What Sets Gun Values? (RIA 74 Final Prices)

This video details final prices from the April 2017 Rock Island Auction, focusing on submachine guns, destructive devices, and rare firearms. Ian McCollum highlights the significant price difference between transferable and dealer sample machine guns, noting his own purchase of a French MAS-38. Notable sales include a Carl Gustav m/42 recoilless rifle for $12,650 and an Oerlikon Mk IV 20mm cannon for $23,000.

This video details the final prices from the RIA September 2017 Premier Auction, focusing on high-value firearms like Volcanic pistols and rare prototypes. It highlights significant price variations based on material and condition, with iron-framed Volcanics fetching up to $34,500 and brass-framed ones reaching $20,700. The auction also featured early rifles and transferrable submachine guns, with prices often reflecting NFA registration costs.

The Semmerling LM4 is the smallest repeating .45 ACP pistol ever made, patented in 1979 and produced through the 1980s. It features a unique manual cycling mechanism, S7 tool steel construction, and a 'holster lock' for secure carry. Despite its high cost and innovative design, modern subcompact 9mm pistols have largely surpassed it for practical self-defense.

This review examines a rare, well-executed sporterized M1 Carbine from a Rock Island Auction event. It highlights the custom stock, vintage Redfield scope, and a functional cartridge deflector, noting the high quality of craftsmanship. While modern sporterization is often discouraged, this example is presented as a desirable collectible.

This video identifies a 1931 Spanish revolver, likely chambered in 8mm, featuring a unique 7-shot swing-out cylinder and gate-like latch. Despite its identifiable proof marks and date code, the specific model remains a mystery, with the auction catalog suggesting it's a Nagant copy. The revolver's mechanical features, including its double-action capability and extractor star, are highlighted as unusual for its era and origin.

This review covers two FN49 rifles from a Rock Island Auction: a Venezuelan contract in 7x57mm Mauser and an Argentine Navy contract originally in 7mm, later converted to 7.62 NATO with a 20-round detachable magazine. The Venezuelan model is noted for its soft-shooting 7mm cartridge, while the Argentine variant offers modern magazine capacity. Other variants like the Luxembourg .30-06 are also mentioned.

This video details the unique 'French Finger Trap' issue with the MAS-36 rifle's bayonet, where two rifles can become unintentionally locked together. A 1951 French arsenal memorandum identified this problem, proposing a simple modification to the bayonet handle. Drilling a small hole allows a tool, like a firing pin, to depress the internal spring, enabling the separation of locked rifles.

The M134 Minigun is a scaled-down 7.62 NATO rotary cannon, requiring 24V DC power and consuming 1.5 kW. Its high rate of fire (3,000+ RPM) is essential for aircraft engagement windows. The complex delinker mechanism is critical for feeding ammunition, and practical hand-held use is impossible due to weight and recoil. Live fire demonstrates rapid ammunition consumption and the need for indirect aiming.

The H&K G11 is a revolutionary prototype assault rifle designed in the late 20th century, notable for its caseless ammunition and unique rotating drum bolt mechanism. Despite advanced features like a 2000 RPM burst fire rate and integrated optics, its development was ultimately halted by geopolitical shifts and cost concerns.

This video demonstrates the assembly and live-fire of the German 1936 pattern light mortar (L.Gr.W.36). It highlights the mortar's leveling mechanism for accuracy and the difficulty in visually tracking its 50mm projectiles after firing. The content showcases historical military hardware and its operational use.