Garand historical guardianship

I have no will power, I would fire it although sparingly

Why own the toys if you're not gonna' play with them?? ALL of my toys are to be played with.
Jon

A set of $4,000 to $5,000 springs is a big reason not to fire one of the ones I am speaking of. I can understand someone not buying that type of rifle, but a collector will for its rarity and to say they are wrong for not shooting it really isn't fair. I'm not into allot of things and I do not care how the people who collect those things behave, nor should they on what I collect. Rick B

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Originally Posted by Rick B

A set of $4,000 to $5,000 springs is a big reason not to fire one of the ones I am speaking of. I can understand someone not buying that type of rifle, but a collector will for its rarity and to say they are wrong for not shooting it really isn't fair. I'm not into allot of things and I do not care how the people who collect those things behave, nor should they on what I collect. Rick B

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My solution to this problem would be to have a set of repro springs on hand for shooting,and the originals for lookin'.

No repo's that work.

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Originally Posted by Rick B

No repo's that work.

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That's it,I'm not buying one! :)

I say let those who ride decide! But just as the ultimate sacrilidge, lets see the pictures of the Gastrap G.....That should cause alot of grief!!

Mike

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Originally Posted by Rick B

Not if it has very expensive and hard to find parts. My American Eagle for instance, why fire it when I have more Lugers to shoot. Having to fire every weapon I collect is nothing more than having to think I need to be with every woman and none are to be left alone. I have had many weapons in my possession that I have never fire and have no urge too.

I am a firm believer that each thing in this world has its own purpose and to feel everyone has to do as all others do is something to think about.

Now answer me this..... If you have 5 Garands and 3 are super rare and worth $15,000 like the 3 digit WRA sold in my kitchen 3 months ago to a regular guy, do you feel he needs to shoot it or would you shoot it when you have others to shoot? If so can you honestly tell me why other than to take a chance you would fire it :) Rick B

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I would not fire it Rick. Now, would you fire a 5.8 all correct and original SA?

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Originally Posted by Rick B

No repo's that work.

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Rick, come on man. It would take a dumb arse like me about 30 minutes to make up springs that would work in a trapper.

I am already going to hell...

I am a history nut. I have a love of things that have historic significance. But significance can be quite difficult to qualify and to quantify. I do believe that military arms have historic significance to one degree or another and therefore are subject to preservation in their "original" state but this cannot be absolute. Let me further elaborate...

I am an architect that does a good deal of historic preservation. One of the things about historic preservation is that not all things that are "old" are historic and so not all "old" buildings are of value to preserve. This is something that is quite difficult to wrestle with from a preservation standpoint as well as emotionally. Most people out there that want to work with preservation specialists are vested emotionally in their property and think it is very special and that everyone else should appreciate it. But from a historic preservation standpoint, if an old building is just an old building and doesn't illustrate a living history tied to it, why is it "special" and worthy of preservation?

The same applies to anything and everything that has the potential of historic significance tied to it. Identifying that significance is paramount. Therefore, are all M1's historically significant? The emotional part of me screams yes. The rational part of me knows better.

People are a funny breed. They think everyone should think like them. Now, why does the collector's position of preserving that significant part of history aggravate the shooter who wants to shoot everything they own? I don't think anyone can really answer that, the same as we can't answer the question of why do we need to shoot every firearm that we own? Is it wrong to shoot the guns we have? No; but maybe yes! But you can also say yes; but maybe no! What a conundrum we all put ourselves in!

So, my position is that we preserve the significant specimens. If they cannot be determined to be significant, do whatever the hell you want with them!