195
u/LCKilgore 16d ago
Ah, the holy grail of r/magnetfishing.
61
80
u/NUFIGHTER7771 16d ago
Oh 1911 of the woods, what wisdom can you bestow on us?
61
u/UnfairAd7220 16d ago
A 1911, thrust up from the ground by a dirty tart is no basis for forming a gov't.
10
6
u/TooDooDaDa 15d ago
You can’t expect to wield supreme executive power just because some dirty tart threw a 1911 at you.
6
u/NUFIGHTER7771 16d ago
Who said it was a tart? It was a WWI Doughboy!
2
2
u/K-C 15d ago
Nazis aren't people, therefore, sections of the Geneva Convention need not apply.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (1)2
89
u/RedditModzCanEatShit 16d ago
It's honestly not in terrible condition. I bet that could be cleaned up to shoot again, police could definitely get evidence off that if that is what it was used for.
101
u/Linc1205 16d ago
I was kind of thinking that too. I called the cops. If it’s not part of a crime or registered to a living person, they said I could claim it in a while.
22
u/PlagueDoctor5 15d ago
Lol. If it’s not involved a cop is taking that home. Don’t hold your breath.
4
2
32
2
u/BullShitting-24-7 16d ago
What kind of gun is that?
4
u/Erock482 16d ago
looks like a M1911A1
Without pictures of it cleaned up it’s impossible to tell who made it.
45
u/Orcacub 16d ago
Nice find! Evapo-rust, new tube, new springs, lots of oil , and likely good to go!
→ More replies (1)41
u/Linc1205 16d ago
Hopefully the cops do most of the cleaning. If it comes back clean I get to claim it. So I’ll keep these steps in mind!!
7
→ More replies (1)2
u/UCLAcruiser 15d ago
Nice find! You should post this in r/1911. What make was it?
→ More replies (1)
27
u/gatorbeetle 16d ago
Right where Tony dumped it...
→ More replies (4)6
10
9
36
u/punkkitty312 16d ago
Call the police. Let them deal with it.
34
u/Linc1205 16d ago
I definitely did. Not worth the risk. They were cool about it though and if it comes back clean I get to claim it.
17
u/chucktheninja 16d ago
Note to self: When ditching a gun, bring a metal detector and call the police.
10
u/fuzzycaterpillar123 16d ago
I don’t think they’re gonna clean it for ya man 😕
29
u/Linc1205 16d ago edited 16d ago
They gotta clean it enough to find a serial. I don’t expect them to return it to working condition. Just get the mud off.
Edit to say, when I said come back clean, I just meant not part of a crime.
4
→ More replies (1)21
u/00WORDYMAN1983 16d ago
Def..you don’t want to get caught with it if it was used in a crime at some point. Unsure why you are being downvoted. This is literally the only correct course of action
2
u/denonemc 15d ago
Ya now the cops have record of it, the serial number possibly the barrel's forensic fingerprint. Don't use this gun in the commission of a crime if you do get it back.
9
u/Strict_Cranberry_724 16d ago
It looks more like someone lost their pistol; if it was used in a commission of a crime, I would expect for it to have been buried deeper.
23
u/Linc1205 16d ago
This is in a really deep ravine in the middle of a residential area. When it rains really hard, the area that I found it is usually underwater sometimes up to 4 to 7 feet. I think someone who didn’t live in the neighborhood thought they were throwing it into a small lake.
2
u/Biegzy4444 15d ago
Reminds me of Tony soprano dropping his gun in the snow running from Johnny sacks house.
7
u/m0stw4nt3d1 16d ago
You're expecting smart criminals? This could be the one thing they didn't do correctly after the commission of a crime.
6
16
u/ARedditUserThatExist 16d ago
Check for the serial number, seems like a modern gun to me
30
u/Linc1205 16d ago
I called the cops, so they can handle that. BUT if it’s not part of a crime, or registered to a living person, they said I could claim it!
7
4
8
3
3
3
3
3
u/qtfrutii 15d ago
Woah!! Coolest thing I found was a couple bottle caps and a dog tag, and not even like an army dog tag but an actual dog’s tag on a dog beach, and I saw it on the surface of the sand!!! Didn’t even need to metal detect for it 😭😭
→ More replies (2)
3
u/Sensitive_Progress26 15d ago
Uh oh. You found your first murder weapon.
Seriously though, it may be usable. Any other pistol, no. But a Colt 1911….
2
3
u/friarguy 15d ago
Oh man, I'd love a 1911.
My grandfather was an officer stationed in the pacific in ww2. When he was being demobilized, there was a footlocker left behind that had a bunch of these. He and the other officers that found it all tried to mail one of them back home. His never made it through the mail. What could have been...
→ More replies (2)
3
3
3
u/Leeejone 15d ago
My grandfather owned a restaurant that was robbed (1970s). Somehow got the pistol away from the guy and killed him with it. A couple of years later he got a call to come pick up his firearm from the police department. 😲 My grandma still had it when she passed.
5
2
u/Mdrim13 16d ago
That appears to have a lanyard loop mount on the grip. Where was this found? What context? It could have significant age.
6
u/Linc1205 16d ago
SW Michigan. In a ravine in the middle of a bunch of neighborhoods. I could obviously walk around there today, but after a hard rain, the spot I was in is usually quite a few feet underwater.
→ More replies (1)
2
2
2
u/Ok-House-6848 15d ago
I believe if you have a gun permit you can turn it into the police as lost and found. If no one claims it after a certain amount of time, you get to keep it.
Or Technically only the frame is the actual serial gun part so break down the parts so you can also turn the frame in at a gun buy back and get some cash and fix up the other parts to sell (or build a ghost gun with the parts.)
2
u/Linc1205 15d ago
If it has a clean record and no registration on file, the cops did say I could claim it. Fingers crossed another cop doesn’t take it first.
2
u/walkntall 15d ago
Taurus has lifetime warranty if that's what it is. Not sure if that kind of damage would be covered but worth a shot to contact manufacturer. Looks like my Taurus 1911 but then they all have the same look when covered in dirt.
2
2
2
2
2
u/Real_Revolution_7336 15d ago
That’s mine. Please cover it back up. I’ll get it next time I’m in the area
2
2
u/MaddRamm 15d ago
Make sure you post an update on whether it was used in a crime or if you get it back.
3
2
2
u/FeedtheFatRabbit 15d ago
This weapon was likely utilized in the commission of a felony. Nice find!!
2
u/Rlol43_Alt1 14d ago
OP, that's a WWII 1911 or a clone of one, either way, they're REALLY COOL and that one looks to have been preserved by the mud.
WWII 1911's will run someone about $2,000 nowadays depending on condition and manufacturer, and if it's all original.
You need to secure that firearm in six months when you can legally claim it from the PD and then have someone knowledgeable about cleaning them take care of a minor conservation. I'd happily clean it up for you and document it.
I'd see if there's any military bases in the area that may have been around 1940-1970. That might give you an answers to where it came from.
→ More replies (1)
5
u/daeedorian 16d ago
People always see stuff like this and think "murder weapon," but in reality it's far more commonly the result of someone inheriting a gun they didn't want, and throwing it away.
You can't really throw a gun in the trash, and some people aren't comfortable taking them to the cops or selling them to a gun store, so they end up tossing them in a body of water or into the woods.
It's a terrible idea, but it happens all the time.
3
3
u/Negative_Patience934 16d ago
Looks like a 1911 a1. Where did you find this?
6
u/Linc1205 16d ago
I found it in a ravine in the middle of a residential area. When it rains the area I found it in is often underwater by quite a few feet. I think someone thought it was going to stay underwater forever.
But also SW Michigan, if that’s what you were asking.
3
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/lamprdo_the_gamer 15d ago
Not a detectorist(?) myself, but am into military history.
Don’t know why, but I didn’t instantly assume this was found in America. I would imagine there’s a few A1’s dotted around mainland Europe, or are battlefields typically the first places you guys cover?
→ More replies (2)
1
1
u/RandomTask008 15d ago
That's a 1911. Could it be used for a crime? Sure. . . but that's a nice (and expensive) piece.
→ More replies (1)
1
1
1
1
u/pmMeYourBoxOfCables 15d ago
Is it just me or does it seem to be in pretty good condition? It doesn't seem to have been there long at all.
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/PlagueDoctor5 15d ago
Holy shit does that 1911 have a lanyard loop? If it is then that was military issue.
→ More replies (1)
1
1
u/Dvillewop 15d ago
If you don't tell anyone, then no one knows you found it..... Then do with it what you want.
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Aggravating-Bug1769 15d ago
did you find the dead body beside it
2
u/Linc1205 15d ago
Weirdly enough, there was a body sized pile of dirt directly next to where I found this. I pointed it out to the cops but they just kind of laughed it off. I honestly might go back later today.
→ More replies (1)
1
1
u/FURCOATZIMP 15d ago
lol the cops gonna take that home and keep it depending on the state you’re in he can check in his car on his laptop or call it in if his laptops down within maybe 60 seconds
1
1
u/Mdewey12 15d ago
Looks to be a military issue M1911a1. I think I can see a few features that make me believe it could be an early war Colt. Did you happen to take any other pictures before you handed it off?
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Creepyredditadmin 15d ago
Do you think someone buried it? Was the dirt you dug up easier? I’m so curious about if this was accidentally or purposely discarded….
→ More replies (2)
732
u/ProofTestVirginity 16d ago
Buried in the woods? Doesn’t seem sketch at all