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The Rare and Historic Firearms On The Block at the James D. Julia Auction House

Dave_Maccar — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 13:10:51 -0400

James D. Julia Auctions has made tiny Fairfield, Maine, a destination for gun fanciers. Julia’s spring and fall auctions offer pieces that are among the highest works of the gun makers art; are steeped in history; are exceedingly rare, and sometimes all three combined. Guns from Kentucky rifles to M16s, owned by the famous and the infamous alike sell at Julia’s.

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Cali Paterson Colt Revolver Fetches Nearly $1 Million at Auction

Online Editors — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 12:00:40 -0400

The gun recognized as one of the greatest Paterson Colts fetched a record $977,500 at auction in Dallas at Heritage Auctions on Sept. 18, the most a single firearm has ever fetched at open auction. It surpassed the previous record firearm auction price of $920,000, also for a Colt revolver. The buyer of the Paterson Colt was identified only as a “Silicon Valley mogul.”

The entire Cali collection sold extremely well, a testament to collector Al Cali’s eye for quality according to Greg Martin of Greg Martin Auctions. In addition to the Paterson Colt, a pair of revolvers tied for second highest price at the sale at $805,000 apiece, both well above their pre-auction estimates. One was a cased, engraved presentation Model 1861 New Model Navy; the other, a cased ivory-gripped Colt Third Model Dragoon revolver, engraved by Gustave Young and inscribed to “Colonel P.M. Milliken.” The “Thumbprint Walker” brought $690,000.

For details and photos of the Paterson, the 1861 Navy, the Dragoon, the Tumbprint Walker and other amazing items from the Cali Collection, click here or on the photo above.

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Announcing the 2011 Gun Nut Target Photo Contest

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 13:22:42 -0400

Enter the 2011 Gun Nut Target Photo Contest for a chance to win a S&W rifle.

Random Thoughts: Fine Guns and Mixed Martial Arts

Dave_Maccar — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 08:46:34 -0500

by Phil Bourjaily

Fine English shotguns are a hot commodity, says Time magazine. Investors seeking to diversify their portfolios after the disasters of the last couple of years have discovered the fine gun market. The limited supply of fine guns – most makers build very few guns a year – keeps the market strong.

For instance, thirteen of Eric Clapton’s guns, including a pair of specially engraved William Evans doubles, recently brought over $700,000 at Sotheby’s.

Fine English doubles are appreciating at 3 to 5 percent per year, which isn’t much, but it’s steady. Besides which, in the event of complete global ruin, you have a gun – albeit one that only holds two shells.

* * *

It is unfortunate with all the attention brought to New York slasher Maksim Gelman, we don’t hear as much about Joe Lozito, the man who helped disarm him in a bloody fight on the subway. Lozito says years of watching Mixed Martial Arts helped him survive.

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Wonderland On Paper: 70 Classic Gun Advertisements Published in Field & Stream from 1940 to 1960

Online Editors — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 13:48:38 -0400

These 70 ads for new guns ran in the pages of Field & Stream between 1940 and 1950, when postwar hunters drove demand for guns higher than it's ever been since.

How to Shoot a Magazine for Fun and (Maybe) Profit

Online Editors — Thu, 27 May 2010 13:20:41 -0400

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Chad Love: Locked & Loaded in Parkland

Joe_Cermele — Wed, 27 May 2009 15:28:51 -0400

There's already been a boatload of bloviation expressed on the recent reversal of the ban on loaded firearms in our national parks, some of it sensible but most of it (predictably) bordering on hysterics.

This column from the Huffington Post is a perfect example:

"In fact, the new rule is likely to make national park visitors less safe around wildlife. Packing heat could give some people a false sense of security and make them more likely to approach bison, elk, moose, and grizzly bears, rather than keep a safe distance which is better for both people and animals."

But the most certain outcome of this congressional action is that it will promote poaching. The National Park Service warned in its fiscal 2006 budget submission each year for the past several years ... The data suggests that there is a significant domestic as well as international trade for illegally taken plant and animal parts." Poaching, the agency said, "is suspected to be a factor in the decline of at least 29 species of wildlife and could cause the extirpation of 19 species from the parks."

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Discussion Topic: Field & Stream Wins ASME’s Highest Honor

Joe_Cermele — Fri, 01 May 2009 10:32:04 -0400

F&S is the best magazine of its size on the planet. Okay, I’m a little biased on that point--but it’s not just me who thinks so. Last night, the country’s top magazine editors representing the country’s top magazines met at New York City’s Lincoln Center for the 44th Annual National Magazine Awards. Known as Ellies, these are basically the Oscars of the magazine industry, and “General Excellence” is “Best Picture.”

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What's It Worth? The Porter Rifle

Online Editors — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 10:43:43 -0500

Before the Civil War, competition was fierce among gun designers to create a practical repeating rifle. In 1851, inventor P.W. Porter thought he had the solution. It was a nine-shot, .44-caliber percussion gun that fed from a radial magazine, which was rotated and locked by a lever. The individually loaded chambers on the perimeter of the turret were ignited by a self-priming side-hammer mechanism.

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What's It Worth? The Savage 1899

Online Editors — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 10:35:33 -0500

During the 19th century and well into the 20th, most major American gunmakers featured high-grade firearms in their catalogs. Shooters who had the money and yearned for something much nicer than what their friends could afford would thumb through and choose among half a dozen or more fancy and ultra-fancy offerings. (Parker, for example, offered nine ascending grades.)

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What's It Worth? The Savage 1899

fieldandstream-editor — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 07:00:00 -0400

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