Belfast requesting bids on hoard of old guns > Some weapons have criminal past, others surplus

BELFAST — Police Chief Allen Weaver has decided to cash in on a hoard of old guns that have been gathering dust in the police department lockup.

Weaver is seeking bids from gun dealers for the eclectic collection of pistols, rifles and shotguns the department has accumulated over the past 25 years or so. Some have a criminal history, while others are surplus.

There are also a few sawed-off shotguns in the collection, but they won’t be going anywhere. “Oh, no,” said Weaver. “They are against the law.”

All told the department has about 40 different guns. Weaver said many were confiscated during arrests, some were turned in by people who no longer wanted guns in their homes and others are police-owned that are no longer needed. While most of the guns are of the standard variety, a couple are collector’s items that should fetch a decent price.

Weaver cited an 1897 Winchester 12-gauge pump shotgun with an affixed bayonet that was designed for trench fighting in World War I as one weapon that will draw attention from gun dealers.

Another is a World War II vintage .45-caliber Reising submachine gun. The Reising was donated to the department by the government after the war and is capable of firing 450 rounds per minute.

The Reising has a history of sorts, Weaver said. One story “from way before my time” is about when former Officer Harold Higgins attempted to stop a fleeing felon with a fusillade of machine gun fire, but had forgotten to switch the Reising into the automatic fire mode and could only squeeze off one shot before the suspect escaped into the woods.

The submachine gun received only sporadic use, Weaver said. “I’ve never even fired it,” he said.

Also in the collection are a number of .38-caliber Police Special revolvers that were decommissioned when the department was outfitted with 9 mm automatics a few years ago.

Weaver said the dealers have been asked to submit bids on each weapon. “That way each weapon will go to the highest bidder. One dealer might get them all or he might get just part of the lot,” Weaver said. Only licensed gun dealers can bid on the collection, Weaver said.

Proceeds from the sale will be placed in a special account the department has for funding drug investigations and the purchase of certain types of equipment.