Terry Reams shows off a 1870 British Bull Dog revolver, which likely was once owned by a bounty hunter or detective. The pistol, along with many others, will be auctioned off on Aug. 20.
A variety of rare pistols that once belonged to Guy Ingalls are pictured above. The pistols, along with other guns, will be auctioned off on Aug. 20.
Terry Reams, of Reams Gun Shop in Castle Rock, goes through some of the rare guns once owned by Guy Ingalls. The guns will be auctioned off on Aug. 20.
Terry Reams shows a "buck and ball" rifle that will be auctioned off on Aug. 20. The gun is a rare combination of a rifle and shotgun once owned by Guy Ingalls.
Guy Gibson Ingalls is pictured in this photo. Ingalls amassed a large gun collection while owning a repair shop in Galvin.
Terry Reams, of Reams Gun Shop in Castle Rock, looks over at a variety of rifles that will go up for auction on Aug. 20.
Throughout his years running a service garage in the small unincorporated community of Galvin, Guy Gibson Ingalls amassed a large collection of rare and very sought after guns.
Ingalls, who passed away in 1965, was a “jack of all trades,” said his grandson Jim Hoerling, 66, of Centralia.
Born in 1888 in the Lincoln Creek area, Ingalls opened Lincoln Creek Garage in 1926 with a grand opening dance.
He worked on anything that needed to be fixed, from cars and guns to clocks and player pianos.
Coming from very humble beginnings, his granddaughter, Karen Hermeston, 64, of Olympia, said her grandfather bartered a lot back then, which is one of the main reasons he probably came into possession of the guns.
“If someone needed their car repaired but couldn’t afford it, they paid him with a gun,” Hermeston said.
After Ingalls passed, the guns filtered down the family lines until Hoerling and Hermeston’s father passed away. As part of his estate sale, the guns of their grandfather were given to Garrison Auctioneers so they could find homes where the guns would be appreciated.
“That’s the main thing is to get them out of a dark closet and let someone take them and appreciate them,” Hoerling said. “I hated to see them have to go, but we’re hoping they’ll go to good homes and someone who can take better care of them.”
Terry Reams, owner of Reams Gun Shop, who will host the auction for Garrison Auctioneers, said there will be four lots of guns up for grabs, with one of the impressive lots belonging to Ingalls.
“What’s interesting about his collection is he has some things here that as a collector you can be looking for years and years and never find some of these guns,” Reams said. “These are not the things you’d go to your neighborhood gun shop and buy. These are things that people usually have stuck away in their houses or personal collections.”
Many of the more unusual guns have a rich history and were used in the Civil War and Indian Wars.
The collection includes a number of rare pistols, such as a nickel-plated 1883 Colt SAA with real ivory grips, a Smith and Wesson spur trigger, and an 1870 British Bull Dog revolver, which likely was once owned by a bounty hunter or detective.
The stock of the revolver has four notches in it, likely indicating how many people were killed by the weapon, Reams said.
Outside of the pistol collection, other guns include an extremely rare 1865 Maynard Carbine, which was probably used in the Civil War.
“A lot of them didn’t survive the Civil War and they didn’t make a lot of some of these rifles,” Reams said.
Another rarity is a 1854 rifle and shotgun, known as a buck and ball. Reams, who has been in his trade since 1982, said it was the first time he has held a gun like this.
“This is the first time I’ve ever seen one in my own hands and there are two of them in this collection,” he said. “It gives you an idea, they aren’t everywhere so that’s what makes them so neat.”
Other rare items include a 1885 Winchester Falling Block, a 1863 Spencer rifle, and a US Springfield 45-70 trapdoor.
The Ingalls’ lot is deep in history, Reams said.
“It’s not just a gun, it’s history,” he said. “It would be interesting if you could just pick up a weapon like these and know what battles it was in, who owned it, and where it’s been. A history buff falls in love with these things.”
For the Ingalls grandkids, they are excited to know the guns will go somewhere where they will be appreciated. Hermeston said she kept two pistols for sentimental value. The family also pulled a gun thought to be owned by Mary Borst from the auction and has plans to loan it to a local museum.
Ingalls’ guns, as well as the guns of three other people, will be up for auction on Aug. 20. Reams said he expects 150 to 200 people to attend the auction in person, with hundreds of more tuning in on line.
The guns will likely be sent all over the world as gun collectors and lovers bid on them.
