Carpenteri - Gun Traders Guide, Thirty-Fifth Edition: A Comprehensive, Fully Illustrated Guide to Modern Firearms with Current Market Values

This thirty-fifth edition of Skyhorse Publishings Gun Traders Guide is designed to provide the professional and amateur firearms enthusiast with more specifications and photographs of collectible firearms than ever before. In the past fifty years, the Gun Traders Guide has grown to over six hundred pages and now lists more than six thousand standard firearms and their variations.

The first edition of the Gun Traders Guide contained some 1,360 listings accompanied by 100 illustrations. Now, after more than thirty revisions, the book has evolved into one of the most complete catalogs targeting the most common modern smokeless-powder rifles, shotguns, and handguns of the late-nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The current edition of the Gun Traders Guide has been expanded to include more listings than ever before, with nearly 2,750 illustrations. Not every gun ever made can be listed in any catalog of this size, but we have made every effort to include the makes and models that are most popular with American owners and collectors. Please note that the Gun Traders Guide does not include recent or antique blackpowder arms or modern firearms with little or no current collectible value.

Over two million gun buffs have made the Gun Traders Guide their primary reference for identification and comparison of sporting, military, and law enforcement firearms, including rare and unusual collectibles and commemoratives.

The format of the Gun Traders Guide is simple and straightforward, listing thousands of firearms manufactured since the late 1800s in the United States and abroad. Most entries have complete specifications including model number and name, caliber or gauge, barrel length, overall length, weight, distinguishing features, variations, the dates of manufacture (when they can be accurately determined), and date of discontinuation. Many illustrative photos accompany the text to help the reader with identifications and comparisons. Also, first/last entries are listed at the top of the page for additional ease in finding a particular manufacturer.

The Gun Traders Guide is revised annually to ensure that its wealth of information is both current and detailed. The principal features that contribute to the unique nature of this firearms reference guide include the extensive pictorial format and accompanying comprehensive specifications. It provides a convenient procedure for identifying vintage firearms while simultaneously determining and verifying their current value.

SIMPLIFIED STRUCTURE

Production data for each gun includes:

Specifications

Variations of different models

Dates of manufacture and/ or discontinuation

Current values

EASE OF USE

Tabbed sections for user friendly reference

Complete index of all firearms

Values shown are based on national averages obtained by conferring with knowledgeable gun dealers, traders, collectors, and auctioneers around the country, not by applying an arbitrary mathematical formula that could produce unrealistic figures. The values listed accurately reflect the nationwide average at the time of publication and are updated annually. Users should keep in mind that the stated values are averages based on a wide spectrum of variables. No price given in any such catalog should be considered the one and only value for a particular firearm. That number is ultimately determined by the buyer and seller.

In the case of rare or one- of-a-kind items, such as the Winchester Model 1873 One of One Thousand rifle or the Parker AA1 Special shotgun in 28 gauge, where very little trading takes place, active gun collectors were consulted to obtain current market values.

ORGANIZATION OF LISTINGS

In the early editions of the Gun Traders Guide, firearms were frequently organized chronologically by date of production within manufacturers listings, because many gun-making companies used the date that a particular model was introduced as the model number. For example, the Colt U.S. Model 1911 semiautomatic pistol was introduced in 1911, the French Model 1936 military rifle was introduced in 1936, and the Remington Model 32 shotgun debuted in 1932. However, during the first quarter of the twentieth century, gun makers began assigning names and numbers that did not relate to the year the gun was introduced. As these recent models and their variations multiplied through the years, it became increasingly difficult to track them by date, especially for the less-experienced collector.

Also, some Winchester and Remington firearms are grouped differently in this edition. For example, the Winchester Model 1894, in its many variations, was produced beginning in 1894 and later manufactured as the Model 94 by U.S. Repeating Arms Co. (Collectors note: This Model 1894 lever-action rifle, the famed Model 70 Winchester, and the Model 1300 pump shotgun, all Winchester standards, were discontinued in 2006.) In general, Winchester used the year of introduction to name its firearms; that is, Model 1890, 1892, 1894, 1895, and so forth.

Shortly after World War I, Winchester dropped the first two digits and listed the models as 90, 92, 94, 95, and so on. Later, guns were given model numbers that had no relation to the date of manufacture. Marlin and several other manufacturers used a similar approach in handling model designations.

As a result, Winchester rifles are grouped alphanumerically in two different groups: early Winchesters manufactured before 1920 under the four-digit model-date designations, and guns manufactured after 1920 with their revised model format designations. If any difficulty is encountered in locating a particular model, the different models and their variations are cross-referenced in the index.

Some readers also reported difficulty in finding certain Remington rifles in previous editions. In this edition, Remington rifles have been grouped according to action type: for example, single-shot rifles, slide actions, autoloaders, and so forth. Our surveys revealed this to be the easiest way to locate a specific firearm. The index may also be used if difficulty is encountered in finding a particular model.

In researching data for this edition, some manufacturers records were unavailable and some information was unobtainable. For example, many early firearms production records were destroyed in a fire that ravaged the Winchester plant. Other manufacturers records have been lost or were simply not maintained accurately.