Flex Posted July 24, 2015 Share #1 Posted July 24, 2015 Hey guys, I'm confused on something. From my understanding all us firearms we're government property right? I've seen a few ads on older weapons, such as the krag rifle, eddystone 1917, and listing such as my grandpa used this weapon in ww1. Could there be any truth to these claims? I've seen it more then once. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiftycat Posted July 24, 2015 Share #2 Posted July 24, 2015 i've heard that in the interwar years, many items including guns were sold off as surplus. my grandad told me once that that the local woolworth's had barrels of M1 Garands for 25$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flex Posted July 24, 2015 Author Share #3 Posted July 24, 2015 Man those musta been the days! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiftycat Posted July 24, 2015 Share #4 Posted July 24, 2015 what I wouldn't give to go back to 1946 with 5000$... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted July 24, 2015 Share #5 Posted July 24, 2015 I remember when W T Grant's and sears sold Springfields, Mausers, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted July 24, 2015 Share #6 Posted July 24, 2015 From my understanding all us firearms we're government property right? Yep and if a soldier took one home that would be a serious crime, but it used to be they could bring home the enemy's rifles and pistols as spoilsof war. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flex Posted July 24, 2015 Author Share #7 Posted July 24, 2015 Thanks for the replies guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_B Posted July 24, 2015 Share #8 Posted July 24, 2015 Hey guys, I'm confused on something. From my understanding all us firearms we're government property right? I've seen a few ads on older weapons, such as the krag rifle, eddystone 1917, and listing such as my grandpa used this weapon in ww1. Could there be any truth to these claims? I've seen it more then once. Thanks Hi Flex. Are you also asking about the legality of buying a 'US arm' today? Well there's US service weapons and then there are US service weapons. It is actually not automatically illegal to own a "United States Property" marked Colt M1911 or M1911A1 for example, or a Krag or an Eddystone or an M1 rifle, etc. A great many of our members here have legally purchased these things myself included. An M16A4? Well, that's a horse of a completely different prison term. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sundance Posted July 24, 2015 Share #9 Posted July 24, 2015 When I was a young'un I remember a box/barrel of M1 carbines in the sporting goods department of a local (western N.Y.) department store. That would have been in the mid 60's. I don't remember the price but I'd imagine the were pretty cheap. I'll always wonder whether there was an I-P in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m1ashooter Posted July 24, 2015 Share #10 Posted July 24, 2015 Just look a a pre 1968 Guns N Ammo magazine, It will make you cry. The has always been a percentage of GI's that dared to take service weapons home up through the Korean War. One stumbles across the Bar or Thompson stories once in awhile that Grandpa brought home and it was found in the attic after he died enough times to believe them. It appears carbines and 1911's because of there size were a favorite to try to bring home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salvage Sailor Posted July 24, 2015 Share #11 Posted July 24, 2015 This is my father's $15 carbine purchased in the early 1950's from a surplus store, along with a .45 auto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiftycat Posted July 25, 2015 Share #12 Posted July 25, 2015 This is my father's $15 carbine purchased in the early 1950's from a surplus store, along with a .45 auto. considering how much prices have inflated, it makes me shed a tear... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdk0911 Posted July 25, 2015 Share #13 Posted July 25, 2015 wow that a beautiful carbine - I remember when $1 got you a McDonalds hamburger, fries and a coke This is my father's $15 carbine purchased in the early 1950's from a surplus store, along with a .45 auto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1SG_1st_Cav Posted July 25, 2015 Share #14 Posted July 25, 2015 My dad brought a German 32 auto pistol home from WWII. He sold it to my uncle for $35 back in the early 1950's. Both are deceased and we have no idea where the pistol went. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
45ACP Posted July 25, 2015 Share #15 Posted July 25, 2015 And gas was $.32 a gallon does that tell how old I am. My father sent all the pieces for his(now mine) Remington Rand M1911A1 in his bagage from Vietnam. He hand carried the frame through customs in the folder with his orders. The inspector looked in the folder and handed it back to my father and sent him on his way. I need to take some pics and tell the story. wow that a beautiful carbine - I remember when $1 got you a McDonalds hamburger, fries and a coke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaA257 Posted July 26, 2015 Share #16 Posted July 26, 2015 When I was a kid, I had a neighbor who had been in the Marines in WWII. He still had an M-1 carbine and he told me he stole it and brought it home. He jokingly referred to it as part of his severance package lol. Back when my pop was on the state police in the 1970's, they had a family bring in a U.S. PROPERTY marked 1911 because their father was on his deathbed and asked them to turn it in because he was dying and didnt want them getting into trouble for his stealing it. I'm sure back in the day it happened more than we know.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suwanneetrader Posted July 26, 2015 Share #17 Posted July 26, 2015 My Dad got a 1911-A1 .45 and a Japanese Nambu sub machine gun, both disassembled in a seabag all the way from Guam (On a hospital ship) until disembarkation in Calif. There a Capt took them Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNY Militaria Posted July 26, 2015 Share #18 Posted July 26, 2015 I interviewed a WWII Pacific AAF Officer that got an M-1 Carbine home in his duffel bag and still had it. He said that as they were shipping home, a group of Seabees came by with brand new M-1 carbines and were trading them for bottles of alcohol. He happened to have one to trade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McDermut99 Posted July 26, 2015 Share #19 Posted July 26, 2015 I've read a couple stories where soldiers shipped their rifles or pistols home piece by piece. As for military firearms being sold to civilians, I found a couple ads for you shiftycat. I wish I lived when a Krag was $15: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McDermut99 Posted July 26, 2015 Share #20 Posted July 26, 2015 A Johnson rifle for under $50! I understand the value of the dollar was different back then but come on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McDermut99 Posted July 26, 2015 Share #21 Posted July 26, 2015 Even more M1s and Johnsons: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McDermut99 Posted July 26, 2015 Share #22 Posted July 26, 2015 I know the picture is a German MG, but read through the whole ad: (This was in 1977 mind you.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted July 26, 2015 Share #23 Posted July 26, 2015 My father-in-law who was an officer in the Seabees, had a crate made and shipped his carbine and his 1911A1 home. Ronnie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suwanneetrader Posted July 26, 2015 Share #24 Posted July 26, 2015 A WWII Navy Vet had this . Even at this late date I won't post any other details. Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawnmt6601 Posted July 27, 2015 Share #25 Posted July 27, 2015 they brought home more than rifles and pistols When my Father was a kid, his uncle had a fragmentation grenade he brought back from WW2 Dad said he was visiting. with his Dad, the uncle and Dad got it down off a shelf in the garage and started to play with it. The uncle snatched it away and told him it was dangerous. walked over to the hill side and tossed it way down into the weeds. Terrible idea. who knows who may have found it later. Never entered the guys mind that he should not have left it out anyway,. later when Dad was back from Vietnam. He was friends with another old fellow. who lived in an area right out of the local town. He paid Dad and a friend to bury a M1919 browning with 1,000 rounds of belted ammo in cans in his yard. Dad is confident it is still there. How he got it back and away with it would be a heck of a story Another friends Dad had his Dad's bring back Thompson. I saw it with my own eyes. Found it after his Dad dies. Had been handed down. I have seen several bring back M1 carbines and pistols. not counting the enemy weapons. even saw first hand a bring back M2 carbine. I always thought of the "bring back " full auto stuff was near a myth. until over the years I have seen enough of them pop up to be shocking really. Not cause I think machine guns are evil. It just boggles my mind how they managed to do it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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