16 G&A october 2019 |Gun room
rose City mI.” most Jerry
miculek models I’ve seen
have had laminated wood
grips. This one, as you can
see, has Hogue grips. my
friend was a shooter, so he
probably changed them
out. What is the value of
this gun? And what do you
think the “CFn” stands
for?
S.K.
Brainerd, Minnesota
A: This 625-8 sounds pretty
standard to me. The “CFN”
prefix is simply a date indi-
cator meaning the gun was
made some time between
2001 and 2004. I checked
with Jim Supica, co-author
of the book “Standard
Catalog of Smith & Wes-
son, 4th Edition” (a book I
highly recommend), and he
doesn’t think your revolver
is out of the ordinary. In 80
to 90 percent condition, it’s
worth is in the $600 to $
range.
EARLY CHILD’S TOY
MUSKET
Q: my son-in-law recently
found this piece propped
up against the chimney in
his mother’s house. Clearly,
it has been around a while.
on closer inspection, I real-
ized it was actually a toy
gun of a musket. The firing
mechanism looks to be a
mirror image of an actual
musket. There is no flash
hole, and where the trigger
mechanicals are supposed
to be is wood with a thin
metal plate. The barrel
looks to have been formed
as a welded tube. Any idea
about the age, origins or
even value of what this
piece might be?
P.N.
Rockport, MassachusettsA: What an interesting
little piece. I spent a bit
of time going through
several early American and
European general-goods
catalogs and while I found
a number of toy guns, I
couldn’t spot one exactly
like yours. Interestingly, the
photos you sent show that
it emulated a flintlock while
all the others I have seen
are percussion style. The
ornate cast pot-metal lock
plate and side plate, along
with the fish-belly shaped
buttstock embellished with
embossed brass pieces,
leads me to think the gun is
European in origin. Thoughit could be American, things
like this don’t necessarily
follow a logical pattern. I
would say it was made no
later than 1920 and prob-
ably has its origins about
one or two decades earlier.
Too bad the cock’s broken.
Value on this type of firearm
memorabilia is mutable,
depending much on who
the buyer is. If the gun was
intact and cleaned up, care-
fully, I’d probably value it at
around $150 to $200. The
damage reduces desirability
considerably. I would think
$75 to $100 would be about
right. The problem is the
chance of finding a replace-
ment cock is nil, and as it’s
pot metal, making repairs
will be difficult.CANADIAN PARA-
ORDNANCE P14-
Q: I have a made-in-
Canada Para-ordnance P
.45 automatic. I’ve included
several photos. I also
have the original 10-round
magazine and two Para-
ordnance 14-round mags
purchased separately. I’ve
fired about 1,000 rounds
through the gun and it is in
very good condition. I have
been told it has collector’svalue. I would appreciate
any information you could
find regarding the value
and the date of manufac-
ture.
L.S.
EmailA: While Para-Ordnance
products were good shoot-
ers, I know of no collector
enthusiasm for them to
date. Your P14 is an off-the-
line specimen and as such,
according to the “Blue
Book of Gun Values, 40th
Anniversary Edition,” (blue-
bookofgunvalues.com, $50),
your P14 is worth between
$465 to $515 in 90 to 95 per-
cent condition. The mags
run $20 to $30 each.H&R MODEL 922
Q: I would like to know
more about my H&r
model 922 revolver. It was
purchased sometime in the
early 1950s by my mother.
She and I would go on oil-
field jobs with dad. While
he was working, we would
go away from the oil rig
and target practice. I was
about 7 years old. This is
the only one I’ve seen, and
am curious about the 922
and its history.
L.F.
EmailA: You have a Harrington
& Richardson (H&R) Model
922 Third Model revolver.
The economy-priced little
9-shot .22 LR double-ac-
tion was manufactured
from 1953 to 1961. The
mottled grips are of Tenite
plastic. This variant of the
922 was offered with 2½-,
4- or 6-inch barrels. Yours
appears to be in great
shape. It’s worth $150 to
$175.HOLLYWOOD HARDWARE
“TRAPDOOR” ARAB MUSKET
While many film aficionados think the Colt SAA
or Winchester Model 92 were the mainstays of
Hollywood armories, I would submit that they
have a series rival in the Trapdoor Springfield.
These single-shot .45-70s were used in their natu-
ral state, as everything from Civil War muskets to
highly modified pirate pistols.
Clever cinematic gunsmiths found dozensof ways to change the Trapdoor into just about
anything they needed. An example: A Springfield
that’s been transmogrified into an Arab musket.
A simple restructuring of the stock, a little fancy
brass work, a faux flintlock mechanism and voila!
You have a longarm fit to storm the walls of Fort
Zinderneuf in the 1939 Gary Cooper version of
“Beau Geste,” all courtesy of Hollywood Guns
and Props, and the National Firearms Museum.