Anyone ever heard the term "buyer beware"?
In this case seller beware might be applied.
It is your sil to do as she sees fit.

We had friends who had a grandmother with early dementia. The grandfather had a safe in the house that both of them had access to a written combination card and they kept a healthy amount of old school cash inside.

One day the grandfather opened the safe and around eight thousand dollars worth of bills were gone. It turned out the grandmother became worried that someone would steal their money so she hid it in small amounts in clothing pockets/shoes in closets/chests/dressers throughout the house. She also hid all of her jewelry the same way. (She had a lot of clothes and it was a big house).

So the family spent a frantic week going through every single pocket/zipper flap/shoes/purses of all clothing in the house. They did find all of the money and jewelry eventually-

The ironic part was that they were getting ready to clean out closets and donate old clothing...

Nice find, good for you! Sure are a bunch of holier than thou types here.

quote:

Originally posted by szuppo:
Nice find, good for you! Sure are a bunch of holier than thou types here.

Great find.

They're just jealous because they didn't buy that purse.

quote:

Originally posted by flesheatingvirus:

quote:

Originally posted by joel9507:
I assume the general laws on transfer of handguns/firearms in a given jurisdiction apply, even if one is gifted/finds a pistol?

No such commie laws in NM that I'm aware of...for NOW. There is no registration.

That's a good thing. Not familiar with NM laws.

Here in NC, this could run into of one of the few irritating NC firearms laws, the 'pistol purchase permit' nonsense. They came up with this during Jim Crow days, to give county sheriffs the power to deny pistols to whomever they wanted. I am not a lawyer, but I believe it covers every type of transfer in NC, whether or not money changes hands. There's no registration, and concealed carry permit holders are exempt from the need for the permits, but it is a hassle for everyone else here.

Glad to hear NM may not have similar restrictions.

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:

quote:

Originally posted by az4783054:
I think there was a legitimate ethical question here. At least ask the seller if they want it back might be appropriate. Chances are they wouldn't because the weapon was all but forgotten but it may have value to the rightful owner. In some states it may be considered theft.

What if it had there been a diamond wedding ring, or a large amount of cash?

Well, what happens is the seller is a fucking moron.

Nothing ethical about it. Seller did what they perceived as reasonable inspection and sale of the item. Buyer did the same. Both were happy with the sale.

End of story - just because a seller is negligent in their end of the deal isn't a buyers problem.

Yes, the ethical question is, is the seller responsible for their error?

Answer is 'yes'.

Do-overs are for snowflakes. You offer it for sale, you OFFER IT FOR SALE. Applies double if you agree to the terms of a sale.

Is there any chance at all that you guys might get around to actually discussing the pistol? This is a ridiculous thread.

I'll start. From the OP's photos, the condition of the pistol is actually representative of most M1908's one will encounter. These pistols were ordinarily carried a lot but fired very little. If it were mine, I would obtain the missing parts, have it serviced and enjoy it as an occasional plinker. And while I wouldn't rely on it as my EDC, it would make a nice companion piece for a walk in the woods, fishing or other leisure activity. Remember, there was a day when folks carried these for self defense. I do however recommend not carrying the pistol with a round in the chamber.

What I found most interesting is that John Browning designed this pistol over 100 years ago and a lot of modern pistols are still using some of those features. Like the striker design, one piece slide, magazine disconnect safety, long extractor.

If I had to guess, I would say that the original owner of the purse (and pistol) is deceased, and the seller of the item had no idea there was a pistol in there. IMO, if seller didn't do his or her due diligence, that's on him/her.

I might make an exception if it were $100,000 in cash, or something life-changing like that. In that case, I'd at least offer them half.

grab a safety, (ebay, jack first, etc) and a set of original or repro grips,
box of ammo
and go shoot it!!

those Franzites are likely a bit fragile by now, and you are lucky if they are not warped or shrunk up a bit

This needs a matching 1903 with the same style grips (American Walnut preferred). Then get a 20's/30's outfit to complete the look.

Congrats. I've found some great deals at a yard sale or Thrift Store but nothing like this.

Being from the Great State of Texas, I'd like to say 'nice find'.
I hope you can find the missing part and own a sweet functional piece of history.

No silly transfers or FFLs needed in a private sale here, and that is what happened, a private sale.

If one sells something, it is the seller's responsibility to check said item, not the buyer's.

I have a Colt Challenger made in 1955. I bought it in the mid-1980s. It came with a set of faux stag Franzite grips in the style pictured on the tiny Colt.
I imagine these period replacement panels were installed on my pistol by someone who didn't care for the shit brown plastic panels Colt was putting on these economy Woodsmans back then.

I never knew the trivia about the owner of Franzite.

BTW, if the trigger pull weight of my Challenger is anything greater than two pounds, I'll eat my hat. It's probably about a pound and a half. No joke, and it doesn't double on me.

Here's an old insurance photo of my Challenger.

Para nice colt.
Little more Frantzius nickel knowledge

http://www.myalcaponemuseum.com/id83.htm

Looks like plenty of blue on it to me. Better than my Vest Pocket. Congrats!