticked off. Shortly thereafter, I found out what the guns my Dad had given me were worth. They had increased in value WAY beyond what the stock market had done over the same time interval. I knew NOTHING about what my money was invested in and knew NOTHING about how the decisions were made with respect to that investment.  And I had just lost A LOT of money! Guns I know. I told Sue I would be investing in something I actually knew something about.

The logic was there and Sue is a logical thinker. However, she's also a woman. (Thank God for that.) So the logic and the reality didn't really mesh at first. For several years there was 'tension' every time I bought some more guns. Finally, I just quit telling her about the purchases. Of course  when she "found out" about them, there was a lot of 'heat'. I "explained" that if she was going to question every investment I made, then we weren't partners, I just the "boy", and that was not only wrong, it wasn't gonna 'work'. Ultimately she came around to the understanding that just because I LIKE something - firearms - it doesn't mean that when I buy one it's a self-indulgent "toy". In other words, she genuinely understands that firearms CAN be a legitimate investment.

In that context, at this point in my life, it's time to start considering liquidation of investment, not continued investment. Of course it's not quite that simple. However, my plan is to start converting some of those old milsurps that I bought for investment into guns of greater value. That's what will happen with this one. I intend to sell as many "old" guns as I need to cover the cost of this one. Most of the milsurps I own have at least doubled in value, and that's taking the lowball prices currently being given for them.

That said, I paid about $200 more for this rifle that I thought it was "worth" today. (What I might be able to get for it if I tried to turn around and sell it tomorrow.) It - like many investments - was a bit of a gamble. The "gamble" was the 'toy' part of the purchase. Here's my rationale: Because Reidl was actually a "real" firearms manufacturer, that was only in business for a short while BUT made firearms that people have an interest in, these rifles should increase in value fairly consistently. Also, this is a "factory" chambering in a cartridge that I don't think anyone is making "factory" rifles in any more. Most of the "good" firearms I own, I don't intend to sell. I intend to pass them on to my children, as my Dad did for me. I strongly suspect that by that time, this rifle - one of the "good" ones - will have increased in value sufficiently to justify the purchase price.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it. :)

JaDub - I think this rifle has been a closet queen, however, even as an 'investment', it will not be one in my hands. I don't worry TOO much about dents, dings, and scratches. I'll hunt with this rifle.

I pick it up this afternoon.

Paul

[gitano]

So for those waiting with bait on their breath, you'll have to wait 'til Wednesday. I rented some scaffolding last Wednesday to do some trim work in my house. I have to rent it by the week. It will take at least 4 hours to go to Los Anchorage to get the rifle. About two and a half hours - round trip - of driving plus going to the bank to get the cash plus the 'transaction time'. That would really cut into the time I have left with the scaffolding. So, I talked with the fellow that has the rifle and we agreed that I would pick it up on Wednesday afternoon.

I figure if I can wait, so can you.

Paul

[Jorge in Oz]

Nice purchase Paul. Beautiful piece.

Marcus, you are handing the keys out to the candy store cheeky fella.

[branxhunter]

Is it there yet, is it there yet, is it there yet!!!???!!!

Marcus

[gitano]

Apologies to all! I picked it up last Wednesday. I spoke with sakorick and j0e_bl0ggs about it and spaced out posting here.

I'd show you pictures, but the ones in the auction ad are good. (I need to copy them before they are gone.) In other words, they well represented the piece. I was mistaken with respect to the size of the action; it is not a "small" version. This one would be plenty beefy enough for a magnum-sized cartridge.

There's really very little to add to what's written in the auction ad other than a bit about the scope. The objective lens has has most of the coating rubbed off of it. You may have seen something like it on binocular objectives that people have a tendency (me too) to just wipe off with the nearest available cloth. Plus, those old coatings weren't very 'persistent' to start with. Also, this scope has the finest cross-hairs - with emphasis on HAIR - that I have ever seen. "Seen" is almost the wrong word to use. They are so fine that they are almost invisible. There is a SMALL black dot in the center. I actually kinda like this view. However, it would be 'challenging' at dawn or dusk. It's a target scope or a full daylight hunting scope. I think it would be excellent for 'gophers' on a sunny Western day. The dot is really small. When I get it to a proper range I'll measure how many MoAs it is. I wouldn't be surprised to find that it is 1.

The objective bell has range markers for focusing at different ranges. The best I can do at my place without working at it, is about 50 yards. Within that range, the focus is VERY sensitive. In other words, small rotations of the focusing ring yield big changes in focus. Again, the sign of a target scope, not a hunting scope. And again, shooting gophers from a 'set up' location, it wouldn't be a problem, but not so good for 'spot and stalk' hunting, or even from a stand if the potential shots varied over a longer range.

The action of the cocking lever is a little 'looser' that I was expecting, but not 'loose'. Just looser that I expected, say in comparison to a Ruger No.1. It kocks at the very end of the throw. I can't see the face of the breech block so I can't be certain that it is "unfired", but externally it appears to be. If that is the case, then the scope's use was on another rifle.

There's not much more to say until I shoot it. Probably won't happen for a week or two.

The fellow that was selling it showed me the contents of one of his safes. Without exaggeration I would estimate that the 20 pieces in the case were worth between $300,000 and $750,000. He has some stunning rifles from the late 19th and early 20th century. And the "big bore" stuff was in "other safes". You think THIS rifle could be a 'closet queen! Those rifles hardly get touched! And rightly so. They are museum quality pieces. Simply exquisite! But he is a 'collector', so use isn't really a priority.

More after a range session.

Paul

[gitano]

I copied the auction photos, and here are a few 'for the record'.



























Paul

[branxhunter]

Certainly sounds like a target scope. Dad's Omark has a Sightron 8-36x56 Sightron SIII with the fine cross hair and target dot reticle. The dot is 1/8". Great to use on the range in good light, not so good in the field early or late in the day, or under a spotlight.

Are you able to clean the bore from the breech, or are you limited to from the muzzle?

Marcus

[gitano]

The bore is accessible from the breech, Marcus. The hammer goes down with the breech block as it "falls". It - the hammer - is actually completely out of sight when the cocking lever is fully forward.

I'm kind of anxious to put the scope on a target and see what I see. 1/8th of a MoA would be spectacular. I wouldn't be surprised. I can imagine that little dot on a gopher's ear hole or a fox's chest.

Paul

[gitano]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NICE-Lyman-All-American-20X-Boosted-to-30X-Power-AO-Target-Rifle-Scope-w-Dot/311398254315?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D32474%26meid%3D86568f4490324eae83979b1ae1b372f6%26pid%3D100011%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D261378851161

For some perspective:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Lyman-All-American-Perma-Center-4x-Rifle-Scope-with-covers-and-rings/271926793818?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D32474%26meid%3D0b22898301a4482a91d7ac858153e70e%26pid%3D100011%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D261378851161

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lyman-All-American-20x-Perma-Center-Target-Rifle-Scope/301677948045?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D32474%26meid%3D9eb814e97dee4b2bbbc955dd8997d788%26pid%3D100011%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D261378851161

Another one actually just sold for $200.

Here's a link to a forum with a post containing some specs for this scope. Looks like dots came in 1 MoA, 1/2 MoA, and 1/4 MoA. If I had to guess, I'd say this one has the "extra fine cross-wire" and 1/4 MoA dot. I'll know for sure on the dot when I take it to the range.

http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=358045

Paul