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gschwertley
veteran member
Posts: 179
(12/27/04 10:54 pm)
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My Stolen Marlin .22
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Here we go again with another .22 story.
Many years ago, back around 1974 or so, I bought a Marlin Model 99 from a gun show friend named Howard T. He had taken it in on a trade and wanted to get rid of it cheaply and quickly. The Marlin 99 is just like a model 60, the only difference that I can see is the gold-plated trigger on the 99. It is a tube-fed semi auto that Marlin has sold millions of just like it over the years, and always shot bang-bang-bang without a whimper.
A side story on Howard T. He went on a solo shooting in the desert north of Los Angeles in the 1980's and never came back. Shortly thereafter, his Ford Bronco was found some distance away and in the back seat were his broken eyeglasses. Howard couldn't see much without his glasses so it was surmised that he wouldn't have gone anywhere willingly without them. His guns (including a sub rosa automatic weapon) were never found. A Luger concealed under the truck seat was still there. No sign of Howard has ever been seen since; it has been further surmised that some bad guys got the drop on him and "disappeared" him just for his guns. After all, when people hear gun shots, they know both what you are up to and where to find you to some extent. Lesson to be learned: If you do go alone, be alert.
Back to the Marlin .22. I used to take it to the desert with my other guns, and was never afraid to drag it around over rocks and other obstacles and get it scratched. It worked just as well. I had a sling on it, and after one shooting trip I was carrying it back into the house and the sling swivel pulled out and the gun fell into the street barrel first. I took it into the garage and leaned it up against my ping-pong table to await repairs.
Another side-story must be told here. At this same time, I had a US .30 Caliber carbine with a cracked stock leaning up against the same table in the garage. This was a carbine that I had bought in 1967, sold to my cousin Rich shortly thereafter, and bought it back from him in 1985. I had only had it back for one week. Shortly after this, someone broke into my garage and among other things, took both of these rifles. When this happened, I said, thinking about how it had landed on its barrel in the street, "I hope that Marlin shoots around the corner for its new owner." At least the buggers didn't get several other rifles, including a Kar98 (covered with a raincoat) and a card-board box full of pistols and revolvers (covered with towels). Believe you me, after this break-in I got a fun safe fast.
Well, it is quite a shock when you get home from work and see your garage door propped half-open and you just know you didn't leave it that way. You get that shot of stomach acid upon such a sight. I called the police and they came out and looked around and said I could get a report in a few days. I asked the detective "are you gonna dust for fingerprints?" He just laughed and said, "Sorry, we don't have time for that; we have real crimes like murders to get onto." It was around this time that I started giving serious thought about moving away from my home town (which I did). I had been getting bad feelings for some time. When the gangs started spray painting that squiggly gang-tag lettering on my garage doors, I knew that I had gangsters on my property. It's just that they weren't standing right there at that moment, the only difference being the time factor. I figured at some point, the gangsters and I would be standing there together. I could go on about this, but I solved the problem and left the state and I will never move back.
Anyway, I never thought I would see either of these guns again. Low and behold, I got a call in 1991 from the Long Beach, Calif. PD and they had recovered my Marlin .22. It had been found abandoned in Rialto, Calif. and was returned to them. Now I could have it back, but the detective said, "Oh, the department doesn't have much money so could you send us five dollars for shipping?" When it got back to me, it wasn't the same gun. It had obviously been left outside as the barrel was rusted and repainted with black paint. The stock showed signs of metal staining and had been heavily sanded. Worse, there was no way it could have been fired -- all the little springs and pins and stuff from the mechanism were gone. Someone had "taken it apart to see what was inside" I guess and couldn't get it all back in there. I sent away to Marlin for a parts list and illustration to compare what should be there to what I had, made a list and for about $25 I got all the missing small pieces. I put it back together, and as ugly as it was, it worked fine. No, it didn't shoot around the corner. The cheapie rimfire scope I had on it when stolen was of course long gone, so I got another to replace it. Fortunately, the long brass tube that holds the cartridges in the magazine was still there. I think that is the most expensive part on the rifle.
I am sure that the US .30 Caliber Carbine is gone for good. For one thing, the way the national stolen gun list works, I think it would be likely to not be properly identified. They are listed on the computer by make, caliber, and serial number. What are they going to look up for make? This carbine was made by Saginaw Steering Gear, but I doubt if that is how it would be looked up or listed. Then there is the problem of record keeping at the LBPD. Even if the carbine did get back to them, it would be a miracle if both the records from 1985 were still available, and someone in the department took the time to look them up and to find me at this late date. It's gone.
yockey5
Owner
Posts: 3330
(12/27/04 11:19 pm)
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Re: My Stolen Marlin .22
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A good read Gary! It is a real surprise that the .22 made it's way back to you!
Don
Yesterdays Weapons forums
http:pub151.ezboard.com/bsteyrmannlicher
Why did I leave that m95 sporter in Nashville?
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