Wehrwolfen
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Woman turns in historic Nazi assault rifle at Conn. gun buy-back
12/11/2012
By: Jessica Stanton
When police officers announced this years gun buy-back program would allow residents to exchange their guns for Wal-Mart gift certificates, they never expected a woman possessing a World War II-era Nazi Assault Rifle to take the bait.
But thats exactly what happened in Hartford, Conn. over the weekend.
Its like finding the Babe Ruth of baseball cards. The rarity, it was made for such a very short period, Officer John Cavanna, one of the two officers who discovered the gun, told ABC News.
Officer Lewis Crabtree added, The chance to see a piece of history this is absolutely unbelievable.
Cavanna and Crabtree are resident gun experts for the Hartford Police Department.
The woman found the weapon in a closet after her father, a World War II veteran, passed away. Her father had brought home the historic weapon, usually issued to SS troops, from Europe as a keepsake from the war.
She was unaware it is now valued between $20,000 to $25,000.
The Sturmgewehr 44, meaning storm rifle, dates back to 1944. Crabtree revealed it was the first modern assault rifle ever made, eventually replaced by the AK 47 in 1947 by Russia, who copied the German design of the Sturmgewehr 44.
And although every modern assault rifle is modeled after the Sturmgewehr 44, Crabtree understood how its significance could be overlooked.
If you were to look at the gun and didnt know anything about guns, you would think it was garbage, Crabtree said.
In its current state, this Sturmgewehr 44 is inoperable. But in its prime, it would have held a 30-round magazine and shot 500 rounds per minute.
The gun buy-back program allows residents to anonymously turn in firearms to be destroyed. In exchange, the Hartford Police Department gives them a $50 or $100 gift card to Wal-Mart, depending on the type of weapon.
Read more:
Woman turns in Nazi assault rifle at Conn. gun buy-back | The Daily Caller
Does Sen. Diane Feinstein know that a real 'Assault Rifle' resides in the city of Hartford?