Page 5 - Auction84-Book3

Milan J. Turk
Collection
For the first time in the Rock Island Auction Company’s storied history, we are dedicating an entire volume to a single collection. You are going to be treated to the impressive collection of Mr. Milan J. Turk in Volume III. As you will see throughout the pages that follow, Mr. Turk has an expansive and varied group of firearms, with something to offer every collector.
Milan Turk was born on November 25, 1938 in Baton Rouge, LA to parents of Croatian ancestry. Interestingly, he and his brother and sisters never thought of themselves as anything but Americans. His parents instilled a strong work ethic in him and his siblings. Fortunately this ethic spilled over to his father’s approach to enjoying the outdoors. He was an avid hunter and fisherman which gave Milan and his brother the final coaching necessary to safely enjoy these activities for years to come.
Milan joined the Boy Scouts of America and is an Eagle Scout. Along the way to that achievement he did a lot of camping and when available he spent all of his money at the camps’ rifle ranges and earned every youth shooting medal available. This led to a lot of rifle, pistol and shotgun competition which continues to this day. Now 83, he still gets out to shoot multiple times a week, particularly sporting clays,
where he loves the instant gratification of the thunder of his gun, the recoil on his shoulder,
and the breaking of his targets all within a safe competitive environment; and he’s still looked upon as a strong club competitor.
He earned a Bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering and a Masters degree in Business Administration at Louisiana State University where he met his future wife. They were
both involved in Student Government; he as President of the College of Engineering and she as President of the College of Education. From there he and Margot went on to raise a family of four children and six grandchildren.
Hunting, fishing and shooting did not stop just because he had a family but life did take some other exciting career paths. They moved eight times which took them to other parts of the country and the world working in the oil, chemical, and paper industries. This included two years in Latin America and five years living in Switzerland with responsibility for East and West Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Milan started to acquire a few guns soon after they were married. This was where it became very clear that he and Margot were
truly compatible and completely in sync. He was careful what he selected and he never got any push back on his choices. He bought a couple of surplus pistols, followed by a 1911 pistol, a M1 Carbine and a 30-06 Springfield through the DCM. This was followed by some serious target guns: a Jimmy Clark Colt 1911, a S&W Model 41 and a S&W Model 52. This put him on clear path to a Master’s rating the was disrupted by a move to NJ with commuting daily to Manhattan.
This put the brakes for a while on
both acquisitions and competitive shooting.
Traveling and living in Europe
gave him a different perspective on collecting gun. Buying guns in Europe was difficult but looking at guns in museums was easy and exciting and he found
that history and
art started to tie in with his interest in guns. On returning to the US he got back in the swing of hunting and target shooting but he also expanded his interest in building a gun collection.
At first his interest was very broad. He randomly bought some Colts, Remingtons, Marlins, Winchesters, Reids and other makes. As time progressed, however, he began to tighten his focus on specific segments of some of these manufacturers. For example these included guns of the Civil War, Marlin prototypes, Remington Cane Guns and a host of others.
Overall the collection grew to its current total of about 900 pieces, each of which have given him a great deal of pleasure.
Having said that you might ask why this collection is being sold. The answer lies in
the 3rd paragraph of this introduction. While active and apparently healthy, there comes a time when prized possessions should be passed on to someone who can take care of them and give them a nice home. Mr. Turk has entrusted his lifetime collection to Rock Island Auction Company to pass on to other collectors who will also find many years of enjoyment and pride in these treasures. So, enjoy the pages that follow and seek out pieces that inspire you as they inspired Mr. Turk and add them to your growing collections.
The
Here are a couple of anecdotes about Milan and his guns:
• He asserts that he has never met a gun that he does not like. There is something unique about each and every one.
• He has not been buying guns for profit but rather for enjoyment.
He has only sold two guns in his lifetime. These were two P-38s which he sold only because the buyer was very persistent and he paid three times what had been
paid to buy them.
• Until recently he always had one
English Setter and one Labrador Retriever, each world class hunting dogs, that believed that their purpose in life was to make him happy.
• He enjoys upland game hunting, particularly the annual quail hunt with his sons in Georgia.
• He believes that you should keep your records up to date. It will reduce your pain later on.
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