Return Of The Townsend Whelen .35

[Alvin Linden]

EGADS! WILL THIS HORROR NEVER END!!!! TO REFRESH YOUR MEMORY....This extremely deluded person or extremely dishonest person, on Gun Broker has a 1903 N.R.A. Sporter rebored to .35 Whelen and is claiming that this rifle was made especially for Col. Townsend Whelen. Everyone was debating this PUFFING and I went to the Colonel's book and posted the following:

In Part 3 of Whelen's book "Mister Rifleman" entitled "A Rifleman's Battery"[photo of rifle is in book !] the ONLY .35 WHELEN, Whelen mentions ever owning was a rifle originally built by James V. Howe at Frankford Arsenal in caliber .400 WHELEN IN 1922. It was a 1903 Springfield with a NIEDNER barrel and sent to Douglas in 1950 and only then, rebarrelled to .35 Whelen. The rifle itself is described as heavily engraved, with a finely checkered trap buttplate w/oil can, floorplate and triggerguard are scroll engraved with a gold TW, and with a gold Buffalo inlay on the guard , the rifle is equipped with a Howe-Whelen bolt sleeve sight with safety. It is safe therefore to say this rifle was NOT the property of COL. TOWNSEND WHELEN !!! Warmest Regards Jerry

Now believe it or not this joker says in his GB auction for the gun, that after "consulting" with experts he feels the rifle instead of being worth the prior price [I believe it was SOMEWHERE between $5K-$6K, RIDICULOUS AT THAT!] HE HAS REPRICED IT AT $16,000...YES THAT'S RIGHT ...NO, I DID'NT ADD A ZERO! I SAID...SIXTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! see for yourself at GUNBROKER AUCTION #137231931. If it was'nt so dishonest ,it would be laughable. Warmest to all Jerry

Information

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[Jim Tarleton]

Some misguided person will buy it, sucking up the BS story as he circles the bowl. Wonder what "experts" he consulted?

Jim

[Chuckindenver]

as always.
buy the gun, not the story..

[Rick the Librarian]

As my friend Krag, on another forum likes to say..."he must really like the gun - he's going to have it for a long time!"

[Jim Tarleton]

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:
************************************************** *
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
********************************************

[Rick the Librarian]

"...27 books on historic firearms and edged weapons, as I have..."? I'd be curious to know who he is (or says he is).

[Jim Tarleton]

"...27 books on historic firearms and edged weapons, as I have..."? I'd be curious to know who he is (or says he is).

He isn't worth the effort. Just avoid him.

Jim

[Calif-Steve]

This seller is very smart. He knows full well he merely need one fool. Have no fear he will find that fool.

[Rick the Librarian]

A I like to say, he's a member of the IOTOS Club: "It Only Takes One Sucker".

[Rick the Librarian]

It is certainly an interesting way of doing business that you have to prove the rifle was not owned by Col. Whelen to get a refund!!

Using the same philosophy, I would like to offer a M1917 Eddystone, used by Alvin York in WWI for $500,000. Of course, if you can prove that he didn't use it, you can get your money back!!

If you "buy" that I can also supply Sam Woodfill's M1903 and Audie Murphy's M1 carbine for similar terms!!