Replacing burnt guns?

[Wyldk2]

Hello, Well this happened earlier this year, Lost my mom to a house fire( smoke inhalation) and they lost the entire contents to the fire.

Dad had ( unbeknown to me) 3 pistols that burnt in the fire. I would like to replace them as they were originally my grandfather's and his father's guns.

I need some help on finding replacements or if they could somehow be restored to functionality.

I know 2 were revolvers. One was a .32 and the other was a .38

The last one was a .22 Colt Woodsman semi-auto.

if i find out the makes and models of the revolvers i'll post here later( just don't have all the info on those right now.

Any help would be great. thanks.

[Guest 70below]

I'm sorry to hear about your loss. I know that no words are solace, but your family is in my prayers.

Most likely the pistols could probably be restored by a gunsmith that specializes in firearms restorations and/or refinishing. I would assume that it would depend on the amount of heat they were exposed to, and the length of time. Visually probably wouldn't be an issue, but the heat may have tempered the metal and left it more brittle.

Replacing firearms would probably be a matter of searching online and finding the best deal you can for the models you have. Gunbroker.com would be a good starting place, though often better deals can be found elsewhere.

[willis68]

God bless you and your family, I am sorry about your loss

[Jasongar8]

Sorry man. You and yours are in my thoughts. I think when you get what exactly they were we will be able to help you out a little more.

[Guest 1817ak47]

did the guns themselves get exposed to flames??

[Wyldk2]

did the guns themselves get exposed to flames??

i don't know where dad had them. i thought he had them in the safe but the fire got to the safe as well( was smoking inside a fire safe) then again the avg temp of the fire was around 1500 degrees F. At least that is what the fire-marshall/inspector told us.

But we found the guns, dad has them soaking in oil right now hoping for either replacement or repair/restoration.

[PackinMama]

I'm extremely sorry for your and your family's loss.

I have dealt with a similar situation in the past.....late 1995 to be exact. My home burned down and the only thing that saved me was my smoke alarms. The fire happened in the middle of the night around 2:30 a.m. and my smoke alarms woke me up. Which, by the way, the batteries had been dead in for a couple months and I had just replaced them about a week or two before the fire. My home was filled with heavy black smoke and the entire kitchen/living room area was ablaze. The only thing I had time to do was get out the door.

I lost everything I owned, including two dogs, my cockatiel, and six guns. One gun was a Winchester model 94 .22 lever action that my dad taught me how to shoot with at four years old. Another was a Colt Woodsman (early 40's in mint condition) that my dad had also given me. The others were newer and had no sentimental value, so they were tossed.

I saved the remains of those two guns for several years thinking I might eventually try to have them restored. My brother wound up taking the Woodsman frame to attempt to restore.....he said it was a lost cause. So I then threw the Winchester away. After seeing guns that went through a fire.....I don't think that they could ever be restored. Yours may be different since they were in a safe though. Mine were not.

I hope that you can restore yours. I'd ask around, talk to some gunsmiths, and see what they say.

Again, I'm very sorry for your loss. You and your family will be in my prayers.

To everyone on this forum: If you don't have at least a couple smoke alarms in your home, please go out today and get some. I would not be here typing this if it were not for a smoke alarm.

[Guest jackdm3]

"To everyone on this forum: If you don't have at least a couple smoke alarms in your home, please go out today and get some. I would not be here typing this if it were not for a smoke alarm."

In some cities, the fire stations give them out for free, while supplies last. And change the batts at time change!

[Guest GunTroll]

Sorry to hear that!

As for your guns....I would seek out a gunsmith that can give you a Rockwell hardness rating (?) I have seen it done many different ways. There are files that will check the hardness as well as a machine. I would suspect the internals would need to be replaced, IE springs, pins, detents, pawl, etc. If the guns are a total loss you can just refinish them to be wall hangers. Might not be what you want but shooting a brittle gun could be BAD.

[Wyldk2]

Ok, for the record my parent's house had smoke detectors in working order. The fire originated in the Garage( the near mint condition 1985 olds cutlass was the cause of the fire). From where dad found mom( the fire hadn't started by then) it looked like she was out in the garage investigating the smoke/ or sound like the engine running. It turned out upon later investigation that the starter somehow got real hot and melted the brake fluid reservior, thus then Ignited when it fell on the starter. This car was not driven in bad weather and since it was the day we had all that snow first of march, I doubt mom would have taken it out.

Reason why the fire was allowed to burn i don't now as i was 30 miles away in fayetteville. But dad was busy trying to get mom to safety and cpr and call the EMS and fire crews. I'm just mad the Fire dept did a sucky job that day. Parents house is, and I clocked it 1.5 miles from the fire hall #2 in Tullahoma.

To everyone on this forum: If you don't have at least a couple smoke alarms in your home, please go out today and get some. I would not be here typing this if it were not for a smoke alarm.

And do not investigate a fire( do the safe thing, call the fire department). You doing their job is not worth your loved ones losing you to smoke inhalation or worse.

Guns were not in the safe, We found them in the rubble. Everything is covered by insurance, only i wish i could get my mother back. I'd trade everything i own and then some just to have her back with us.

Edited October 30, 2009 by Wyldk2

[Guest HvyMtl]

TIME TO REPLACE THE BATTERIES IN YOUR ALARMS!!!

Sorry for your loss - Do go to a trusted gunsmith for evaluation.