An aging shooter and Korean War vet recently passed on, and I would like to help his widow sell his firearms. He was into military match shooting, and has 3 pristine M1 Garands, a Springfield Armory bolt-action 22 trainer, and 3 Colt 1911 handguns, as well as 4 S&W Model 41 target rimfire semi-autos.

While I'm pretty "up" on values of modern stuff, I don't know much about military firearms. I know some are cobbled together by the armory for resale/reuse, while others may have increased value based on who proofed it or some other piece of esoteria.

If you're up on the values of military weaponry, shoot me a PM. I'd like to make sure I get her the proper value when selling her husbands treasures.

Hi Biebs,

In order to accurately appraise the M1911 (M1911 or M1911A1?) pistols for collector value, they need to be disassembled and each part identified. Same with the M1 rifles.

Otherwise, the dates of manufacturer, bore and exterior finish condition, and grips/stock can be visually assessed for an approximate value as non-collector items.

Both these firearms are aggressively collected by many folks and there are a number of books designed specifically to assist the collector in making an appropriate evaluation of worth. There is no way to provide accurate valuation without personally examining the weapon, but a series of photos will assist in determining if further examination is warranted.

BTW, "pristine condition" has absolutely no meaning to a collector, nor does the fact that he was a match shooter, which might indicate the weapons have been changed from original condition by substituting parts.

Hope this helps.

Yes, understood....it's a collectible that comes with so many possibilities affecting value that it requires a true expert to assess their worth....from arsenal rebuilds, part cobbled together by prior owners, etc. I've been given some contacts that may be in a position to evaluate them. I'll see where it goes.

Try this site.... Thee are A LOT of very knowledgeable people on Garands and 1911's that frequent this site.. Culvers Shooting Pages

Frank, thanks, I'll check it out.