PAGING CITIZEN, MR. Citizen, weapon question

[CGWildcat]

I have the chance to buy a BC Miroku 12ga, Double barrel side by side Model 500. Serial #456021

I can't find anything specific on it. Supposedly it's a 1950s era actually brought over from Japan.

Any ideas on fair price?

[CitizenBBN]

Is it only marked Miroku? Prior to Browning buying up the distribution rights in the US Charles Daly imported them. Even the Charles Daly imports will have "BC Miroku" on them, but Miroku also sold them in Japan and the rest of the world with just the Miroku mark.

They're almost universally seen as high quality guns. They were good enough For Browning to buy the US distribution rights and shift production to them from FN for some models. Their most famous shotgun is probably the O/U Citori, which was the gun Browning bought the rights to when they started.

Being a side by side may help narrow it down. It most likely was the same as a model imported by Charles Daly, which would give a good baseline price for it. The Mirokus are great guns but the non-imports don't really have any special collector value so the market price of the Dalys or Brownings in the same model will give a good estimate.

Google for pics of the Charles Daly 500 and see if that's it. it's the most popular S/S I know of from that era. there were others, but not near as many as the O/Us.

Going to be tough to find much detail on an exact production date. Wisner's inc has pages with some data on the O/Us, but I ran into this trying to research one once. From what I found a typhoon hit the facility in the 70s and wiped out the records on serial numbers and production dates. I bookmarked this Wisner's page: http://www.wisnersinc.com/additional...ialnumbers.htm They make new parts for old guns. That data is for O/Us, but it's the only info I have on the miroku shotguns.

I'm betting it's a 500 series or close. Could be 1950s. Daly imported them during the 60s-70s then Browning took over. I have no idea how to track the model names for those sold in japan if it was in fact originally sold there. That's possible, not sure I'd take it at face value though, but in this case it won't impact price anyway.

As for price unless it's a very special model seat of my pants is $500-$750 depending on condition, 90%-98%+. That's the range the Daly S/Ss sell in. If it's got rust and pitting and such and is a shooter it's below the $500 range, that's for one in good condition. I wouldn't go extra for it being a non-import or older than the 60s models, I just don't see much collector value there. People will pay for it b/c it's a good well made shotgun, but it's not like collecting a Nazi proof FN or something.

[CGWildcat]

Wow, good info. Thanks for all of that. I'll check it out more. I had initially thought around $750. I may drop that by a hundred or so depending on its actual condition.

You're my hero!

Roger