Being near Fort Bragg (NC), pawn shops end up getting black powder guns that were pawned and lost to the owner. I've been lucky picking up unusual or custom-made muzzleloaders from the various pawn shops around here. I leave my contact info when something comes out of pawn or is purchased outright by the pawn dealer. For him it might be a guaranteed sale.
Such was the case a couple years ago, when one pawnbroker called me to come look at a trio of custom-made Hawken-style rifles he bought. When I looked at them, I recognized the maker's names on one of them, "Ted Fellows" (BeaverLodge/Spokane, WA). The second one was unsigned but accompanying that rifle were about a dozen letters and photos between the maker, John Bergmann (of Tennessee) and the original owner. That's called provenance. After bringing them home, I found the the maker's name on the third by removing the barrel from the stock to find Joe Corley's name on the bottom flat, which is customary among known gunmakers when a maker is not supplying the parts to build it. Joe was one of the gunmakers at Art Ressel's Hawken Shop in St. Louis, in the mid-1980's)
I asked the pawnbroker for the price on all three, and he quoted about $ 2K, which would put each one at about $ 650.00. For him, he was satisfied with the sale as I was. You can't know everything in any business, so for him, seeing "Ted Fellows" on one rifle and nothing on rifles two & three, meant nothing to him. He was happy doubling his money in five days. It was a good deal for me too, I doubled my money on two of the three, and have about three or four folks standing in line to buy this little "jewel" of Joe Corley's. Its likely the finest-made custom Hawken rifle out there, complete with a Ron Long lock and a .54 caliber H & H barrel. All the steel furniture is color-case hardened.
To me, paying the price of a Lyman GPR for each of the three rifles, it was worth it. Just call it the "luck of the draw" for everybody.
Such was the case a couple years ago, when one pawnbroker called me to come look at a trio of custom-made Hawken-style rifles he bought. When I looked at them, I recognized the maker's names on one of them, "Ted Fellows" (BeaverLodge/Spokane, WA). The second one was unsigned but accompanying that rifle were about a dozen letters and photos between the maker, John Bergmann (of Tennessee) and the original owner. That's called provenance. After bringing them home, I found the the maker's name on the third by removing the barrel from the stock to find Joe Corley's name on the bottom flat, which is customary among known gunmakers when a maker is not supplying the parts to build it. Joe was one of the gunmakers at Art Ressel's Hawken Shop in St. Louis, in the mid-1980's)
I asked the pawnbroker for the price on all three, and he quoted about $ 2K, which would put each one at about $ 650.00. For him, he was satisfied with the sale as I was. You can't know everything in any business, so for him, seeing "Ted Fellows" on one rifle and nothing on rifles two & three, meant nothing to him. He was happy doubling his money in five days. It was a good deal for me too, I doubled my money on two of the three, and have about three or four folks standing in line to buy this little "jewel" of Joe Corley's. Its likely the finest-made custom Hawken rifle out there, complete with a Ron Long lock and a .54 caliber H & H barrel. All the steel furniture is color-case hardened.
To me, paying the price of a Lyman GPR for each of the three rifles, it was worth it. Just call it the "luck of the draw" for everybody.
