The remarkable engraving is by Remington Custom Shop engraver Jesse Kaufman. (Photo: JDJ)
Remington is celebrating two centuries of business with a gorgeous trio of their best designs. Remington has put the set up for auction at the storied James D. Julia auction house and is expected to bring between $25,000 and $50,000. Remington will put all auction proceeds toward their conservation funds.
“James D. Julia Auctions is honored to have been selected by Remington as a partner to Remington Arms Co. to market this set which is one of only four that are being produced,” said the auction house. “This one the only one available for public sale.” The set at auction is set number 3 of 4.
These commemorative firearms were all assembled and hand-finished by the Remington Custom House in Sturgis, S.D. The engraving was performed by master engraver Jesse Kaufman.
“Engraving is the art form that ties our past to the future,” said Jesse Kaufman. “When Remington came to me … we discussed the bicentennial project — right away I was excited.” Kaufman started working on the pattern immediately, using pencil and paper.
“There [are] no lasers used in this at all,” said Kaufman. “From the conception of the designs right through to the blueing process, it’s all done by hand.”
The bicentennial set includes a Remington Model 700 in 7mm Remington Magnum, a Remington Model 870 in 12 gauge and a Remington 1911R1 in .45 ACP. All three guns feature a gold-inlaid scroll and floral pattern with ribbons and the fluer-de-lis prominently engraved on each firearm.
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Serial number 1817-700-3. (Photo: JDJ)
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The bolt is jeweled to an incredible luster. (Photo: JDJ)
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The Remington 700 has finely polished and jeweled bolt and a hand-selected, hand-rubbed fiddleback American black walnut stock. The action is fit with a 27-inch barrel and comes with a BDL sight package. It also uses a Remington 40x trigger. The stock has a Monte Carlo profile with a rosewood nose cap and pistol grip cap. It also has two sling swivel studs, one on the forend and the other on the toe. The buttplate is covered with dark maroon leather.
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Inside the oval the receiver is signed “Eliphalet Remington.” (Photo: JDJ)
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The Model 870 trigger is gold-plated. (Photo: JDJ)
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Beneath the engraving both the rifle and shotgun have ahigh-polish rust blue finish. The Remington 870 has a matching hand-selected fiddleback American black walnut stock with rosewood accents and maroon leather buttpad. It uses a 23-inch barrel with a matte, low-profile ventilated rib, steel mid bead and white front bead. It is threaded for Remington chokes.
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Nearly every surface of the 1911R1 is engraved. (Photo: JDJ)
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Here the signature is just beneath the ejection port. (Photo: JDJ)
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Rounding out the set is the Remington 1911R1. It has a very high-polish deep blue finish and it is nearly fully engraved, the slide in particular. The pistol is cut for Novak sights and comes with a special blued set of sights with a front gold bead. It comes with two magazines and a 1911 multitool.
Each gun comes with its own custom cut-out Pelican hard plastic travel case and marked “1816/Bicentennial/2016.” All three are completely new from Remington, unfired.
Along with the firearms, Remington put this video together to celebrate this 200-year milestone and showcase the mastery behind this incredible set.
Making the Bicentennial Collection
Three guns to celebrate two centuries of business. This is set 3 of 4. (Photo: JDJ)
I agree strongly with Gene Kumeisha,
why not sale up to 10 tickets for 10.00 to 25.00 dollars for each ticket so some of us poor smucks
who will never have a chance on Gods Green Earth have a chance to own a once in a lifetime Gun. This is a well respected Gun maker, sale 10 tickets per person until you achieve the amount of money you will differently
achieve from the auction. And let some of us 30,000 dollar a year hard working people have a chance to own a Beautiful,
Stays in a locked gun safe or a safety deposit box, and never be shot have a chance to own what only one of those 1%ers can even bid on. This seems much fairer to me. Give all of us a chance to own a Gun that will probably never be shot. Give everyone a chance to own a beauty.
How do I bid on a Remington bi-centennial rifle or gun?
As much as I love the set and have seen other sets from different gun makers and other manufacturers, I have come to a frustrating conclusion. The average income earner or retiree will never be able to own anything like this set. The cost is prohibitive and just a dream for the average person while for the well off financially it’s a matter of a yawn and a simple decision as to how much he is willing to throw at the set.
Why not have a lottery where each person is allowed “only” 1 ticket, wealthy or not, and see whose number is the winner. Charge a resonable amount per ticket, say $25 or $10 and don’t hold the draw until the anticipated sell amount is achieved. That gives all of us, even the poor schmucks a chance at a piece of history.
This way the tables are even. The wealthy sharks can then appreciate not getting what they want for granted. The average guy can obtain something that he could only dream about and if the average guy wins, well, he can sell it. In my case, I would never sell such a piece of history. Anyway that’s my opinion.
Because it makes to much sense.. you have $25-35,000 you can spare? I love the craftsmanship that has/will go into making these guns so they can hang on the wall, behind the glass or in a safe never to be fired. Me I prefer my guns oiled, loaded and well used, in fact some would say their worn, I say they’re just matured and still functional.
I fully agree with Gene. This is a fantastic idea. I, too would love to own one but couldn’t possibly afford the auction!
There is engraving jobs that look fantastic, they seem to bring out more of the simplistic beauty of the firearm, and then there are engraving jobs that go to far and actually detract from the simplistic beauty of a firearm, In my opinion the engraver while talented has gone to far with the 1911R1,
There was no sound on my video.
I agree on the craftsmenship being beautiful, but I have never liked engraving on any gun. It just looks too busy. I am one of those less is more people. Like my cars, plain blacl no chrome, other than the wheels. I just think that sxpensive engraving makes you less likely to use the weapon for fear of ruining the art work.
These are really beautiful guns and I do really like the video as well. If I could be at this auction and have the huge amount of money to buy one of these guns, I would be too afraid to actually shoot this beautiful art and make it all dirty and scratchy.
I also understand perfectly what the engraver said at 4:23, that as soon as you get to start and it is moving good, you just cannot stop. I know this myself, when I start to write something and I have so many ideas in my mind how to write and what to write and my fingers are just moving automatically across the keyboard of my computer. You just cannot stop. But my writing is absolutely nothing, compared to the art this man is doing. Everything done by hand, at first I couldn’t believe it! Wow! Just wow!