Arthur Fliegenheimer Posted February 24, 2015 Report Share Posted February 24, 2015 @OCM, There appear to be three (or now maybe only two) wooden pistols claiming to be the actual mock up John is posing with including the one that sold at auction in 2009 for $19K six years ago (pictured below) It was in the possession of John's younger brother Hubert who died in 1974. But the one in the Dillinger Museum in Hammond, Indiana is identifying their pistol as a an "exact replica." That would leave the third wooden pistol from another branch of the Dillinger family claiming to be the original, if the actual mock up survived at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCM Posted February 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2015 (edited) Makes you wonder how many Dillinger had, especially the one he is holding with what appears to be a round metal reflecting barrel.Let's see : Edited April 15, 2015 by OCM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Fliegenheimer Posted February 24, 2015 Report Share Posted February 24, 2015 @OCM, What is peculiar is that none of the claimed original wooden pistols (or even the examples referred to as "exact replicas") actually look like the one he is brandishing in the photo. The one in the photo may not even be the one he used to break out of Crown Point, but it is the only one he is photographed with. The one sold at auction has great provenance to the Dillinger family, but not so much to the one used in the jail break. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCM Posted February 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2015 (edited) Dutch-You are correct- ( your picture is reversed BTW ) . I personally think the one he is holding is long gone, and as you say, might not even be the one he used at Crown Point. The only one in my opinion, which isn't even humble, is the one that Joe Pinkston had in his collection, that has any close possibility of being real.This is owned by the Dillinger collection in Hammond- The one out front, called a replica, is one I made for them, off the one in the Pinkston collection which they have locked up. The picture of the two guys with the gun, one on left is me. Right is Joe Pinkston. This was taken by Helmer on a trip we did in 1988. This is the one on the right in your post #26 also the one on the right with yellow background on my post #27. I made a exact replica of the Pinkston gun, that is in the DC museum now, and they know this. I also made one for Dillinger's sister Doris, as a fun toy for her in the nursing home. She'd point it at the nurses, joking. This was just a fast make as it was just a joke thing for her. I carved the Colt 38 out with an awl, letters are boxed. The gun pictured that John is holding: A very, very simple thing with a computer is to do a measurement. We know the measurements of the Thompson parts shown( hint actuator slot) and we have a photo of the wood gun he is holding next to the Thompson. This compared to the Pinkston gun, which the barrel is very close to 2 3/4 inches. Also we have the sun reflecting off the metal on the Thompson AND the barrel of the wood gun. No rocket science here at all. Drifted off the subject a bit but we can do this on the " other side " OCM Edited February 24, 2015 by OCM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCM Posted February 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2015 StooperZero... I can't seem to paste on this site, HLebooks/patents/full auto---search this area ( HLEbooks ) Colt mini stuff, 1936. OCM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunhistorian Posted February 25, 2015 Report Share Posted February 25, 2015 I'm not a big fan of the gangster era but I seem to recall that I read somewhere -- probably a number of years ago -- that Dillinger's use of a "wooden" gun may have been myth. The suggestion was that he used a real gun smuggled to him, possible by some "hungry" jailers, if I recall this correctly. Is that just more "conspiracy" crap -- seems to be a lot of money in that -- speculation, fabrication, or does it have some element of fact? Just curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCM Posted February 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2015 Lot of speculation about that. Yes, some believe a gun was smuggled in, the garage attendant got busted for aiding. There are even pictures of a wood gun with a razor blade attached to the side, claimed to be THE one. The garage attendant said he laughed and displayed a wooden pistol as they left the CP jail.Some report that the gun was later borrowed and a fake returned instead, others that someone stole it from the family.Dillinger Sr sure had one ( a Pinkston look-a-like ) at the Little Bohemia Lodge Dillinger museum. Lots of experts on this, lots of confusion.The story gets further confused with it being a soap carved gun, which is confused with his two gang members that did carve soap guns and attempted to escape. One was killed other paralyzed and fried in the electric chair anyway. ( I've seen and handled these ) I really don't know- I just go with the wooden gun story as it's the most historically fun. Logically he had a gun smuggled in. His girlfriend ( called Mrs. Dillinger ) actually had visited him a couple times, just prior to the escape, giving information. A set up, you bet. Ah, go with the wooden gun story, it's the most fun to think about. The one he's holding, sure why not too. Yet another time machine moment. OCM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim c 351 Posted February 25, 2015 Report Share Posted February 25, 2015 Soap or wood????????????????I wouldn't have thought that JHD was at Crown Point long enough to carve the wooden gun with a razor blade.Try duplicating the gun using wood and a razor blade and keep track of your time.Soap would be much easier provided you had some shoe polish.If it was wooden it was probably smuggled in by the lawyer.Just one experts opinion.Jim C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCM Posted February 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2015 (edited) He was locked up in Crown Point for a bit over a month. The story goes he whittled the gun out of a washboard with a safety razor, then covered it with shoe polish. Some believe the wood gun was smuggled into him, as the barrel had a hole in it with a metal looking insert . See the Pinkston gun.The soap guns were carved out of soap stone. The gal that owned the two soap guns, had brought them over to my house to see if I knew anything about them. Her Uncle was a Mr. Brown, one of the cops at the Biograph shooting.A rather jaw dropping moment when she opened up the large tin can they were stored in.She thought they were just toys- Lucky for her I had a picture of the guns taken after the shooting in 34(?). I have pictures somewhere, one published in Helmer's book. Edited February 26, 2015 by OCM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snafu_72 Posted March 22, 2015 Report Share Posted March 22, 2015 This brings new meaning to the jail house admonition for "Don't drop the soap!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurencen Posted March 22, 2015 Report Share Posted March 22, 2015 I read years ago Dillinger had a modified butt stock mount attached to a shoulder strap, it held the Thompson under a coat readily accessible, anyone ever read this or was I day dreaming Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCM Posted March 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2015 Laurencen- I'm sure day- dreaming- I think you got Clyde Barrow and his whippit gun mixed up. Barrow did this with a shotgun. Leather belt nailed to the buttstock and hung over his shoulder so he could whip it out. Snafu_72- good one. Haaaaa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StooperZero Posted March 24, 2015 Report Share Posted March 24, 2015 the wooden pistol would be doable long as you had a chamber/liner or just a tube to contain the pressure for 1 shot. I've see tattoo guns in jail that could have been used as a single shot .22/.32 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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