Woman tries to turn in StG 44 at gun buyback, cops refuse to melt down piece of history - Polidicks

[quote] [img]http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/rPwBlRzXu67uizEzADZ.ig--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTYwMA--/http://l.yimg.com/os/590/2012/12/11/ht-gun-historic-hartford-nt-121210-wmain-jpg_125436.jpg[/img] Just like a scene out of "Antiques Roadshow," a woman in Hartford, Conn., turned in an old rifle to her local police station's gun buy-back, only to discover the gun was worth anywhere from $20,000 to $25,000. The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, inherited the gun from her father who had brought it home with him from Europe as a memento from World War II. The gun is called a Sturmgewehr 44, literally meaning "storm rifle," and is the first "modern assault rifle ever made, eventually replaced by the AK 47 in 1947 by Russia, who copied the German design of the Sturmgewehr 44," Officer Lewis Crabtree, one of the two officers who discovered the gun, told ABC News. "It's like finding the Babe Ruth of baseball cards," said Officer John Cavanna. "The rarity, it was made for such a very short period." Most people, however, who aren't avid gun fans would have no idea what role this gun played in history. "If you were to look at the gun and didn't know anything about guns, you would think it was garbage," Crabtree said. That is essentially what the owner thought the gun was, bringing it to the station knowing full well it would be put into a smelter, melting the gun down into an iron brick. "We did not take the gun in for the gun buy-back program," Crabtree said. "If we took it as part of the buy-back, we would have no choice but to destroy the gun. We don't want to destroy that gun." The owner intends to sell the Sturmgewehr 44. "It sounds like her family could use the money," Cavanna said. [/quote] [url]http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/valuable-wwii-gun-police-buy-back-022155231--abc-news-topstories.html[/url] Im glad that the cops on duty knew what it was. Would have been a damn shame to melt down an authentic WW2 relic, especially such a rare piece.

Damn StG 44's are very rare now, its a shame as its one of my favorite guns.

That looks in really good condition for how old/how used it is

it should be displayed in a war museum tbh

Good thing they didn't take it, it's a piece of history and probably pretty rare by now.

Authentic or not, I'd love to have a rifle like that. StG-44 is such a cool gun.

[QUOTE=fruxodaily;38790482]it should be displayed in a war museum tbh[/QUOTE] Yeah, I hope it doesn't end up hanging above some hicks fireplace as a decoration.

Refurbish it and let it do what it was made to do, shoot shit.

[QUOTE=Fatfatfatty;38790503]Yeah, I hope it doesn't end up hanging above some hicks fireplace as a decoration.[/QUOTE] an STG-44 is a little expensive for a "hick" to buy as a hunting rifle. The ammo for it isn't exactly cheap or common either.

some collector is going to pick it up, don't worry

[QUOTE=Boba_Fett;38790494]Authentic or not, I'd love to have a rifle like that. StG-44 is such a cool gun.[/QUOTE] you can buy a .22lr reproduction for about 600$,

And Hitler said it was ugly.

[QUOTE=C0MMUNIZT;38790526]Refurbish it and let it do what it was made to do, shoot shit.[/QUOTE] I'd pay to give it a go, I love historical weapons of the war so much

[QUOTE=goon165;38790563]And Hitler said it was ugly.[/QUOTE] When you're exposed to the finest in architecture, fashion, etc, you tend to get a jaded view on life :v:

Damn decent of them to do what they did, woman should have learned what she had before trying to send it off, she shouldn't have any problem finding a buyer that will treasure it.

Am I the only one who gets World At War memories from looking at this rifle?

[quote]The gun is called a Sturmgewehr 44, literally meaning "storm rifle," and is the first "modern assault rifle ever made, eventually replaced by the AK 47 in 1947 by Russia, who copied the German design of the Sturmgewehr 44," Officer Lewis Crabtree, one of the two officers who discovered the gun, told ABC News.[/quote] I can hear the collective groan from Facepunch's gun nuts.

I'm no gun fan, but I respect that.

[QUOTE=Used Car Salesman;38790740]I can hear the collective groan from Facepunch's gun nuts.[/QUOTE] [URL]http://shuntyard.blogspot.com/2012/06/firearms-history-is-ak-47-copy-of-stg.html[/URL] (courtesy of [url=http://www.facepunch.com/member.php?u=87423]rossmum[/url])

Man I would love to have a piece of history like that. I have a 45mm armor piercing AT shell (disarmed obviously) made in Great Britain in 1940. The serial was a little faded but most of the imprints on the bottom were pretty clear. Was a cool find. I'd take pics but I can't find it at the moment.

[QUOTE=FlakAttack;38790816]Man I would love to have a piece of history like that. I have a 45mm armor piercing AT shell (disarmed obviously) made in Great Britain in 1940. The serial was a little faded but most of the imprints on the bottom were pretty clear. Was a cool find. I'd take pics but I can't find it at the moment.[/QUOTE] 45mm? what was it made for? afaik the 2 pounder was 40mm.

[QUOTE=trotskygrad;38790855]45mm? what was it made for? afaik the 2 pounder was 40mm.[/QUOTE] That's what I was trying to figure out before I lost it somewhere in my closet lol. The base measured at 45mm but it had a little bit of a lip. It is possible that it was a 40mm shell. I still don't know a whole lot about it and too much of the serial was faded for me to be able to use it. EDIT: Looked at some 2 pounder pics, it definitely looks about the right size and shape, with the crimp in the middle too. It was in great condition and still had the primer. This is making me sad that I can't find it now.

[QUOTE=fruxodaily;38790482]it should be displayed in a war museum tbh[/QUOTE] I would love to see this too, but my only worry is that they would deactivate it, thus ruining it.

why would you try to turn in something from world war 2 that shit is priceless I mean I understand if she doesn't know about guns, I don't either but it was from world war 2 god damn

That gun may have killed American soldiers in the war, even

[QUOTE=Trunk Monkay;38790539]an STG-44 is a little expensive for a "hick" to buy as a hunting rifle. The ammo for it isn't exactly cheap or common either.[/QUOTE] I'm no expert, but doesn't it use unique "short rounds" or something? I've read it before but I'm not too sure.

stg 44's look cool

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPnYQgHfog4[/media] Just to know that some Syrian rebels are holding $20,000 worth of history........

[QUOTE=Tudd;38791321][media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPnYQgHfog4[/media] Just to know that some Syrian rebels are holding $20,000 worth of history........[/QUOTE] Like they found any ammo for it.

[QUOTE=Tudd;38791321][media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPnYQgHfog4[/media] Just to know that some Syrian rebels are holding $20,000 worth of history........[/QUOTE] well, 5000 x $20000 so $100,000,000 assuming they're in the same condition as the one in the OP (not likely)