Gun Show: Swapping Guns & Crossing Bridges

I went back to the gun show with my XD9 today, intent on liquidating it and perhaps getting a new shootin' iron. The XD9 had been a good gun. I had heard about the "Extreme Duty" Springfield when it first came out, and I wasn't overly impressed. When one finally showed up at the range, I decided to rent it and see what all the brouhaha was about. I hit the X ring over and over with the little plastic fantastic. I was so impressed that I bought it. I used it a few times as a trainer, then I was no longer taken by the gun. Anything it could do, another gun could also do. I had bought the XD9 during the AWB as well, and it had two 10 round magazines. Springfield was smart designing a new gun that would accept the already existent Beretta 92FS full capacity magazines, but after the AWB, the XD held no allure for me any more. It was up for sale or trade.

I had walked around the show for a couple of hours carrying the boxed and orange tagged XD, with the dealers low balling me. I ascertained the prices of every other XD in the place, and the lowest priced used XD was sans box, one mag and $375. I figured my $350 firm asking price was fair. Still, I had no takers, only a couple of lookers. Finally, I had one young man with a crew cut offer me $325, the same price I had regretted turning down last night. The afternoon was still young though, so I politely said no. That's when he reached into his pocket and retrieved the biggest old top break S&W I have seen. "How about this?" he asked.

When I began to accumulate S&W handguns, I vowed to refuse any gun I could not easily purchase ammunition for. I further restricted my collector's sickness accumulation habits by eschewing the top breaks, bottom breaks and other types of revolvers. Still, this old nickel gun was complete with unbroken grips and in good working order. I figured I could always find it a home if I needed to, possibly easier than the XD9. I traded off the Croatian Sensation and pocketed the old Smith with no hesitation.

Then I went outside to the car to look it up in The Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson, to find out what I had.

I found that I now owned a Smith & Wesson 44 Model Three Double Action. I had also crossed the line into top break Smith & Wessons, and opened up a pandora's box of accumulation possibilities. The one solace that I had was that this revolver was arguably the Daddy of the Model of 1899 M&P that I had just purchased a couple of days prior. The sickness of accumulating is rife with weak rationalizations like that.

I stashed the revolver, and went back inside. I saw the headmaster of my daughter's parochial school looking over an evil black rifle of the German type. He was, of course going undercover, and had left his cassock at the office. Seeing Father Shaughnessy there fondling that HK ninetywhatever made me feel as though my child was much safer at school. I then spied a middle aged black man carrying an orange tagged 1911, and it looked GI. I caught up with him and asked him if he was interested in selling it. He said no, he just brought it in to be appraised. I explained to him the best thing he could do is go online to the 1911 Forum, in the GI section. I hope he listens and did not sell that pistol. I did not get a good look at the pistol, but it looked good from what I saw. Finally, about 30 minutes before closing, I called it a day. We shall see whether I did well on my trade.