I don't know if this has been posted here or not. I stumbled on it today and thought it was worth sharing.
This was #5, home of the great photographer WeeGee(seen here squatting over the sign), who lived in a cluttered one-room apartment above the gun shop from the mid-1930s until 1947. Learned it from a previous thread on Weegee from this forum (do a search on his name), but you can also read about it here.
http://vanishingnewyork.blogspot.com/2011/03/guns-of-centre-market.html
Well it has been a long try spell (no pun here in Texas) but I was lucky enough to grab another really nice Mauser for the collection today. This DWM (not a Ludwig Loewe!), 1891 Argentine came in with an Argentine 98/09. I already have an absolutely mint 98/08 so it was a no brainer! All matching numbers and just as minty as my 98/09. Hey the crest has been removed from the receiver and the stock, but that's about normal. I wish I had a way to take better pics as this one does not to the old piece justice. You hafta admire the workmanship on these things! The other smith and I were trying to determine what it would cost to build such rifles today. we figured around $1500-$2000 range.....
[Renault
Damn straight! The days when you could get a first class Argentine action for $45 are long gone. They simply aren't on the market anymore except for rare single offerings on the gun auction sites and then they cost nearly as much as a new built custom action.IMHO the 98 Mauser action sets the standard for all bolt action rifles. The old Argentine 98/09's are probaby the prettiest of the 98's as well as the most sought after for custom rifles. There was probably none better as far as metal quality and o/a workmanship. Here's a very poor pic of my 98/09;
Renault
Here's my latest, an H&R M1 Garand. This was a CMP Service Grade H&R, which I just received from CMP about ten days ago. It has an H&R receiver, barrel, stock and rear sight. The bolt, operating rod and trigger group are all Springfield Armory marked. I just took it to the range today and put my first 24 rounds through it, and I'm very pleased with the way it shoots. Maybe now I won't be dead last anymore in the CMP shoots at my club!
Here are a few of the guns I own. This is a spit in the bucket but I do collect. A great past time hobby that keeps me occupied. All these guns have the original boxes and papers. I have more then this just not pictured.