Pawn Shop Circuit: A Different Smith, or Two

I pulled into Dave's parking lot first today, and peered through his counter glass at the Colt Army Special languishing on the shelf. Dave had not added anything to the selection.

I drove on over to Neil's shop, and was amazed to see a bounty of guns on display inside. A man was arguing with Neil that his wife could fill out the 4473 and buy him the Model 29 he wanted. Neil was not having any of it. I was transfixed at the counter. Under the glass were two Smith & Wesson 1911's. Finally the angry man left, and I flagged Neil over.

Neil pulled out an almost new SW1911 that had cocobolo grips, adjustable sights, and a McCormick trigger. I'm a diehard Colt guy, and I have never really cared for the mismatched look of the stainless Smith & Wesson 1911s, with blued small parts. Still, one just doesn't see 1911s of any type on the used racks often. Neil had this one priced at $489. I wondered if the owner had swapped in the McCormick trigger and wood grips. All the SW1911s I had seen had rubber grips. Still....$489.

Neil had another S&W 1911 under the glass. It had a three hole trigger and NRA laser grips, along with Novak style sights. Both pistols had Wilson magazines. The laser gripped pistol was priced at $659. I asked Neil if I could swap the grips on the two pistols and get a fixed sight gun without the laser grips. Neil said no, as the guns were already on the books described as they were. Fair enough.

I field stripped the first pistol. It looked like it had seen perhaps one range session of 50 rounds. I told Neil to get me a 4473, and he smiled and slid one over. As I was filling it out, I asked to take a look at the other SW1911, and began to think...... Layaway. This does not happen often. At the very least these are enjoyable guns that are priced well below their market value, and would make great trade fodder later. I asked how much money would secure the second pistol on layaway. Neil did a quick calculation and said $75. I pulled out $75 and asked him to lay it away for me. As I finished up the paperwork on the first pistol, Neil moved my second SW1911 back into the safe with my name on it. As Neil called in the NICS, I reassembled the pistol with the adjustable sights, and looked at the other guns in the case.

Neil also had a Inox Beretta Centurion in the case, along with a Taurus .357. When Neil returned from the telephone, he told me that all of these pistols belonged to the same fellow,who hocked them all at once and then never returned to claim them. I will have to bring a friend in to take a look at the Centurion tomorrow. Mark has been wanting a Beretta 92FS, and Neil's was priced right at $389. Neil told me I passed the NICS, so I paid for my new SW1911, and left the shop for home. Once home, I researched this SW1911, and found that the McCormick trigger, Wilson Mag, and cocobolo grips were absolutely stock, and that the pistol had a MSRP of $1,101. Wow! I'm glad I grabbed the other one as well!

Amber had sold one of her Charter Arms revolers. Range report soon.