I decided to send the seller an email to see if he actually had any provenance for this rifle belonging to Col. Whelen. I tried to make it as friendly as possible, and went out of my way to tell him I wasn't trying to interfere with his auction. I was curious why anyone would make such a claim with no visible evidence to back up his assertion. This is the reply that I received.

#5 is off the wall. I made no threats whatsoever, veiled or not. His statement shows a complete ignorance of civil law anyway.

Good luck to any buyer that falls for #4, ie. "I make a claim and it is up to you to prove me wrong".

The four liitle stars weren't stars in the email I received.

Jim

Reply:
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Bookman1@aol.com
Friday, August 14, 2009 6:26 PM
Re: Question regarding GunBroker.com Item 137231931

Thanks for your comments:
1. You assume the Col only had one 35 Whelen, can you back that up?
2. The stepfather of the collector I bought the rifle from was a barrel maker at Springfield Arsenal when the rifle was made.
3. The collector was one of the foremost collectors in NY State as you would see if you note the other 2 03s I have listed that came from his collection.
4. The buyer, should there be one, will receive a complete COA from me along with a 100% refund guarantee if he can supply an affidavit from a recognized authority on 03s stating and supporting that the rifle is not as represented.
5. I must say, I take great exception to your veiled threat of invoking some interstate fraud laws. You should be aware that threats such as that represent slander and are equally subject to liability on your part for making such unsupported statements.

Finally, I realize that 99% of GunBroker members don't know **** about 03s or any historic guns for that matter. I doubt any of them has published 27 books on historic firearms and edged weapons, as I have or have a library 1/10th the size of mine.

In case you missed it, I have raised the price WAY up on the rifle to discourage fools from bothering me about it.

You have a wonderful day as the self appointed brother's keeper of Gunbroker.com
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