|
Post by rjm52 on Jan 3, 2015 11:59:53 GMT -5
I still have the question, where is the 7.5" .44 Special Flat Top Target? It is supposed to be the only .44 Special FTT made... It was not at the Cabelas display...
Bob
|
|
Fowler
.401 Bobcat
Posts: 3,565
|
Post by Fowler on Jan 3, 2015 13:14:20 GMT -5
I still have the question, where is the 7.5" .44 Special Flat Top Target? It is supposed to be the only .44 Special FTT made... It was not at the Cabelas display... Bob Taffin stated that when he went through all of Elmer's gun shortly after his death that gun was not present at that time and that no one seemed to know what became of it then. He also stated that the gun is a bit of a head scratcher due to the fact the 44sp didn't exsist from the factory when the Flat Tops were being produced. The best guess was that it was a 44 Russian reamed out but it was just his edjucated guess.
|
|
|
Post by serialsolver on Jan 3, 2015 14:36:14 GMT -5
Y'all can have that #5. I appreciate its place in history but I'd rather have that plain beater m29. There's something special about a shooter that's been carried hours on end day after day. Specially that m29. No telling how many times he showed off his shooting skills with that shooter and to whom and I mean the who's who of the shooting world.
|
|
|
Post by kings6 on Jan 3, 2015 14:49:22 GMT -5
No doubt he shot the 29 a lot but according to his son Ted, he had to have the #5 gun reblued twice due to carrying and use. At least I think that is what JT wrote one time. Who knows, the last reblued might have been about the time he got the first 29 and thus it looks relatively unused.
|
|
|
Post by oregon45 on Jan 3, 2015 15:01:41 GMT -5
No doubt he shot the 29 a lot but according to his son Ted, he had to have the #5 gun reblued twice due to carrying and use. At least I think that is what JT wrote one time. Who knows, the last reblued might have been about the time he got the first 29 and thus it looks relatively unused. Considering he had the #5 for 28 years before the 44 Magnum was introduced I agree that it likely saw far more use than it's current finish would indicate.
|
|
Fowler
.401 Bobcat
Posts: 3,565
|
Post by Fowler on Jan 3, 2015 15:56:28 GMT -5
I know I read that the #5 had been reblued 3 times, I also know when the 44mag came out he hung his 44sp guns up for regular use forever. I am sure he shot then off and on but they were no longer working guns for him...
|
|
|
Post by jayhawker on Jan 3, 2015 16:57:48 GMT -5
Note that the text on Julia's site says this is only a representative sample, not the full collection to be auctioned. I hope that closer to the auction date all items will be displayed.
|
|
|
Post by txwildcatter on Jan 3, 2015 22:30:17 GMT -5
I was just curious why items with such historical significance weren't kept in the family or some sort of conservatorship.
|
|
|
Post by ddixie884 on Jan 4, 2015 0:21:28 GMT -5
I know nothing of the Keith family, but it could be they need the money.
|
|
Otony
.327 Meteor
Posts: 722
|
Post by Otony on Jan 4, 2015 10:23:53 GMT -5
Several of us met Ted Keith (Elmer's son) at John Taffin's Appreciation Banquet. He is quite elderly, and it is doubtful he would be using any of these wonderful firearms much, if at all. Not sure what interest his children/grandchildren have in the collection, but as I understand it, one of the overriding concerns was having a secure area large enough to store it all AND being able to afford the cost of insurance to cover the value of everything,
Think about it. The projected value of some of these guns is in the 5 to 6 figures, easily perhaps more for the rarer doubles. And there are plenty of them! As much as it would be nice to keep all that in the family, having a collection like that and keeping it rather than passing the worth to your heirs requires a commensurate amount of wealth to begin with. In other words, the family, while not poor, is gun rich, not cash rich. If they were the Rockefellers, then keeping it all would be a given, as there is the remainder of the family fortune to draw upon.
This is Elmer's pride and joy, but he bequeathed it to his family for their use and needs, whatever those might be.
Otony
|
|
|
Post by tangocharlie on Jan 4, 2015 11:02:32 GMT -5
We, as a shooters' fraternity, know and appreciate the intrinsic value of Elmer's possessions are far and above their actual value as "just guns." It is, however, the surviving descendants needs to prioritize what the future holds. I, for one, am glad that it is a position and decision that is not on my shoulders. For the sake of memories and posterity, I do hope the guns end up in the hands of a truly appreciative individual or individuals.
|
|
|
Post by tangocharlie on Jan 4, 2015 11:02:46 GMT -5
Double post
|
|
Fowler
.401 Bobcat
Posts: 3,565
|
Post by Fowler on Jan 4, 2015 11:54:50 GMT -5
The other reality that is here is that we are the last generation that will hold Elmer Keith in such high regard. The youth of today think wood stocks on a gun are old school, revolvers? Please.
So the reality for the family is that the values of those gun is pretty much peaked out now, the shooters who grew up reading everything he had to say on guns are getting to their peaks of wealth and buying ability so I guess now makes since that the guns are sold.
Sad reality but I know if I were wealthy I would be on the phone for that auction...
|
|
paulg
.375 Atomic
Posts: 2,420
|
Post by paulg on Jan 4, 2015 12:19:19 GMT -5
Has anyone noticed the prices of completed auctions compared to the estimated values?
|
|
|
Post by 2 Dogs on Jan 4, 2015 12:21:00 GMT -5
I don't agree with that Bill. A lot of us work to be sure the "high regard" for Keith will never be diminished.
|
|