[J Curtis Earl]

I like the way the author constantly hedges his bet that J.C. Earl might possibly have been an SOB, pending whether anyone else had any bad experiences with him similar to what he supposes/proposes in his article. Of course, it isn't right to speak ill the dead. I have always been fairly generous in my assessments of people in the NFA world who have contributed mightly to the hobby/profession by any of many different means and J.C. is no exception. Back in those days, there were quite a few unscrupulous characters in the infant NFA world, and they were all busy trying to get the better of each other.

I bought my first registered MG from Earl in 1970 after having been spellbound by his brochures. I paid way too much and received an original gun missing all the correct original parts, which were supposed to be there according to the sales pitch. It was a Colt 21/28 from the Sing Sing Prison guns that Earl purchased. It was outfitted with Savage and AO parts rather than the correct Colt parts. After I discovered this, I wrote to Earl and asked that I be able to trade the parts back to him for the Colt parts, as there had been a mistake, and included a copy of the letter he had sent me about the condition of the gun in which it said all correct, orignal parts. Of course, the Savag/AO parts are "original" parts, but he knew what he was doing. I could buy the parts if I wanted for about $500 at the time, an outrageously high price. As the months went by and I talked with other dealers, R.J. Perry, Fred Rexer, and others who clued me in about Earl's reputation and business practices. I also did buy the correct Colt parts for about $75 total from another dealer in GA, Roger Cox who specialized in Thompsons and had a good selectin of MGs for sale. The stories of such shenanigans were legion then and were repeated by all sorts of people who had dealings with him including many very well known and respected gun dealers, museum curators, collectors, here and abroad, etc.

I doubt the author will really address this aspect of Earl's character in the remaining chapters for many reasons, and he obviously was a good friend of Earl's and of his family, so his deference is understood. I continued to write Earl about various parts and asking prices, etc and having found other dealers whose prices were realistic and market, I never bought anything else from him. Earl was the most high profile of the dealers in the late sixties and early seventies and had a large inventory of MGs, but there were others who also had very large inventories, often with fare rarer and more interesting MGs than Earl had. R.J. Perry was one of thsoe who had some amazingly rare and unique MGs, incuding prototypes, one-offs, as well as low production numbers and mint guns.

I don't begrudge Earl as he was inspiring and was totally dedicated to NFA , but his often dreadful and unethical treatment of buyers was one of his most well known characteristics. Many of us were moths to his flames.....

 

Bob Naess

Black River Militaria CII

[Dummy Receiver For Fn Model D]

 

>If your kit came with a torched rec.(mine did) make it into your dummy receiver.<

 

Very risky to do as under ATF regs, you will be constructing an unregistered MG receiver if you just weld the parts back together. Doesn't matter if the internals won't fit or function, you've still created a complete FND receiver, which aTF considers to be an unregistered MG. ATF has specific guidelines for constructing a dummy MG using original MG parts, and you would be well advised to fnd out exactly what they are for an FND. Commercially made ATF approved dummy MGs have complete newly manufactured solid receivers, aluminum or steel, which will not accept any internals, but will accept all external parts.

Way too many dummy MG commandos welding together the torched pieces of MG receivers from kits who deliberately, or in ignorace believe they are not regulated. A receiver assembled from the torch cut kit pieces can still be regulated and under the ocntrol of ATF. Be smart.

The more these regs are violated the more pressure ATF will feel to prohibit importation of MG parts, and we all will suffer.

Don't contribute to futher restrictions on MG parts, directly or indirectly.

 

Bob Naess

Black River Militaria CII

 

[Heck Of A Good Price On A Guide Lamp M3]

The gun could be a reactivation or a remanufactured gun. Since it is marked by Flemming, there is a possibility it is either and the only way to actually determine what its status is will be by submitting an FOIA search which will give you the form and date of original registration. If registered prior to or during the amnesty of '68 it is a reactivation. Any date after that it is remanaufatured.

The Lend Lease Grease guns do not bring the same $ that the US issue guns do, in my experience, simply because virtually all are painted black, have some Brit mods done to them and are stamped with Brit proofs. Of course, they are the same guns as the US, but aren't quite US, either.

 

Bob Naess

Black River Militaria CII