USMC0802 Posted July 12, 2017 Report Share Posted July 12, 2017 Right out of the woodwork, from the family of a Detroit Detective who confiscated it from a group of thugs during a stolen vehicle arrest in 1935. The documents tell the story...I'm hoping I can dig around and find more info (prison records?) for these guys. Icing on the cake being that it shipped to Wolf & Klar in 1930... Wonder if these fellas crossed paths with any of our more well known names from the underworld... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USMC0802 Posted July 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2017 The photo props - holster, ammo, maps - did not come with the piece but I figured this one was worth classing up a bit for the pictures. Who knew you could find 1930s road maps on eBay with the click of a button? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USMC0802 Posted July 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2017 An example of what they were driving, and photos of their apartment building today (built in 1921). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jl7422 Posted July 12, 2017 Report Share Posted July 12, 2017 Fantastic piece--great documentation. Congratulations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim c 351 Posted July 12, 2017 Report Share Posted July 12, 2017 USMC,Very nice . Congratulations.Jim C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCM Posted July 12, 2017 Report Share Posted July 12, 2017 Super 38, one of my favorites too. Good score AND with it coming from Wolf & Klar, long ways away from Detroit ! Makes me wonder. HaaaaHaaa a can of roofing nails. The old 1930s version of a James Bond trick. Congratulations a super gun & collection. PS: you know you could always add a Thompson grip to the Super 38 and make it a Lebman/Dillinger version AND coming from Wolf & Klar. OCM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
full auto 45 Posted July 12, 2017 Report Share Posted July 12, 2017 Colt Chopper needs that to go with his Nelson gun. Only if his new wife will allow it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USMC0802 Posted July 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2017 Colt Chopper needs that to go with his Nelson gun.WRONG...I need Colt Chopper's Thompson to go with my .38! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USMC0802 Posted July 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2017 Sandy; I also got a chuckle out of the roofing nails. Thought it was really neat to see that and the maps from so many states. Grateful to the detectives for making such a meticulous inventory. I think that James Roberts character was a bad man, judging by his rap sheet. Makes you wonder what else he was involved in but never caught at. RE the Lebman Baby - I've been mulling going FFL-07/02 SOT next year, and if I do, be assured that a live-fire post sample machine-pistol will be one of the first ones I build! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCM Posted July 12, 2017 Report Share Posted July 12, 2017 Mine & CJL's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jl7422 Posted July 13, 2017 Report Share Posted July 13, 2017 Love those Colt Mini's. . . cool to see them side-by-side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colt Chopper Posted July 13, 2017 Report Share Posted July 13, 2017 Great find !!!! I remember while reading Helmer/Nickel's Baby Face Nelson book, roofing nails where on the list of equipment needed for a bank heist get away. Super Super acquisition!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCM Posted July 13, 2017 Report Share Posted July 13, 2017 USMC0802- Definitely build a Lebman Colt mini, with the FFL07/02 SOT go F/A select fire. Be the best roscoe in your collection.... Set up a future outlaw gun collection convention somewhere. Cars, outlaw guns and Molls ( Moll: that's called a wife Colt Chopper ) . I have a A5 whippet due in tomorrow, will send pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USMC0802 Posted July 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2017 That's actually not too far off the plan, Sandy. I may have to lean on you for the cars though! I am exploring the possibility of a "shootable museum" setup, everything from (repro) Matchlock up to the M240B medium machine gun. The 1920s-30s stuff though...that's my favorite! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USMC0802 Posted July 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2017 Colt Chopper - put me in the queue for your TSMG! That is the coolest weapons discovery I have ever heard, a hearty congratulations on that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCM Posted July 13, 2017 Report Share Posted July 13, 2017 As far as he told me, Colt Chopper is going to have the full Baby Face Nelson display at the Ohio Gun Show thing that Machinegun Mike mentioned on the main forum page. It's quite the display if you haven't seen it. I guess it's a monster show. Colt Chopper's wife and I have a verbal agreement on me purchasing the Nelson gun at an extremely fair price that I offered to her. She was supposed to contact me AFTER the wedding but her emails now bounce and the phone is discounted ?? I thought we had a deal. ? A shootable Museum, outstanding. Now you need a F/A Colt mini, a Winchester 07 351 F/A, Colt Monitor, 18 BAR, Whippets...... What part of the country you in, West, East, South, North.... not being snoopy just curious since it seems everything with Machine Guns is in Ohio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USMC0802 Posted July 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2017 (edited) Yes, all the sexy NFA stuff - some original, some "clone" but all functional. I think there'd be demand, even though it'd have to be pretty pricey to make it worth the effort/investment. And yes, the monitor, the mini, and all manner of other goodies! I'm in central MO, a perfect location for everyone to converge for cookout and "mini Knob Creek". Edited July 13, 2017 by USMC0802 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCM Posted July 13, 2017 Report Share Posted July 13, 2017 You could clone/buy some in semi of course, fraction of the price and waiting time, all extremely fun to shoot, keep the NFA stuff to " tommy guns" for the general public. Other stuff depending on budget. I love F/A stuff, but to fire a Colt mini, a Colt Monitor or a Winchester 07 with the Lebman conversion, all in semi, would be a kick in the butt while visiting the museum. Different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USMC0802 Posted July 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2017 The beauty of the 07/02 is that I can build FA post-samples without any kind of wait or cost premium beyond the parts/materials. To sell such an animal would be a pain, but for rental use may work out very well. But I still have to collect transferables - the "real" originals are the ones with the history attached. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCM Posted July 14, 2017 Report Share Posted July 14, 2017 yess sir.. Artifacts are nice to have and visit, like in Indianapolis where Dillinger is buried. I'm sure Colt Chopper, owning the Baby Face Thompson, has visited the grave site many times, since he works 10 miles away, I know Machine Mike has. Part of history. Then Mooresville, Greencastle etc...I've visited the area multiple times, on historic quests.. Lot are gone now.... OCM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HANS Posted July 14, 2017 Report Share Posted July 14, 2017 Very cool piece of history. I'd be interested to learn more about their "colt army rifle." The ony Colt-made Army rifle I can think of would have been an M1918 BAR ... Sounds more like a Krag M1896 or Springfield M1903, though, what with the 52 odd cartridges they had. Generally they were badly off for ammunition. 8 for the Super .38? 17 for the revolver? 5 for their double-barrelled shotgun? Weird. Cheers HANS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USMC0802 Posted July 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2017 (edited) Agreed Hans. As much as I'd love it to be a BAR (indeed, the only Colt .30 Army rifle), I am betting the young typist in the office who prepared that document simply used "colt" instead of "cal" by mistake. I figured if it was a BAR, it'd have been given special attention, explicitly described in both documents as that would have been a fairly newsworthy discovery I should think. Agree that it was most likely a surplus Krag, or perhaps 1903. I wish an inventory of their apartment had been included! Maybe it'd have listed bulletproof vests, ammo, stolen bonds... Edited July 14, 2017 by USMC0802 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCM Posted July 14, 2017 Report Share Posted July 14, 2017 Good thinking on that, Hans. I doubt a Colt BAR M1918. More like a 30-40 Krags, very common. Seems only Barrow favored riding around in a 34 Ford with a couple WWI cannons. ( BARs) Exception was Nelson's pal, Chase with the Colt Monitor. The Super 38 from Wolf & Klar is interesting, intrigues me. These motor bandits did travel all over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USMC0802 Posted July 25, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2017 This James Roberts seems to have been a dedicated career criminal...rap sheet a mile long. Includes an annotation that he was held in Bryan Ohio under suspicion of bank robbery in January 1934, but no further information on that particular case in his prison file. Makes a guy wonder what all these boys were up to that they DIDN'T get nabbed for... Frank Patterson's record annotated that he had suffered a gunshot wound in the left shoulder in 1933. Prison record described theft of the car they were found with in Detroit, taken at gunpoint in Oak Park (Chicago) IL. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalbert Posted July 26, 2017 Report Share Posted July 26, 2017 USMC0802, i really enjoyed reading through your post. The photos are amazing, and I love the maps that you added. If GIJive has not seen this yet, he'll like the Oak Park connection. Thanks! David Albertdalbert@sturmgewehr.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now