Possible Radom Pickup

[PAD141]

All:

I was browsing at the LGS today and came across a Radom for what I believe to be a pretty reasonable price. It appears to my novice eye to be a 3 lever H block with black grips and WaA77 stamps on the slide and frame. Unmarked magazine as best I could see. In my excitement at the price, I forgot to take pictures.

I'm going back for a second look at lunch tomorrow and I'd appreciate any pointers on red flags/areas of concern. I'm going to study up on Radom take down tonight as I think they'll probably let me field strip it.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Paul

 

[mrfarb]

Not really much to red flag, study some ended auctions on Gunbroker, there have been some nice ones sell recently that had great photos (I'll PM you a few).

There were imported ones so make sure its not import marked, and make sure the grips are original and not repro.

 

[oldcorps]

Field stripping is quite easy. I have H 43XX in high original condition. Finish is blue and the P. 35 (P) roll mark should still be on the left side of the slide. Mags with mine are unmarked and it came back in a tan holster. It's a great shooter. Hope the numbers match and that the bore's decent. Good luck with it!

 

[PAD141]

Field stripping is quite easy. I have H 43XX in high original condition. Finish is blue and the P. 35 (P) roll mark should still be on the left side of the slide. Mags with mine are unmarked and it came back in a tan holster. It's a great shooter. Hope the numbers match and that the bore's decent. Good luck with it!

Thanks! It does have the P.35(P) roll mark. If the bore isn't toast and it is all matching, I'll be posting pictures tomorrow night. I'm suspicious, though, because it is in a shop not known for low prices. Fingers crossed that it all works out.

 

[PAD141]

Update

Checked it out at lunch today. All matching, grips look to be original as best I can tell. Bore is dusty, but has strong rifling and should clean up very well. Pics to follow later as this one is now mine!

 

[oldcorps]

Sometimes the blind hog still gets the acorn. I got really lucky last week.

 

[PAD141]

Sometimes the blind hog still gets the acorn. I got really lucky last week.

I definitely feel that way with this one - the price was very reasonable given the current auction values. Was browsing a shop I'd never been in before and almost walked right past the case with the Vis in it. The shopkeeper also has a bunch of other C&R long guns and pistols that I'm going to be checking out soon. I could kick myself for never having visited this shop before - I drive by it all the time!

 

[Tiger 2 Tank]

A few things to check:

1) Check all numbered parts to see if matching.

2) Check hammer drop lever to make sure it drops the hammer.

3)*** Check the recoil spring assembly! There is a little pin that broke often and sometimes replaced by a small bent wire holding the assembly together. If you see a little bent "U" shaped wire holding anything together in that assembly, the original pin broke and they are holding it together with that wire.

4) Check the grips. Grips are often replace with good looking reproduction grips. If you take the grips off, make sure you put the original screw in the original grip hole it came out of. Tighten the screws a little on the top first, then a little on the bottom, then a little more on the top screw, then a little more on the bottom. Don't just tighten one down all the way, then the next one all the way; they need to be tightened each a little at a time together. Then don't go all the way down because the end of the screw will end up too far past the receiver frame and scratch the Hell out of the magazine body. Just a little tip to help out.

You can go to Jan C Still's website and inform them of the serial number (with the block letter). There are some serious Radom collectors there that know WAY more on what to look for and may even know of this pistol.

I finally found a Radom that I could live with in my collection. I found it at the last Tulsa gunshow and fortunately, I had a couple of serious knowledgeable Radom collectors with me to help me with it. They knew all the little details on these. I looked at MANY of these before I found one that was totally correct and in super nice condition finish wise. It is a two lever later model-which is what I was looking for and those you really have to check out because the three pins that replaced the safety lever, a lot of times, have been knocked out and put back in and such. So, I had a little more things to look over before I bought mine. These are neat, but crazy to collect. I may get a second one, but the hunt will probably be long because I am so picky. Good luck on this one!

Sorry, I didn't see where you had already bought it. The above still applies and things for you to check. Can't wait to see the photos. I love looking at these.

 

[PAD141]

Sorry, I didn't see where you had already bought it. The above still applies and things for you to check. Can't wait to see the photos. I love looking at these.

Thanks - all solid advice! I field stripped it today before I bought it. All the numbers match (slide, frame, barrel) and the bore looks good. The finish is worn, but not as rough as many I've seen and seems to once have been correct bluing.

The markings are clearly struck WaA77 on the frame and slide with corresponding WaA623 Steyr final acceptance markings, including one on the barrel lug. Pics to follow once I get all the kids to bed.

 

[PAD141]

Pictures!

With apologies for the iPhone photography, attached are hopefully comprehensive pictures of my new Vis (H2964), including before and after pics showing how the bore cleaned up. I'm feeling pretty good about being out the door at $535 on this one.

Thanks for any thoughts.

Best regards,
Paul

 

[oldcorps]

I paid a flat $500 for mine and that was five years ago. Congratulations on a great find!

 

[PAD141]

I paid a flat $500 for mine and that was five years ago. Congratulations on a great find!

Thanks! I almost fell over when I saw the list price in the shop. I'd been outbid numerous times on GunBroker and wasn't hopeful of landing a nice example below $1k.

 

[atomspliter]

Looks like it has some rust pitting,but for the money you did ok,congrats!