Reputable Dealers

The short answer is to know the guns well enough that you don't have to rely on dealer reputations to make decisions about whether a pistol is original and correct or not.

While a seller's customer service record may be important to some, the key is to buy a good gun in the first place. Ask questions and request enough and proper photos if buying online or mail order. The responsibility and the consequences of any purchase ultimately lie with the purchaser.

I find dealer feedback ratings are useless for the most part with some sellers. Just because a buyer is happy with his purchase does not speak to how knowledgeable he is, or to how original or correct the pistol is. Great customer service and honesty is not a substitution for originality.

I typically try to buy face-to-face. That eliminates the question of how reputable the seller is. It does, however, raise the question of how knowedgeable and experienced I am with the pistols I try to collect. that question is answered everytime a knowledgeable collector views something I bought.

Learn first...buy later. Just my opinion.

I would like to buy a WW11 Colt ; does not have to be "correct" in all aspects as far as individual parts are concerned but has a good barrel and is a shooter . If anyone out there can steer me to somebody who is willing to sell I would appreciate it . Again ; condition does not have to be perfect ; if re-parkerizing is required , I would take it upon myself to have this done . Main thing is that it is a sound weapon with no rust .

---Thanks for all the info ; In the past I was an avid reader and contributor to the Culver Shooting Pages which,as you well know , is not defunct.

Toad, if you just want a WWI Colt, but don't care about authenticity, just look on any of the auction sites... there is no shortage of pistols with incorrect parts out there.

For a USGI shooter, which I don't recommend, I'd recommend (how's that for confusing?) a permanently altered and refinished pistol. There is no sense in destroying a perfectly good collectible when it is not necessary.

There are plenty of solid pistols that have no collector's value. That's all you need for a shooter.

Of course, I'd rather buy a new manufacture shooter and have a better pistol with a warranty for less money than most old USGI pistols sell for.