New programme on National Geographic

[davejb]

Hi all, just viewed a new programme on English TV called Family Guns, the company IMA is run by a father and son, it purports to be the largest collection of all period weapons and artillery on the planet, they sell numerous items, rare and common of all descriptions, the first two episodes were screened last night, The father is English and the son a born American, overall it was a good programme, there were numerous rare and common items, in particular a WW2 LEE ENFIELD no4 sniper rifle with original scope and a SPRINGFIELD SNIPER with scope both in excellent condition, the no4 had its original transit case with the serial nos all matching, they decided to shoot both weapons, but for people who are supposed to be experienced weapon handlers, they appeared to be sadly lacking in the fineries of rifle shooting. With both rifles they failed to hit targets at range with the scopes so resorted to hitting very close targets, perhaps someone should have explained that the rifles needed to be zeroed in. Apart from that it was good except using German helmets for target practise(originals I might add), the FBI Thompson 1921 was in pristine condition and still fired well, If you get the chance have a look

[GIZMO8Z]

Hi Dave,

This show has been airing for a while here in the States. The show is good for entertainment, but that's about it...

They seem to be following in the steps of Sons of Guns and American Guns... Light on history and authenticity, heavy on scripted moments (WHAT?! THE MP44 I FOUND IN A BOX IN MY ATTIC IS WORTH THOUSANDS?!), low brow humor, and blowin' stuff up. In a later episode, they feature a WWII Mosin sniper rifle that they think is authentic... but is clearly a reproduction to anyone who has studied the subject for more than an afternoon.

I hope to god that the helmets and stuff they shot at our repro... they DO sell repros on their website afterall!

[Aus der Traum]

Thanks for the write-up, Dave. Very informative. It sounds like they have some interesting pieces in their collection, I may well check it out.

I would hate to see German helmets (or any historical artifact) shot purely for television ratings, such items deserve more respect.

Thanks!
Josh

[davejb]

Thanks Joe, I knew it would have been seen out there first, and your right, there are similarities in all the others , just for once i would like to see a programme like this without all the hype and concentrate on the history of the items more and without all the weird egos involved, although i do like the old man in this one, at least he is a collector and enjoys the history behind the items
cheers DAVE

[davejb]

Josh, albeit the type of programmes that are all too prevalent just for viewing figures and ignore the actual items they sell , this one is'nt too bad, at least you get to see some rare items, like a working Piat, Thompson,the rifles I mentioned, flintlocks and pistols plus a very unique American civil war prototype pistol, basically the only one in existence which they did'nt know they had as it was in an old box with other old bits of pistol, its only worth $50,000 so not a lot really

[Aus der Traum]

Thanks, Dave - I've stopped watching a lot of those programs, but this one sounds like it does have some merit.

It might come to cable here in Australia sometime soon!

Josh

[GIZMO8Z]

Thanks Joe, I knew it would have been seen out there first, and your right, there are similarities in all the others , just for once i would like to see a programme like this without all the hype and concentrate on the history of the items more and without all the weird egos involved, although i do like the old man in this one, at least he is a collector and enjoys the history behind the items
cheers DAVE

Unfortunately, I think the masses wouldn't like a show tailored to our interests... hence, the blowin' stuff up. But still, you're right, this show is better than the others...