Mis-matched Trench Guns and Collectability

[bigskybound]

I met a fascinating gentleman last weekend who had been an armorer in the Pacific during WW II. He told me about how they collected damaged weapons from the battlefield and what they had to do to get them back on the line. When I asked him about the mis-matched Stevens and Winchester shotguns, he said that they would come in with all kinds of damage. So they would disassemble them, put all the metal parts in a cleaning bath, lay the parts out to dry and then oil. The parts were then re-assembled without much thought to matching SNs so long as they functioned properly and were safe. His opinion - and it is just an opinion, mind you - is that in his mind a mis-matched trench gun was more likely to have seen combat, rather than sitting around in arsenals, and that should account for something in the "collectability" of the guns. Kind of like buying a rebuilt jeep that had been in Normandy (if you could find one) versus one that sat in a crate in California or New York until the war ended. Just some thoughts in this newbie's mind late in the day.

[Tom Doniphon]

Some of the shotguns require headspacing. Wonder if they did that when they swapped the barrel assembly.

IMO, without provenance, its just a mismatched gun with little collector value.

[Weasel]

That's why they made field gauges.

[bigskybound]

Being new to this area, my experience is limited. But since I now actively seek out these guns, I find it interesting that probably 1/3 of the ones I have personally handled or inquired about are mis-matched. As related to me by the old armorer, that could explain this.

[scosgt]

Some of the shotguns require headspacing. Wonder if they did that when they swapped the barrel assembly.

IMO, without provenance, its just a mismatched gun with little collector value.

EXACTLY

Ithaca even published a warning against firing a mismatched M37. They can blow up. I have posted a scan of it before.

IMHO most of the Stevens guns were mismatched in barracks cleaning sessions, not by armorers.

[slumlord44]

I have a Winchester Model 12 Riot Gun, not trench gun. Bought it from an Air Force officer many years ago at nearby Scott Air Force Base. He bought it directly from the US Air Force when he was stationed in Germany. It had been re finished by a military arsenal at some time. Different serial numbers on the action and the barrel. US and flaming bomb on the metal. Unfortunately in several moves he had lost the original paperwork from when he bought it. I have no reason not to believe the story but also no way to prove it. Don't remember what I paid for it at the time. Think possibly around $200 and it was probably 20 or 25 years back. It supports what has been said here about mis matched guns. Metal is parkerized by the way.

[bigskybound]

Perhaps there needs to be a collector's clearing house web site where people with mis-matched guns can seek to reunite the correct parts? But then again, who wants to be left with half a gun while waiting for their match?