…but luckily you noticed something horribly wrong just in the nick of time.
Mine was a near mint Polytech Legend milled pre-ban AK47 at a gun show. I all but had my money out to hand to the man when I picked it up to look at it and—could not open the breach with every ounce of strength I had.
The guy just stood there and stared at me as I tugged and tugged at the charging handle.
“It’s stuck.” I said as I handed it to him.
He practically yanked it out of my hand, saying, “That CAN’T be! I just shot it a few days ago.”
He proceeded to try to pry the bolt handle back, even resorting to trying to kick it open with his boot like a recent anecdote from the History Channel series “Tales of the Gun” had related.
It wouldn’t budge.
Of course I told him I couldn’t buy it in that state, and he frantically tried to reassure me he’d get it open. He knew that filthy lucre was getting ready to walk away.
I probably spent another hour at that gun show.
On my way out the door, I passed his table again. He was hitting the charging handle with a large ratchet, and had the bolt carrier open maybe an inch or so (if that).
“It’s coming,” he said, looking up at me while he continued to pound away on it.
“I think I’ll pass,” I said, as I continued out the door.
Well I’m not sure if the adjective “worst” can be applied here but I was about to buy a 6920 in 2011 off Gunbroker and had to cancel. The seller said he was pretty sure it was made with the small trigger pins. Pretty much insisted they were…but I got skeptical. I asked him for the serial number and he sent me a picture. So I called Colt and they informed me that it did indeed have the larger pins. I told him I had to cancel the order and he took it pretty well.
Almost bought an original M1842 Springfield. Asked the guy to take the barrel bands off to see if there was rust under it. Turns out the stock was cracked so bad the bands were holding it together.
I have a PSL that will do that on n a casino after shooting the old school surplus ammo. You miss any of the gun on the piston or in the gas tube, and it wants to harden and adhesive.
And a safety harbor mag fed bolt action 50 upper on a single shot AR with A1 stock. Some batches of AE will be a bear to open the action and extract.
I’m betting the bolt was off the rails. Why he didn’t remove the top cover first is beyond me. He probably screwed the Poly up forever.
For me the best gun I didn’t buy was the Vz61 when they first came out as a pistol version for $999 or something like that. I was in a money crunch and just couldn’t make it happen. About 8 months later the exact same firearm was down to $599 and I was able to grab one of those plus a Vz 58 rifle for $399 if I remember correctly. Got the 61 SBR’d and I was one happy camper.
…all right it could, but still that gun is going nowhere.
Actually, A gun I thought I regretted but realized that I didn’t was my SPAS 12. Bleeding edge of late 70s design. It really isn’t a bad gun and always retains value but a. It’s a shotgun and b. Does nothing a Mossberg can’t do.
There are replacement parts that give it new life. And as an autoloader with the correct power shells; it is more than reasonable to shoot.
Plus it looks menacing and them velociraptors yo…gotta stay strapped.
I still wish they had an 80s themed 3 gun where you could only use guns of the era. Like if it wasn’t on Miami Vice, it’s a no go. Should be easier with the retro craze. IIRC I think even the very first Super 90s were shown on Miami Vice. I know the Glock was.
I loved my Franchi SPAS 12 (top folder with umbrella handle), UNTIL they came out with the Benelli M1S90. Sold the SPAS, grabbed the Benelli and never looked back.
To this day I hear dealers filling gun buyers with a sense of wonder when they talk of “pump / auto combo” and how if the semi auto feature ever fails you just engage the pump action like on some fantasy Rambo movie. And all I can think is WTF would I even want a semi auto that might fail and needs a pump backup?
Of course the truth is dual feature to handle low powered rounds like bean bags and other LE loads. And that is also why Benelli makes the M3, but gun show people eat up that nonsense all day long. Like the SPAS 12 is the AK of shotguns, of course from a modern perspective it might now be accurate.
Loved the look of the SPAS, would prefer to have a USAS 12, but even 30 years later the Benelli reigns supreme. I have 870s because they are 870s, but they don’t see much use.
Super 90s will always have a special place for me. At one point I took a 14" M1 over any SMG. This was before Benelli M4s were so readily available (still want one at some point, the M4).
Straight stock, bungee sling, surefire and that campaigner saw a lot of use.
Still I think SPAS 12s are neat. I want a mossy retrograde trench gun.
I have had enough time on 870s that while I respect them…I am sick of them. Still…I want an 11-87 or a 20" 1100.
Not that it’s a bad rifle (most folks seemed to like them) but I was just getting into the scary rifle scene at the time and almost pulled the trigger on it instead of an AR.
