Re: Malcolm and guns
Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 10:43 pm
I think Brits make revolvers.
Elessar wrote:yeah, the real iconic revolvers are old west revolvers. I'll do some more research on famous Old West revolvers if that's what you want, but here's the staple british revolver of the late 19th century:
http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:qsm ... clnk&gl=us
.455 Webley. The thing about a bullet sort of unscrewing and coming open and hiding something is fine, but it's unlikely such a round would actually fire. You'd have to have a tapped projectile and tapped brass casing... like screw threaded so they could fit together, if I understand what you're suggesting. That wouldn't really fire, even if you had powder in the casing, because the projectile wouldn't come out. The round would probably explode in the chamber due to the screw threading locking the bullet into the cartridge casing.
Let me know what you're interested in knowing about.
panyasan wrote:No, he is not going to use this gun collection. He just has this habit of when he get a new one for his collection, he cleans the gun right away and always checks the bullets. So I was thinking he developed this habit, because of an accident he had some years back, when some one was messing with the bullets and the gun exploded and he nearly got away. I was asking if that last senario was plausible.
WarpGirl wrote:OK Do you like guns much Elessar??? I'm wondering what started the hobby? Not saying I don't think it's cool, IT IS! But I'm just wondering how you got into it.
Elessar wrote:panyasan wrote:No, he is not going to use this gun collection. He just has this habit of when he get a new one for his collection, he cleans the gun right away and always checks the bullets. So I was thinking he developed this habit, because of an accident he had some years back, when some one was messing with the bullets and the gun exploded and he nearly got away. I was asking if that last senario was plausible.
This is really a habit that every shooter develops.... has to develop... ESPECIALLY collectible firearms. I mean if they are ever going to be fired.
In fact, as I am a registered collect of Curios & Relics (collectible firearms - it means I can have them shipped directly to ME instead of to a gun store - this is firearms 50+ years old or older and/or derive most/all of their value from being rare/collectible or military surplus weapons greater than 25 years out of service), I have to do this a lot, and not only do you have to clean them, but you almost universally have to have them checked out by a qualified and licensed gunsmith (which Malcolm very well could practically be, if you want), that's if they are to be fired.
There's kind of two kinds of collectors, and then mixes of both. There's people who collect very expensive but unfirable antique weapons... those need to be inspected but not for safety reasons, just to make sure it's in the best working condition it could be in. But there is such a thing as a collectible that the process of firing would damage or even destroy. Some weapons are so old and fragile that they aren't meant to be fired... but possibly loaded... and sometimes loaded with blanks, or if it's not a cartridge weapon but an old cap-and-ball or muzzle loader or like even a ball musket, it might be loaded with just powder load just so it can be fired like a blank. Like for war recreation purposes, like re-enactments of the Civil War.
Then there's the kind of collector who collects shootable weapons - that's me. Weapons that are collectible but are not all dainty and fragile and can be fired. There is sometimes a fine line. For instance, an early model production WW-1 era Springfield 1903 rifle (not the later 03-A3 like I have), CAN be fired but due to early flaws in the casting process for the receivers (the heat treatment was inferior to later processes), rifles with SN's under about 300,000 are somewhat brittle and if you are going to fire them you have to be an experienced hand-loader so that you can handload your ammunition.
Every experienced shooter will inspect and clean a new weapon thoroughly. In fact, in the military it is considered standard practice and part of training to inspect any weapon that anybody HANDS you, because it's not your weapon and you don't know what they did to it. You check and clear the chamber every time.
But to answer your question, it's feasible that Malcolm had an accident in the past... maybe almost lost a finger... because of a mistake. I know at least two people who have accidentally discharged firearms while cleaning. I never have. I used to think it's retarded, how could you make this mistake? Then one day I realized that because I keep 1 or 2 firearms loaded in the house, I couldn't remember whether a gun was loaded or not. It's very simple to unload, regardless of what the weapon is, but the point is I almost assumed it was unloaded before I realized I could not be sure. Plus, some stupid handgun manufacturers actually built them so that you had to pull the trigger to disassemble the weapon (cough Glock cough), so that's happened to people. I've never broken down a loaded weapon. Never should.
Btw, just re-reading your original post and I noticed something else worth mentioning. You will never buy a weapon that has ammo already it. or at least, you SHOULDN'T! Big buyer-beware moment there. I'd run away from a dealer that was selling loaded weapons. The only thing you might see similar to that (which I have) is in country gun auctions (which I've been to, lol), if they are selling somewhat antiquated weapons (antiques), they may include ammo with it, just as a sort of bonus. Like, normally you wouldn't buy an 1896 Steyr-Mannlicher bolt action in 8x56mm because it's IMPOSSIBLE to find the ammo today. But if they sold 60 rounds of ammo with it and the rifle only went for $60 (as I saw one go for), you might grab it. Not only do u have 60 rounds to fire, but u have brass to reload in the future (assuming you reload, which a lot of gun aficionados do). It's really an art as much as a science and something I could see Malcolm doing (reloading/handloading) same thing.
Elessar wrote:Soo... yeah that's how . It's a lot of fun and marksmanship is a big challenge, you never stop learning and improving if you persevere
/unhijacking thread
SO PANNY! What kind of weapon is Malcolm going to have?
panyasan wrote:Elessar wrote:Soo... yeah that's how . It's a lot of fun and marksmanship is a big challenge, you never stop learning and improving if you persevere
/unhijacking thread
SO PANNY! What kind of weapon is Malcolm going to have?
I am still going for the .455 Webley, also because that gun was used in colonial wars and Malcolm did live in one of the old British colonies, Malaysia. If you don't mind, I am going to use lots of stuff that had been said in the thread and also name a couple of guns mentioned as part of his gun collection. I wanted to make Malcolm a capable, knowlegable and enthousiastic gun collector and this thread has given me lots of ideas to pull that off. Thanks everyone!