Shooting Antique Guns On Pawn Stars

[Wyatt Burp]

So they get a cased, military marked 1860 Army Colt on the show last night. Being military maybe the box ain't original. I like the gun guy they used for advice but he obviously was told to say "..but we have to shoot it to see if it works." I don't believe this would be his policy in his gunshop (which he has) but the pawn guys have to shoot EVERYTHING! So they did. And then "Rick", as usual, proceeds to bend the seller over and start dealing with him about price. It would be fun to shoot these guns but I don't think Butterfield & Butterfield are blasting away every antique gun they sell at auction. And we buy stuff at gunshows all the time without shooting them first. Maybe they do it just to make the show interesting, which it is even though the sellers allow themselves to get reamed a lot. But maybe the $2000 (I think it was that) was OK this time for that Colt.

[HayesGreener]

Sometimes I think they are just trying to kill Chumley

[Malysh]

This is a good example why I don't watch any "reality" TV shows. I detest them.
It doesn't matter what the subject is, the shows are garbage.
If I wanted to see what it was like to haul cargo along the AlCan highway or what it's like to fish for King crabs I think a 1-2 hr. documentary would suffice, not 13 boring installments of the same crap.

Matt, I completely agree with you. No expert in their right mind would encourage somebody to shoot a rare and valuable antique gun and risk damaging or destroying it. A private owner might want to do this but an industry professional would advise against it - unless it's for a lame TV show.

[charles isaac]

OOPS!..........I shoot this one, made in 1855..............He He! I sorry................ I am real nice to it though.

[Wyatt Burp]

OOPS!..........I shoot this one, made in 1855..............He He! I sorry................ I am real nice to it though.

OOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! That's a nice one.

[BobSm]

Sorry, but their "expert" is anything but.

This one is much worse than the fingernails on a chalkboard when these lads take valuable antiques to the range for shooting and bayonet charges. In this one their firearms "expert" advises a customer to alter and probably ruin a unique antique.

http://www.history.com/shows/pawn-st...ars-chummobile

A woman brings in a small, portable writing desk with a concealed gun built into a trap door in the desk front and a button trigger so a person seated in front of the desk would get shot when the button was pressed. It reminded me of way back when the army paid in cash and lieutenant pay officers and their drivers went well-armed on payday, as a large company's cash payroll was 200 grand when a LT made 300 a month, his driver 85, and when you lost something it really did come out of your pay. A Victorian-era, portable payroll desk custom built for a railroad, coal mine, or other business back when companies paid on the job site, the insurance industry was in its infancy and cash payrolls were prime criminal targets.

The gun was an antique, black-powder alarm gun like you find on old, 19th-Century catalogs. It looked like it was brass. They were made to screw to a window or door frame, were loaded with blanks, and were configured to trip when an intruder opened the window or door, frightening the intruder away. Most were percussion, but this one was a .22 or .32 rimfire clearly designed for blanks, as it had a chamber but no barrel. Loaded with a live round, however, it certainly would hit something only two feet away. The 22 rimfire cartridge dates to Flobert’s BB Cap in 1845.

It could possibly have been a stage prop, but the unit looks purpose-built and well-made. Namely, too well done for temporary use.

Not only could our “expert” not identify the firearm, he advised the owner to take it to a gunsmith to be “deactivated”, as it was likely “not a pre-1898 antique” and additionally could be considered a “concealed weapon” illegal to buy and sell without deactivation.

Words can't describe what poor advice that was on several levels. If he were a physician I'd apply to revoke his license.

Here's a photo of a similar alarm gun:



And here's another in percussion:

[Roninrlm]

I have been to that Pawn Shop in Vegas AND the waiting line to get in the door is about ONE HOUR. I sometimes help them with their Samurai swords. Also. I was told that they make more money off selling Tshirts than anything else.

Ronin

[james47]

I have seen what looks like the 'pawn stars' shoot with powder but no ball.....hopefully.

[majdad93]

Your critique seems to come from a very thorough, deeply experienced exposure to unique firearms. I do watch "Pawn Stars", but lately with very waning enthusiasm. I wonder about this show and just how "historical" it is, especially since it airs on "History Channel." I wonder, too, about the "experts" that are always called in to analyze items, particularly firearms. Why does each and every "expert" always ask: "What are your concerns, Rick?" How disingenious is this? And why, if it takes a real person an hour to get inside the store, do we always see an empty sidewalk and parking lot in front of the store?

This show belongs on "Arts & Entertainment" (A&E) or "Comedy Central" or someplace else, not in an arena insulting all things American by celebrating stupidity, i.e.: the "Chum Lee" character. Gold & Silver Pawn Shop is not interested in educating Americans about and celebrating in our rich American history, particularly firearms. It is not a documentary. As "Rick" always says, he'd "like to have it in his shop" so he can make a profit. "Rick" is not a collector and the shop is in business to entertain folks in 100+ countries in 30+ languages and knock down a chunk of cash in the process. Roninrlm is right: they no doubt rake in more cash on T-shirts & such by just being TV celebrities. Business and entertainment are OK; but let's just call this show what it is: a clown act.

And the "Old Man." Richard, Sr., is supposed to be a Patriot and Retired US Navy 1st Class Petty Officer. I just wish he would inject a real dose of "reality" into this program by prefacing each episode with "What you are about to see is..........." Well, we each can finish this part.

[moosedog]

$2,000! Makes me appreciate mine from 1862 even more. I was told that the extra holes were most likely for a Mexican shoulder stock.

I watch Pawn Stars once in a while and find it entertaining and somewhat (and I mean only somewhat) informative.