Pawn Shop Circuit: EZ Deals

After work today, I drove out to investigate a pawn shop I had noticed in a nearby town. From the exterior it seemed to meet my criteria for a place where a deal might be found. I found a parking place, patted the Model 38 in my right pocket, and went inside. The counter was being managed by a statuesque black lady who seemed more at ease selling jewelry. She was talking trash with a girlfriend about some "playas' they knew. I smiled and nodded at her and her purple lips parted to reveal stark white teeth.

I walked down the counter to the firearms. In a rack behind the counter were a selection of filthy rifles and shotguns. There were several pot metal specials under the glass, along with a much used Glock. Not much that I wanted to see. I took a quick look at the electronics on the way out the door and drove away.

I took the long way home and swung into Neil's shop on the way. The Glock and Sig were still in Neil's case, but added to the mix was an old .22 plinker. I waved Neil over and asked her to remove an old High Standard .22 caliber pistol for me to inspect. He handed me the pistol without opening the chamber, so I immediately locked back the bolt and removed the trigger lock. It was a High Standard Field King, or so it appeared to be. This pistol had a fixed rear sight, and the Field King was supposed to wear an adjustable sight. On close inspection, I believe the entire bolt had been replaced at some point. It just did not match the wear on the rest of the pistol. The grips were Franzlite period replacement grips. The barrel had pitting on it, although the bore still looked pretty good. Neil had priced this pistol at $249. It was nice, but no dice. I would have offered $150 if it had been priced nearer to my offer, but I knew I would never get Neil to drop the price by 40%. Besides that, a gun show is coming this weekend. I handed the pistol back to Neil and bid him a good evening.