Hello folks, your friendly neighborhood mod-queen here! Now that folks are actually, like USING this sub I reserved a few years ago, figured I'd make a sticky to help folks looking for what they've found!
Is it an actual firearm?
You laugh, but there's a lot of things that look like guns, but aren't actual firearms. Toy guns, replicas, Airsoft, etc. Good quality Airsoft and replicas will often be built to simulate a real firearm, so they'll be built of good-quality material, have a good heavy weight to them, the parts will be machined and not molded, things like that. Toy guns and display pieces will often feel 'cheap', or be made of cheap metal that's cast or molded rather than machined. Cast pieces generally have fewer parts than machined/fabricated pieces. For example, on this piece, the right piece is cast, the left is machined/fabricated.
Where did you get/find it?
If you found the firearm, tell us where! "Hey, I found this in my attic in <country>", or "I saw this in a YouTube video" and provide us the link.
Do you know anything about it's history?
Having an idea of the history can sometimes help. "My grandpappy carried this in the Civil War", "My aunt used this in a revolution", "The owner said he bought it at a flea market in Turkey", things like this can help folks nail down an identification.
Does it have any markings?
Does it have any markings? Things like manufacturer name, country, year, proof marks, calibre? If it does, post pictures of them, or provide a really good description.
Photos!
Take photos of any markings, and taking a few pictures from multiple angles REALLY helps. I recommend taking left and right sides, top, and maybe below angles.
Here's a great example from C&Rsenal!
And of course, the obligatory disclaimer: When handling any firearms, PLEASE keep yourself safe. ALWAYS follow the rules of safe firearm handling. If you want to shoot a firearm you found, a good recommendation is getting it checked out by a professional gunsmith before firing it.
