Montrose to host July 20 Firearms & Accessories Auction featuring American classics and fine European productions

MONTROSE, Ga. – Collectors can expect to see great quality and high condition throughout the 600-lot selection offered at Montrose Auction’s July 20 Firearms & Accessories sale. Coveted military and civilian rifles, prized shotguns, handguns, ammunition, accessories and memorabilia will be available at the live gallery event, which can be easily accessed via three major interstates. For those who cannot attend in person, all forms of remote bidding will also be available, including absentee, by phone or live via the Internet through Montrose Live or any of four other trusted online bidding platforms.

One of the top lots is a Springfield USMC Model 1903A1 Sniper rifle with an 8-power USMC Unertl Sniper scope with caps. Manufactured in 1930, it was USMC-fitted with a modified handguard and mounted with a #2750 scope. It has a Parkerized finish and a barrel marked SA 11-29. Wilcox notes in the catalog description that it is of a type “utilized extensively during World War II and Korea,” adding that it “served with the Marine Corps from 1942 to 1956.” It is a recent discovery from Virginia.

A prized Caesar Guerini Invictus 1 12-gauge M-SPEC over/under shotgun has a 32-inch barrel and Teague chokes. It is blue-finished with a gold-accented, engraved receiver and has a single-selective adjustable trigger with ejectors. In very fine to near-new condition and showing little use, this fine Italian sporting gun, like all Guerini over/unders, was produced to the exacting specifications of top American shooters. It comes with a factory luggage case, travel sleeves, tools and chokes.

Fans of traditionally-built German firearms will tell you the beauty of a Merkel is more than skin deep. Whether in the field or in a competition, a Merkel can hold its own. With a distinguished history that began in 1898, Merkel Jagd- und Sportwaffen GmbH was the first company to industrially manufacture over/under guns. They’ve even catered to European royalty. A 1949 Merkel over/under 9.3x74R double rifle will be up for bid at Montrose’s July 20 auction. It has a 25¾-inch barrel, boxlock double-bite action with ejectors, a full solid rib with scope rail, and double triggers, the front having a single set. Its other features include factory ¾-inch sling swivels, a ramped-blade front sight with drift-adjustable express rear sign, and brilliant, bright bores. 

Two semi-automatic rifles made by Tippmann Arms of Pound, Wisconsin, are expected to attract strong bidder interest. One is an M2HB, .22 mag, built to be one-half the scale of the famed .50-caliber Browning machine gun. It has an 18¼-inch modern barrel, traverse and elevation adjustment, and is serial-numbered 0111. It is well accessorized with a tripod, two miniature ammunition cans, cloth ammo belts and a display/shipping crate with instruction manual. It appears unfired and without use. 

The second Tippmann Arms production is a 1917A1 .22 belt-fed semi-automatic long rifle with a dark green/grey Parkerized finish and brass accents. Like the first Tippman mentioned here, it was built to half-scale. It has a 10½-inch barrel, traverse and elevation adjustment, and is serial-numbered 0108. It comes with a tripod, miniature ammunition cans with cotton belts, and is housed in its crisp original wooden display/shipping crate with instruction manual. Its condition is “as new,” showing little handling and no use.

A rare Fabrique Nationale (FN) Model FNC Para 5.56 semi-automatic rifle with a .223 Rem cartridge has a folding stock, 16-inch barrel with flash-hider, grenade launching sights and a gas port cut-off. It is serial-numbered FN034089 and marked Gun South Import. In excellent-plus condition overall and with little use evident, the desirable Belgian-made longarm is also mechanically fine. 

Dated 1943 on its barrel and serial-numbered 657349, an Inland M1 .30 carbine semi-automatic rifle is a Type 1 variation with a Type 1 band and two-rivet HI-marked handguard. Its “high wood” buttstock – characteristic of early M1s as opposed to later issues with “low wood” – is marked IO with an ordnance-wheel inspection mark and circle-P proof on the pistol grip. Its blued flat bolt is marked A.I., and its operating rod is marked IO. Also, it has an unmarked WWII cotton sling with oiler and an unmarked WWII magazine and a Kanak, CO 1943-dated and US-marked muzzle cover. 

Custom-assembled by Griffin & Howe (Andover, N.J.) a .30-06 Sporter bolt rifle is serial-numbered and marked on its 21-inch C&R barrel: No. 449 GRIFFIN & HOWE INC NEW YORK. Its features include a ramped bead-blade front sight, Redfield receiver sight with a small folding aperture, and a Griffin & Howe side mount for positioning a scope. In very fine condition with a bright, sharp bore, its action operates properly and smoothly.

Bearing Serial #11523, a Dumoulin (Belgium) Centurion .375 H&H Magnum custom Mauser bolt rifle has a 26-inch barrel has a hooded and ramped front sight and two-leaf express rear sight, a Redfield 1-piece scope base with 1-inch sights, and a custom Winchester Model 70-type wing safety and lever-locking drop magazine floor plate. On its barrel, it is marked in script: ERNEST DUMOULIN HERSTAL MODEL CENTURION 375MM. A real beauty, this rifle’s condition is graded as “extremely fine with a bright, sharp bore.” Tony Wilcox noted in the catalog description that it “operates smoothly and locks solidly.”

No Montrose auction would be complete without Colt revolvers. This time around, collectors of Colt’s “Seven Deadly Snakes” series can bid on a top-of-the-line Python .357 Magnum stainless steel revolver, Serial #PY336220. But, don’t worry, this Python won’t bite. It features a full lugged barrel, checkered walnut target stocks and Colt factory custom-shop D-coverage engraving; and red-ramp, white-outline adjustable sights. It comes in its numbers-matching Colt factory box with all paperwork. This Colt is unfired and new, with no use or handling evident.

Another excellent choice from the lineup of revolvers is a Smith & Wesson 12-2 Pinto Airweight .38 Special with a 2-inch C&R barrel. “Pinto” refers to a type of horse with patches of white and other colors, and it’s a nickname that collectors have given to S&W’s J-, K- and N-frame revolvers (and a few others), in reference to their factory mix of blued and nickeled parts. The auction example comes with a Colt factory letter confirming its configuration and documenting its original 1970 shipment to Amherst, New Hampshire, in a two-gun order. Together with the Colt factory box specifically numbered to the gun, plus paperwork and a cleaning tool, this bright, clean gun with an excellent finish is expected to make one bigger extremely happy.

Montrose Auction’s Saturday, July 20, 2024 Firearms & Accessories Auction will start at 10am ET, following an in-person preview from 8-10am. The auction gallery is conveniently located at 1702 2nd St., Montrose, GA 31065, just off Interstate I-16 between exits 32 and 39. It is a comfortable drive from anywhere in Georgia. Live online bidding will be available through Montrose Live, LiveAuctioneers, iCollector, Online Hunting Auctions and Proxibid. To leave an absentee bid, book a phone line for auction day, or obtain additional information about any auction item, please call 478-376-4559 or email staff@montroseauction.com. Online: https://www.montroseauction.com 

About Montrose Auction: Montrose Auction was founded in 1977. Since 1992, it has been owned and operated by Trey Cottle, the company’s president. Conducting up to 16 auctions per year, Montrose has positioned itself as Georgia’s leading auction house for the most-desired antique, vintage and modern firearms, edged weapons and sporting-related items. In addition of its popular gallery and online sales, Montrose Auction works closely with estate executors to evaluate items and prepare them for auction, confidentially and professionally.