Navy Arms G.U. 1851 Colt Navy, from the first run?

[Hawg]

I always seem to be at odds with the majority, guess I'm just contrary but I have a gun that Dr Davis didn't know anything about until I sent him pictures and he even tried to buy it for his museum but it's a good shooter so I kept it. I care nothing about collector value and I delight in shooting rare guns and making collectors cringe.

Aw, Hawg, there are lots of repros out there to shoot and possibly get well tuned by folks like Goon and possibly others. I know you are a shooter first and a collector last.

I am just the opposite, as you probably know. I don't have the funds but there may be others that would trade your guns for new Piettas or Ubertis.

As always,

Jim

I've got a S&W 1926 3rd model. When I got it it was 95% or better. I carried it almost every day for years and fired a ton of ammo out of it. It's nowhere near 95% now. Yeah I devalued it by several hundred dollars but it's mine and a joy to shoot. I've always said if I had an 1873 Colt serial number 1 I'd shoot the snot out of it and go on Colt forums bragging about it. I'd do it too. The gun I was originally talking about is a 1976 Pietta Remington navy imported by Pioneer Arms. I wouldn't trade it for a new one because the grips are slender like the originals not the big fat monstrosities Pietta uses now and it has a very short front sight not the Eiffel towers that Pietta uses now. Yeah it shoots high but then it's supposed to. I'd be scared to send one to Goon even if I had the money to do so for fear of what he might do to it. 

[valforgettaboutit]

Hi, guys and gals! For all of you collectors:

Found another G&U 1851 Navy .36 for your viewing and bidding pleasure. Seller says it is serial number 45 and it has very nice walnut wood to boot! No reserve, 1 bid, new minimum bid must be $254 as I post, 6D until end of auction.

http://www.gunbroker.com/item/639333995

Good luck, folks!

Jim

Hey Jim and Co,

I followed that auction for the last week until it finally ended on Sunday. Wow, went from $250 to $400+ at the end.  Thought you all might appreciate an update in case you weren't watching it.

[LonesomePigeon]

$400 is higher than normal for a used one. I paid $275 - 325 for mine.

[Ringo]

(...), while doing research on this guy I also found an old NY Times article on Val first bringing these guys over from Italy, has a great photo of him and a table full of Colts.

Hi Valforgettaboutit, congrats on your buy, you really have got yourself a piece of history. Of course it never saw the Old West, but it is a witness of the very first days of replica making.
Have you still got this article you mention, and could you share a copy?
Cheers.

[sourdough]

Hi, guys and gals! For all of you collectors:

Found another G&U 1851 Navy .36 for your viewing and bidding pleasure. Seller says it is serial number 45 and it has very nice walnut wood to boot! No reserve, 1 bid, new minimum bid must be $254 as I post, 6D until end of auction.

http://www.gunbroker.com/item/639333995

Good luck, folks!

Jim

Hey Jim and Co,

I followed that auction for the last week until it finally ended on Sunday. Wow, went from $250 to $400+ at the end.  Thought you all might appreciate an update in case you weren't watching it.

Val, thanks for the update! For just a shooter, that price might be a bit steep but for a G&U collector it might be acceptable. They haven't been made for decades.

I just post these things as someone else might take an interest, as I can't afford it these days.

Thanks for the follow-up, sir!

Jim

[valforgettaboutit]

(...), while doing research on this guy I also found an old NY Times article on Val first bringing these guys over from Italy, has a great photo of him and a table full of Colts.

Hi Valforgettaboutit, congrats on your buy, you really have got yourself a piece of history. Of course it never saw the Old West, but it is a witness of the very first days of replica making.
Have you still got this article you mention, and could you share a copy?
Cheers.

Hey Ringo! Slight hiccup with the article, it is behind a paywall due to still being under copyright by the New York Times. I forget at times having access to these databases at work doesn't mean they're view-able at home. I'm not as up on my copyright restrictions as I used to be, but I'm going to err on the side of caution when it comes to reproducing the article, since its coming from the NYT Archives through a ProQuest Database.

However, I can help somewhat! If you have ProQuest or better yet, your local library should have access to it, I can give you the details that'll make lookup easy.

Its " 'Civil War' Guns for US Buffs Being Made By Yankee In Italy" by Oscar Godbout in the New York Times, May 16 1960. It's not a long article at all, about 8 paragraphs and I'll be honest, Mr. Godbout gets the facts down but its an oddly written column, kinda abruptly ends. But its a fun read none the less.

Hope that helps!

[Ringo]

Thanks for the answer, Valforgettaboutit.
The problem for me is I can't have access through my local library as I don't live in the U.S.A.
Oh well.... I guess I'll just have to make do without it, as I did before I knew it existed... 

[valforgettaboutit]

Thanks for the answer, Valforgettaboutit.
The problem for me is I can't have access through my local library as I don't live in the U.S.A.
Oh well.... I guess I'll just have to make do without it, as I did before I knew it existed... 

Hmmmm..... well if you have any resources locally that have access to a ProQuest database or even the NY Times Archive you should be able to view it for free; maybe a university? I tried hunting to see if anyone had posted a transcript somewhere but its pretty well locked away. I'll put the link below to the NY Times Archive link for the article that has a tiny abstract available to view.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D03EEDC153DE333A25755C1A9639C946191D6CF&url=http:%2F%2Ftimesmachine.nytimes.com%2Ftimesmachine%2F1960%2F05%2F16%2F105433961.html&legacy=true

[sourdough]

Val,

I have had the pleasure of trading files and info with Ringo for quite a while. He lives in Brittany (France) and has a better command of the English language than do I, written or otherwise. He is a mod or an administrator on this French site:

http://repliquesoldwest.superforum.fr/forum

I use Google translator to read the French posts, but when I post there in English Ringo is always there to rescue me with a good translation.

His word is worth very much as he has done much study on the C&B revolvers available to them, and they are many.

In any event, do not distrust Ringo!

Jim

 

[Calibre58]

I also have one of those early Navy Arms 51's, serial 23XX, bought it new back in the day...........Jim

[ssb73q]

Hi Jim, welcome to the group. 

Regards,
Richard

[LonesomePigeon]

Welcome Calibre58. Do you shoot it, if so how does it shoot?

[Calibre58]

LonesomePigeon:  It has been a few years since I shot it.  Made my own paper cartridges.  Fun to shoot and very accurate.  Thanks for asking...........Jim